Keynote
101921
Captioner Trish Messinger

 
This text is being provided in a rough draft format.  Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) is provided in order to facilitate communication accessibility and may not be a totally verbatim record of the proceedings. 

 
 
>>:  Welcome everyone.  We'll get started in just a moment.  While you're getting in and getting settled.
... 
MARY:  Okay.  Welcome everybody.  Thank you again for being with us at the APRIL conference this year.  I'm Mary Willard the director of training and technical assistance at APRIL and I hope y'all are having fun so far.
I just wanted to give a couple reminders, first of all, please don't forget to check out our vendor tabs.  On the conference.  We have some really great vendors this year that we hope you have a chance to go and visit with.
Also I wouldn't be the breaker of training if I didn't say please remember to fill out your evaluations after each workshop you're attending.  We really do look at those and they help make us stronger and better for the years to come.
So before we get started with the keynote today, I wanted to mention a few housekeeping items.  First of all when you scroll over the screen a menu bar pops up, depending on what device you're on, you can find that menu bar at the top or at the bottom of the screen.  That is where you'll find the closed captioning for today's section.  You can view the captioning by selecting the CC tab on the menu bar.
For ... Dana or Amy.  Those are our interpreters for this session.
If you have any technical issues, please feel free to drop those into the chat.  You can find the word bubble in that same menu bar.  If you would like to turn the chat feature off F you're using a screen reader, you can do that by selecting alt Hon your keyboard.
For Q & A, please note that the Q & A box is on the menu bar.  Please only submit them there.  To ask a question or make a comment, you can also select the hand option on the menu bar that allows us to know that you have a question.
For those of you on the phone the they or using key strokes, we ask that you press star 9 or alt Y on your key pad to raise your hand.  You can select the unmute option when we let you know or alt A if you're using key strokes.
And remember if you're going to join in the conversation with your voice please keep the background noise down as much as possible.
And with that, it's my honor to bring out our executive director to introduce our great keynote for today's session.
>>:  Thank you Mary (Billy) I appreciate that.  It is my indeed pleasure to introduce today's keynote speaker Emily Voorde.  She's absolutely delightful person.  And what I want to do is share just a bit of her background.  It's also online for ya so I'm going to hit a couple of highlights, things that were jumped out to me.  Up with is that Emily Voorde was born in south bend Indiana.  Shout out for the Indiana nation out there.
And then went to the university of Notre Dame and graduated in 2015 with a degree in political science.  But while she was at the university of Notre Dame, part of her interning at a ‑‑ in the office of Pete butt edge edge, I would love to meet mayor Pete.
Following off of that in Notre Dame she ended up in grad school and taught second grade in a self classroom in pass ca dull la Mississippi, that's down close to us Emily.
But then in 2019 she joined the butt Edgewater presidential campaign so moving up that lad ner the political realms and I'm thrilled to say in May of 2021 Emily was appointed ... of public engagement as the assistant director and administration's liaison to disabled Americans.  That's a mouthful.  A lot of cool stuff in a short amount of too, Emily.
One of the things I want to say is how much we appreciate what you do and your role.  I know that you've been gracious in meeting with APRIL and the staff of APRIL.  We've met with you a couple of times and let you know that we're here for ya and I would like to now turn the floor over to you to Tuesday you to our wonderful APRIL membership.  So Emily.
EMILY:  Oh there we go.  Thank you so so much, Billy.  I can not say enough good things about the folks over at April.  Thank you for inviolenting me today and letting me join your virtual conference.
As Billy mentioned my name is Emily Voorde, my pronouns are she/her and just to give you a split of a visual description, I'm a white woman with blond shoulder length hair, today I'm wearing a blue and white checkered dress and you can't see it in the frame, but I'm a wheelchair user, I was born with osteo genesis imperfection that and I've used a chair throughout my entire life.
