Disabilities

People with disabilities have an inalienable right to dignity, the pursuit of happiness and self-sufficiency. The California Democratic Party supports and upholds the enforcement and funding of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), as well as federal and state disability and access laws and regulations. Democrats must fight cuts to Supplemental Security Income/State Supplementary Efforts, Federal Social Security Disability Income and oppose judicial nominees whose philosophies suggest they would dismantle the ADA and other civil rights laws. Democrats desire that all persons with disabilities be able to have a sustainable quality of life in the least restrictive environment possible and in accessible community settings, as this is not only a basic civil right, but also what is the most economical for the state of California.

To ensure equality for people with disabilities, California Democrats will:

• Strongly encourage elected officials to have one person in their office well-versed in disability civil rights issues;

• Lead by example by ensuring participation of qualified persons with disabilities in all levels of the Party, including interns and campaign staff;

• Ensure that all clubs, county committees and organizations have all the support and training necessary to include person with disabilities in their organization and also know how to reach out to voters with disabilities;

• Ensure that all political headquarters are fully accessible and that an honest attempt is made to have staff and volunteers in proportion to the population in the district;

• Improve accessibility to, and full participation in, academia and government;

• Encourage more balanced participation of people with disabilities on state commissions, municipal boards and at all levels of political and civic action;

• Enact a Sovereign Immunity Waiver for California, and fight all challenges by any person, government agency, organization or business, which would impede the progress of enactment of a Sovereign Immunity Waiver in the state of California;

• Promote early diagnosis and access to treatment as well as adequate homecare support for children, veterans and others with disabilities;

• Work with unions to promote alternative forms of employment for persons with disabilities who cannot work standard 8-hour work days or 5-day work weeks due to disability limitations or insufficient transportation;

• Eliminate marriage penalties imposed on SSI recipients, including income parameters;

• End discriminatory policies and practices in health care based upon pre-existing conditions and abolish Medicare's "Homebound" rules;

• Guarantee palliative care; support and enforce improvements to the Medicare Prescription Drug Plan by amending prohibitive costs; strongly oppose detrimental budget cuts in Medicare/Medicaid; support and enforce the principle of informed choice;

• Improve respite care and in-home support services, and support higher pay and better training programs for home care workers;

• Promote and broaden financial aid or loan assistance for accessible housing, vehicles and durable medical equipment, which would give much-needed monetary assistance for individuals to pay for improvements to their equipment beyond the Medicare/Medical rate;

• Eliminate housing discrimination that penalizes or denies persons with disabilities the right to interdependence through shared housing with a spouse or significant other;

• Enforce laws and regulations pertaining to para-transit, public transit and taxis; promote legislation to require para-transit to provide services that cross county lines; and penalize companies that deny services to persons using mobility devices;

• Promote a universal health care plan to provide fiscally sound, affordable health care to all Californians that will provide every Californian the right to choose his or her own physician;

• Provide for the mental and physical health of all returning veterans;

• Promote parity of services for mental health and substance related disorder benefits, medical and dental health for persons with developmental and other disabilities under all public and private health care and delivery plans; and

• Provide assistance tor the middle-class at a level commensurate with those who currently qualify for all forms of assistance including medical, dental, mental health services.