The city may fold enforcement of all concerns related to the Americans with Disabilities Act into the Office of Civil Rights, a change that would take those responsibilities away from human resources staff. A resolution was passed unanimously at this month’s meeting of the Mayor’s Committee for People With Disabilities that asks for the reorganization. Commissioner Robin […]
Austin Mayor’s Committee for People with Disabilities
The Mayor’s Committee for People with Disabilities advises the Austin City Council and City Manager on issues affecting persons with disabilities and ways to assist and enable residents with disabilities to participate in the social and economic life of the city.
Posted inPolice
Report pushes police to improve training, communication with disabled Austinites
A new report based on feedback from residents with disabilities calls on the Austin Police Department to make improvements to its training and practices concerning interactions with residents experiencing mental health issues, hearing loss or other disabilities. The report comes from the Office of Police Oversight, which scrutinizes police activities and acts as an advocate […]
Posted inPolice
Police department makes an effort to reach out to Austin’s deaf community
The Austin Police Department is taking special measures to make sure its policies and procedures do not disproportionately affect community members with hearing loss. At Sunday’s Special Meeting of the Mayor’s Committee for People with Disabilities, Officer Scott Marler met with city officials to discuss the training APD offers to educate officers on interacting with […]
Posted inPolice
Commission wants more detail and authority behind police oversight findings
The Mayor’s Committee for People with Disabilities has signed on to a resolution passed by the Human Rights Commission that asks the Austin Police Department to investigate all complaints recommended for investigation by the Office of Police Oversight. The committee voted unanimously and without comment to endorse the resolution, which was approved last month. It […]
Posted inBudget
Committee IDs employment, accessibility among priorities for next budget
The city board overseeing services for the disabled wants funding for better accessibility at City Hall, improved street crossings and more employment opportunities included in the next city budget. Last week the Mayor’s Committee for People With Disabilities moved forward with drafting budget request language for six priorities for the upcoming budget talks, with unaddressed […]
Posted inAustin
City moving ahead with quality-of-life study of people with disabilities
The city is moving ahead with a quality-of-life study of people living with disabilities in Austin, making progress on one of the top priorities for the Mayor’s Committee for People With Disabilities. During a budget forum last week, committee members said they did not have adequate data to make recommendations on budget priorities related to […]
Posted inHousing
Disability committee pushes city to help address evictions
Advocates for the disabled community are pushing the city’s departments in charge of housing services to find ways to decrease the number of evictions their community experiences while also adding housing supply designed for accessibility. At this month’s meeting of the Mayor’s Committee for People With Disabilities, a presentation from the city’s Innovation Office and […]
Posted inCity Hall
Disability committee wants study to bring attention, dollars to issues
The Mayor’s Committee for People With Disabilities has asked city staff to begin gathering information on how to commission a comprehensive report on the quality of life of and prominent issues facing the city’s disabled community. The committee voted unanimously at Friday’s meeting to move forward with the issue, with members pointing to completed studies […]
Posted inTransportation
Parking, recklessness among scooter concerns for city’s disability committee
Amid concerns over the safety of people in wheelchairs and the visually impaired, the Mayor’s Committee for People With Disabilities pressed the Austin Transportation Department to take steps soon to improve the behavior of users of rentable motorized scooters, and the companies that have put roughly 4,300 of those units around downtown Austin. The committee’s […]