DHHS Celebrates ADA’s 28th Anniversary

DHHS Secretary Mandy Cohen poses with DSDHH Director Jan Withers (far right) and DSDHH staff

July 26, 2018 – DHHS Secretary Mandy Cohen, MD, joined leadership at the Division of Services for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing to note the 28th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. 

Cohen read aloud a proclamation from Governor Roy Cooper declaring Thursday, July 26, as Americans with Disabilities Act Day in North Carolina.

“The ADA has expanded opportunities for Americans with disabilities by reducing barriers, changing perceptions, and increasing opportunities,” Governor Cooper states in the proclamation. “Continued commitment to the principles of the ADA is necessary to help individuals with disabilities reach their full potential.”

The proclamation recognizes the more than 1.3 million North Carolinians living with one or more disabilities. The observance also celebrates civil rights protections that ensure people with disabilities enjoy equal opportunity and access to businesses, employment, transportation, government services and telecommunications.

More than 720,000 people with disabilities in North Carolina are between the ages of 18 and 64. Of those, only 35 percent are employed, compared to nearly 76 percent of people without disabilities. North Carolina is working to close that gap.

In addition, the 2017 Annual Disability Statistics Compendium found that the median annual earnings of civilian North Carolinians without disabilities who are not in the military is nearly $10,000 greater than those with a disability, contributing to a nearly 14 percent earnings gap.

“It’s important to mark the ADA’s occasion and continue doubling our efforts for diversity and inclusion in the workforce,” said Secretary Cohen. “We’re going to set an even stronger course for the ADA, and I look forward to more progress in the future.”

The NC Department of Health and Human Services seeks to address the issue by offering training, programs and assistance that benefit individuals with disabilities through the work of multiple divisions within the Department, including the Divisions of Vocational Rehabilitation Services, Services for the Blind and Services for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. 
Other advances the state has made include: 

• Project SEARCH. Run by DHHS’ Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Services (DVRS) and the NC Council on Developmental Disabilities, the program partners with hospitals, high schools and technical colleges to prepares young people with significant disabilities for success in integrated, competitive employment and careers. There are currently 13 SEARCH sites across the state, including the nation’s first site at a Health and Human Services department.
• The Everybody Works NC campaign. The campaign, launched in October 2017, is a statewide effort to raise awareness of the untapped pool of talent that is job-ready and qualified to work. 
• The North Carolina Assistive Technology Program. The program provides assistive technology services to people of all ages and abilities and leads the state’s efforts to carry out the federal Assistive Technology Act of 2004 through device demonstration, short-term device loans and reutilization of assistive technology. Supported by DVRS, the program promotes independence for people with disabilities through access to technology.