Abstract of W.C. Daroff lecture

EXERTING INFLUENCE ON DISABILITY LEGISLATION: A

STRATEGIC APPROACH AND CASE STUDY OF THE

AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES AMENDMENTS ACT

W.C. Daroff, D.E. Feinman, B.J. Bedney

The Jewish Federations of North America, USA

In the United States, individuals with disabilities are protected by the

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which prohibits discrimination

based on disability. Enacted in 1990, the legislation was amended in

2008 to include a broader definition of impairments that “substantially

limit a major life activity.” The Jewish Federations of North America

(JFNA), the umbrella organization of the Jewish Federation

movement, was a leading advocate for the passage of the ADA

Amendments Act. Disabilities are a growing concern for federations,

and the desire to ensure that individuals with disabilities have access

to all aspects of community life is a priority throughout the federation

movement. The JFNA Washington Office, the public policy arm of

JFNA, spearheaded JFNA’s efforts on behalf of the ADA Amendments

Act. Our efforts followed the strategic approach we have developed

that involves: a) the analysis of contextual factors influencing the

public policy environment (e.g., the history of disability-related

legislation); b) the specification of activities to be implemented to

achieve desired goals (e.g., relationship-building); c) the specification

of the ‘sphere of influence’ to be targeted (e.g., Congress); and d) the

articulation of the impact we hope to achieve (e.g., public policies that

promote inclusion for individuals with disabilities). In this session, we

will review this approach using the ADA Amendments Act as an

example, and discuss how lessons learned using this approach can

help global disability advocates and other stakeholders ‘shape the

future’ not just for individuals affected by disabilities, but for the

neighborhoods and communities they call home.