So the work in the disability pace is so permanently and professionally important to me.  It was when I was a teacher on the gulf coast of Mississippi, it was as I was advocating for my students in my classroom, and those on the campaign trail, but most importantly it is important to me here in the office of public engagement in the Biden administration.
So you might be asking what is the office of public engagement?  So to steal a phrase from my colleague trey, we are the front doors of the White House ensuring that they are flown open to Americans across the country.  And not just those that dope Nateed to the campaign, certainly not just those that agree with the President, not just those that voted for the President even, but to every single American in never nook and kran fy of the country.
And we do that by engaging ... issues understanding that no single community or identity is a monolith but that each brings unique, informed, shared experience go the conversation.
Input that informs policy, informs the pasture of this administration.  So I specifically as Billy mentioned have been tasked with meeting the White House's engagement with disabled ... that might look a lot like me that use a mobility device, but it also includes or community members also perhaps you at home with invisible illness, chronic illness, mental health diagnoses and most recently which we've called (air quotes) the newest members of our community those navigating the events of this pandemic, the effects of long COVID.
So we here at OPE office of public engagement manage a bits of a two‑way street, unensuring that we are communicating out information to you as quickly as possible.  Updates from the administration and the White House and from the President himself.  I told the folks at APRIL this ahead of the call, we are an equal opportunity office, again we want to hear from you and want to be able to connect with you so after our time today I asked the APRIL folks to share out a link so you can connect with me.  I promise that I won't bug your inboxes too much and that that information will stay safe with me, but gives me your e‑mail will allow me to push out those updates.  And have the second piece of the work we do here which is really exciting is creating space to share our platform, to share the pulpit of the White House so bringing in voices from communities, from intersectional communities to help inform policy and to shape the work that we are going to do in this administration.
So for example, we've brought together round tables, listening sessions with indigenous disabled communities, talking to them about the unique challenges they face at home and in their spaces.
We've brought together groups of disabled teachers that teach students with disabilities to talk with them about their experience and how their work can inform our policy.
We've brought together community of color to help ... mental health and the barriers and attitudinal barriers that exist in their communities so these are some of the example of ways we are really relying on the American people to inform the work that we do.
So that is a little bit of high level about me and about the work of the office of public engagement in the administration's posture towards disability.
But I want to talk to you a little bit about what this administration has done as it pertains to our community and kind of where we're going, what we have planned from here.  And I will note that we will have time for some Q & A at the end of my remarks so certainly hold your questions, drop those in the Q & A and really look forward to digging in with you there.
I want to tell you with resounding confidence that this administration hit the ground running from day 1 in support of communities, disabled communities.  So literally day 1 of the administration, January 20 of 2021 the President signed an executive order on advancing equity and support for under served communities including communities of disabled communities.
In that the President writes the Federal Government's goal in advancing ecstasy to provide everyone with the opportunity to reach their full potential that includes directing the domestic policy council here at the White House to coordinate efforts to embed equity principles across the Federal Government.
It also directed the director of the office of management and budget to study methods to assessing whether ... create or exacerbate barriers to full and equal participation of under served communes, again including disabled communities.
Through the equity executive order the President established a data working group to disaggregated data sets by race, ethnicity, gender, veteran status ... so that we can begin to better understand the cascaded effects of policy on issues of equity for these communities.
This executive order is thought of as kind of our external facing substantive commitment to equity for disabled Americans, again, from literal day 1 of this administration.
That executive order was followed up by a second executive order on June 25, the President signed an E Oon diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility.  You might hear it called the Di.e. A executive order in the federal workforce.  In it he says of the nation's largest employer the Federal Government must be a model for diversity, inclusion and accessibility where all employees are treated with dignity and respect.  End quote.
