National Council on Disability
Cultural Diversity Advisory Committee (CDAC)
September 7, 2006 - Record of Public Meeting (Teleconference) – Minutes
Participants: Present at 3:05 PM Eastern Time were CDAC Members Darrell K. Simmons, J.D., (CDAC Chair); Bill Scott; Darryl Long; Christina Curry; Marina Tse; Nipa Pandya; Robert Coward; Peter Benavidez; Jerry Lang; Glenn Fujiura, Ph.D.; John Armendariz; NCD Staff: Jeff Rosen, General Counsel/Director of Policy; Pam O’Leary, Staff Interpreter; Gerrie Hawkins, Ph.D., Designated Federal Official for CDAC; Milton Aponte, J.D. (NCD Council Member Liaison).
1. Call to Order and Roll Call – After calling the meeting to order and conducting the call the Designated Federal Official (DFO), Dr. Hawkins, recognized the presence of the Council Member and Liaison, Milton Aponte.
2. Welcome to participants – was provided by Mr. Aponte who also indicated that with changes in Council membership announced by the President, there is uncertainty about the length of time remaining as Council Member Liaison. He extended a hearty welcome and encouraged members to continue their mission of bring the voices and perspectives of people who represent diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds to the national level policy and decision-making table. Mr. Aponte then needed to exit the call. General Counsel/Director of Policy, Jeff Rosen provided additional words of welcome and remained for discussion and addressing questions during the meeting.
3. Business Items – CDAC Chair, Darrell K. Simmons, J.D. provided committee leadership for committee business via transition from the DFO.
A. Meeting dates for FY 2007:
The proposed FY 2007 meeting dates are provided below with an optional starting time of 3:00 PM or 3:30 PM Eastern.
Schedule for CDAC FY2007 Quarterly Meetings (Third Thursday of the month): - November 16, 2006
- February 16, 2007
- May 17, 2007
- September 20, 2007
Committee members were requested to notify the committee’s independent contractor, Betsy Valnes regarding a time preference. The target turn around time for preferences will be September 11, 2006 since information needs to be confirmed and sent to the Federal Register for the new fiscal year announcements.
B. Internal Communication Update<
Each member was reminded to please “sign-up”/ join the newly created internal communication system and to begin use for committee business usage (Betsy Valnes, contractor)
C. Member Involvement Update: .The key CDAC actions since previous public meeting revolve primarily around opportunities for leadership and increased involvement in national level matters. After restatement of the CDAC vision and mission statements, CDAC initiatives related to NCD’s ongoing work and areas of authority were summarized as follows:
- Opportunity to provide input during the development and the review phase of NCD’s FY2006 ADA Implementation Study. Members who were known to be involved in the informant interviews or as reviewers of the initial draft document ways include At the outset, Bobby Coward (DC), Peter Benavidez, and Marina Tse (CA). Here’s a brief summary of the member involvement opportunity. First, a quick CDAC canvass of members by the DFO revealed that at least two CDAC members were among other people with disabilities from diverse cultures who were included in the ADA project interviews and in some cases group discussion opportunities NCD’s ADA project contractor conducted around the country. NCD appreciate CDAC members Bobby Coward, Peter Benavidez, and Marina Tse who stepped up to the plate amidst their own busy schedules, regardless of whether they were able to spend a great deal of a minimal amount of time with the work, thank you.
- Another opportunity occurred for CDAC’s Christina Curry who had expressed her interest and made known her experience in the mental health area. She will add another perspective regarding people with mental health service needs who are also deaf or hard of hearing to the work conducted by NCD’s contractor for the FY 2006 Mental Health Project.
- Full committee participation within a short timeframe was appreciated with respect to the committee’s recommendation to NCD during the Voting Rights Act Reauthorization in July. Thanks to CDAC members’ prompt input that encouraged NCD to take action through correspondence with members of Congress. NCD’s subsequent Capitol Hill action involved the collaborative development of a letter with NCD’s Congressional Liaison & contractor working. The letter can be accessed on NCD’s website at:
4. New Items
A. Financial Incentives Study – An upcoming opportunity for CDAC member involvement in NCD’s work priorities was described by the DFO
1. Volunteers needed (2 to 3 CDAC members - review first draft; use CDAC’s Guiding Questions. Use will be made of the internal communication system for posting during the early part of the new fiscal year.
2. Time frame – The anticipated time period for the review is the first week in December 2006 & the reviewers will need to allow a 5 business-day turn around for providing written comments back to DFO.
B. Organizational Outreach - CDAC's future outreach (and in some cases follow-up previous contacts) to broader civil rights organizations will be the topic of one of the first communication requests using the internal system. CDAC cohorts past and in the recent years also indicated that outreach can demonstrate a level of appreciation for the roles some organizations have played and continue to play in calling attention to and addressing common issues and concerns linking disability and civil rights communities.
Information that members need to provide to the contractor through the newly created internal communication group will identify: What are some of the organizations within your sphere of contacts that you believe we should include on a list for near future action (possibly as early as the next couple of months?
5. Announcements - New CDAC pubic meeting dates for the 2007 fiscal year will be posted in the Federal Register in early October 2006.
6. Adjournment - The DFO declared the public meeting was adjourned.
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