MIKE BARRETT









                           GOVERNOR '94






                P.O. Box 2193, Cambridge, MA 02238
               (617) 623-9494, (617) 628-0940 (FAX)

                  AN AGENDA ON DISABILITY ISSUES

     Mike Barrett believes that Massachusetts must have 
comprehensive and innovative -- and aggressively enforced -- 
policies and programs addressing the needs of its citizens with 
disabilities.  One of every five persons has a disability of some 
sort; one of ten has a severe disability.  Because anyone can 
become disabled, people with disabilities are represented in all 
walks of life.  Yet close to seventy percent of disabled persons 
are unemployed, though most want to work, and about fifty percent 
have incomes that fall below the poverty line.

     Mike's record reflects that belief.  He has been:

     ù The leading Senate opponent to enactment of the so-called 
Pacheco Bill, which severely restricts the creative use of the 
private and nonprofit sectors to provide quality services both in 
the community and within institutions;

     ù Senate sponsor of the Braille Literacy bill;

     ù Senate sponsor of hearing aid licensure bill;

     ù Successful in obtaining higher funding for Mass. 
Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing;

     ù A member of the Consumer Advisory Board of the state's 
Talking Book Library (at the Perkins School for the Blind and 
Worcester);

     ù Successful in moving administration of the state's Talking 
Book Library to the Board of Library Commissioners and increasing 
its funding;


     ù Sponsor and chair of special commission to study worker 
shortages and working conditions in the human services;

     ù Sponsor of a mental health "Bill of Rights," to protect 
the rights of persons with mental illness and mental retardation;

     ù Sponsor of an act to support community living, which would 
expand the personal care attendant program;

     ù Sponsor of legislation to protect disabled persons from 
aversive punishments;

     ù Author of portions of the lead paint reforms of 1988 and 
1993, to promote preventive health care.

     Additionally, Mike has received numerous awards for his 
activism on human services and civil rights issues, including the 
1994 Legislator of the Year award from the Massachusetts
Developmental Disabilities Council, the 1994 Legislator of the 
Year award from the Greater Boston ARC, the 1990 Fair Housing 
Award from Boston's Fair Housing Commission, and the 1988 
Government Award from the Mass. Mental Retardation Providers 
Council.
     
     Mike has a positive agenda for changing the way 
Massachusetts state government works with, and for, people with 
disabilities:

     ù Attitude and Empowerment.  Major barriers keep potentially 
productive people with disabilities out of the mainstream of 
society.  Many of these barriers are physical -- a lack of access 
to transportation, to employment, to housing, to buildings.  But 
another huge barrier is attitudinal: prejudicial ideas based on 
misconceptions, myths, and fears can be as big a barrier for 
people with disabilities as they are for women and people of 
color.

     Mike knows that people with disabilities need opportunities 
to become independent and productive, and the Barrett 
Administration will provide them.  Mike will appear in public 
service announcements encouraging hiring and inclusion of 
disabled persons in all aspects of community life, and will set 
an example by including disabled individuals in all aspects of 
his campaign and his administration.  

     Appointment of people with disabilities as administrators of 
disability-related programs is crucial, but they represent a wide 
variety of talents and interests vital to programs with a broader 
orientation.  Mike will recruit people with disabilities to serve 
in administrative, policy, and advisory roles throughout his 
administration.

     Mike will work with the Massachusetts Council on Disability 
to implement the priorities below: to increase opportunities for 
people with disabilities, and to decrease their dependence on 
income subsidy programs.
     
     ù Employment.  Economic stagnation hurts people with 
disabilities hard, as they become the last people hired and the 
first fired in recessionary times.  Working hard for a strong, 
sustainable economic recovery and for the creation of new jobs 
has been the hallmark of the Barrett campaign.

     Additionally, Mike will assure that people with disabilities 
are targeted for participation in state-sponsored education and 
training initiatives.  Any job training program that receives 
state funds must make recruitment of people with disabilities, 
and physical and programmatic access, a priority.  And Mike will 
make the job listings currently held only at the Department of 
Employment and Training available at remote sites and via any 
on-line computer.

     Mike will work with the Massachusetts Rehabilitation 
Commission, other relevant state agencies, and the federal Small 
Business Administration, to initiate innovative programs 
promoting business ownership by people with disabilities.  He 
will investigate the expansion of SOMWBA to include people with 
disabilities.

     ù Civil Rights.  Strong enforcement of and education about 
the Americans With Disabilities Act, Executive Order 246, and 
other civil rights and equal opportunity legislation will be a 
watchword of the Barrett Administration.  Mike will designate 
resources to make ADA compliance a priority in all state 
agencies, placing significant emphasis on access to state office 
buildings, to transportation services, and to government 
information.

     For example, Mike will make certain that public information 
and documents are available in alternative formats for visually 
impaired individuals, and that all state offices with contact 
with the public are equipped with telecommunication devices for 
the deaf.  More information will be made accessible via on-line 
computer services and on Internet bulletin boards and gophers.  
State agencies will be encouraged to work with each other to 
produce resources and promote accessibility.

     Additionally, Mike will make sure that the MBTA comes into 
compliance with ADA accessibility requirements, including the 
addition of tactile warnings along subway platform edges at MBTA 
stations.

     ù Health Care.  A lack of affordable and reliable health 
care coverage has kept many potentially productive people with 
disabilities out of the work force.  Pre-existing condition 
exclusions, limited mental health benefits, and a general lack of 
coverage for part-time workers have served as major barriers to 
employment.  The CommonHealth program has allowed some people 
with disabilities to buy Medicaid coverage, but programmatic 
restrictions and caps have limited its use.

     Universal health care coverage for all Massachusetts 
citizens will be a fundamental goal of a Barrett administration.  
A critical foundation for reform must be provided by passage of 
the Clinton-Kennedy Health Security Act now pending in Congress 
-- this bill provides a comprehensive benefits package that 
includes mental health benefits, preventive medicine, and early 
intervention services, as well as a single payer option for 
states.

     Mike has supported legislation that lifts restrictions on 
the Personal Care Attendant (PCA) program imposed by the Weld 
Administration.  He knows that PCA services are essential to help 
people with disabilities live independently, with a sense of 
empowerment -- and that they cost the state less than 
institutionalization, to boot.

     ù Housing.  Securing accessible, affordable housing is a 
major problem for those with disabilities.  Mike supported -- and 
will fight to fund -- the 1993 Housing Bond Bill, which will 
increase the housing stock.  And rather than cap the number of 
non-elderly persons in housing developments for the elderly and 
disabled, he will work to fund case management and support 
services to ensure successful community living.  He also supports 
the restoration of the Chapter 707 voucher program to provide 
housing subsidies for people in need.

     ù Community Supports.  Funding for community services has 
not kept pace with the closure of institutions serving the 
mentally ill and retarded.  The waiting lists for respite care 
and day services are huge, and growing; and those graduating from 
special education programs (those "Turning 22") find nowhere to 
go.  Mike will work to fully fund these programs.  For example, 
the Department of Mental Retardation is eligible for $177 million 
in federal funds through the Community Based Service Waiver 
Program over the next five years.  These funds could be used to 
eliminate those waiting lists.