The Cross Disability Advocacy Coalition of the Disability Law Center (CDAC) began work in June 2011, and held our first CDAC Partners meeting in July 2011.  The day to day staffing, operations, and management of the CDAC is coordinated by the Disability Law Center of Boston.

The Disability Law Center (DLC) is the Protection and Advocacy agency for Massachusetts. DLC is a private, non-profit organization responsible for providing protection and advocacy for the rights of Massachusetts residents with disabilities. DLC receives federal, state and private funding but is not part of the state or federal government.   DLC Home Page

The CDAC Vision:

The Cross-Disability Advocacy Coalition will become a strong, united voice for people with disabilities and lived experience.  The Coalition will be engaged and form partnerships that identify common denominators and build a powerful constituency influencing legislation and policy change that improves the lives of our community and ensures full inclusion.

The CDAC Partners are people who them selves have a disability, and or represent an organization or occasionally, themselves.  The CDAC Partners represent a wide range of organizations and disabilities, and we are growing every day.

Many of our CDAC Partners have an obvious disability, and are representatives of the blindness, spinal cord disabilities, Down syndrome, and the deaf communities, but many other CDAC Partners are representative of disabilities that are not obvious such as a person with Asperger's Syndrome, or Traumatic Brain Injury.  We are also represented by people from organizations that represent disabilities associated with Cognitive and or Developmental delays, and still other CDAC Partners who represent organizations or them selves and have diagnoses of Mental Illness or Psychiatric Disorder.  As noted above in our Vision Statement, we are striving to become known as a Universal Representative for people with all differing disabilities in Massachusetts.

The Cross-Disability Advocacy Coalition will become a strong, united voice for people with disabilities and lived experience.  The Coalition will be engaged and form partnerships that identify common denominators and build a powerful constituency influencing legislation and policy change that improves the lives of our community and ensures full inclusion.

For more information about the CDAC, to be placed on our mailing list, or if you are a person with any disability, or represent a disability organization, and you would like to become a CDAC Partner, please contact Jonathan Gale the CDAC coordinator at (617)723-8455 ext 138, or e-mail Jonathan at jgale@dlc-ma.org

When was the Cross Disability Advocacy Coalition founded?

Ø     The CDAC began actively seeking Partners interested in the unique collaborative effort of the Massachusetts Developmental Disabilities Council and the Disability Law Center in June 2011.  The first CDAC Partners meeting was held in July 2011

What is the general objective of the CDAC?

Ø     The general objective is to form a coalition made up of people from across Massachusetts who are strong self advocates and represent people from a wide range of differing disabilities.  We want to break down the barriers that to often keep people and organizations with differing disabilities from working together.  We want to find the common denominators that are important to all of us, and collectively design strategies to effect legislation and or administrative policy that will improve all of our lives.

Does a person have to have a disability to be a CDAC Partner?

Ø     No they do not.  Some of our CDAC Partners are representatives of disability organizations, and do not have a disability themselves.  Other CDAC Partners do not represent a specific organization, but have a disability and are active, or want to become active in the disability community to help improve the lives and promote full inclusion for all people with a disability.

What are examples of the activities CDAC Partners have been actively been working on as a coalition?

Ø     The CDAC Partners have been very involved in working with other organizations and coalitions to keep the MBTA from significantly increasing fares to people who are disabled and use the RIDE system.  We are also working with the states Regional Transit Authorities to improve the applications for Para transportation.

Ø     We have had CDAC Partners give testimony at the State House to several committees concerning budget cuts to programs that affect people with disabilities, and proposed legislation that would improve the lives of people with a disability.

Ø     We have indorsed legislation related to improving insurance coverage and services for people with mental illness, and we have been supporting projects that will lead to increasing training and employment opportunities for people with disabilities.

Ø     We have sponsored seminars and workshops focusing on providing consumers with information they need to know such as:  Disclosure when applying for a job, reasonable accommodations in the workplace, Social Security, and SSDI, Medicare and MA. Health and the Massachusetts Mottle Employer program.

What is the vision of the CDAC?

Ø     The Cross-Disability Advocacy Coalition will become a strong, united voice for people with disabilities and lived experience.  The Coalition will be engaged and form partnerships that identify common denominators and build a powerful constituency influencing legislation and policy change that improves the lives of our community and ensures full inclusion.

What makes the DLC qualified to manage the CDAC?

