National Council on Disability
Quarterly Meeting

Millennium UN Plaza Hotel
New York, NY
June 23-24, 2003

STAFF
Ethel D. Briggs, Executive Director
Jeffrey T. Rosen, General Counsel and Director of Policy
Mark S. Quigley, Director of Communications
Martin Gould, Ed.D., Senior Research Specialist
Geraldine Drake Hawkins, Ph.D., Program Specialist
Julie Carroll, Attorney Advisor
Joan Durocher, Attorney Advisor
Allan Holland, Financial Manager
Brenda Bratton, Executive Assistant
Stacey S. Brown, Staff Assistant
Pamela O'Leary, Staff Interpreter

GUESTS
Bengt Lindqvist, Former Special Rapporteur to the UN, Sweden
Steeg Langfiet, Chairman, Danish Council Health Organization for Persons with Disabilities,            Denmark
Rebecca Moore, NCD Youth Advisory Committee
Isaac Huff, NCD Youth Advisory Committee
Ed Heaton, Former NCD Fellow
Akiko Ito, Chief, Programme on Disability, United Nations
Karl Hermann Haack, Commissioner, Federal Office on Disability, Germany and Chair of the            German Delegation to the UN Ad Hoc Committee Meeting for the Convention on the            Human Rights of People with Disabilities
Theresia Degener, International Human Rights Lawyer and Member of the German Delegation
Charlotte McClain, International Human Rights Lawyer, South Africa

WELCOME
Chairperson Frieden welcomed members and staff to the June quarterly meeting. He gave a special welcome to new member Ms. Rader. He asked Mr. Aponte to do the honors of swearing-in Ms. Rader as a new member to the National Council on Disability (NCD).

CALL TO ORDER
Chairperson Frieden called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m.

Motion 1
Milton Aponte moved to amend the agenda to change the beginning time of team meetings to 9:30 a.m. from 10:30 a.m. and to begin the full Council meeting at 1:00 p.m. instead of 2:00 p.m. as indicated. Passed.

Motion 2
Ms. Pound moved to accept the March quarterly minutes. Passed.

CHAIRPERSON'S REPORT
Mr. Frieden reported that Ms. Briggs, Mr. Rosen, and he have a regular weekly phone meetings. He requested that NCD members inform him of any needs or issues. Mr. Frieden reported that The White House, Congress, and government agencies have complimented NCD staff on their responsiveness, and he expressed his pleasure that NCD is so well represented.

Mr. Frieden said that because the Executive Committee meets monthly, it is able to keep in touch with the regular committees, whose work is so important to ensuring that NCD business moves forward. He added that he appreciates the commitment of time and effort from the members and the staff. He also encourages other members to join in Executive Committee discussions.

Mr. Frieden reported his visits to Norway, Sweden, Finland, and the Netherlands. Although he was not traveling on NCD business, he took the opportunity to meet with NCD's counterpart organization in each country. He mentioned his pride that the United States has such a well-organized and formally established Council. In addition, he is proud that the President has appointed well-informed and capable individuals to serve on the NCD Board. In his opinion, NCD sets the standard as a model for NCD's counterparts globally.

Mr. Frieden reported that last year the Netherlands National Disability Council obtained a $3 million supplement solely for public awareness purposes in a country with a population of 16 million people. The Netherlands National Council occupies five floors of a multi-story building and has a staff of more than 200 working on improved quality-of-life issues for people with disabilities. The Netherlands public awareness campaign was quite interesting, and the Netherlands Council's polling suggests that the additional $3 million enabled it to reach into the homes of every person in the Netherlands to help them understand the lives of all people with disabilities.

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE REPORT
Ms. Pound reported that the Executive Committee has spent a lot of time planning the June and August quarterly meetings. The Committee has approved several reports, re-programmed funds in accordance with some strategic planning decisions that were made at the last meeting, reviewed the budget, and anticipates a new financial services provider in FY 2005. The Committee has also approved its cosponsor status for the 13th Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) anniversary event with the U.S. Department of Transportation that will include awards to Steve Bartlett and Norman Mineta.

