Sara Innamorato/Caylin Snyder: Allegheny County's Commitment to Meet the Needs of Residents Living with Disabilities

At Highmark Health, we believe what makes us unique makes us better. Our differences broaden our perspectives and foster a variety of skills to complement each other, creating a stronger and more vibrant workforce. It's this belief that earned us recognition as the Best Place to Work for the 10th year for individuals with disabilities in a survey by the American Association of People with Disabilities and Disability:IN. We'll continue to celebrate and benefit from the inclusion of all people. To find out more, visit highmarkhealth.org. Welcome to Disability Matters with your host Joyce Bender. All comments, views, and opinions expressed on the show are solely those of the host, guest, and callers. Now the host of Disability Matters, here's Joyce Bender.

Hi everyone, welcome to the show today. To all of you, you know how much I appreciate you and appreciate your support. Cannot believe 22 years, and last year was my 1,000th episode. And you know, couldn't do it without you. I mean it. I really appreciate your incredible loyalty through all these years, and also to Highmark, the lead sponsor of this show for years and years now. What a great company they are. David Holmberg, tremendous. Karen Hanlon, the same. And everyone, uh, at the top, Mark Sevko at Allegheny General Hospital, AHN. I mean, I, you know, they hire people, so that's where the rubber meets the road— employment. And I have to thank all my listeners around the world. So number 2, I'll tell you what, Singapore, you rock because week after week after week, right after the United States, Singapore has the most listeners. I'm telling you, you get out there and you tell everyone else, get them to listen to the show because you know what this is about, the show? Quality of life. For people living with disabilities. And you know, I live with epilepsy, but I always tell people, a seizure here, a seizure in Singapore, is still a seizure. So you know, disability, all my brothers and sisters, disability does not discriminate. But Singapore, thank you.

Wow.

And you know, oh, this next thing gives me so much pleasure. Every show, since we have 150 countries listening, every show I have a shout out to a country. This means a lot to me today. Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan, thank you. Maybe friends of mine there, because this is where I went several years ago with the U.S. State Department as an expert on the employment of people with disabilities. And now look, You are now number 24. I want everyone to know, great country, great people, Kazakhstan. Thank you so much for your incredible support. And Yoshiko Dahr, special shout out to you on every show for years. Now you know she is, and I know Kayla will know, who this is. She is the wife of the late, great Justin Dart. So I mention Yoshiko on every show because, you know, in our school system, we don't have history about the disability leaders or the ADA or what happened. And I'm going to remind everyone and have been for years giving Yoshiko that shout out because I'm determined we have to do something. And today, talk about doing something. We have a real star on our show today. Sarah Innamorato is the county executive, one of the most powerful roles in the state of Pennsylvania. She is the county executive for Allegheny County. A great person, and we're— Sarah, thank you. We're so thrilled to have you on today. And Caitlin Snyder, one of the favorites at Bender Consulting Services for what you do, and I'll be talking about that in a little bit, uh, at the county. But Sarah, truly is an honor to have you on the show. I love what I'm going to say next. First female, youngest ever I even saw you on the COVID of the 40 Under 40 Pittsburgh magazine. And as I said, the ADA coordinator, Kaylin Snyder. Sarah, before we start, one of the reasons I wanted to have her on now, and I'll have her on again next year, Sarah is running. Her reelection campaign will be next year. So 10% of Pennsylvania people with disabilities, 10% of Allegheny County, the same. So you need to hear from me that she cares about people with disabilities. So I'm going to give you a couple examples. First, she was speaking at an event at the Airport Marriott, and she was talking about the NFL draft and how she wanted to make sure that, you know, everything was, was good. And afterwards, I took one of my employees up to meet her, who uses a wheelchair. And I gotta tell you, many times that's like, okay, yeah, hi, nice to meet you. Sarah took time to talk to her, be with her. So, you know, attentive. And when I invited her to one of the Bender Leadership Academy events. This is what really got to me. She was the last one that left. So why am I telling you all this? Because between now and then, we're going to have our own campaign for Sarah and Amorado. And the sooner we start, the better. So that's today. Sarah, um, around the world, I have people that'll call me and say, Wow, that guest of yours was great, but I want to know more about them. So what if you tell us your journey, you know, growing up in Pittsburgh, your family, um, where you live, your favorite Pittsburgh food, things like that.

So, well, thank you, Joyce Bender, for having me on and for those kind words. Um, I really appreciate all the work that you do, not only for the disability community but for our entire region. It really means a whole lot, and congratulations on over 1000 episodes. That is incredible. Oh my gosh. So me, I don't know. I will say that it's— I— one of my least favorite things is to talk about myself, so I will do my best and get a little uncomfortable so I can provide you with a little story about who I am and how I got here. So I am, like you mentioned, the youngest and first woman to serve as Allegheny County Chief Executive.

I was elected in 2023.

