Obama Aide Kareem Dale's Goal: Leveling Field for All

By John Williams

Kareem Dale is a special assistant to the president of the United States for disability policy. Dale, who is partially blind, coordinates the administration's efforts to ensure that people with disabilities (PWDs) are on a level playing field with all Americans.

Dale, originally from Chicago, previously served as the national disability director for the Obama for America campaign. He also served on the arts policy committee and the disability policy committee for then-Senator Obama. Dale graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a bachelor's degree in advertising in May 1995. He received his JD/MBA in May 1999 from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, graduating cum laude.

He recently submitted to an exclusive interview with Independence Today.

Q: What are your responsibilities?

A: I work in both the Domestic Policy Council and Office of Public Engagement at the White House. I coordinate the administration's work on disability policy and outreach. Q: How often do you meet with leaders of the disability community to hear their concerns?

A: I meet frequently with disability leaders, grassroots advocates, family members of people with disabilities, and ordinary Americans to discuss issues related to people with disabilities.

Q: The unemployment rate among people in the disability community is above 13%. What is the administration doing to bring down this number?

A: One of the president's top priorities is continuing to improve the economy and get people back to work, and that includes people with disabilities. From the Recovery(American Recovery and Reinvestment)Act and many other initiatives, the president has made strong investments in areas that are helping people with disabilities get back to work. As one example, the recovery plan included over $500 million for vocational rehabilitation services. Additionally, the president signed an executive order to make the federal government a model employer for people with disabilities. These initiatives will help college students with disabilities as well as well-established professionals.

Q: What is the administration doing to encourage students with disabilities to graduate from high school and go on to college?

A: The president is committed to ensuring that more Americans go on to an institution of higher education. As he has said, his goal is to, by the end of the decade, have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world.

Q: How often do you meet with the president to discuss disability issues? Do you find he is receptive to these issues?

A: The president is very committed to disability issues.

Q: What would you consider the administration's major accomplishment in dealing with disability issues?

A: There are many major accomplishments. Three of the biggest thus far include signing the U.N. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, issuing the disability employment executive order, and signing the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act.

Q: What are its shortcomings in dealing with disability issues?

A: People with disabilities still are underrepresented in the workforce, and still too many are not graduating at the same rate as those without disabilities. As an administration, we continue to strive for improvement in these areas every day.

Q: Many poor people with disabilities receiving Medicaid are scared to death that they will either be denied medical care or see a reduction in medical services. What can the administration do to alleviate these fears?

A: As the president discussed during recent remarks, he remains committed to Medicaid services. Moreover, the Affordable Care Act will permit many Americans, including those with disabilities, to obtain health coverage.

Q: Assistive technology access is important to improving the lives of people with disabilities. Is the administration doing anything to guarantee that people with disabilities have access to assistive technology? If so, what?

A: The administration is committed to accessible technology. The president signed the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act in 2010. The CIO (chief information officer) and CAO (chief administrative officeralso issued a memorandum in July 2010 to better ensure that the federal government is compliant under Section 508 (an amendment of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 that requires agencies to give disabled employees and members of the public access to information that is comparable to that available to others). And we continue to address these important issues.

Q: Who is the highest-ranking person in this administration with a disability, and is this person given the opportunity to be visible?

A: We have many high-ranking persons with disabilities in the White House and throughout the administration, including myself, Chris Griffin (deputy director of the Office of Personnel Management), Secretary (of Veterans Affairs) Eric Shinseki, and many others.

Q: Do you consider yourself to be a role model for disabled people to emulate?

A: I believe in reaching back and helping others. If I can be helpful to a young person with or without a disability, I certainly strive to do that. Q: What assistive technologies do you use to do your job?

A: I have a BrailleNote PK, talking caller ID on my work phone, Window-Eyes on my computer and Mobile Speak for my work smartphone.

Q: Is there a personal goal that you want to achieve on behalf of people with disabilities before January 20, 2013 (the day the president’s four-year term ends)? What is it?

A: We have many goals as an administration. We will continue to focus on education and employment for people with disabilities. We also are continuing to work on ratification of the U.N. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. And we continue to strive to ensure that people with disabilities have equal access to emergency services during disasters.

Q: What are some White House initiatives being done to assist disabled veterans get employed?

A: I would point you to Office of Personnel Management and Veterans Administration. Both have excellent programs in place.

John Williams can be reached at iwilliams@atechnews.com. His website is www.atechnews.com.