A new Florida task force met for the first time this week to start looking into transportation issues people with developmental and intellectual disabilities face on a daily basis. The Task Force on Transportation Disadvantaged Services was created as part of a new law that just took effect.
As things stand now, Agency for Persons with Disabilities Director Barbara Palmer says people with disabilities have to call several different numbers just to get to where they need to be.
“What I understand is in many cases, what happens to an individual is: if they want to go the doctor, they have to call one number,” she said. “If they’re going to one of the services that we provide for them, they have to call another number. If they’re going to the mall or somewhere for work, they have to call another number.”
Palmer chairs the task force, charged by the legislature to look into these type of transportation issues for people with disabilities. An independent consultant is also slated to study the issues and find ways to make things easier. One task force member, who uses the transportation disadvantaged services, is set to make a presentation at the task force’s August meeting in Tallahassee.
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