UPDATE FROM STRATEGIC PLANNING SESSION
Dr. Glenn Anderson described a very productive session last March in which attendees identified 10 NCD priorities for the next three years. During the meeting, attendees became aware of some possible unexpended funds for FY 2003. He said that Mr. Rosen will provide an updated plan on staff response to the 10 NCD priorities.

Mr. Rosen presented the status of the following NCD recommendations for priorities (in voting order):

• Employment-related Initiatives-2005
• Tax Credits--2005
• Diverse Cultures-CDI Forum July 28-ongoing through Cultural Diversity Advisory Committee
• Reauthorization of Existing Laws-ongoing
• Long-Term Health Care-2003 and 2004
• Emergency Preparedness-2003
• Personal Assistance-2004
• Economic Benefits of Work-2005
• Better Demographics and Data-2003 reprogramming of funds ongoing w/Census, NIDRR, ICDR
• Business Advisory-2005
• Monitoring Civil Rights-ongoing, especially "Righting the ADA"
• SSI transition-2004

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S REPORT
Ms. Briggs presented the following report:

• The projected target release date for the annual Progress Report is July 26th. The juvenile justice study was released May 1, and NCD has received a great deal of media coverage on this report.
• NCD will cosponsor with the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) the 13th ADA anniversary celebration. NCD meets bimonthly with other federal partners (Social Security Administration and the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services, Education, and Labor) to provide guidance and advice to the National Youth Leadership Network. This group is responsible for planning the National Youth Leadership Conference that will be held in the summer in Washington, DC. Youth from across the country will be invited to participate. NCD began this initiative many years ago, but the conference outgrew NCD's management capabilities. The Department of Education has taken on the leadership on this conference.
• The Cultural Diversity Advisory Committee will conduct a Cultural Diversity Initiative forum on July 28th in Washington, DC.
• The Executive Order establishing the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders will expire this month (June 2003). Dr. Kang, who serves on the coordinating committee, is NCD's representative to this working group. The White House plans a two-year renewal of this Executive Order.
• The upcoming quarterly NCD meeting will be held in Houston, Texas, August 21-22. A highlight will be a barbecue hosted by the Chairperson at his home. During the August meeting, NCD will conduct a briefing on the ADA. A tour of some of the facilities in the Houston area may be offered. Pat Pound added that a working lunch will be held with a presentation by some of the members of Team Everest '03.
• The Fall meeting will be held November 22-23, Washington, DC, at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel. The Winter meeting will be held February 9-10, 2004, in either Miami or Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Legislative Update
Mr. Rosen said that the legislative update was enclosed in the members' meeting notebooks and that he would be glad to answer any questions about them.

Reauthorization
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Mr. Rosen reported that the Senate bill focused more on transitioning and is more specific than the House bill. Although the Senate bill does not give the states all that they want from this reauthorization, it provides much more depth than the House bill. In terms of specificity, its major contribution is in the area of enforcement. The Senate bill does no go far enough because it allows the Department of Education (ED) to conduct enforcement. This is a continuing problem because ED determines appropriations and provides technical assistance and, at the same time, conducts enforcement. ED is not capable of doing both. The Senate bill does at least require specific action by ED with respect to enforcement.

Mr. Rosen said that with respect to transitioning, the language needs to be improved in the House bill and that NCD will conduct an analysis of the IDEA bill and share part of the summary with members.

Mr. Rosen stated that during the reauthorization team meeting, the staff has produced several documents on IDEA and its reauthorization, as well as the voucher paper, and a couple of letters. These documents have had an impact on legislation. Congressional committee staff informed NCD staff that NCD's information has been helpful and has influenced the shape of the bill and that because of NCD's information, some of the worst amendments were deleted.

