Social Reform for Widening Social Chasm - Research Paper Example

? Equal Opportunity: Social Reform or Catalyst for Widening Social Chasm? On the Disable and the Infirm: Stigma or Lethargy? A few days ago, Salvatore Pizzuro of the New Jersey Newsroom (newjerseynewsroom.com) reported the shocking condition in some group homes and nursing facilities where abuse and neglect of persons with developmental disabilities has become rampant. The abuse has been pinpointed to be conducted by the often low-paid workers toiling and grinding in such facilities that are in constant clamor for better wages and improved working conditions. But the sad fact is that these institutions have taken a major turn into becoming full-blown profit-driven entities that exist primarily for the revenue it can provoke out of its patrons. As such, the improvement of the working conditions, salary and other labor-related demands have been invariably relegated to the sidelines. Thus, an unfortunate setting of abuse has been created. Tara’s Law, a legislative enactment seeking to protect people with disabilities who have suffered abuses in health care institutions and group homes, has then been clamored as a step towards the eradication of these abuses. This particular law, sponsored by Senator Jennifer Beck of the 12th District, requires the Department of Human Services (DHS) to establish an internal registry of caregivers found to have mistreated and/or neglected individuals with disabilities under their care (gmnews.com). This enactment is seen as a positive development and a rather huge leap, in the protection and preservation of the rights of persons with disabilities (PWDs). Tara O’Leary, a 29-year old developmentally-disabled woman became the catalyst that set forth the passage of the Tara’s Law. O’Leary served as the gun shot that signaled the awakening of the public of the appalling predicament that PWDs have to endure during their stay in certain health facilities. As the beacon that sheds light to such conditions, Tara was reported to have been grossly neglected in a state-licensed sponsor home in Hunterdon County causing irreversible health problems that eventually lead to her death (gmnews.com). But the sad fact is that the case of Tara is by far, not an isolated case to remark on. Christel Velez, a 30-year old woman with developmental disabilities has also suffered the same fate. Maria Mello, Velez’s sister has called the attention of the Association of Retarded Citizens (ARC) and the New Jersey Division of Developmental Disabilities when she began noticing signs of neglect in her sister’s care while in staying in a health facility. However, the ARC decided to send Velez home and remand her to the care of her sister in hopes of soothing the ruffled feathers of Mello and quelling the stirring of public outcry (newjerseynewsroom.com). An article written by Kimberly Steinberg for GM News quoted Senator Beck’s declaration that a strong eighty percent of developmentally disabled women have suffered from sexual abuse and that there is a great likelihood for persons with disabilities to suffer such ill-treatment four times over than “normal” individuals. This startling statement thus became the main motivation of this paper. This report will endeavor to establish facts and arouse the minds of the readers as to the more profound and well-entrenched issues surrounding the abuse of PWDs. Furthermore, this paper will specifically examine the effectivity of the Disability Rights New Jersey (DRNJ) as a private and non-profit entity endeavoring to put a stop to the abuses being done on PWDs. Deeper into the DRNJ A block away from the Mercer County Sheriff’s Office and just at the back of the Lutheran Immigration & Refugee Center stands a fawn/beige building that serves as a home to the Disability Rights New Jersey Office at 210 S Broad St., #3, Trenton, New Jersey. The building itself is not new as it stands as a testament to the longstanding commitment it has taken upon itself to remain as staunch crusaders in eradicating human, civil and legal rights abuse of persons with disabilities. The Disability Rights New Jersey (DRNJ) is a non-profit organization seeking to provide PWDs and their families with the means to protect and promote the basic human rights of PWDs through active prosecution of abuses and calls to carry out legislative enactments through lobbying and public awareness. The undertakings of DRNJ have been set into four main missions. These are: (1) to become stalwart advocates of the civil, human and legal rights of the PWDs of New Jersey; (2) to actively participate in the promotion of public awareness and education of the PWDs, their plight, condition, rights and necessary privileges; (3) to serve as the society’s main resource for legal advice and assistance in cases of abuse of PWDs; and, (4) to be the leading organization actively pursuing the education of the society in reference to the conduct of proper training and technical guidance of the families of PWDs, agencies addressing their concerns, litigants and the general population. The DRNJ was a project of the Governor to serve as New Jersey’s main facility to deal with the protection and promotion of the rights of PWDs. The DRNJ operates under nine (9) specific programs. These are: the Protection