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NCD says OPM approved staff hires, opens AbilityOne review and plans November tribal meeting in Phoenix
Summary
The National Council on Disability reported a quick OPM approval to backfill two staff positions, said it is reviewing AbilityOne modernization after stakeholder meetings, and confirmed plans for a November Navajo-area meeting on tribal lands and disability access.
Neil Romano, chair of the National Council on Disability, told members at the May 7 meeting that the council submitted a staffing plan to the Office of Personnel Management that was approved within days and that recruitment has begun for two positions the agency says are "vital to achieve the agency's mission." Romano said he thanked Executive Director Ana Torres-Davis for moving the request quickly.
Romano also summarized an April 23 convening at NCD offices that brought AbilityOne, Melwood, the National Industries for the Blind and SourceAmerica to present on proposed program changes. "We invited all of these people in to talk about that, and we took almost a whole day to listen," Romano said, adding that NCD has requested an extensive list of AbilityOne data to assess whether the program has made the changes its supporters describe.
Joan Durocher, a senior staff member who briefed the council on policy work since January, said the agency will work with the HHS Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) to help interpret the AbilityOne data. "We asked if they wouldn't mind working with us to help us be sure we were interpreting all the data correctly," Romano said of ODEP staff involvement.
Romano also announced progress on a long-planned project on people with disabilities living on tribal lands and confirmed a November quarterly meeting in the Phoenix area that will include tribal participants. "We are planning a November quarterly meeting in Phoenix where we will have guests from Arizona tribes," Romano said; Council member Hoskie Benally later emphasized that staff and tribal partners are compiling interviews and expect a report for the November meeting.
What happens next: staff will accept and process the OPM-approved hiring plan, continue to collect and analyze AbilityOne data (with possible technical assistance from ODEP), and finalize logistics and program content for the November Phoenix tribal lands meeting.
Authorities and references cited during the discussion included the Office of Personnel Management approvals and federal stakeholders associated with the AbilityOne program. The council recorded no formal vote on these policy initiatives at the May 7 session.
