HD100 - 1999 Annual Report of the Disability Commission


Executive Summary:
Since 1990, thousands of Virginians with disabilities have benefited from legislation and funding initiatives that have been supported and put forward by the Disability Commission. The Commission, formally titled the Coordination of the Delivery of Services to Facilitate the Self-Sufficiency and Support of Persons with Physical and Sensory Disabilities, was established pursuant to House Joint Resolution 45 (Appendix A) to assess the delivery of services to Virginia's citizens with physical and sensory disabilities. It is chaired by the Lieutenant Governor of the Commonwealth and is comprised of sixteen members.

The 1992 Report of the Commission established a ten-year plan of action, which formed a system of programs and services within an infrastructure designed to be consumer-focused and community-based. The General Assembly in 1994 passed House Joint Resolution 274 (HJR 274, Appendix B) which authorized the Commission to continue its work in developing and reviewing recommendations for service program changes and funding until the year 2000. HJR 274 also designated the Virginia Board for People with Disabilities as the agency to provide administrative support to the Commission. In 1994 HJR 83 requested the Secretary of Health and Human Resources to evaluate the implementation of the recommendations made in the Commission's 1992 Report. This evaluation, completed in the summer of 1995, provided an overview of the Commission's accomplishments to date and identified continuing gaps in services affecting individuals with physical and sensory disabilities.

As with other legislative commissions, the Disability Commission is time limited. It was requested in HJR 274 that an evaluation occur prior to the tenth year that would look at the Commission's effectiveness in accomplishing its recommendations, including consideration of its future. In 1998, the General Assembly passed Senate Joint Resolution 170 (SJR 170, Appendix C) which required that the evaluation occur and that recommendations be made to the 2000 Session of the General Assembly. Since the passage of this resolution, the Disability Commission has closely examined the progress that has been made in increasing the availability of services to people with physical and sensory disabilities, and identifying issues that continue to need examination and resolution. Along with an examination of the accomplishments of the past ten years, SJR 170 requested the Disability Commission to examine the need for its continuance and, if it was to continue, what its future agenda would be.

As it has every year for the past 8 years, the Commission examined progress made regarding the legislative priorities it forwards to the General Assembly. This year's examination was formalized under the direction of SJR 170 and was the major focus of the Disability Commission's annual activities. Recommendations emanating from the findings of the SJR 170 Disability Commission evaluation resulted in study resolutions, budget amendments, and bills patroned by members of the Commission. The report which follows presents the major activities undertaken by the Disability Commission during the 1999 interim and lays out the Commission's legislative agenda for the 2000 General Assembly Session.