Senate Federal and State Affairs Committee
Senator Brungardt, Chair
HB 2152
February 14, 2007

Thank you for the opportunity to provide written testimony today regarding HB 2152.  I am Jennifer Schwartz, the Director of the Kansas Association of Centers for Independent Living (KACIL).  KACIL represents Centers for Independent Living (CILs) across Kansas.  KACIL is driven by the following mission statement:  To coordinate efforts within Kansas and the United States to the extent that these efforts will further independent living for all.  KACIL will advocate for the civil rights of Kansans with disabilities. 
 
Centers for Independent Living provide services to people with any disability, of all ages.  CILs provide information and assistance to businesses and other entities in the community to increase opportunities for people with disabilities to live, work, and play in all aspects of community life.  

KACIL comes to this committee in support of HB 2152, a bill concerning the commission on Emergency Planning and Response.  We believe this commission has an extremely important mission, and that there is a responsibility to include representatives of specific groups in our diverse population.  KACIL wants to see that Kansas has a planned, coordinated effort when/if a natural disaster or emergency occurs in our state.  There are specific issues that arise when it comes to planning for people with disabilities, thus we are pleased to see that there is one appointee that would speak to disability issues.  We would urge the committee to ensure that the appointee has cross disability experience.

KACIL believes this legislation, this commission, and the specific appointment of an individual to represent disability are right in line with our mission statement.  We believe that it is important to remember that as we build our communities to include more and more individuals with disabilities, we must also continue to plan for services needed in the event of a natural disaster or emergency response.

Thank you for your thoughtful consideration on this important legislation.

Please feel free to contact me with questions or requests for additional information.

Thank you for your time

 

Jennifer Schwartz
jennfiers@kacil.org