Page 7 Portland Observer February 16, 1989 A New Handicap: Black and Disable in America The scant amount of available in formation on disabled Blacks pres ents a shocking portrait. It is a shad owy picture of individuals least able to help themselves who have become almost invisible to the federal govern ment. The scandal is even more appalling considering that this popu lation hardly registers in the reams of data on the handicapped gathered by the Reagan Administration. A letter sent to me by a Black woman in Alabama is an example of the problems Black disabled people face. She wrote that she does not have enough money to effectively attend to the needs of her 15-year-old underweight son, who has a serious nutritionally deficiency. Her son’s doctor said he needs a special kind of milk; but it costs $55 to $60, which is more than her food stamp allotment will cover. She cannot afford health insurance for her son, and she is un able to work because she suffers from a debilitating lung disease, and she has no one else to take care of her son. I have directed my Select Educa tion Subcommittee staff to investi gate this sad and troubling case. It may be that this woman could be helped through the provision of better information regarding program availa bility. However, cases like hers may be indicative of a broader problem which needs to be addressed legisla tively. Dr. Sylvia Walker, director of Howard University’s Center for Handi capped Children and Youth in Wash ington, D C., has stated that Black teenaged mothers and poor Black women generally who have no knowl edge of, or access to, prenatal health care, often give birth to underweight babies, who later develop a physical or mental handicap, such as mental retardation, or cerebral palsy caused by insufficient oxygen. The problem of the lack of prenatal care for Black women is just one aspect of the crisis of the Black dis abled, a crisis which must be ad dressed through a national policy. In order to set the parameters for such a policy, we first need up-to-date statistics on the numbers of disabled Blacks in America. The current avail able data is derived from two-year- old census information, which indi cates that there are 2,175,000 Blacks in the U.S. between the ages of 16 and 64 who are disabled. They repre sent 18% of all working-age persons with disabilities, although Blacks are only 11.5% of the general population. We still don’t have an exact count of the number of disabled Black children in this country. Dr. Frank Bowe, an expert on the Black disabled who was concerned about the lack of data about this group, compiled one of the few recent re ports on its problems. His study re veals that of all working-age Black people, 14.1% have one or more disabilities as compared to 8.4% of working age whites with disabilities. More than half of working-age Black disabled are women, just as there are more Black women in the labor force overall than Black men. Dr. Bowe’s statistical compilation allows us to comprehend the profile DISPENSER PAK BOX OF 130 TISSUES Select Education will explore several legislative initiatives. Meanwhile .Black disabled people can play a critical role in helping shape federal policy the area of data gathering regarding Blacks with disabilities. It is my inten tion to conduct a series of oversight hearings to ensure that these duties are met. Time-honoured Black institutions such as the Black church must be come strong advocates for disabled Blacks, and provide support programs which would assist them in their struggle to achieve success and rec ognition in the societal mainstream. Federal programs which only endorse the right of disabled people to have equal access to those things that the non-disabled majority enjoy are sim ply not good enough. And an Admini stration that merely gives lip-service rather than real service to Black dis abled people, just as it gives superfi cial attention to minority rights gener ally, is abdicating its responsibility to lead the public away from prejudiced attitudes towards those among us who are disabled. I am in strong agreement with New York Governor Mario Cuomo, who has said, “ Persistent attitudinal bi ases about the capabilities of per sons who are disabled or otherwise disadvantaged serve as barriers to productivity and independence. Those often unconscious biases serve as self-fulfilling prophecies and under mine our efforts to permit the majority of persons with disabilities to become productive, independent, contribut ing members of society.” 