Task force to make IT accessible to disabled
By Megan Lisagor
Federal Computer Week
August 10, 1998 - page 16

The Clinton administration has convened a new public/private task force to
help design products that would enable people with disabilities to use
technology more easily. 

Responding to criticism that the government has not done enough to help
disabled individuals gain access to information technology so that they can
land jobs in the public and private sectors, the President’s Committee on
Employment of People with Disabilities has formed the Technology Task Force
to jointly act with government agencies and private companies to address the
needs of disabled individuals. 

The task force will try to set standards for the design and development of
future technologies. The task force’s goal will be to boost employment
opportunities for the disabled in government and the private sector by making
IT, such as the Internet, accessible. 

"Only three in 10 working-age adults with disabilities are employed," said
John Lancaster, executive director of the people with disabilities committee.
"If they don't have access to information technology, they're going to be
shut out [from] more jobs than they already are."  

Lancaster was one of several witnesses testifying before the House
Subcommittee on Technology last week to discuss the roles of the government
and the private sector in advancing assistive technologies for persons with
disabilities. 

House members and witnesses said assistive technologies - devices that
improve the lives of individuals with functional limitations - have not
gained enough recognition from either the federal government or private
companies. 

"There is an absence of coordination at the federal level and cooperation in
the private sector," said Rep. Constance Morella (R-MD), the subcommittee
chairwoman. 

Witnesses said the government and corporations should foster partnerships and
work together to remove barriers that people with disabilities face in
joining the work force. 

David Bolnick, accessibility program manager for Microsoft Corp., said
Microsoft and other businesses must work with the government to further the
goal of improving the lives of people with disabilities. 

Oracle Corp., IBM Corp. and AT&T have already signed on to work with the
government on the Technology Task Force. 

The administration also has created a number of small private/public
projects. The High School-High Tech (HS-HT) program, for example, coordinates
internships with local employers for young students with disabilities. More
than 90 percent of the children participating in HS-HT went on to higher
education, often in a technology-related field. 

The Technology Task Force will provide support for undertakings such as HS-HT
while working to develop new programs. "We still have a long way to go,
Lancaster said. "We haven't covered the waterfront."  

In addition to government ventures, some private efforts are under way to
develop technologies for the disabled. Lancaster said there are great
incentives for the private sector to address the needs of persons with
disabilities. 

"There are 400,000 information technology jobs to be filled right now," he
said." The private sector needs these people. They're crying for them."  

Lisagor is a reporting intern for Federal Computer Week.