Olmstead Report
Mr. Rosen said that the Olmstead report has been long time in the making. It was begun two years ago with the help of a contractor at the Public Interest Law Center in Philadelphia, who is an experienced litigator. Mr. Rosen stated that NCD was fortunate to have access to such expertise and to be able to network with the individuals who have done a tremendous amount of work on Olmstead. It was a massive undertaking much beyond anyone's expectations.

Some Olmstead report highlights are-

• It announces each state's performance (or nonperformance) in its implementation of Olmstead.
• It describes barriers to Olmstead implementation and the government's response to the decisions.
• It shares some information about comments and practices.
• It provides some recommendations to the federal government for follow up.
• It provides state-by-state information provided about their respective efforts. The state-by-state analysis is an additional 300-page document. This information will be posted on the NCD Web site, which will have a link for each state in the table of contents. Anyone seeking more information can go to the Web site version, click onto his or her state, and access that part of the report.

Ms. Wetters asked a question regarding page 33 of the report about the comments on the vocational rehabilitation system. She felt that these comments were in conflict with NCD's position on reauthorization. She suggested that NCD present both sides of the issue and present a consistent position in the current reauthorization of the state vocational rehabilitation program.

Ms. Pound agreed with Ms. Wetters and added that the report should be carefully reviewed for its consistency with NCD positions that have already been adopted.

Motion 3
Ms. Pound moved to accept the Olmstead report given the conditions stated in the discussion. Passed.

Public Relations Update
Mr. Quigley reported the following:

• The juvenile justice report was released on May 1 and received Associated Press coverage, from which NCD received several hundred news clips that appeared nationwide.
• Mr. Frieden and former NCD member John Kemp were guests on Voice of America's, "Talk to America,?" which is heard and seen on television and radio worldwide (and Internet-accessed) in which they discussed the UN Convention on Human Rights for People with Disabilities.

• The Chairperson will serve as the news briefer at the UN Press Corps tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. He will address approximately 85 members of the press on the importance of the UN convention. Mr. Quigley will accompany Mr. Frieden.

• The White House agreed to add a link on its Web site to NCD's New Freedom Initiative page.

Mr. Quigley closed by briefing NCD members on their visit to the UN. He told them that they had a special opportunity to visit the gallery from 10am to 6pm.

FINANCE COMMITTEE REPORT
Mr. Wenzel mentioned four items that he wished to discuss in members' notebooks under Tab 5. He added that the FY 2005 budget justification had been e-mailed to each of them.

Mr. Wenzel said Tab 5 shows the amount of money spent as of the end of May. We are now at the end of June, and only three months remain in this fiscal year. At the end of May, we spent $1,519,539.00 out of a total budget of $2,271,338.40. We have not spent a great deal in the area of staff travel. Staff has used only 12 percent of the budgeted travel funds. He added that the upcoming August NCD meeting in Houston will increase the staff travel budget allocation. Some funds are available for re-programming, and we will review the re-programming budget allocation in August.

Financial Policy and Procedures Manual
Mr. Wenzel said that NCD members brought the issue of a financial policy and procedures manual up for a vote at the March quarterly meeting, and it was deferred to the June meeting. The Executive Committee has already voted on it, and now it needs to be voted on by the entire membership.

Mr. Holland reported no significant changes, other than grammatical changes, to the draft version of the manual. He said that the federal government has seen a marked progression in its financial management-every agency is now required to have a financial strategic plan and a financial manual that governs its operation.

Mr. Holland said that NCD had previously adopted a version of the manual provided by the Department of Education that was not suitable to NCD's needs. Therefore, NCD will develop a new manual that will better fit its requirements.

Ms. Wetters stated she would like clarification on page 4 regarding the development of the strategic plan. She feels that the development of NCD's strategic plan is the responsibility of the members instead of the financial manager. In fact, members spent time during the March meeting developing priorities. Mr. Holland explained that this document refers to the financial strategic plan and not NCD's overall strategic plan.