In particular that inclusion of the letter A, DEI A.  And it is incredibly stressed throughout this executive order.  The A standing for access billty means the design, construction, development and maintenance of facilities, information and communication technology programs and services so that all people including people don'ts, can fully and independently use them.  Accessibility includes the ... to ensure equal access to employment and participation and activities for people with don'ts.  It reduce or lick Nates physical and attitudinal barriers to equitable opportunities and ensure the commitment to people with disabilities ... and internal activity or electronic space.  And the pursuit of best practices for universal design.  I know that that is a mouthful, and it is a lot of substance, but what it boils down to is a directive from the President of the United States to each and every agency and component in the Federal Government asking them to come up with actionable plans for ensuring that they're meeting goals around diversity, equity, encollusion and this access billty piece.  Access through communication, through physical space, and addressing my attitudinal barriers that might exist.
So these two executive orders have really started us off from they 1 prepared to approach and lift up and elevate disabled voices and ensure access again in the workplace and through out Biden administration's policies.
I just want to give you a few other updates before we turn it over for questions.  With what the administration has done and continues to do to show support for our community.  So right out of the gate the administration passed the American rescue plan or the President signed off on that, which provided states with billion in addition to Medicaid funding for home and community based services for the year 021.  The additional funding helped to expand access to home and community based services for people with disabilities as well as older Americans to ensure that caregivers are fully come pen sainted for their work.
The centers for Medicare and Medicaid services further released guidance on the use of those funds for HCBS and the administration for community living read leased a companying blog posts and other resources again to amplify that investment of funding.  Thirty‑six but something we say often around here is that additional funding through the American rescue plan was simply a down payment for the President's full ambition and support of a large influx of funding into the home and community based service market.
So what is that mean in?  In the President's bill back better agenda he continues to be in full support of a $400 billion investment in the care giving economy.  As you've known if you've been tuned into the news conversation stand reconciliation bill ongoing, the White House is actively involved with conversations with Capitol ... because he knows in and we know, right, that an influx of Medicaid and Medicare funding is not only going to ensure grace and dignity and support for people with disabilities, but will also ensure that home healthcare workers, direct service providers are able to support or able to be supported by a living wage, the opportunity to collect ... the opportunity to remain in this profession.
We so frequently hear as you all are intimately aware of long waiting lists, unreliable poor home healthcare service.  These issues will begin to be remediated with the support of the build back better's investment in home and community based services and we're so thrilled for this support we've seen and are eager in these next few weeks and hopeful that we will have clarity on the text of the reconciliation bill and we'll look forward to sharing that when we know more.  But the bottom line is this plan will create jobs, will cut taxes and lower costs for working families including those across rural America.
And so again such specific support for our community and we're so excited to have the opportunity to talk about it more when a deal is reached.
I want to specifically point out, too, that the vice president has taken time to better understand what she is calling and many call the sandwich generation, which is a generation that many on the call might be a part of.  In that ... millions of adult whose are caring for multiple generations of family members with no formal support, this resource burden that burden on the sandwich generation is further exacerbated as we know when family members disability or disabilities necessitate around the clock medically complex care.
It's not enough that a family member is willing to provide care for a disabled or aging family member.  We need to be backing that up with training, support to provide high quality care within homes and within community and that we're effectively filling that gap.
Something I wanted to update you on that is actually just hot off the press as of today is a little bit around access to hearing aids.  A competition E Oexecutive order that was sign add number of months back committed to increased access of hearing aids over the counter and just today the FDA took the next step to making hearing aids available over the counter at pharmacies and at other retail stores without the need for prescription or fitting, or medical exam ...
About 37.5 million Americans have trouble hearing, but just 1/5 of them use hearing aids.  Due in some part they are so expensive ... this is lives reality.
As called for in the President's executive order on competition the goal is to cut red tape and allow more companies to compete to sell hearing aids which in turn leads to lower costs and wider availability.  We're hope that was the rules around what this availability looks like will be finalized and take affect next year.
With increased competition to expect hearing aids to cost hundreds instead of thousands of dollars and expect more innovation in the marketplace so consumers have more and better options.
Less cost prohibitive and more accessible.
