Individuals with disabilities have won significant victories

The nation marks the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act this week.

Gov. David Ige signed a proclamation on Friday. For individuals with disabilities, the ADA represents the hallmark of their civil rights struggle. It is a fitting time to reflect on the gains made and the challenges ahead.

The Hawaii Disability Rights Center is part of a national system created by Congress prior to the ADA to represent the rights of individuals with disabilities. In that role, we see many imperfections. Yet it is important to acknowledge that there have been major improvements in the lives of people with disabilities.

We have come a long way in providing for our citizens with developmental and intellectual disabilities. Waimano Home, where many used to reside, has been closed for decades. In its place is a vibrant network of care homes where people live and are integrated into community life. Lawsuits brought by our agency have expedited services, and individuals now attend programs where they enjoy socialization and develop life skills.

Physically accessible communities are vital to mobility-impaired individuals. Without the ability to navigate freely, they are trapped at home. Honolulu is an accessible city, with curb cuts everywhere. Our transportation system has helped tremendously. On TheBus are people in wheelchairs who go wherever they want. While needing improvement, the HandiVan provides a valuable service to those who cannot use TheBus.

Beach access remains to be addressed, as few have pathways for wheelchairs to reach the ocean. Recent legislative action may remedy that. We also need more accessible housing. Federal law requires that 5 percent of all public housing units be accessible. The Hawaii Public Housing Authority has not met this goal. However, they are inventorying their housing stock in order to comply.

We have not cared well for those with mental illnesses. After the U.S. Department of Justice sued the Hawaii State Hospital, the state did develop a more robust system of community care. Yet cutbacks in recent years have led to more overcrowding at the State Hospital and left many individuals with mental illness lacking services. Prisons now substitute for hospitals, as many of the inmates have mental illness.

Education remains a black mark on the state. The Felix Consent Decree led to some improvements in public education for students with mental disabilities. However, when the Felix Decree expired, it led to much backsliding, such that many advocates have called for a second Felix case.

Employment of individuals with disabilities represents the next frontier of full community integration. Employment engenders a feeling of self-worth and yet the unemployment rate for persons with disabilities is high. We need to make meaningful, equal-pay work a priority. For years, people attended sheltered workshops where they were supposedly “trained” in employment skills. Many of them were simply “trained” forever and paid pennies.

New federal laws mandate a focus on gainful employment and many programs in Hawaii no longer pay sub-minimum wages. Fortunately, the ADA has helped to integrate them into the workforce since it requires reasonable accommodations to be provided.

Despite the challenges we remain optimistic. The Legislature passed a bill to mandate insurance coverage of autism. Simultaneously, we have been involved in a lawsuit to require Medicaid to cover necessary services to children with autism. We are currently implementing a 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision requiring the state Department of Education to provide special education services to children for an additional period of time. The hope is that an entire generation of Hawaii’s most needy children will now grow up with an array of appropriate services.

Symbolically things have changed. The international logo that is used to indicate where accessible entrances are located has been changed from the former depiction of a person “bound” to a wheelchair to one now who is shown as a person “on the move.” Sometimes symbols can create a perception that transforms into reality. The more each of us sees a person with a disability as simply one of us, then we will achieve universal acceptance and integration into the community and then the promise of the ADA will be much closer to being truly fulfilled.