Motion by Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky

December 19, 2000

MOTION BY SUPERVISOR ZEV YAROSLAVSKY

REVISED MOTION RELATED TO ITEM #4

An estimated 900,000 residents of Los Angeles County have a significant disability which, by federal definition, means one or more of their daily life activities is impacted by a physical, cognitive or psychological impairment. Various government and advocacy programs are available to help many of these individuals with their daily needs for such services as in-home care, housing, and transportation. Demand for such supportive services is high, but accessing the multiplicity of programs and administering agencies can be overwhelming for individuals with physical or other impairments and limited mobility.

Technology and the Internet offer an opportunity to empower individuals with disabilities by enhancing their ability to obtain information regarding disability-related services and resources. The Westside Center for Independent Living (WCIL) and UCLA’s Advanced Policy Institute at the School of Public Policy and Social Research have proposed a pilot County-wide web site for residents with disabilities. Such a site would provide information about disability services and accessible facilities. It could also include application and registration forms for various programs of interest. Finally, such a site could utilize the County's Geographic Information System to provide location-specific information; for example, to locate an in-home supportive services provider who lives near a potential client's home. Creation of this site could substantially improve the accessibility of services to the disabled through home, community- or agency-based personal computers.

The County should evaluate the potential benefits of developing of such a site, including its capacity to enhance the accessibility and availability of County services including In-Home Supportive Services, Meals-on-Wheels, health and rehabilitative care, and Americans with Disabilities Act access to County and other public buildings and assets; as well as other departmental data relevant to the disability community. Consideration of one-time funding from the County’s Information Technology Infrastructure Fund should be included in the evaluation. Such funding would match grants already pledged to the proposed project from the Microsoft Corporation, GTE Foundation and the Community Technology Foundation.

I THEREFORE MOVE THAT:

The Chief Information Officer, with the assistance of relevant County departments, evaluate the establishment of a County-wide geographic web site for disability services, in collaboration with the Westside Center for Independent Living, UCLA’s Advanced Policy Institute at the School of Public Policy and Social Research, and the Los Angles County Commission on Disabilities.

Such evaluation should consider the usefulness of the proposed web site in improving the availability and accessibility of County programs, services, and information for the disabled including In-Home Supportive Services, Meals-on-Wheels, Public Works’ data on curb ramps and Americans with Disabilities Act access, and health and rehabilitation programs.
Such evaluation should consider the appropriation of one-time funding from the County's Information Technology Infrastructure Fund.
The evaluation report should be submitted to the Board no later than March 13^th,2001.