The last piece I want to update you on is the administration's approach to COVID‑19 pandemic to the coronavirus.  I know that has been top of line particularly for those in rural America, and there's two piece nah that I want to touch on.  One is just the President's remarks that he has given over the past few weeks and the administrations ongoing work around booster shots and their commitment to given what we call shots in arms both initial vaccines as well as these most recent booster shot recommendations from the F DA,  and the CDC.
So as recently as just a few weeks ago the FDA and CD V announced a recommendation that starting 6 month of your second shot if you received the Pfizer shot you can get a booster shot if you are age 65 or older, at high risk for severe illness, or work in a frontline job.  This commitment to booster shots is an important step for millions of Americans and shows that we are continuing to listen to the science.  We're continuing ‑‑ we know getting shots in arms reduces hospitalizations, it reduces death, and reduces transmission of the virus to members of our communities who can't get the vaccine.  So this is such an important step again in ensuring that we are building back better, that we are rebuilding normal here again across America.
This is the first group of people that are eligible for this booster shot.  Those having received the Pfizer vaccine at least 6 months ago.  I think that we're close to some kind of news on booster shots for those who had received either the mo der nah or the Johnson and Johnson vaccine as well as further information and guidance around younger children, younger Americans around their receipt of the vaccine.
So in conjunction with that and again in addition to this widespread commitment to boosting vaccination rates, agencies across the administration have also done a good deal of work to ensure that that those who have had COVID have access to the resources they need.  So back in July, end of July, just around the anniversary of the Americans with disabilities act, some of you might have seen that the administration release add package of guidance and resources to support individuals who were experiencing long‑term symptoms of COVID.
The announcement came from kind of consortium group.  From the department of health and human services and the departments of justice education and labor, providing information about where individuals get access resources and accommodations.
So just to summarize a bit, the guidance ... can be a disability under various civil rights laws, essentially what that means is if you have the symptoms of long COVID and they substantially limit one or major life activities, they're traditional legal understanding of disability, you are likely entitled to provisions, protections under various civil rights law.  So again any symptom from long COVID that substantially limits one or more major life activities.
This also provided guidance ... in the Department of Education ... around resources providing information about school and public agencies responsibilities for the provision of services and reasonable accommodations for children in school.
So those that have disabilities that are returning to school, that need provision of accommodations as well as unfortunately children that we're seeing with the effects of long COVID.  Further the collaborative resource document provided information through the administration for community living, released guidance on community based services that can help people if they now need assistance due to the effects of long COVID.
And then finally guidance from the office of disability employment possibility, ODE C at the Department of Labor, indicating how employees can go about requesting reasonable accommodations if in the workplace if they are experiencing the symptoms of long COVID.
And guidance resources tools for employers about what it means to provide reasonable accommodations, their legal obligations around the law for people with accountabilities and ensuring they have access to supports they need.
So I know this was a lot of information at once, but I hope that this can be just the beginning of a conversation, and I hope that me joining you here the day sitting with you here today, is just a vote of confidence in the administration.  Again I would not be doing this work if I did not believe in the President's commitment, and the administration's commitment to our community.  I'm confident that the President's build back better agenda will better communities including those with disabilities.  Across the country.
And get us to a place of fuller inclusion, fuller dignity, again in the space of our choice, communities of our choice.
So with that, I know we have about it's my understanding about 15 minute and I want to use that time to answer just a few questions from the group.  Mary if you want to hop back on and help us to moderate some Q & A, and please drop your questions in the Q & A box, we'll really love to hear from you and get to chatting.
MARY:  Thank you so much, Emily.  Yes.  We actually I mean if you're willing, this session goes until the top of the hour so.
EMILY:  Wonderful, yes, please, let's use it to chat, that's awesome.
MARY:  Awesome!  Well we just really again appreciate your willingness to do this with us.  This is an arrest mazing opportunity so I hope folks are going to take advantage of it.  I'll go ahead and start.  We do have one question from Susie who says many people cannot use public restrooms, medical offices, other public places because there are fragrance emission devices installed everywhere.  It would cost them very little to have them removed.  Is there anything that you could do to help approach this issue?