Ø     The Disability Law Center (DLC) is the Protection and Advocacy agency for Massachusetts. DLC is a private, non-profit organization responsible for providing protection and advocacy for the rights of Massachusetts residents with disabilities. DLC receives federal, state and private funding but is not part of the state or federal government.

What is the DLC Mission?

Ø     To provide legal advocacy on disability issues that promote the fundamental rights of all people with disabilities to participate fully and equally in the social economic life of Massachusetts

Does the CDAC speak for people with all disabilities?

Ø     One of the CDAC goals is to bring the disability community together so that we can speak with one very loud and persuasive voice.

Are their any disabilities you won’t represent?

Ø     We want to encourage any organization that represents people with any disability to become a CDAC Partner and help us to continue to fight for our vision of full inclusion for all.

Many people have a disability that is not obvious; does that exclude them from becoming a CDAC Partner?

Ø     Absolutely not, many of our CDAC Partners who represent them selves, an organization, and or a disability do not have a disability that is visually or auditable noticeable.  If a CDAC Partner has a cognitive or developmental delay, or a psychiatric disorder, or lived diagnoses of mental illness, they are still considered disabled, and therefore, encouraged to become an active participating CDAC Partner.

How many CDAC Partners are their? 

Ø     The CDAC list of Active and interested Partners is always growing.  We are slowly expanding our numbers of both individuals and organizations who represent a growing number of disabilities as we expand our coalition and collaboration across the state of Massachusetts.

How can I or my organization become a CDAC Partner?

Ø     All you need to do is to contact the CDAC coordinator, Jonathan Gale at (617)723-8455, or send him an e-mail at jgale@dlc-ma.org

Jonathan Gale, DLC’s Cross Disabilities Advocacy Coalition coordinator, is totally blind, and has a background steep in advocacy.  Jonathan worked for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as a Tax Examiner for twenty years, and most recently has been working with The Greater Boston Employment Collaborative, and Work Without Limits.  Jonathan’s goal while at DLC is to bring organizations of differing disabilities together to focus on the common denominators that will make a difference in the lives of all people with  disabilities. 

Jonathan attended Perkins School for the Blind, and serves on the Perkins Alumni Board and the Carroll Center for the Blind Alumni Committee.  spending time with his family and friends.

I welcome you all to the coalition and thank you for committing your valuable time to this endeavor.  As you may know, the Council's mission is to provide opportunities for people with developmental disabilities and to enhance independence, productivity and inclusion. Our goal is to make sure people have successful lives in their communities, with support for inclusive education, greater employment opportunities, and to choose where and with whom they live.  Although our federal mandate focuses on developmental disabilities, we have always worked to foster cross-disability partnerships, as we recognize that these are essential to our success 

The Council has been supporting efforts in cross-disability advocacy work for decades.  And this is not our first partnership with the Disability Law Center to foster cross-disability advocacy.  About a decade ago the Council and DLC led a cross-disability planning summit to develop a blueprint for disability advocacy.  Some of the outcomes from that work were achieved, but unfortunately many remain, and more have become apparent.  In hindsight, the timing of that plan was poor, as a new administration in 2003 effectively stymied much of our momentum.  We have undertaken this initiative in part to re-energize our cross-disability work, as we believe that the current administration provides opportunities that we must take advantage of before the political winds change direction again.

The Council has committed resources and partnered with DLC to facilitate this cross-disability coalition to develop joint policy, budget and legislative objectives that enhance inclusion and community living opportunities for people with disabilities.  We all know that there are many issues that cut across all disabilities, and it is our hope that this group can effectively partner to address those they determine to be most important to the broader disability community.  As for which areas you address, that is left for all of you to determine.  It is important to the Council that we have a seat at the table, but only as an equal partner in this work.  Our expectation of you is simple.  Commit to this group.  Be a representative both of and to your organizations and fellow advocates.  And commit your organizations to not just be represented at the table, but also to actively engage with us to achieve our objectives.  Working together to bring the power in our numbers to bear on policy decisions is our greatest strength.  This is the greatest impact we can have on the lives of people with disabilities.

Thank you again for your commitment. 

Dan Shannon

MDDC

Want to learn more about the MDDC:

www.mass.gov/mddc/ 

CDAC is funded through a generous grant from the Massachusetts Developmental Disabilities Council, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration on Developmental Disabilities, Federal Award No. 93.630.