New HHS Office on Disability to Be Headed by Former AoA Staffer

Margaret J. Giannini, M.D., F.A.A.P., formerly the principal deputy assistant secretary for aging at the Administration on Aging, has been selected to head a new U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office on Disability.

The office, which is expected to open this fall, is tasked with overseeing the “coordination, development, and implementation of programs and special initiatives within HHS that impact people with disabilities.” HHS characterized the new office as “build[ing] on the work of President Bush’s New Freedom Initiative….” This initiative “promote[s] the full participation of people with disabilities in all areas of society by increasing access to assistive and universally designed technologies, expanding educational and employment opportunities, and promoting full access to community life.”

Parts of the Initiative that overlap with adult abuse concerns include:

• Addressing barriers that prevent people with disabilities from living in the community;
• The New Freedom Commission on Mental Health, charged with making recommendations “for improving America’s mental health service delivery system”;
• Grants to states to help people with disabilities purchase assistive technology; and
• A demonstration project to provide respite care services for caregivers of adults with disabilities.