Sworn in in 2024. And I do often say that my trajectory in my political career is not— is atypical. Uh, I was raised here in Allegheny County. I grew up in a northern suburb called Ross Township, a graduate of North Hills High School. I went to the University of Pittsburgh. I studied business, and I really thought that once I graduated, I was going to go off to the corporate world, work in human resources, or work in marketing or communications. And I actually graduated during peak recession, so the 2008 recession. So really myself, along with many of my peers, struggled to find a job and to find stability during kind of a moment in your life where you're really evolving and coming into your own as an adult. And I continued to work in food service and retail and do unpaid internships. And, you know, it was during that time I was working for a major retail organization. I ended up getting, um, a tech company. I ended up getting a leadership position with them. I was there for 2 years. I did this leadership program and really at the end of it, I felt like I want, I want to use my powers for good. I want to be able to give back to my community and help to solve some of the great challenges that we see in our communities each and every day. And that really, for me, was a hard pivot into the nonprofit and community development world. And so, you know, in my mid-20s, I was doing that work and I was helping communities, turn vacant, blighted, underappreciated land into vibrant green spaces that could serve as a platform for neighbors gathering together and getting to know each other and imagining what their neighborhood could be. So I did that for a number of years, and then I went out on my own, much like you, as a consultant, and, and took that work that I was doing around communications and organizing and policy work and worked with a number of government government agencies and nonprofits. And, you know, it was really through that that inspired me to run for office, to be able to help have a bigger platform to work on these issues around sustainability and justice and community investment. And that's what led me to run for the State House in 2018, and then, you know, and then eventually to Allegheny County Executive.

What a career for such a young person. I don't know how you did all that in such a time, but, you know, wow. But you didn't tell me, what's your favorite Pittsburgh food?

Okay, so my— okay, so if it's Pittsburgh specific, I will say my favorite type of food is likely Thai food. And but I will say if we're thinking about iconic Pittsburgh dishes, I would say the pierogi. I think that there is a lot of possibility with a pierogi. You can go classic, you can go, you know, kind of a little wild with it. You can have dessert pierogis. You could do the classic cheese and potato or sauerkraut. And they're highly portable, which is great.

Yeah, that is Pittsburgh. No doubt about it. That is a Pittsburgh thing. And now I know you like spicy food.

I do like spicy food. Yeah.

I love spicy food. The spicier, the better. Yes, I do. So, Sarah, I'm wanting to know what was the thing that happened? Something happens to everyone in their life where they say, that's it, I'm going to run for office because that was a big decision. I mean, that was A very big decision. So I don't know, you're so young, I didn't know if it happened when you were in high school or what. But, you know, what do you think it was that made you say, okay, I'm going to do it? Because that was big. It's big what you did.

Yeah. Yeah. I, I don't think that there's one moment, but it's the composition of all of these little moments in your life that at some point you You step back and you reflect on what happened and whether you want those types of things to repeat themselves or you want to try to change the world for better. And I will say, I think when I really decided to run— well, I had always wanted to go to graduate school. So after I graduated with my undergrad degree from Penn, I always wanted to go get a master's in public policy. And I could never afford it. I could never make the math, math. I just was like, I don't know how to take out all those loans. I don't know how to go in that amount of debt. And I ended up finding these different paths to education and to leadership development. So one of those paths took me to a Coro Women in Leadership program. So it was a 1-year program for mid-career women. So I think I was in my probably late 20s at the time. And part of participating in that program is that you need to work with your peers in that program and design a program that uplifts— or design a project that uplifts women in southwestern Pennsylvania. And so there was a panel discussion that was women of both political parties who were in elected office, and they really had this shared narrative of often being the only woman in the room at the decision-making table, being talked over, not being taken seriously. Um, and that really stuck with me because if you think about what it means to be an American and part of this system, you know, we're promised a representative democracy. And if you don't have people that look like you, that sound like you, um, that have the same lived experiences that you do, we're not really fulfilling that promise. So I thought, okay, let me do some research. And the research told me that at the time, Pennsylvania was ranked 49th when it came to women in elected office. Yeah, so, so almost at the bottom, but just one above. And so, you know, the data was telling me that these women's experience were, you know, also, you know, their, their stories were valid and it was backed by data. And so I was like, okay, I'm gonna help women run for office. So for better or worse, there are 130 municipalities and 43 school districts in Allegheny County. So that gives you over 1,000 opportunities to run for local office. That doesn't even include the Democratic Committee and the Republican Committee, which you can also run for. So I'm gonna like try to demystify it and get women to run for office. And so I, Founded this program called She Runs Southwest PA. I started doing this work, this was like in 2016, and, you know, post the presidential election in 2016 when President Trump was elected for the first time, there was a lot of interest in getting more women to step up and run for office. And so I got a grant to do a program. I ran a podcast for a little bit. I know a little bit about podcasting from like my life 10 years ago. And through that work, I was doing education. I was bringing people together. I was trying to demystify running for office and building up the resources that people would need to run as first-time candidates. And, you know, people were asking me, well, why don't you run? And I said, I'm not really interested in that. I'm more of like a team player. I want to like cheer someone on. I want to help them with their comms or their policy. And I realized asking someone to run for office is really asking a lot. Um, it's asking to sacrifice time from their career, from their family, uh, to get uncomfortable, to be vulnerable with people. And I had to look at myself and say, was I ready to do that? Was I ready to do the things that I was asking women to do and to step up and run for office? And So really, that's, that's what got me over the edge. I was like, I'm going to, I'm going to run. I'm probably going to lose because I was running against an established candidate, you know, with, with a lot of resources and endorsements. And I was like, I'm probably going to lose, but I'll write a white paper on what I learned and it will help other women run for office after me on how to fundraise, how to organize volunteers. And what ended up happening is that—

You won!

