Virtual Launch of New Jersey Legislative Disability Caucus

Senate President Sweeney, Legislative Leaders & Self Advocates

from Disability Community Join Together to Launch

Historic Bipartisan Disability Caucus in New Jersey Legislature

When:             Tuesday, December 1, 2020 at 3pm

Where:           Event will stream LIVE at https://youtu.be/eV6rUBY-KWc

Why:               Approximately 25 percent of adults in New Jersey identify as having some type of disability. Despite progress after passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) 30 years ago, people with disabilities in New Jersey continue to seek opportunities to be included and represented in all aspects of life as an integral part of the fabric of our society. The Disability Caucus will serve as a bipartisan forum within the New Jersey Legislature for lawmakers and their staff to consider the impact on the disability community when shaping ALL public policies in the Garden State through increased awareness and a greater understanding of the complexities of the disabilities service system and issues affecting individuals with disabilities and their families.

Who:              Senate President Steve Sweeney, legislative leaders and self-advocates from the New Jersey Council on Developmental Disabilities and other organizations supporting the formation of the New Jersey Legislative Disability Caucus will join together on Livestream to launch the historic bipartisan legislative caucus.

Approximately 25 percent of adults in New Jersey identify as having some type of disability.* Despite progress, adults with disabilities in New Jersey and across the country continue to experience significant differences in health characteristics and behaviors compared to adults without disabilities.** For example, the jobless rate for persons with a disability continues to be about twice as high as the rate for those without a disability.*** And people with disabilities live in poverty at more than twice the rate of people without disabilities.****

People with disabilities, their families and organizations that serve, support and advocate for people with disabilities in New Jersey will be a resource to the NJ Legislative Disability Caucus, providing education and programming as needed. Legislators who join the caucus agree to be champions for individuals with disabilities in New Jersey by meeting with them in their district offices; participating in quarterly education forums; and above all, promote policies to improve the lives of people with disabilities and consider the impact on the disability community in shaping all public policies in New Jersey.

* Disability & Health U.S. State Profile Data for New Jersey (Adults 18+ years of age), Centers for Disease Control.

** Disability-associated healthcare expenditures are presented in 2006 dollars as reported in Anderson et al, 2010.

*** Current Population Survey (CPS), US Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy, February 2020.****Disability Poverty Connection Report, National Council on Disability, October 2017.

Founding Legislative Disability Caucus Members

Senator Stephen M. Sweeney – Chair

Senator Anthony M. Bucco

Senator Kristin M. Corrado

Senator Patrick J. Diegnan, Jr.

Senator Vin Gopal

Senator Thomas H. Kean, Jr.

Senator Fred H. Madden, Jr.

Senator Declan J. O’Scanlon, Jr.

Senator M. Teresa Ruiz

Senator Troy Singleton

Senator Joseph F. Vitale

Assemblyman Daniel R. Benson

Assemblywoman Annette Chaparro

Assemblyman Nicholas Chiaravalloti

Assemblyman Ronald S. Dancer

Assemblywoman Joann Downey

Assemblywoman Aura K. Dunn

Assemblyman Louis D. Greenwald

Assemblyman Eric Houghtaling

Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle

Assemblywoman Pamela Lampitt

Assemblywoman Yvonne Lopez

Assemblywoman Nancy F. Munoz

Assemblywoman Carol A. Murphy

Assemblywoman Holly T. Schepisi

Assemblyman Adam J. Taliaferro

Assemblywoman Britnee N. Timberlake

Assemblyman Anthony S. Verrelli

Assemblyman Andrew Zwicker

Supporting Agencies

About the NJ Legislative Disability Caucus
The Caucus was formed December 1, 2020 to serve as a bipartisan forum within the New Jersey Legislature for lawmakers and their staff to consider the impact on the disability community when shaping ALL public policies in the Garden State. The Caucus will provide increased awareness and a greater understanding of the complexities of the disabilities service system and issues affecting individuals with disabilities and their families.

About the NJCDD

The New Jersey Council on Developmental Disabilities (NJCDD) is a federally-mandated organization located in but not of the NJ Department of Human Services.

NJCDD works to ensure individuals with intellectual/developmental disabilities (I/DD) and their families, participate in the design of and have access to needed community services, individualized supports, and other forms of assistance that promote self-determination, independence, productivity, integration and inclusion in all facets of life through culturally competent programs.