Mr. Holland said that Ms. Erica Mathis, a consultant from the U.S. Department of Treasury, assisted NCD in developing the financial manual and the financial strategic plan.

Gift Account
Mr. Holland reported zero-level funding in the gift account. Funds in the gift account could be used to supplement the NCD's mission.

Mr. Frieden stated that NCD needs to be very careful when using funds in the gift account. He said that we need to document the source, the purpose, and the use of the funds.

Motion 4
David Wenzel moved to accept the financial policies and procedures manual with changes that have been suggested. Passed.

FY 2005 Budget
Mr. Wenzel said that he hoped that NCD members were able to download the FY 2005 budget justification. It needs their approval before submission to Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

Mr. Holland stated that the FY 2005 budget request is a draft for review and discussion. It will be voted on in its final form at the August quarterly meeting in Houston, TX. It will be submitted to OMB, which will then send NCD a pass back in November or December. He stated that it will probably be at the requested amount or either higher or lower. At the present moment, the information from OMB suggests that NCD, along with other federal agencies, will receive a 1.87 percent increase.

Mr. Holland reported that the budget increase will probably not cover the increase in salary, which is a continuing debate with the President and Congress. Once NCD has received its pass back, it will be placed in the President's budget that is submitted in January 2004, and the process of committee hearings will commence.

Mr. Frieden asked NCD members, staff, and guests to introduce themselves.

Guest-Steeg Langfeit and Bengt Lindqvist

Mr. Steeg Langfeit reported that in Denmark 31 organizations represent various disabilities. In 1934, his organization joined an umbrella organization for which he is chairperson. He also stated that he is the vice chair of the Danish Council of Health Organizations for People with Disabilities. The Danish Council is made up of seven representatives of the disability community, seven persons from the most important government ministries, and a chairperson who is a former politician appointed by the government. He said that the Danish Council is an advisory body to the members of the Danish Parliament. He said the reason for his visit to the UN in New York was to participate in the negotiations for developing a new UN Convention on the Human Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Mr. Bengt Lindqvist reported that he has chaired the umbrella organizations of disabled people in Sweden. He described his expertise in the disability field and added that he has been a member of the Swedish Parliament for 14 years from 1982-1996 during the tenure of Prime Minister Rudolph Palmer, who appointed him Minister of Affairs in 1985. He remained with the social democratic government until 1991 after the election. He stated that he had gone back to Parliament and became very involved in the UN process on disability. He said that he was in the first Swedish delegation to the preparatory committee that planned the International Year of Disabled Persons in 1981.

TEAM REPORTS
Universal Design
Mr. Joel Kahn reported that the Universal Design Committee has issued its contract to Georgia Tech. Committee members have begun and completed task A of the set of tasks that they committed to. Task A was to select the devices to be evaluated for universal design-six devices were selected. The committee made some recommendations and modifications to that list.

The devices to be evaluated are: ATM machines, desktop computers, televisions, cellular phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and Web-streaming devices.

Reauthorization of Laws
Ms. Pound thanked Ms. Julie Carroll and the contractors for their hard work in reauthorization of laws. She stated that they have covered the following laws. Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF)-NCD published a paper about changes in TANF and how they will affect people with disabilities. Workforce Investment Act (WIA)-NCD wrote to Congress about the legislative proposals to reauthorize WIA and the Rehabilitation Act. Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)-NCD wrote three letters, one regarding 1350, one about proper enforcement, and one to submit NCD's report on the use of vouchers for people with disabilities. Transportation Equity Act (TEA-21)-Mr. David Wenzel provided oral testimony to Congress.

Ms. Pound reported that the team has also embarked on a contracted study on higher education and disability. The team is very fortunate to have input from the Youth Advisory Committee (YAC). The youth have solicited input about financial aid and students with disabilities, information that NCD hopes to incorporate into the study. Ms. Pound considers YAC to be a valuable asset in our work in IDEA and the Higher Education Act.

