On Monday, July 20, Dave Porter and Kelly Pierce met with the
legal consortium for persons with disabilities on behalf of
Digit-Eyes:  The Chicago Blind Computer User Network.  The
consortium is comprised of Chicago-area organizations that
provide legal services on disability rights to people with
disabilities.  The meeting included representatives from the
Legal Assistance Foundation, Equip for Equality (the federally
funded protection and advocacy organization serving Illinois),
Access Living (the center for independent living serving the city
of Chicago), the Center for Disability and Elder Law (formally
Legal Clinic for the Disabled), and CARPLES.  Equip for Equality
is a test litigation and class action law firm funded by the
federal government to mostly litigate cases involving the
deinstitutionalization and institutional abuse of those who are
mentally ill or developmentally disabled.  The firm received
58,112 dollars for 1998 for litigation and advocacy work on
assistive technology from the Technology-Related
Assistance for Individuals with Disabilities Act of 1988 as
amended in 1993.  These funds are to be used only for litigation
and legal advocacy on technology issues in Illinois.  Other
states receive funding for this purpose based on population size
and density.

      Kelly began the presentation by describing why he is
devoting much of his personal time to technology access to people
with disabilities.  He continued by reminding the group how
technology and automation marches on and that now many services
must be preformed through technology and that people with
disabilities must use this technology to participate in society.
Examples were ATM machines, automated fare collection on the el
and subway, and the food stamp program eliminating the use of
coupons and using an electronic debit system.  He then described
the network's three past projects on technology access advocacy:
ATM and teller access at First Chicago, catalog and information
services access at the Chicago Public Library, and textbook,
computer, and computer network access at the University of
Illinois.  He concluded by referencing online resources for more
information and discussing issues of technology familiarization
by counsel, use of a technology expert, end-user
responsibilities, and cost of technology accommodation.

Dave Porter focused on technology access in employment.  He made
clear the network's position that while use of technology is
essential in today's work world, access to it alone will not
resolve the many barriers that the blind job seeker faces.
Attitudinal barriers of employers and skill deficits among some
blind applicants cannot be overcome by technology.  At the same
time, Dave outlined several real barriers that the blind job
applicant faces.  One of which is cost.  With access to a
computer using speech costing more then the computer itself in
today's world of sub-$1,000 pc's, employers may be reluctant to
hire an employee with these financial burdens.  Medium and larger
employers find it easier to absorb this cost than small employers
and small businesses.  While vocational rehabilitation can pay
for job accommodations, the Illinois Department of Human Services
rarely can provide the accommodations in the timeframes needed by
an employer.  Most employers need applicants to start within
weeks of a hiring decision, rather than the months that rehab.
usually takes.

Another issue explored was inaccessibility and compatibility.  It
was pointed out that some employers justify hiring denials by
saying that their computing environment was inaccessible or
incompatible with access technology.  Dave discussed the need to
obtain a basis for reaching such a conclusion, particularly if
the employer is not using off-the-shelf software or technology
for which the access potential is already known.  Typically, if
an adapted technology specialist has not visited the worksite to
try using adapted technology and/or reviewed written materials
about configuration and software used, we said that a
determination of access is tenuous at best.

Both Dave and Kelly said that a successful legal strategy would
include a specialist who is familiar with the installation,
configuration, and feasibility of various adapted technology
products and services.  Few end users have this expertise.  This
specialist can evaluate feasibility claims and barriers put
forward by the defendant who is failing to provide access while
at the same time assisting counsel in determining the realistic
access potential.

Dave and Kelly both discussed the new paradigm of shared
responsibility for access between the end user with a disability
and the entity providing the service or accommodation.  In both
public access and job accommodations, technology access requires
the end user to share responsibility to make access happen.
Effective access happens through pro-active initiative,
coordination of services or service units, and education of
various parties of how blind persons use computers and how
certain actions or efforts will result in the ability to
participate as fully as non-disabled persons.  If a college
student needs access to computer services, it is expected that
the student identify his or her needs and request access to
specific software in particular locations several weeks prior to
use.  By the same token, a blind job applicant is expected to be
aware of technology funding programs, adapted technology likely
to be used on the job, and organizations that could set up a job
site if the applicant wishes to assert a right of speedy hire.
Otherwise, time may be needed by the employer and the applicant
to learn about and explore all these options while one waits to
start a job or is passed over because of the delays.

Questions included our interpretation of the proposed
accessibility guidelines for the Telecommunications Act of 1996
and the participation of end users with disabilities in
understanding the potential and limitation of technology for
independence.

It is hoped that other groups of blind computer users initiate
such dialogues with the legal community in their local area.

kelly



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