Kun Min Rhee, college professor and director of the
Rehabilitation Technology Center at Taegu University in Kyungsan, South Korea,
checks out equipment for persons with dexterity disabilities on display at
DoD's Computer/Electronics Accommodations Program's Technology Evaluation
Center in the Pentagon Oct. 27. Looking on is Jun Young-Hwan, a member of the
Korea Employment Promotion Agency for the Disabled. Photo by Rudi
Williams
(Click photo for screen-resolution image); high-resolution image available.
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The group, interested in improving the quality of life for people with
disabilities in their country had already, had already visited private-sector
organizations and universities that have accommodations and training programs
for people with disabilities.
Led by Kun Min Rhee, director of the Rehabilitation Technology Center at Taegu
University, the group included three representatives of the Korea Employment
Promotion Agency for the Disabled.
"KEPAD wants to establish a technology center in Korea for the first time,"
noted Rhee, also an associate professor and department chair at the university.
"I was looking through many centers in the United States to visit, discuss and
collect information, and we decided to visit at least one center, which was run
by the federal government. We wanted to know more about their policies and how
they use assistive technology in the employee's worksite environment."
Rhee contacted Young Woo Kang, presidential appointee to the National Council
on Disability, and asked him to arrange a visit to CAPTEC. Kang, who is blind,
made the arrangements and accompanied the visitors to the Pentagon.
KEPAD is a South Korean government-run agency that was established in 1990, the
same year CAP was created, to hire people with disabilities, Rhee pointed out.
He said KEPAD is open any civilian employee who needs assistive-technology
services.
The visitors spent about two hours at CAPTEC viewing the equipment and firing
volleys of questions at CAPTEC manager Michael Young.
Young pointed out that during his four-year tenure as CAPTEC manager he has
greeted disability-employment officials from South Africa, Australia and Japan.
"They were interested in emulating and modeling centrally funded accommodations
programs similar to CAP in their countries," Young noted.
He explained CAP's services extend to employees of 61 other federal agencies.
"Since the program's inception, we have filled more than 40,000 requests for
accommodations," he continued. In fiscal 2004, the agency set a record with
over 5,500 accommodations provided for employees with disabilities, he told the
Korean visitors.
Accommodations include pieces of assistive technology for people with
dexterity, vision, hearing and cognitive disabilities. The CAP also provides
training on the assistive technology.
"It may also include installation and integration issues if an employee's
assistive technology will not communicate well or access a particular piece of
electronic or information material," he said.
Not only does CAP strive to get people with disabilities into the workforce,
"once they're in we want them to have equal opportunities to be promoted and
grow," Young said. "That falls back on training. Federal employees, like
employees anywhere, need training opportunities in order to advance.
"We support the full employment lifecycle of people with disabilities and
increase their opportunities," Young said.
 | Michael Young explained to South Korean Kun Min Rhee the
technology on display in DoD's Computer/Electronics Accommodations Program's
Technology Evaluation Center at the Pentagon available to help employees who
are blind. Rhee, college professor and director of the Rehabilitation
Technology Center at Taegu University in Kyungsan, South Korea, accompanied
three members of the Korea Employment Promotion Agency for the Disabled, who
came to the U.S. to see how DoD and other government and civil sector
organizations help persons with disabilities. Photo by Rudi Williams
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 | High resolution photo
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 | DoD's Computer/Electronics Accommodations Program provides
assistive equipment such as that shown hereto employees in 61 federal agencies
besides DoD in helping eliminate employment barriers for employees with
disabilities. Assistance is provided to government employees with disabilities
worldwide. Photo by Rudi Williams
|
 | High resolution photo
|
 | Jun Young-Hwan, a member of the Korea Employment Promotion
Agency for the Disabled checks out telecommunications equipment in DoD's
Computer/Electronics Accommodations Program's Technology Evaluation Center at
the Pentagon Oct. 27. Photo by Rudi Williams
|
 | High resolution photo
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