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policy ballot
The Youth Leadership Council of the National Youth Leadership Network
(NYLN) conducted a survey of the policy priorities of 176 youth,
ages 16 to 24, in 31 states and the District of Columbia. Youth
were asked to vote for the 10 policies that most needed to be
adopted from the NYLN 2001 Policy Agenda. The following 10 policy
recommendations received the most votes.
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- Agency leaders and legislators should visit
places where people with disabilities get services, including sheltered
workshops, nursing homes, special education classrooms, and segregated
housing developments. They should talk to people with disabilities
about their experiences in these places and where they want to
learn, work and live.
- Support youth leadership conferences and other
leadership activities that build young people’s skills and
encourage information sharing. Make sure that young people from
diverse cultures, with different disabilities and languages, are
involved in youth leadership.
- Give youth a real voice in policy-making,
including meaningful positions on government boards and other policymaking
groups.
- Require that young people in high school receive
training on policies that affect them, including the ADA, IDEA,
Section 504, and Social Security. Educate high school students
about their rights and responsibilities, including the importance
of voting.
- Educate families about the importance of children
and youth learning to take care of themselves and to direct their
lives as much as possible.
- Enforce IDEA, ADA, Section 504 and other laws
that protect the rights of people with disabilities.
- Redefine eligibility for SSI/SSDI so that
it is not based on whether a person can work or his or her income.
- Increase opportunities for youth to mentor
youth.
- Increase opportunities for youth with disabilities
to graduate with a diploma, including identifying creative ways
to earn school credits and developing alternatives to assess student
achievement.
- Provide youth with training in how to work
with systems and use supports, such as One-Stop Centers, Vocational
Rehabilitation, SSI, Medicaid, Work Incentives, and personal assistance
services. Explain the benefits and limits of using public supports.
Give information in understandable, informal language.
Support for the NYLN Provided By:
OHSU Center on Self-Determination
Oregon Institute on Disability and Development
Oregon Health & Science University
Academy for Educational Development
The NYLN is sponsored by the US Department of Education,
Office of Special Education Programs, National Council on Disability,
Presidential Task Force on the Employment of Adults with Disabilities,
Social Security Administration, US Department of Health and
Human Services, Administration on Developmental Disabilities,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Maternal and Child
Health Bureau, and US Department of Labor. |
For additional information, about the National
Youth Leadership Network, contact Alison Turner, NYLN Coordinator,
(503) 232-9154 or (800) 410-7069, Ext. 113; E-mail: turneali@ohsu.edu
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