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Presidential Task Force on the Employment of Adults with Disabilities (PTFEAD)

The Presidential Task Force on the Employment of Adults with Disabilities (PTFEAD) was established by Executive Order in 1998, during the second term of President William Clinton. Comprised of cabinet-level and other members representing many Federal Departments, Agencies, and Commissions, its mandate was to perform the most extensive public policy review ever, with the goal of increasing the employment of adults with disabilities. Later, its work was expanded to include studying how to improve employment outcomes for persons with disabilities by addressing, among other things, the education, transition, employment, health and rehabilitation, and independent living issues affecting young people with disabilities. During its tenure, the PTFEAD produced a Fact Sheet describing its work (see Additional Information below).

The PTFEAD met and worked over the course of several years, producing a number of remarkable and influential reports (see Additional Information below). The last of these reports was delivered to the next President, George Bush, in 2002 on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the effective date of the employment provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

Recommendations contained in the reports from the PTFEAD were instrumental in the passage of historic legislation that removed barriers and provided opportunities for the employment of people with disabilities. Among the legislative recommendations were the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999, building infrastructure to support Medicaid buy-in, the development of DisabilityInfo.gov, the comprehensive Federal website of disability-related government resources, and the creation of a new Office of Disability Policy within the Department of Labor.

In its 2001 appropriations, Congress approved an Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) to be headed by an Assistant Secretary. ODEP is now a Federal agency in the Department of Labor, and its mission is to provide the national leadership to increase employment opportunities for adults and youth with disabilities while striving to eliminate barriers to employment.

President Bush initiated a "New Freedom Initiative" that carries forward the spirit and broadens the goals of the former PTFEAD. It provides a comprehensive, government-wide framework for achieving the goal of eliminating the barriers that prevent people with disabilities from participating fully in community life. Additional information is available at:
http://www.hhs.gov/newfreedom/

A descriptive Fact Sheet, all four of the major PTFEAD reports, the Executive Order that established the PTFEAD and other related orders are available from the WorkWORLD website (see Additional Information below). There are assembled there in one place for archival purposes because of the difficulty of locating them elsewhere on the Internet. Virtually all links that formerly led to them have been deleted from the Department of Labor website.

Additional Information

The WorkWORLD website contains a page similar to this Help/Information topic, from which a number of PTFEAD reports and other materials may be viewed and or downloaded. Note that all of the downloadable materials are provided in PDF format, and require Adobe Acrobat Reader in order to view or print them. The web page is located at:
http://www.workworld.org/ptfead.html

Documents available from that page include:

·                   First Report - 1998: Re-charting the Course (November 15, 1998)

·                   Second Report - 1999: Re-charting the Course: If Not Now, When? (November 15, 1999)

·                   Third Report - 2000: Re-charting the Course: Turning Points (December 15, 2000)

·                   Final Report - 2002: People with Disabilities - Strengthening the 21st Century Workforce (July 26, 2002)

·                   PTFEAD Fact Sheet: About the Task Force on Employment of Adults with Disabilities (circa 2000)

·                   Executive Order 13078: Increasing Employment of Adults With Disabilities, Establishment of National Task Force on Employment of Adults with Disabilities (March 13, 1998)

·                   Executive Order 13172: Amendment of Executive Order 13078, To Expand the Role of the National Task Force on Adults With Disabilities To Include a Focus on Youth (October 25, 2000)

·                   Executive Order 13187: The President's Disability Employment Partnership Board, made Chairperson of the Board a member and Vice Chair of the National Task Force on Employment of Adults with Disabilities (January 10, 2001)

Hard-copies and alternative formats of some of these materials are available from:

United States Department of Labor
Office of Disability Employment Policy
200 Constitution Avenue N.W., Room S 1303
Washington, D.C. 20210
(202) 693-7880 main voice
(202) 693-7888 main fax
(202) 693-7881 main TTY

The Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) maintains a website at:
http://www.dol.gov/odep/

See Also:

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990

Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999

Medicaid buy-in

DisabilityInfo.gov

New Freedom Initiative

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