EMILY:  That is a great question.  And I'm so glad that you raised it.  So part of what I said at the top, the creation of this two‑way street, the solicitation of feedback, questions from you all is so so valuable, that does not just go into a black box.  What we do here at OPE is often involve our partners over in the domestic policy counsel, I sit here but any colleague Kim not have steady (phonetic) is our director of disability policy and that is a fantastic question for her.  And I say that not to dodge your question, but all to say I would love to connect with Kim and then to get in touch with you.  And I know Mary we talked about posting some of the appses to these questions on the website.  We would most certainly love to follow up with Kim to see what I can find out and reach back out to you directly and then get that published on the website as well.
But thank you for your question.  I'm taking notes here on the side and can certainly reach back out once I've spoken to Kim about what are our approaches and fees billty of doing that would be.  Most certainly
MARY:  Thank you so much E Emily, and we will for sure publish any of Emily's answers that she doesn't give today under the website under ...
Beck any Wyoming is wondering would an Pam mutation due to a blood clot due to COVID qualify under long COVID disability
EMILY:  So I'm not in the position to give you formal advise or legal advice understand protections under civil rights law, but what I can tell you the guidance that we've been given and is being implemented across the country is the effects of long COVID are substantially limiting one or major life activities which is the traditional definition of disability, so definitely yes, whether that be an accommodation.  Whether that be an accommodation in an educational facility or in the workplace, you would certainly qualify for accommodations.
So what I would encourage you to do there's an incredible resource called Jan that is supported I would encourage you all to set check this out.  It is a reserious through the office of disability employment policy at the Department of Labor.  And Jan stands for the job accommodations network.  It is an online resource that I'm also happy to pass along for Mary for publish on the website or for communication by e‑mail.  But it allows Tao to connect one‑on‑one with somebody at Jan to talk through essentially what next steps look like, how you go about requesting accommodations, what supports are provided, when and when do you do not need to disclose your disability or the circumstances of your disability and that goes for provision of supports under long COVID as well.  So would certainly encourage you to check out Jan.  I'm going to pull up the website right now.  I'm sure that you can Google it as well.  But just so that you know the url is actually www.askjan.org ... and what kind of provision, what kind of resources are available.
MARY:  Thank you.  That's so helpful.  We did go ahead and drop that ask Jan into the chat itself and will add to that to the resource section.
This one comes from anonymous attendee, this there is a great need for searchable nationwide dB for individuals and personal care attendants to post their needs and to be able to connect with one another is.  The White House doing anything to help facilitate this or is there anything they can do
EMILY:  That is a really wonderful question.  I for that question, I'm not sure where we stand presently on a similar dB.  But my partner in the ... I think would be best to answer that question and so again what I'm going to do is get some answers for them on either whether a similar resource exists or whether one would be feasible if there are any nongovernmental agencies or organizations that help to manage such list.
So let me get in touch with A C L, community leveling and get back in touch with you that is a phenomenal phenomenal question
MARY:  We're creating a whole bunch more work for you.
EMILY:  Like I said at the top, we ‑‑ that is my role is just making sure that you all have an outlet to somebody in the White House.  Again maybe not always to have the answer right off the top.  I certainly rely on the expertise of my colleagues, but again to get you in touch with people who do have the answers.  So I'm more Han happy to be here and keep the good questions coming.
MARY:  Well I've got just a few more for you.  If you're game.  Jake Morris is wondering what is the administration's plan to address stigma surrounding invisible disabilities.
EMILY:  That is such an incredible question.  Mary you said it was from who asked the question.
>>:  Jake Morris.
EMILY:  Jake, awesome.  Thank you for your question.  I'll start with just kind of a personal anecdote that maybe some of you can understand or relate to so as I mentioned at the top of the call, you can't see it in the frame, but I use a manual wheelchair.  So there is never any question right when I enter a room that I have a disability.  The downside is folks might approach me see me and approach me with their preconceived notion about what I can and can't, do about my abilities, about my capacity but there's never any question about my status as a person with a disability.
