City May Create Department on Disability

Los Angeles City Council members Mike Feuer and Richard Alatorre have proposed the creation of a separate city department on disability, designed to jump-start the city’s belated efforts to comply with the federal disability rights law.

If the measure passes today as expected, Los Angeles will be among the first major cities in the country to elevate disability issues to the level of a city department, said Jim Dickson of the National Organization on Disabilities, a national advocacy group.

The city is several years behind schedule in adopting a plan to comply with the landmark federal Americans with Disabilities Act, said Betty Wilson, executive director of what is now the city’s office on disability, which operates within the Personnel Department.

Among the unfinished business is building ramps on more than 100,000 curbs around the city that are still not accessible to wheelchairs.

The Americans with Disabilities Act required cities, by 1994, to lay out a plan for making such city amenities as sidewalks, bus systems, park facilities and police stations accessible, Wilson said. The city is just now completing its plan.

Boosting the office on disabilities to department status would “raise the stature of the office, raise its visibility and significance,” said Feuer.

Like many cities, L.A. has long had a small office on disabilities, dependent largely on grants that vary from year to year.

The measure before the council today seeks the elevation of this office to equal status with other city departments, and would provide a budget from the city’s general fund. The council previously approved Alatorre’s motion calling for the city to look into creating the department.

The 14-member office on disability now receives about $400,000 yearly from grants and other funds. Feuer has proposed an additional $332,000 from the city’s general fund, a more stable source of funding that would allow the addition of seven positions, Wilson said.

Job training, job placement, crisis management and referrals would also be among the department’s priorities, Wilson said. Among the new programs proposed is a home delivery program similar to meals-on-wheels for people under 55 with disabilities. Chicago already has such a program.

Though other cities, such as Chicago, devote more city resources to disability issues, “I know of no other city that has a department like this,” said Dickson. “It’s a significant step forward.”

Department status is important because “it gives disability a voice,” said Andre Imparato, general counsel of the National Council on Disability, a federal agency.

“It’s the best way to make sure people with disabilities aren’t left out when it comes to city planning,” Imparato said. “Especially with anything that involves construction, if you think about disability on the front end, you save a lot of money.”