Health Reform (Medicaid/Medicare Study)
Ms. Novak reported that the Health Reform Committee's existing research project has been awarded to Boston University. The first teleconference was held with the grantees, and the second teleconference is scheduled for July 7. For the next fiscal year a project is earmarked for long-term care issues.

Dr. Martin Gould described three main features of the current health care project. One is to identify, review, assess, and synthesize current laws, regulations, policies, programs, and practices with a consumer-oriented and directed health reform focus. Second is to identify, codify, and assess if possible, the nature, status, and extent of results among the federal agencies' consumer-oriented and directed health efforts, which are fairly extensive. Plans are underway to evaluate the Department of Health and Human Services, the Centers for Medicaid/Medicare Services, the Agency for Health Research Quality, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and others. Third, a combination of research organization-based features will give us a certain picture of federal policy that will determine the strengths and weaknesses, the connects and disconnects, and the barriers to improving and/or transforming health policy.

Dr. Gould said that NCD should review this year's study along with other studies to determine ways that NCD can connect the fruitful results of NCD research to the work of others. For example, the connection between health and employment-NCD could use that connection to guide the development of its 2004 long-term care and Social Security study, which is planned as return-to-work effort . From those connections, NCD could possibly build a description and articulation of the 2005 employment study.

Dr. Gould stated that NCD should review existing research policy outcomes to help refine and shape future research. It will require a more strategic vision than NCD has incorporated in its past RFP planning and development. NCD could use existing research to fund future research in a way that ensures a greater impact of its long-term policy work across issues. He added that NCD could build health issues into succeeding research studies.

Ms. Novak stated that Dr. Jose Cordero, Director, the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, will present during the NCD meeting in Houston. He informed her of his interest in pursuing knowledge and data on the relationship between employment and the health satisfaction of people with disabilities. She said that the data show that people with disabilities who are employed report greater satisfaction or perceive themselves in good health at a higher rate than people with disabilities who are unemployed.

Ms. Novak said that she appreciated Barbara Gillcrist sending her an article on Congressperson Heather Wilson, New Mexico, who is the chair of the Congressional Medicaid Task Force. She indicated that NCD should keep the lines of communication opened between Representatives Wilson and Hamilton. She added that NCD should inform them that we are knowledgeable about and would like to have input regarding Medicaid.

ADVISORY COMMITTEE REPORTS
International Watch
Ms. Martinez commended NCD staff for their hard work on the two policy issues that the committee has been working on for the past several months.

She said that the foreign assistance paper, a followup to the 1996 paper, has been completed and hopefully will be approved for publication. The report reviews the history of inclusion of people with disabilities in U.S. overseas international policies, programs, and outlines. There is a need for specific legislation that addresses inclusion. The paper makes detailed legislative recommendations to Congress that will ensure inclusion in all U.S. foreign assistance policies, practices, programs, and procedures.

Ms. Martinez stated that the recommendations include amending the Foreign Assistance Act to create a disability advisor in the U.S. Department of State to require documentation of disability rights in the Department of State country reports. It further recommends the creation of an Office on Disability and Development in the U.S. Agency for International Development. The paper also recommends that the General Accounting Office conduct an empirical study of current practices within the Foreign Assistance Act relating to disability.

Ms. Martinez said that NCD met with Assistant Secretary Lorne Craner who is with the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor at the Department of State to discuss the report. The meeting was productive; the Committee shared its findings and recommendations.

Ms. Martinez said that the Committee has been working on the UN Convention on the Human Rights of People with Disabilities and educating Congress and the Senate about the need for it.