I see that in a lot of respects personally speaking, putting on my personal self advocate hat, as an immense privilege because my status in the community is never challenged or my need for accommodations is never questioned, right.
People take me at site.
So what I'm trying to do, what this admin ministration is trying to do is connect with folks who of course present with visible disabilities, that is so important, but also that help normalize invisible illness.  And again with that comes chronic illness, comes cancer, comes chronic pain, enDr. Immediate yo cis, Crohn's disease, even our deaf and low vision, our blind members of the community, that disability is not always noticeable upon first glance right.
It also involves again long COVID to bring it up again, mental health diagnoses, so a vast majority of our community is navigating conditions that at first glance, at first perception, impression aren't necessarily noticeable.
So, yes, to answer the long and short of your question is this administration is doing a great deal to normalize, to promote conversation around both the prevalence and just the very real unique lived experience of those with invisible diagnoses or conditions.
Speaking for myself in the office of public engagement, I do a lot to ensure that any group of disabled stake hold hears the icon screen, any round tables that I have, any opportunity to meet with the President or the vice President or our director includes representation from communities with a invisible diagnoses.  So for an example, as an example, some months back we convene add group at the request of the vice President of advocates in the voting rights space, disabled advocates, who are fighting for protection of the right to vote for disabled Americans.
And traditionally we think of barriers to the vote as being physical barriers, as being those that not ‑‑ they're being stairs to a polling place or the polling box being too high for a person many a wheelchair to reach that only scratches the surface and is only part of the conversation, albeit an equally important part.
Sof what we did to broaden everyone in the room's understanding and including the vice President, of disability was to bring those into the conversation with invisible diagnoses.  We had an incredible self advocate jay len who spoke eloquently about her experience with mental health diagnoses and chronic pain.  We had members, other members who again didn't visually present as dabbled but who have diagnoses that are just as poignant, just as deserving of production under the A DA,  and other federal law, and more importantly just as deserving of a platform in this conversation.
So know that we are doing a great deal.  I would love to connect with you further and hope that again you would take up my offer to kind of join my distribution list.  Any and all voices in this space are so incredibly valuable and valued by this administration.  So I just really appreciate your question.
MARY:  Thank you Emily.  I really appreciated your answer.  (chuckling).
This question comes from Joanie Thomas, will Medicaid be recognizing long COVID as a disability?  Or just based on A DLlimitation to receive support services
EMILY:  Ly get clarification on this.  It is my understanding at this time that guidance is not been released on recognition of long COVID one way or another.  But again this is another great example of not me dodging your question, but being a middle woman to help you better understand to help us both better understand where we presently stand with this guidance as an administration.
So please let me get back in touch with you.  I'll add it to my current list of homework ... throughout Medicare and Medicaid.
MARY:  And this follow up might also go well with that, an anonymous attendee says that we have encountered several people we work with applying, so or for SSI and SSDI benefits for long COVID related conditions.  And they're wondering in your follow up who can they contact to assist with local SSA offices if they're up aware of what the status of approving benefits for these conditions are.  So more of an advocacy question, of who can they contact.
EMILY:  Sure.
MARY:  So help those SSA officers do better.
EMILY:  Most certainly.  So when I follow up on where ther we stand with guidance on recognition of long COVID under Medicare and Medicaid,ly also get direct contact information what the best avenue is for providers and individuals as well.  So I'll lump those together and pet back to you with both guidance or status of guidance as well as best contact information for where folks can go for follow up questions as well.
MARY:  Thanks, Emily.
EMILY:  Mm‑hmm.