and Advocacy for Persons with Developmental Disabilities (PADD); the Protection and Advocacy for Individuals with Mental Illness (PAIMI); the Protection and Advocacy for Individual Rights (PAIR); the Client Assistance Program (CAP); the Protection and Advocacy for Beneficiaries of Social Security (PABSS); the Protection and Advocacy for Individuals with Traumatic Brain Injury (PATBI); the Protection and Advocacy for Assistive Technology (PAAT); the Assistive Technology Advocacy Center (ATAC); and the Protection and Advocacy for Voter Access (PAVA) (www.drnj.org). Three federal agencies and their respective sub-agencies operate in cooperation with the DNRJ by supplying the much needed financial backing that the non-profit entity necessitates. These federal agencies include the Department of Health and Human Services through the Administration on Developmental Disabilities, the Center for Mental Health Services and the Health Resources and Services Administration; the Department of Education through the Rehabilitation Services Administration (New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Services); and, the Social Security Administration (www.drnj.org). DRNJ works primarily for the protection and promotion of the civil, human and legal rights of PWDs in New Jersey. As an operational strategy, the organization has deemed it necessary to delineate certain priorities. This is undertaken so that the organization may able to address the needs of their clients in a timely and efficient manner while making certain that the relatively limited resources of the group is being utilized on its utmost advantage. The DRNJ has established nine (9) sets of goals (www.drnj.org). These goals have been deemed as the main issues besetting the PWDs and have thus been reconciled by the organization as the dominant problems that must be dealt with. These goals are: (1) abuse and neglect; (2) discrimination; (3) community-based services; (4) health care; (5) education; (6) assistive technology; (7) work and vocational rehabilitation; (8) consumer education and training; and, (9) quality assurance (www.drnj.org). Under the first goal, the DRNJ ascertains that the ill-treatment and neglect be put to an end highlighting the need to immediately remove the PWDs from the environment or institution that has been host to such abuses. The priority of the DRNJ in instances of abuse and neglect is to endeavor the discharge of the PWDs from such facilities and establish a new home absent the threats of violence and cruelty. Furthermore, in instances of unusual and suspicious deaths of PWDs due to abuse, the DRNJ conducts thorough investigations and assists the family of the PWD in seeking redress for such crime. For the second goal, the DRNJ makes certain that instances of discrimination and unwarranted prejudice be eliminated. When reports of these nature have been brought to the attention of the DRNJ, undertakes to conduct investigations and makes the responsible party answerable to such error. From a societal perspective, discrimination is likewise dealt with by the organization as a marginalizing act meant to place PWDs under an entirely different stratum. The DRNJ ensures that no PWD shall be treated unfairly in terms of housing privileges, employment, voting and public accommodations in governmental services. Under the third and fourth goals, it is the objective of DRNJ to ascertain that the PWDs are given complete access to community-based services and proper health care. Viable access to transportation is likewise the aim of the organization as they call for the conscious regard and veritable promotion of the rights of PWDs. As for education, the organization seeks to enforce a system of inclusive education where PWDs will be integrated into the mainstream. Intervention programs are also being offered by the group as well as counseling in cases of PWDs encountering bullying and peer harassment. In line with the continued improvement of the living condition f PWDs, the DRNJ concurrently seeks the acquisition of modern developments in technology, science and other facets so as to better address the needs of their clients. Concomitantly, it has become the duty of the organization to continually search for sources of funding and allied support for their cause. In line with the state’s Rehabilitation Act, it has become the duty of the organization to ensure that PWDs receive the ample support in rehabilitative services. Additionally, the organization has taken it upon themselves to ascertain that barriers to the employment of PWDs be stricken out so that they may obtain equal work opportunities. This task is highly in relation to the eighth goal concerning consumer education and training. This particular goal centers on the responsibility of the organization to make sure that the PWDs receive equal treatment and opportunities in work and education. Finally, the ninth goal of DRNJ speaks of the chief thrust of the group making sure that quality service is being rendered to PWDs seeking their help. Under this goal, the organization has seen it fit to establish programs and services that are culturally-conscious to the respective PWDs. e-DRNJ When itemizing the details contained in the website of the DRNJ (www.drnj.org), the lead statement would undoubtedly catch the