Disabilities

California Democrats believe in full equality for people with disabilities and oppose ableism in all forms. People with disabilities, including those who are immunocompromised, have an inalienable right to participate as equals in all aspects of civic and political life. We support empowering people with disabilities to control their own lives, and we recognize that diversity through true equity strengthens our society. California Democrats will work to break down systematic, structural and/or physical barriers preventing equality of opportunity for people with disabilities. We will work to ensure the creation of a strong social safety net by providing accessible affordable housing quality education, including lifelong educational opportunities, job training, increased employment, and other tools for independence.

California Democrats support enforcement and funding of all federal, state, and local civil rights legislation and regulations, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, and the Lanterman Act, and will actively oppose any effort to undermine their strength or impact. California Democrats oppose efforts to restrict the rights of people with disabilities or to seek relief for disparate impact discrimination. All Democrats must promote increases to Supplemental Security Income (SSI), state supplementary programs, and federal Social Security Disability Income (SSDI), and reject any cuts. California Democrats believe that people with disabilities must have an active role in formation of any legislation, policy or program impacting their community, and support their full and equitable participation in this work.

To ensure equality for people with disabilities, California Democrats will:

• Register people with disabilities to vote, and encourage all people with disabilities to exercise their right to independently cast a private ballot and work to abolish any physical, regulatory, or legislative barriers that inhibit the ability to exercise this right;
• Expect elected officials to have one staff person well-versed in disability civil rights issues and encourage Party- endorsed candidates to actively engage with people and organizations well-versed in disability civil rights issues to inform their policy positions;
• Actively support participation and employment of people with disabilities at all levels of the Party and ensure that all Party functions are fully accessible to all who wish to participate;
• Support public health measures that protect those who are immunocompromised at Party events, including encouragement of masking, testing, using air filtration devices, and monitoring air quality;
• Encourage that Party events and Caucus meetings be held in spaces that best meet the needs of differently abled individuals and their families;
• Ensure that all Democratic Central Committees and affiliated organizations have the training, tools, and resources needed to include people with disabilities in their operations and to reach out to voters with disabilities;
• Vigorously support strengthening Democratic organizations dedicated to advocating for full inclusion of people with disabilities;
• Encourage that all Democratic Party and endorsed campaigns and campaign headquarters are fully accessible, including to those who are immunocompromised;
• Encourage balanced participation of people with disabilities on state and local commissions as well as within Party leadership and standing committee positions;
• Support a California master plan for aging and people with disabilities of all age groups;
• Encourage municipalities, local governments, and school districts to establish disability advisory bodies, such as commissions on disabilities and district advisory bodies, to assist in considering issues, needs, accommodations, and the unique perspectives of people with disabilities;
• Support financial empowerment by increasing employment of people with disabilities at all levels of the workforce; increase opportunities for people with disabilities to save by strengthening and expanding access to the Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act and creating incentives for CalABLE account contributors (enabling people with disabilities to save money without the danger of losing essential benefits); promote training people with disabilities to become entrepreneurs; and, work with unions to promote and develop alternative forms of employment for people with disabilities;
• Ensure that disability alone is never a permissible consideration for incapacity to care for a child; and work to ensure that adequate resources are provided for parents with disabilities in the same manner that they are available for parents without disabilities;
• Ensure that SSI benefits provide an income for people with disabilities at least as high as the federal poverty level and support the elimination of the marriage penalties imposed on SSI recipients, including income parameters;
• Work for guaranteed palliative care; support improvements to the Medicare Prescription Drug Plan by amending prohibitive costs; oppose detrimental budget cuts in Medicare/ Medi-Cal; and support the principle of informed choice;
• Advocate for legislation to improve accessibility to and the quality of respite care and in-home support services, support higher pay and better training programs for home care workers, and increase transparency and responsiveness of IHSS for clients with disabilities;
• Support full enforcement of accessible housing construction requirements under the ADA, Fair Housing Act, Title 24, the Rehabilitation Act, and all other applicable federal and state laws and regulations;
• Work to broaden financial assistance for accessible housing, vehicles, and durable medical equipment to give much- needed monetary assistance for individuals to pay for improvements to their equipment beyond the Medicare/Medi-Cal rate;
• Fight to eliminate housing discrimination that penalizes or denies people with disabilities the right to interdependence through shared housing with a spouse or significant other;
• Promote parity of services for mental health and substance-related disorder benefits and medical, hearing, vision, and dental health for people with developmental and other disabilities under all public and private health care delivery plans, with the inclusion of long-term care as basic coverage in all private plans;
• Prioritize the development and maintenance of a robust interconnected public transportation system and ensure public rights-of-way remain open and accessible; and oppose actions or business practices of any company that could result in creating barriers for people with disabilities;
• Prioritize making California a leader in embracing inclusive educational practices and achieving successful educational outcomes for students with disabilities;
• Ensure that people with disabilities are prepared for disasters and have the right to be rescued with accessible services that are well-maintained and available during an emergency; and enable people with disabilities to be returned to their homes when it is safe as with people without disabilities;
• Actively design and implement support services programs targeted toward isolated and rural communities; and,
• Prioritize individuals with psychiatric disabilities by making substantive revisions to the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act (LPS Act) to improve coordinated care systems and cure the shortcomings of the LPS Act that resulted in homelessness and incarceration for this population.