MARY:  This is it a question again from another anonymous attendee.  Could you tell us a little bit about what the administration is doing to advance the principles of nothing about us without us?  Putting people with disabilities in positions that oversee disability policy areas.  For example, will the administration work with the department of juice toys intervene in Olmstead lawsuits in some states?  Maybe that's a two part question (laughter).
EMILY:  Yeah.  Let me on the last piece, the Department of Justice, again that is certainly not my wheelhouse so let me follow up on that piece.  And I can try to get some kind of clarity there.
But let me start at the top because I think your first question is a very, very good one.  So what are growing to ensure this administration is living up to the phrase nothing about us without us, I keep saving this but both sitting in the office of public engagement and as a person with disability, this is so incredibly important to me.
And is something that I've been following those are cli.  And I'm so thrilled to say that this administration is committed to ensuring and representation of disabled voice across the administration appointments, and this is where it's important, both in roles like mine that is disability specific but also putting folks with disability of all kinds visible and invisible in leadership positions across the administration.  In roles even that aren't necessarily working directly with disability on a day to day basis, so for example everything from making good on his promise the President making good on his promise to hire a director of disability policy in Kim knock s ted to fill my role here in OPE, but also hiring folks at the FDA to self‑identify as disability to work in the communication shop, hiring folks at the department of transportation to work in the office of civil rights, hiring folks with disabilities to lead scheduling and advance work over at the department of HHS.
So it is so invaluable that we not only the siloed in specific or pigeonholed in specific disability firsted work but across the administration.
And what I can tell you right now just a few weeks ago the administration ... 6 percent of the appointees self‑identifying as disabled, that being up from 3 percent.  At the Hundyai mark.
That is certainly progress but not is knot going to leaded to comfortable play sen si on our end.  There are so many appointments to fill, and I can tell you with full confidence that we are meeting as an internal working group every single week, sometimes multiple time as week to talk about filling roles across the administration with disabled voice disabled representation.
So we are continuing to continue to skyrocket that number up and just really tell you with with confidence we know that 6 percent is not enough and we won't stop here.
So yes, phenomenal question and so many of us near the administration are personally invested in seeing.
Mary I think I probably have time for maybe 1 or # more questions if we have them.
MARY:  Yes we do.
EMILY:  Awesome.
MARY:  Thank you, Emily.  So I do have a few more, this one is an interesting one and one that probably you can answer.  Does the administration have a plan to help increase representation of the disabled and public offices?
EMILY:  Great question so I think that that a bit again is very tangentially related to our last question, which is, yes.  We are working every single week the wthe office of presidential personnel to talk about what it means to have disabled representation in agencies across the administration.
And we are working to ensure that incredible talent pipelines certainly not just here in Washington DC, but across the country are tapped, that we are finding senior level talent, mid level talent, Jr. level talent, folks disabilities who are willing and interested in joining the administration.
We are planning to have in the next few weeks a really, really exciting event, something I'm looking forward to which is just a week narrow that I will be sure to push out through this network about joining what it would look like to join the administration in a Jr. level role, specifically as a person with a disability.  We believe right that keeping that talent pipeline rich kind of what we call building our bench of people with disabilities, across agencies, whether that's National Council on disability or in the Department of Education, that building out that talent pipeline of voices, of disability disabled voices is so incredibly invaluable.
So that conversation is ongoing.  When that webinar timing is finalized, I will be sure to push out to this group, we would love to have your amplify to your networks as well.  But know that we are always looking to ensure that your community is represented in every kind of corner and pocket of administration.
MARY:  Thanks, Emily.
So this one actually is just another comment related to personal care assistants from Samantha.  She just wanted to say you know when it comes to hiring personal care assistants currently, low pay and no insurance benefits have been an issue for a very long time.
The pandemic amplify something and is causing a health crisis and she just wanted to make sure you and others are aware of that
EMILY:  We are.  And it's up with thing for me to be aware of that, but what's more important is the President himself is aware of that.  We hear time and time again as you all know, that the pandemic in particular just put such a squeeze on the care workforce, on the care economy, it is not reasonable to assume that there being availability of high quality care attendants if they are not being supported with the funding with the resources that they need to survive, to support their families, to live comfortably above the poverty line.