attention of its visitors. After all, the phrase “advocating and advancing the human, civil and legal rights of persons with disabilities” seem to sum it all. The top tier of the website lists down six (6) main navigation options: Home, What’s New, Mission, Programs, Contact Us, and Make a Donation. The website itself boasts of three columns in its home page. The first contains the navigation menu indicating options such as: (1) About the DRNJ; (2) Priorities; (3) Board Advisory & Council; (4) Litigation; (5) Training & Outreach; (6) Legislative; (7) Staff; (8) Frequently Asked Questions; (9) Publications; (10) Events; (11) Useful Links; and, (12) Job Opportunities. The center column contains a brief description of DRNJ as a non-profit organization including a rundown of the group’s four-point vision. The last column is host to additional links such as Assistive Technology Resources, Emergency Preparedness, Traumatic Brain Injury Resources, DRNJ en Espanol, and Accessibility Plug-Ins. The website is done in a one-dimensional white background bearing black letters in standard size 12 Arial font. The website is spearheaded by its pink “DRNJ” logo at the top and the usual “Contact Us” information at the bottom. Over all, the web site is workable and rightfully serves as an online repository for related matters. Its relative simplicity is overshadowed by its breadth, depth and effectivity. DRNJ Office A regular day in the DRNJ office is marked by the monotonous humming of dozens of personal computers coupled with the intermittent ringing of phone lines, a calm voice carried once in a while by a passing shadow and only a seemingly synchronized conversation of several persons breaks the reverberating noise of a typical business day. Like any other office, the DRNJ center is a maze of seats and spaces aimed at affording public service at its utmost peak. People come and go yet the general atmosphere is nowhere near the trappings commonly found in most business centers. But the obvious smaller amount of human traffic in the DRNJ will not stand as a proof to the amount of work that goes behind each desk. A day in November, all the desks are filled and all the phone lines seem to be ringing off the hook. An office personnel is preoccupied with a man and a woman in one corner with the couple speaking softly that only those close to them are made privy to. No one else seems to be disturbed by the open sadness mirrored in the couples’ eyes, everyone continues with their work not even sparing a glance towards the guests. But then again, this situation is typical to the DRNJ as the office deals with the abuse of the rights of PWDs. No one seems to expect to hear laughter. The DRNJ employs a simple operational system. That is, upon learning of an abuse case, the office undertakes to conduct an investigation. Usually, the DRNJ learns of an abuse situation either through third party reports or through personal and voluntary statements given by the PWDs or their family. After the conduct of an investigation, the office will make an assessment as to the proper steps to take so as to resolve the issue. Oftentimes, the resolution begins with the calling of the attention of the offender to afford them with preliminary means to make amends. When such is not sufficient, the office then assists the offended party into elevating the case into a full-blown legal battle for the redress of the wrong done to the PWDs. As such, the office mainly functions as the receiving front of clients and mettle ground for abused PWDs. Other personnel not directly working on the current case files serve as the support group usually performing administrative tasks, support functions and research. From a physical assessment of the DRNJ office, the organization seems to possess an efficient leg with which to braise their over-all performance. Furthermore, the empathic and readiness of all the personnel to assist people in need plays as an effective tool in furthering the DRNJ’s ends of providing support to all those who need it. In the Spotlight The mission of the DRNJ is to provide an active authority to empower the PWDs in cases of abuse and neglect and other violations of their human, civil and legal rights. Furthermore, the organization undertakes to create a resource center where PWDs and their families can obtain necessary support and assistance. As an international organization, DRNJ pursues essentially commendable objectives by placing the predicament of persons with disability in their focal attention in consideration of the existent and continued indifference of the rest of the world. That is, with the general propensity of human beings to be indifferent and apathetic to the plight of those depicting a different perspective and living a distinct manner, an intentional consideration and willful acceptance is vastly necessary. With the growing chasm created by the differences in way of life, an ostensible field operating as the leveling ground where able-bodied and differently-abled persons are of the same footing is not only considered vital but highly welcome. But the fact remains that laws regarding persons with disabilities are mainly geared towards the stirring of virtuous regard and resultant acceptance of such persons into mainstream society. Yet this is in remarked