[Iabs-talk] Notes of EFE Meeting

[davant1958 at gmail.com]

                                                          Summary of
10/30/18 Meeting

 

              Equip for Equality (EFE) hosted a meeting to discuss issues
impacting persons who are blind and low vision on October 30, 2018.  The
purpose of the meeting was to solicit input from the blind community to
provide guidance for EFE on case acceptance and proactive initiatives.
Numerous representatives of the blind community attended the meeting.  This
e-mail is being sent to meeting participants and other interested persons.
If you received this e-mail and wish to be removed from the group, please
contact Amy Peterson at amy at equipforequality.org
<mailto:amy at equipforequality.org>  or 312-895-7324 and your address will be
removed from the group.  Also, if you know of others who may be interested
in attending future meetings, please provide Amy with the person's contact
information.

 

The following summarizes the issues raised at the meeting. We tend to focus
on assistive technology issues for funding reasons, but EFE will also
consider any other issues presented which impact persons who are blind
and/or visually impaired and which may be addressed within the legal system.


 

EFE Policy Department Voting Rights Update  Cheryl Jansen, the Director of
EFE's Policy Department, presented a brief update regarding EFE activities
related to voting and the upcoming elections on November 6th.  As a result
of a Department of Justice investigation finding serious accessibility
barriers in Chicago's polling places, the Chicago Board of Elections (CBOE)
has contracted with Equip for Equality to survey Chicago polling places for
accessibility for people with disabilities. The CBOE has committed to making
all polling places accessible by 2020.  The focus is on physical
accessibility issues, accessible voting machines and election judge
training. EFE has recruited hundreds of volunteers who along with EFE staff
will be surveying hundreds of polling places on November 6, 2018.  The CBOE
will begin phasing in addressing the barriers identified.  EFE also
announced that it would staff a Helpline for voters with disabilities from
6:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. on November 6th so people could call our toll free
number regarding encounters, issues or questions on Election Day.  The
Helpline number and email address for contacting EFE was announced and was
distributed to the group in a separate email later on the day of this
meeting.  EFE staff would address voting issues anywhere within Illinois
through the Helpline.

 

EFE Presentation on Employment Rights  Rachel Weisberg, Manager of EFE's
Employment Rights Helpline, gave a lively presentation on the employment
rights of people with disabilities.  She discussed EFE's goal of empowering
individuals with disabilities to navigate employment issues and to
self-advocate. Individuals with disabilities experiencing issues on the job
or who are seeking employment can call EFE's Employment Helpline with
questions about their rights or to discuss options.  We also have a library
of self-advocacy resources including fact sheets and template letters that
can be tailored to individual situations.  The contact information for the
helpline is 1-844-744-4879 (1-844-RIGHTS-9) or
employment at equipforequality.org <mailto:employment at equipforequality.org> .
Rachel fielded many questions from the group and there was considerable
discussion about employment-related issues.

 

An attendee informed the group that the free AIRA (Artificial Intelligence
and Remote Assistance) App which can be used with smart phones is very
useful in assisting people with job searching.  It can help a person
navigate an inaccessible website as well as other things.  The App connects
one to a sighted person who is a trained professional.  

 

            EFE Civil Rights Team Updates    

 

            Hospital Access Initiative.  EFE and a private law firm have
been negotiating with Carle Foundation Hospital which is headquartered in
Urbana, Illinois, regarding access barriers for the blind community as well
as people with ambulatory disabilities and the deaf community.  EFE
announced that a resolution had been reached in July 2018.  Carle will be
enhancing accessibility of its facilities and services for people with
disabilities, created an ADA Coordinator position and has a process for
handling complaints about access.  EFE will be monitoring the resolution to
ensure compliance.

 

            We also reminded the group of the resolution of the negotiations
with Northwestern Memorial about barriers to access to healthcare for people
with disabilities, and asked attendees to let Amy know if you have any
experiences with Northwestern that you think we should know about.  We are
monitoring that agreement and are reporting any new information that we
receive to Northwestern's attention.

 

          Byline Bank  EFE is negotiating with Byline Bank for Braille
statements on behalf of a blind woman who is a customer and who was told
that the bank did not have to provide Braille.  A meeting attendee reported
the same issue with Byline Bank and EFE will follow up with her for more
information.

 

          Circuit Court of Cook County E-Filing  - EFE became aware in June

2018 that the new e-filing system sponsored by the Cook County Circuit Court
and to be launched on July 1, 2018, had not been tested or designed for
compatibility with individuals using screen readers. There would also be
multiple pop-ups that would provide information that would be inaccessible
to those using screen readers, as well as other noted accessibility
barriers.  EFE enlisted the support of 8 other local legal aid agencies and
sent a joint letter to the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts
(AOIC) outlining our concerns and offering to partner with them and the
vendor in order to address these problems. The AOIC responded positively to
EFE's letter and then held a meeting with their vendor and two
representatives from EFE to discuss the issues and possible solutions.  The
AOIC has made a commitment that their vendor will implement a new version of
the software that is in compliance with WCAG and Section 508 by June 30,
2019 and they are taking interim steps to provide work arounds for people
using screen readers and other technology that is not compatible with the
current e-filing system, so that attorneys and pro se litigants with
disabilities will have access while the permanent system enhancements are
being made. 

