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Date: January 20, 1995
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: HHS Press Office (202) 690-6343
SSA Press Office (410) 965-8904
Childhood Disability Commission Members Named
HHS Secretary Donna E. Shalala has named 15 members of the
new Childhood Disability Commission, which will review the
assistance given to disabled children under the Supplemental
Security Income program.
She had announced Jan. 9 that former Rep. Jim Slattery will
serve as chair of the commission. The other members will include
parents of children with disabilities, advocates for children,
educators, psychologists, researchers, attorneys, program
administrators, physicians, and others.
The 14 new members are:
- Polly Arango of Algondones, N.M., director, Family
Voice
- Adrianne Asch, Ph.D., of Wellesley, Mass., professor in
biology, ethics and the politics of human reproduction,
Wellesley College
- Dolores Berkovsky of Fort Worth, Texas, director of
children's services, St. Teresa's Home
- Anne Ford of New York, N.Y., chairman of the board of
directors, National Center for Learning Disabilities
- Wade Horn, Ph.D., of Gaithersburg, Md., director, The
National Fatherhood Initiative
- Jennifer Howse, Ph.D., of White Plains, N.Y.,
president, March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation
- Sharman Davis Jamison of Minneapolis, Minn., Parent
Advocacy Coalition Educational Rights Center
- Dan Johnson of Madison, Wis., director, Office for
Persons with Physical Disabilities, Wisconsin
Department of Health and Social Services
- Paul Marchand of Washington, D.C., director, The Arc
- James Perrin, M.D., of Boston, Mass., associate
professor of pediatrics, Massachusetts General Hospital
- M. Carmen S. Ramirez of El Paso, Texas, Schools Are for
Everyone
- Carol Rank of Topeka, Kan., acting director, Disability
Determination and Referral Service
- Rud Turnbull of Lawrence, Kan., co-director, Beach
Center on Families and Disabilities, University of
Kansas
- Barbara Wolfe, Ph.D., of Madison, Wis., professor and
director, Institute for Research on Poverty, University
of Wisconsin.
"We chose these people because of their extensive knowledge
of programs for children with disabilities and, in many cases,
lifelong careers serving children with disabilities and their
families. They are among the nation's top experts in this policy
area," Shalala said.
The new commission will examine SSI policies and the needs
of disabled children, and report its findings and recommendations
to Congress this year. The commission was mandated in the
"Social Security Independence and Program Improvements Act,"
passed by Congress and signed by President Clinton last year.
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