disregard for the eradication of the usual and common attendant negative implication attached to their condition. Laws such as the Tara Law have been for the grand crusade aimed at establishing the rights of the PWDs. But in reality, the rights of these individuals are well-entrenched in the basic human rights of all human beings. Such constitutional rights and civil liberties are contained in the self-same repository of laws governing all nations and all people. As such, there appears to be no abject need or absolute necessity to maintain separate and distinct entities to monitor human, civil and legal rights abuses of PWDs as a general organization overseeing rights violations of all people have been existent far longer than the DRNJ. What organizations such as the DRNJ establishes is a successful differentiation and separation of PWDs as special and delicate entities that cannot be merged into mainstream society effectively widening the already existent and glaring social chasm between the “normal” and the rest. Instead of laboring to establish one nation where the able-bodied and the differently-abled citizens may stand as a singular unit, organizations such as the DRNJ only successfully magnifies the disparity of the two units effectively generating a consciousness that total social integration is nothing but an absolutely ideal concept. It is the opinion of the researcher that more specific laws aimed at attaining a singular community where diversity and heterogeneity are to be considered as acknowledged concepts should be enacted. To put it succinctly, the society would benefit more from laws that are aimed at establishing a society where people with disabilities would be able to exist alongside the “normal” people where their handicap would not spell out any difference. While the DRNJ endeavors to ascertain that PWDs are not in any way abused and discriminated more due to their relative vulnerability and defenselessness, the main fact that such pedestal and seeming needless plinth only exacerbates the growing gap in the community. That is, while DRNJ seeks to ensure that PWDs are treated like “normal” people, they have invariably caused the distinctive treatment and exclusive regard that should be absent in a homogenize society. The truth of the matter is that certain misgivings and doubts have begun to beleaguer the obvious and abject advantageous projection of organizations such as the DRNJ. It is the opinion of the researcher that should assimilation and integration of PWDs into the mainstream society be the main activity of such entities, then programs dwelling on harmonious co-existence must be the main undertaking to pursue. That is, it would appear more beneficial and contributory to the aim of total social integration had there been a global support or any such organization actively seeking to blend and associate PWDs into the conventional and mainstream community. But the fact is that entities such as the DRNJ only serve as springing board for PWDs to exist in an entire league of their own. In the end, what is created is a microcosmic experience of a “normal” activity that has been bestowed upon the disabled by people who appear to not know any better. References Department of Culture, Media and Sport - Office for Disability Issues. "London 2012: A Legacy for Disabled People." Http://odi.dwp.gov.uk. Department of Culture, Media and Sport - Office for Disability Issues, Apr. 2011. Web. 9 Nov. 2011. . "Disability Rights New Jersey (DRNJ) Website." Disability Rights New Jersey Home Page. Web. 11 Nov. 2011. . Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. Kavanagh: A Tale. Boston: Ticknor, Reed and Fields. Print. Mont, Daniel. "Measuring Disability Prevalence." Http://siteresources.worldbank.org. World Bank. Web. 8 Nov. 2011. http://siteresources.worldbank.org/DISABILITY/Resources/Data/MontPrevalence.pdf National Rehabilitation Information Center. "Full Committee Hearing – Improving Employment Opportunities for People with Intellectual Disabilities | Collection Spotlight from the National Rehabilitation Information Center." Collection Spotlight from the National Rehabilitation Information Center | New Resources and Hidden Gems from the NARIC Collection. The National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, 11 Mar. 2011. Web. 09 Nov. 2011. . Pizzuro, Salvatore. "Abuse of N.J.'s Developmentally Disabled Continues."Newjerseynewsroom.com. 3 Nov. 2011. Web. 11 Nov. 2011. . Steinberg, Kimberly. "Tara’s Law Will Protect Disabled from Abuse | Atl.gmnews.com | Atlanticville." Front Page | Atl.gmnews.com | Atlanticville. 13 May 2010. Web. 11 Nov. 2011. . The Levin Institute. "World-Report-on-Disability." Globalization 101: a Student's Guide to Globalization. The Levin Institute: The State University of New York, 16 June 2011. Web. 08 Nov. 2011. . Whyte, Layli S. "17-count Indictment Handed Up in the Case of the Death of Tara o’Leary” Politicker NJ." Politicker NJ | New Jersey Politics News, Reaction, and Analysis. 30 Oct. 2009. Web. 11 Nov. 2011. . Whyte, Layli. "Tara’s Law Introduced to Protect New Jersey’s Most Vulnerable Citizens."Senatenj.com. 29 July 2009. Web. 11 Nov. 2011. . World Health Organization. World Report on Disability 2011. By World Health Organization and the World Bank. Malta, 2011. Print. Read More