People with Disabilities Foundation

“Form 990,part vi, line 11b - a subcommittee of the board of directors has reviewed the form 990,its schedules, and related attachments in detail before the return was filed and it is available to other members of the board at their request.”

“Pwdf monitors this on an on-going basis; as a small agency, it would have been reported and discussed at every general annual and budget board meeting. This fy there was no need for enforcement.”

“Every year, the voting board reviews the staffing and salary structure at the pwdf general annual budget meeting in april or may. Periodically, (every 5 years), we purchase naional and/or regional salary data from guidestar or similar to compare our salary structure with similar nonprofits that have similar budget amounts.”

“The documents are available upon request to the organization and also through the office of the california attorney general.”

“Advocacy program: we filed two new civil rights discrimination cases against the social security administration (ssa) in federal court for reasonable accommodations for clients who have schizophrenia as a primary disability. (case nos 3:23-cv-01037 and 3:23-cv(n.d. Cal.) in one case plaintiff's supplemental security income (ssi) checks were initially held up for two years based on an ssa false assertion that plaintiff had 1 million of real estate,resulting in him being cast out on the streets homeless, being in four psychiatric hospitals and living in shelters, etc. In the other case, the ssa ceased plaintiff's benefits when she tried to work, eventually reinstating her but without the retroactive 12-months of benefits. The ssa should never have ceased her benefits, given her symptomatologhy, which includes disorganized thinking,visual, auditory, and olfactory hallucinations and severe neuro-cognitive impairments putting her in the 1% or less of the population in many categories. In both cases, the ssa had the medical information, which showed by clear and convincing evidence,one for 27 years, that these individuals' symptomatology included hallucinations and/or delusions, including auditory, visual, and olfactory, in addition to psychiatric findings of constant disorganized thoughts lasting not less than 2 years at times. See social security listing 12.03 schizophrenia spectrum disorder, part 404, subpart p, appendix 1. The ssa knew one person was homeless for 2 years and from the other individual's work cdr (review for cessation of benefits), that the stated reason for holding up his receipt of ssi check benefits and terminating her ssdi check benefits were false because he did not own any real estate and she did have the capacity to be engaged in sustained work. Twelve years ago, pwdf received favorable outcomes in two federal court cases filed against the ssa for discrimination based on psychiatric and/or developmental disabilities. (case nos. 3:06-cv-6108 and 3:09-cv-980(n.d.cal. 2012).) we filed these cases for reasonable accommodations to prevent the ssa from terminating these clients from benefits without "effective communication" for meaningful program access. These cases can take 5 years since the ssa usually delays discrimination cases. Pwdf represented a client who refused to take psychotropic medications, which the ssa used to support their conclusion that the client was not disabled. The right to refuse psychotropic medication is an important civil right. M.f.v. O'malley, commissioner, sos. Sec. Admin., case 3:20-cv-08742 (n.d. Cal. Nov. 11, 2021). Pwdf continues to consult with and represent individuals who have psychiatric, intellectual, neurological, and/or developmental disabilities on cases that involve social security disability, employment, and/or housing benefits, including with reasonable accommodations issues. We also have clinics for beneficiaries of ssdi and/or ssi, employment, etc.”

“Education program: pwdf's public awareness and education activities generally include outreach events, guest speaking, a quarterly e-newsletter, informational seminars,training sessions and a youtube channel, which hosts our seminar and other videos. To-date, we have 48 videos from the 3-hour educational seminars on our youtube channel. In addition,we continue to market our employment training videos regarding employees and job applicants with mental or developmental disabilities for distribution. Over the last 10 years, we have been expanding our public awareness and education program from a primarily local program to a national program thouugh live streaming technology. Our next free public awareness seminar entitled "older adults and mental health issues: diagnosis, treatment, and related awareness issues," will address psychiatric issues related to aging, including those that may onset late in life. We expected to have this live seminar in february 2025. We provide training on the americans with disabilities act of 1990 (ada), and on social security disablility insurance (ssdi) and ssi, with a focus on how the rules affect people with psychiatric, intellectual, and/or developmental disabilities (p/idd). We provide these trainings locally,statewide and nationwide by live streaming, including for organizations such as nami california, nami san francisco chaper, the bar association of san francisco, and support for families of children with disabilities, among others. When appropriate, we submit public comments to governmental agencies, advocating for policies and regulatory changes as they pertain to people with p/idd, because this population is underrepresented and stigmatized.”

“NOT SPECIFIED”