Editorial - Advocacy for Farmers with Disabilities

Editorial – Advocacy for Farmers with Disabilities

By Jennifer Dexter, Assistant Vice President, Easter Seals Government Relations

Easter Seals has been a significant influence on public policy affecting people with disabilities since its inception in 1919. When the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was passed in 1990, Easter Seals was at the forefront. As one of the nation’s largest providers of services to people with disabilities and a disability advocacy organization, Easter Seals helped negotiate this groundbreaking bill. After the ADA’s passage, Easter Seals played a vital role in its implementation by traveling the country and providing training and technical assistance to businesses and other public accommodations to help them comply with the new requirements. The passage of the ADA directed the nation’s attention to the needs of people with disabilities in an unprecedented way. Its ideology continues to be the cornerstone of disability policy to this day.

During this same time period, Easter Seals was concerned about the struggles that people with disabilities working in agriculture were having, and only a few programs around the country (e.g. Indiana, Iowa, and Vermont) were addressing their needs. Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), one of the leading Senate champions of the ADA, shared this concern. When Easter Seals proposed a national model for technical assistance to farmers with disabilities to enable them to continue doing what they wanted to do, Senator Harkin took up the idea. At the same time Congress was crafting the ADA, it was reauthorizing the Farm Bill, the federal legislation authorizing all agriculture policy in the country. This confluence of events in 1990 resulted in the creation of AgrAbility in the Farm Bill. Without the development of the environment and relationships created during the many years spent developing the ADA, AgrAbility would not be the strong program it is today.

Easter Seals has worked to assure that AgrAbility has been continued in every new version of the Farm Bill since 1990. Since its inception, the federal investment in AgrAbility has grown from $1 million to almost $5 million. This support is recognition of the wonderful work AgrAbility is doing for individual farm families at state/regional levels and the strong advocacy relationships that Easter Seals has built in Washington, D.C. One of the ways the handful of congressional AgrAbility champions has been developed is by connecting members of Congress with the real-life experiences of farmers with disabilities. Making those connections has involved bringing AgrAbility clients to Washington, D.C. to meet directly with legislators as well as having members of Congress visit farms of AgrAbility clients to see how modifications AgrAbility facilitated are helping farmers stay productive and actively engaged in agriculture. In some cases, AgrAbility’s value created by state/regional project staff was demonstrated to a member of Congress by showing them first hand what has been done for their actual neighbors back home. In addition, Easter Seals presents the latest success stories and information from AgrAbility to critical members of Congress every year and submits written testimony that shows the continuing need for AgrAbility and the funding request for the year ahead. All of this is essential to the continued health and potential expansion of AgrAbility.

A color photo of AgrAbility staff members in the exhibit hall at the American Occupational Association's 2008 Conference.
NAP staff exhibiting at the American Occupational Therapy Association conference, shortly after receiving AOTA ‘Approved Provider’ status for continuing education.

What is the environment we are working in now, and what does the future hold? Unfortunately, difficult times could possibly be ahead. Funding for AgrAbility is called “discretionary” in Washington D.C., and that means that Congress has the option to not fund the program or decrease funding of discretionary programs in any given year. As the nation continues to tighten its collective belt, programs that are a small part of the larger budget picture like AgrAbility are always in jeopardy of being identified as a potential spending reduction. Our country’s population is aging and is experiencing age-related disabilities. There is also a belief that people with disabilities should have the opportunity to be independent and active These two factors should translate into an increased demand for programs like AgrAbility that provide tools and resources enabling people with disabilities to remain active and independent, and with AgrAbility’s mission, to stay in production agriculture. It is critical that AgrAbility’s proven track record of helping people reach these goals is continually conveyed to legislators at the federal, state, and local levels.

BACK: Feature Story - The Roots of AgrAbility NEXT: Focus - AgrAbility Partnerships

In This Issue

Section 1: Feature Story – The Roots of AgrAbility
Section 2: Editorial – Advocacy for Farmers with Disabilities
Section 3: Focus – AgrAbility Partnerships Section 4: Editorial – A NAP Thank You
Section 5: Contacts