0 89 29 POCKET PAK HUGGIES DIAPERS • M E D IU M - 9 6 count • LARGE 6 4 count $1(189 I W EACH DEPEND ADULT UNDERGARMENTS 99 L PKG. OF ~ 30 KIENOW'S THE FRIENDLIEST STORES IN TOWN WE RESERVE SINCE 1908 HOURS THE RIGHT TO UNIT QUANTITIES WEEKDAYS 8 am to 9 pm SUNDAYS 9 30 om Io 7 p.n Specials Good February 15 - 18, 1989 I________________________________________ PO R TLAN D OBSERVER “ The Eyes and Ears o f the C o m m u n ity” 288-0033 AUTOMOTIVE BUYS Senator McCoy Introduces Legislation To Change Medicaid System Sale Prices Good, Thursday, February 16 through Wednesday, February 22 unless otherwise noted. 6 steps to make your brakes like new again! WE LL REBUILD USEABLE CALIPERS FOR $12.50 EA. 1. INSPECT CALIPERS SALEM-State Senator Bill McCoy introduced legislation today urging Congress to change the Medicaid system so that the developmentally disabled are no longer discriminated against. McCoy is introducing his bill the same day U.S. Senator John Chafee, R-Rhode Island, introduces federal legislation calling for a broader defini tion of Title XIX (Medicaid) fiscal responsibility in the treatment of developmentally disabled Americans. Oregon U.S. Senator Mark Hat field and 35 other Senators co-spon sored the Chafee bill. McCoy said Medicaid only recog nizes treatment provided to institu tionalized developmentally disabled patients, not those treated in smaller community programs. “ Life in the community is much better for our disabled than life in an institution. What’s more, it costs a lot more to run an institution than a community based program. We should provide humane plus cost effective services at the state and local level,” McCoy said. OieHord 2 . 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Reg $16 99 54.99 64.99 Most 6-cyl. reg. $59.99 Most 8-cyl. reg. $69.99 Warranted for as long as you own your car For most com pact cars. 80000R T h e M u z z ie r c h a lle n g C heck the M uzzier price, and our warranty— then try to find a better deal Warranted lor as long as you own your car Limited lifetime warranty, see store for details I ODD IM D RoadHandler Light Truck u Gas Shock Aeg ^99 ’ 489 Most cars MacPherson gas struts or cartridges II" Seer» Roebuch and C o B YOUR C H O IC E Gas charged for quick response and greater ride control All - weather fluid. Satisfaction guaranteed or your money bach 4499 B SERVICE: o u n n i / o no other outlet sells or stocks more O flu b lV O SHOCKS AND STRUTS THAN SEARS! B B 6 . ROAD TEST YOUR VEHICLE FRONT DISC BRAKE JOB Reg $6999 with trade-in Social Security Increase Reduces Some Food Stamp Benefits SALEM -A January cost-of-living increase for Social Security will reduce the February food stamp benefits of some Oregonians. The Food Stamp Program requires that income be considered in establishing the amount of food stamps a person may receive. The reductions affect monthly food stamp benefits starting in February. Food stamps are federally funded by the U.S. Department of Agricul ture, and administered by the Oregon Adult and Family Services Division. Each month the Food Stamp Pro gram helps approximately 90,000 Oregon households with the purchase of food items. These 90,000 house holds encompass 205,000 individu als. The four percent cost-o-living increase from Social Security will affed fewer than 27,000 households. This decrease in food stamp benefits wil affect households receiving Socia Security benefits, Supplemental Security Income, Railroad benefits, of a typical working-age Black adult as 42-years-old, unmarried, unem ployed, having only a tenth grade education, with an income in 1980 of only $3,000 a year According to the report, there are more disabled Blacks than whites because Blacks are more likely than whites to perform physically demand ing work that may lead to on-the-job injury and disability. This in turn is due to the fact that masses of Blacks are locked out of the necessary educa tion and technical training for less physically strenous white collar and service sector jobs. Specifically, in the areas of educa tion and job training there needs to be a more concerted effort to reach the Black disabled in America. In order to address these manifold problems, it is necessary to remind the federal government of its responsibilities in relative to their needs by informing Congress about the daily barriers they face in attempting to secure employ ment, training, rehabilitation and education. They should be aware of a measure currently pending before Congress, the Americans with Dis abilities Act, which, if passed, would extend civil rights protections to dis abled Americans by prohibiting dis crimination of the basis of disability. Its enforcement procedures include administrative remedies, a private right of action in Federal court, monetary damages, injunctive relief, attorney’s fees, and cutoffs of Federal funds. I am a senior sponsor of the bill in the U.S. House of Representatives. 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