Ms. Martinez stated that the International Watch Advisory Committee consists of a dynamic group of government representatives, disability organization representatives, and individuals from universities, along with occasional assistance from a Member of Congress. The goal of the Committee is to advise NCD on matters that affect people with disabilities with regard to international development or policy. She said that the Committee meets twice a month via teleconferences often with a speaker and a variety of updates in regard to the work on reconstruction, the foreign assistance paper, and the UN convention. All Committee members are active and are experts in international issues. They bring their expertise to the Committee by reporting on their projects. She said that many committee members have reviewed the foreign assistance paper and can review any document related to international issues that NCD plans to publish.

Motion 5
Ms. Martinez moved the approval of the Foreign Assistance paper. Passed.

Cultural Diversity
Mr. Aponte stated that the Cultural Diversity Advisory Committee (CDAC) has been working on the Cultural Diversity Initiative (CDI) Forum, which is to be held on July 28 in Washington, DC. The CDI Forum has been a major undertaking, and Committee members are pleased about the assistance they received from the NCD membership. The discussions focused on the outreach networking workgroup, the development of the fact sheet and the CDI Forum, and gathering information and names of participants who should be invited to the forum.

Mr. Aponte said that the two main purposes of the CDI Forum are to share federal practices that involve people of diverse cultures in receiving services and to identify key elements of effective outreach as federal agencies try to reach specific groups of people. He stated that the Committee members hope that the CDI Forum will call attention to existing federal agency efforts in disability and diversity outreach. In addition, it will also add a cultural focus to the President's New Freedom Initiative. It is hoped that the CDI Forum will initiate a dialogue about outreach coordination and identify a common core of available resources through which the outreach program can access those of different cultures in a meaningful way.

Mr. Aponte reported that Kathy Martinez and Dr. Kang will attend the forum.

Mr. Aponte said that the Committee members represent professionals from across the nation. For example, Deborah Smith, Ph.D., LaDonna Fowler, disability advocate, and Milton Little, civil rights advocate, to name just a few.

Mr. Aponte said that the Committee has three openings and looks to NCD members to help in the recruiting process and in obtaining opinions as to the direction the Committee should take.

Dr. Gerrie Hawkins added that July 8 is the closing date for receiving CDAC Committee applications, and she encourages members to e-mail their resumes to her as soon as possible.

Youth
Mr. Marco Rodriguez thanked Dr. Hawkins for her work and the great participation received from the young people with disabilities. He introduced the NCD Youth Advisory Committee (YAC) members Rebecca Moore and Isaac Huff.

Mr. Moore said that she is a student disability advocate and the co-chair of the NCD YAC. She stated that the two goals the Committee are to integrate student advocates into all the activities of the disability community so that NCD can support them and to bring news and concerns to NCD members that we might not otherwise hear about.

Ms. Moore stated that the Committee is hearing from college students nationwide that their disability prevents them from accessing financial aid, funded by the Higher Education Act (HEA), that their non-disabled peers are entitled to. HEA is up for reauthorization this fall.

Ms. Moore said that Congress is not considering disability issues. The House Education and Workforce Committee had a preliminary hearing on HEA. Disability is not on the agenda despite the fact that lack of financial aid is a significant barrier to independence. She said the HEA bill funds many things beneficial to the disability community including improved access to the campus infrastructure, library and media materials, K-12 teacher education, new-teacher support, student loans, Pell Grants, and graduate education.

Ms. Moore stated that YAC has conducted a nationwide outreach effort, writing to independent living centers, vocational rehabilitation agencies, universities, technical colleges, and consumer groups in every state. The Committee is spending an average of 5 to 20 hours per week on this effort. She said that they will be providing to NCD a youth-oriented report similar to the IDEA report.

Ms. Moore informed NCD that the Committee is willing and ready to help and be involved in the legislative process and alert Members of Congress as to how they can assist student advocates to get disability issues on the agenda.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS
None at this time.