                                             

          DRS and Bureau of Blind Services (BBS). Andrew Webb updated the
group on the DRS plan to merge the BBS with services for deaf and hearing
impaired consumers.  Andrew's work on this issue is with the Blind Service
Planning Council. It remains unclear what impact this change will have on
consumers.  DRS is now conducting a pilot in 4 local offices until the end
of the year, to measure the impact on a trial basis.  The Council wants to
be actively included in the decision-making to follow and is asking for all
data collected from the pilot.  There has been some outreach to the state
legislature about this issue.  

 

            Hulu Settlement  Barry Taylor discussed the recent Hulu
settlement in a case filed by the American Council of the Blind and Bay
State Council of the Blind due to its importance to the blind community.
Hulu, which has 20 million subscribers, has agreed to ensure that the online
streaming service provides audio description and makes its platforms (web,
mobile, and living room) accessible to screen-reader users.  The attorneys
who filed the lawsuit are from Disability Rights Advocates and the
Massachusetts Protection and Advocacy agency.  After the suit was filed, the
parties engaged in structured negotiations and reached this settlement.  A
complete copy of the settlement agreement is attached to this summary for
further details.  Please let Amy know if you are unable to access this
settlement document.  While it is fully accessible with the screen reader
used at EFE, we realize that others may have problems with it and if needed,
we can convert the document or ask the source if they have a Word version.

 

Barry also discussed two recent Appellate Court arguments on website
accessibility.  In the Dominos case in the 9th Circuit, the Court appeared
to favor the argument that the alternative to website access by making a
telephone call to Dominos was not the same as having access to the website.
The Winn Dixie case in the 11th District is the only case that has gone to
trial on the website accessibility issue and the trial court found in favor
of the blind plaintiffs.  We are hopeful that positive decisions will be
issued in each case.  Because the Department of Justice withdrew the Notice
of Proposed Rulemaking on website accessibility, the battleground on this
issue remains in the courts.

 

Barry also raised the topic of audio pedestrian signals.  At EFE's April
2018

meeting, the update on Audio Pedestrian Signals (APS) from the Mayor's
Office for People with Disabilities (MOPD) was that a design consultant had
been selected and the City obtained funding and will begin moving through
the locations on their priority list.  It was expected that between 25 and
50 new APS will be installed as a result.  Some of the work was already in
progress at that time, and at the October 2018 meeting, MOPD indicated if
there is major (unrelated) construction and the intersection meets certain
criteria, APS may be installed.  MOPD continues to work on a priority list
for APS installation.  If anyone would like to identify a particular
location where APS is needed, please contact MOPD to provide the office with
that information.  MOPD shares that information with CDOT.    MOPD also
pointed out that they are still waiting for Regulations to come out from
DOJ. There was also discussion that Chicago has only a very small number of
APS compared to many other cities.  Further comments included that there is
a big cost difference between audio signals alone and tactile-audio signals
which are apparently much more expensive.  There seemed to be general
consensus that there is much danger for blind pedestrians in the city and
that more APS is needed.  Another comment was made that countdown signals
for pedestrians that mark in how many seconds the light will change should
also be audible. There is a scheduled December 6, 2018 meeting of MOPD, CDOT
and a number of people from the blind community who have been working with
the City on APS issues, but it was unclear whether that meeting will be open
to the public or who can speak at the meeting.  MOPD agreed to find out and
to notify the group.  In the meantime, you may send emails to Christina
McGleam at MOPD at christina.mcgleam at cityofchicago.org
<mailto:christina.mcgleam at cityofchicago.org>  or (312) 744-7050 with any
questions, comments or suggestions and she can address those concerns at the
December 6th meeting.

              

Community Input on Other Issues

 

Sid Firstman spoke about the Sidewalk Access Initiative that he is working
on on behalf of Friedman Place.  Andrew Webb of EFE is also on this
committee along with NFB and Access Living representatives.  The group met
with Alderman Patrick O'Connor to discuss accessibility concerns due to
dangerously flawed sidewalks and urging a citywide approach.  Their goal is
to create a multi-year program for sidewalk repair.  They have submitted
request to Chicago's budget and transportation committees.  The big dollars
on this issue are with the capital improvement program.  An increase in the
budget for this work is a goal.  Chicago has a history of a lack of
accessible curb cuts.  Sid mentioned that a consent decree was entered two
years ago in Los Angeles under which 1.34 billion dollars is to be spent
over a 31 year period to make LA sidewalks accessible, so there is precedent
for this work to be done.  All are encouraged to speak with your own
alderman about this need.  It was also suggested that senior citizen groups
should be included in the sidewalk initiative program since inaccessible and
dangerous sidewalks impact the community at large and perhaps seniors even
more so.

 

Amy Serpe of the CTA discussed many on-going work projects and re-routing of
bus lines.  Many comments were made about her useful email alerts as work
progresses so that all can be made aware of changes as they occur.

 

We appreciate the efforts of all who attended and participated.  Our next
meeting will take place in April 2019.  

 

Please e-mail Amy Peterson or telephone her at (312) 895-7324 if you have
additional issues for our consideration.  We recommend that you make a
written demand to a company, provider, etc. regarding the accommodation you
request or the problem you encounter, and that you obtain an official
negative response, before presenting an issue for legal resolution.  EFE
does not guarantee that we will handle any single issue presented, but we
will consider and welcome all ideas.  Thank you again for your involvement.

 

 

Denise R. Avant, President

National Federation of the Blind of Illinois

(773)-991-8050

Live the life you want.

For more information about NFBI,

go to www.nfbofillinois.org.