Transforming Federal Disability Policy
Richard K. ScotchNow that curb cuts, braille elevator buttons, and closed caption television are commonplace, many people assume that disabled people are now full participants in American society. This book tells a rather different story. It tells how America's disabled mobilized to effect sweeping changes in public policy, not once but twice, and it suggests that the struggle is not yet over.
The first edition of From Good Will to Civil Rights traced the changes in federal disability policy, focusing on the development and implementation of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Richard K. Scotch's extensive interviews with policymakers, leaders of the disability rights movement, and other advocates, supplemented the sketchy official history of the legislation with the detailed, behind-the-scenes story, illuminating the role of the disability rights movement in shaping Section 504. Charting the shifts in policy and activist agendas through the 1990s, this new edition surveys the effects and disappointments associated with the Americans with Disabilities Act, passed in 1990, in the context of the continuing movement to secure full civil rights for disabled people.
"An excellent case study of the enactment and implementation of Section 504...this book will interest students of the American public policy-making processes as well as those with a special interest in civil rights and disability policy."
—Choice
"This analysis...is almost certain to become a classic work in the literature that will eventually emerge in this field."
— Contemporary Sociology
"The best thing about Scotch's book is that it shows why, despite the broad rights language of the legislation and its regulations, Section 504 exists in a vacuum, with this country still, for the most part, unconcerned about disability rights.... Advocates should read Scotch's book... It's a good place to start on the future."
—The Disability Rag
"(P)resents the effects and disappointments associated with civil rights legislation including the ADA, and the continuing effort of the civil rights movement for persons with disabilities to secure access and integration into American society. From Good Will to Civil Rights (2nd ed.) is highly recommended for those seeking to understand the civil rights movement for persons with disabilities and the impact that legislation has on this new minority group."
— Journal of Social Work in Disability and Rehabilitation
"A particular strength of this work, aside from the analysis itself, is the author's reliance on the testimony of people involved in developing the policy (of Section 504)."
— H-Net Online
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