So we are aware that again the President's commitment in the build back better agenda certainly is in large part a commitment to disabled and aging Americans but in equal parts in anadem is a commitment to that care workforce.  Again we know that high quality care is directly correlated with healthcare that are trained, have the support and the resources they need.
So those are very looped in our minds and we know that now so more than ever those ‑‑ that care workforce is just being really, really stretched thin.
And that's why there's so much urgency around this proposed investment and why we hope through the reconciliation deal there will be ‑‑ the President is not backing down from his commitment to this investment.
MARY:  Awesome.  Well I think I have a great fun for you to end on that might give us an opportunity to plug a little bit how folks with get involved with you.  But before I end with that one, I just wanted to mention there are a few other questions and comments in the Q & A that really relate to the Americans with disabilities act and enforcement of it and accommodations.  And I just wanted to give a little plug to one of our conference experience whose are here are the ADA network.  And they are doing several different presentations and have a vendor tab with their contact info.  And I just really do want to encourage folks with questions about the A DA,  and the accommodations to reach out to them.  That's what they do and what they're really great at.  And I just always love just being able to plug others.
But I wanted to tend day with T Y submit's comment/question.  He's seen often that policy is made from those that don't understand the ... harmful for rural areas.  Or something that works in one ‑‑ or state and it get started in another state without the proper supports so how do you really get the full voice of people who are often not heard
EMILY:  Thank you for that great question.  You know, as I said earlier, from day one the President committed his administration to ensuring that we weren't just talking on disability as an after thought.  As a lens that was added on again by nondisabled folks during the creation of policy.
Instead he committed to hiring my counterpart in the domestic policy council Kim knock steady who I work and talk to every single day and her sole role is looking at disability specific policy as well as just any policy that is formulated ought of the council.  And he's using that disabled lens both professional training and as herself somebody that identifies as disabled to ensure that policies aren't harmful to our community and more so help to lift up and support our community.
Particularly intersections of our community that are most marginalized
... ... what the lived reality of their community is, what they need from the Federal Government.  And that's where I come in.  That is my job, to convene those voices, listening sessions, to collect feedback, to be a connector to resources.  And again that is not all just me hopping on the phone or convening a listening session, U.S. areas optics, that is anytime we convene a group of folks, there is an output, whether that be a briefing with domestic policy council or a press readout or whatever it maybe, an opportunity (air quotes) to capture that feedback.
So as Mary said all to say I really do want to stay in touch with you all.  Through both my e‑mail newsletter and quickly, but also I just want to invite you all to reach out if you have follow up questions, if you have a perspective or a voice that you think is really missing in the tax you want to be ensure is heard.
That is what I'm here to do.  And just by your participation today, your engagement with APRIL, I know that you are committed to this work.  And I just want to be sure that we are sharing our platform so that that experience, that voice can be heard by decision‑makers and nthis administration.
So with that I will be sure to follow up, Mary if you can help collect some of the questions that we didn't get to as well as maybe the ones we did but we can just package those together and push them owl out.  And as I saidly also share out a link to continue to be in touch with me.
But in the meantime, thank you so all of the folks at APRIL.  Mary and Sierra and Alyssa and Billy and to all of you on the line for your continued to this commitment.  Know that you have an advocate and ally in me and in this administration.
So Thanks so much Mary and look forward to talking to all of you soon
MARY:  And at APRIL we have a saying that with community we're stronger and we just really thankful you're a part of our community so thank you for spending your time with us today.
EMILY:  Of course.  Thank you.  We'll see you soon.
MARY:  We'll see you soon and folks please be hurry to check back on this negligence the website and we will post answers from Emily as soon as we get them.  That website will be open probably until January so feel free keep coming back, checking recordings and the information we add.
Don't forget to fill out your evaluation.  And we'll see you soon.