NEW BUSINESS
Mr. Frieden stated that Mr. Ed Heaton, a former NCD Fellow, submitted a letter to him that described the valuable experience he received at NCD. It helped him in his career by obtaining a better job and he learned a lot in that position. Mr. Heaton's letter reads, "I request that the NCD Council consider reestablishing the fellowship program. It should be designed by the NCD staff in consultation with the Board so that the public policy fellow receives a well-rounded education in Federal Government functions and policies regarding disability issues. I am willing to work with the Board and staff further to make this request a reality. Thank you for your consideration of this request."

Mr. Frieden said that during his tenure as Executive Director NCD has had four fellows. Through the years, the number diminished to one, and more recently NCD dropped the fellowship slot and converted it to a staff position because it needed more staff.

Mr. Frieden asked Council members to refer to Tab 8 of their notebooks to review the report Righting the ADA. Dr. Robert Davila reported that the ADA Team has been very active in finding people who could author papers relating to various aspects of the ADA. He said that Pat, Jeff, and he had a brief discussion to see if it would be possible to add the ADA topic to the agenda for the Houston quarterly meeting. He would like to have a discussion to develop a conscientious view about our overall strategy for all of the ADA activity.

Dr. Davila said that the ADA papers are very good and that they analyze various aspects of the Supreme Court decisions.

ANNOUNCEMENTSANNOUNCEMENTS
Mr. Frieden stated that tomorrow Kathy Martinez will chair the meeting beginning at 9:00 a.m. Tomorrow afternoon NCD has been invited to a luncheon at the UN for a briefing on children with disabilities. The members will observe a UN session on the discussion of the UN Convention on the Human Rights of People with Disabilities. There have been some agenda changes, so the session may not be open to the public.

Mr. Frieden said that NCD is not just a Council of members appointed by the President, but a family Council. Many have come to the meeting with their families. He stressed the importance of this fact. He said it provides a good model for hard-working people. The Council is driven by the support of families and close friends. He is happy that so many have chosen to include and involve their families; it shows that family members are interested in NCD activities and are giving their participation and support.

Mr. Frieden announced that Mr. Aponte's wife, Mrs. Berthy De la Rosa Aponte, has been appointed to serve on the Ticket to Work Advisory Council by the President. Mrs. Aponte indicated that she had been appointed by the Speaker of the House. The President, House of Representatives, and the Senate each appoints four members to the Council.

Mr. Frieden thanked Council members their attendance at the meeting. The meeting recessed at 5:15 p.m.

Ms. Kathy Martinez, Chair, NCD International Watch, opened the meeting with a panel discussion at 9:00 a.m. with a brief background of the UN convention on the rights of people with disabilities and the UN process. Ms. Akiko Ito, Chief, United Nations Programme on Disability gave words of greeting. She was followed by Mr. Karl Hermann Haack, Commissioner, the Germany Federal Office on Disability. He is also head of the German Delegation to the UN Ad Hoc Committee. Mr. Haack shared with the members his perspective of how disability is viewed in Germany. He also spoke about the Ad Hoc Committee meeting and the UN Convention on the Human Rights of People with Disabilities. Ms. Theresia Degener, International Human Rights Lawyer from Germany spoke about how disability fits within the UN process. She stated that in her opinion, it would be a few years before the UN would vote on the Convention on the Human Rights of People with Disabilities. She said that the convention (treaty) has not been developed. Plans are still in the talking stages. Ms. Charlotte McClain, International Human Rights Lawyer from South Africa, was the last panelist. She presented some of the advances people with disabilities had made in her country. Mr. Glenn Anderson shared with members a story about a young woman from South Africa who graduated from Gallaudet University [a university for deaf students] in Washington, DC. This young woman is a member of Parliament in South Africa.

Following the session, Committee members left to go to the United Nations to attend a luncheon briefing on children and disability. Following the briefing, members were scheduled to view an UN Session on the Convention on the Human Rights of People with Disabilities.

ADJOURNMENT The formal meeting adjourned after the panel discussion. Committee members were scheduled to spend the remainder of the day at the UN.