We won! We tripled voter turnout and we got two-thirds of the vote in a Democratic primary, which was really amazing. And, you know, during that time, I shared a lot about my upbringing in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County and talked a lot about like what it was like just to live as a normal person. You know, when I was a teenager, we had found out my dad was struggling with addiction. He was the breadwinner of the family. He was the only one who'd gone to college. He was like very, very successful, but also struggled, struggled with an opioid addiction. You know, this is the late '90s, early 2000s, and really was, was in and out of rehab. And at some point, my mom decided that it was unsafe for my sister and I to be in that house. And so she took us and with her high school degree, really struggled to find a job. That she could support 2 girls on. We moved, you know, I say from the time we left that house to the time I graduated high school, I probably lived about 10 different places. And so I saw the precarity of the American dream and the American existence on how everyone can do something right and try to check all of the boxes and be a good student and go to college and pay your bills and you know, pull yourself up by those, you know, imaginary bootstraps and still you can fall through the cracks. And I saw that with my own family. And we, for all intents and purposes, came from a very privileged place. And so I didn't— I told that story on the campaign trail as a means to connect with people in a real human way of being like, I don't know your story. You don't know mine. There are different lived experiences, but creates a sense of community and vulnerability and connectedness that I think we just need more of, not only in politics, but just in life, to like better understand and empathize with each other, with each other. And I think, you know, that was really kind of the key to the success of the campaign. And I've really just tried to be a servant and empathetic leader during my time in elected office.

Well, I never heard that story. That is a very powerful story, Sarah.

Yeah, it's amazing because I get— not only it's the story, but now I get to work on issues like I get to work, you know, in Department of Human Services and help, you know, usher in programs that treat addiction like what it is, a disease, and how to make sure we're designing compassionate programs. I get to work on housing instability and homelessness in compassionate ways. You know, I really, I get to work on creating economic opportunities for people of all educational backgrounds. And like, it's this stuff that I get to draw on from my own lived experience that really humanizes it for me, but also gets to connect with folks in a real and authentic way.

Well, you are awesome.

I think you're awesome.

Well, I— well, sorry. But again, listeners, we have a lot of— especially not just Singapore, Allegheny County. We have a lot of listeners. I'll tell you ahead of time, I'm going to be endorsing Sarah. So listen, all of you, you got to get behind her. Because see, you got to start early. This is what I find. Time goes so fast, doesn't it? I mean, it's amazing. I feel like I'm on a jet all the time. So you got to start talking to people now. And Sarah, we at Bender Leadership Academy are in Western Pennsylvania, the group that runs REV UP, register, educate, Vote. And it is nonpartisan, but it's about getting people with disabilities registered to vote because I always tell people, you have the voice, but it doesn't mean anything if you don't vote. You've got to vote. So make sure you get registered to vote. Well, uh, before we talk more about you, Sarah, I've got to move on to one of my absolute favorite people here at Bender Consulting Services. Ms. Kaylin Snyder, because when I said you were going to be on, oh, Jill and the team, they were so excited that we're going to have Kaylin on. And Kaylin is the ADA coordinator for Allegheny County. And speaking of young people with disabilities, the third Wednesday of every October is Disability Mentoring Day. Do you know, Sarah, that Kaylin has worked all the time through the years getting people with disabilities at the county for the day? And Kaylin, that's a life changer. It started really in 1999. I received the President's Award at the White House from President Clinton, and the person with a disability that worked there well, reported to him on disability issues was Jonathan Young. We became friends. And one day he called me and said, "We need a day. We'll never get a month. But we need a day." And that's how Disability Mentoring Day came to be. He and I went together. And that's how it started in 1999. And now I am proud to say that in Pittsburgh, we have the largest We had 500 students, Kaylyn, 500, at companies throughout Pittsburgh for that one day of job shadowing. And you know that event we have at the Heinz History Center, which we need to get Sarah to that, but you know, that is like such a beautiful and great evening. So, Sarah. You are awesome too. So what caused you, Kaylin, I'm sorry, Kaylin, to work in the disability area?

Yeah, no, thank you for having me. I'm really excited to join. I'm glad Jill and the team said something. I am, it's probably my favorite event that I host, the Disability Mentoring Day. Just, I'll go into how I got into disability work, but I have to highlight Disability Mentoring Day. It's truly one of my favorites. I always get good feedback from the teachers and participants, how fun and interactive it is. I try my best to match, you know, their, their college or career interests. So we get so many different types of students and departments to participate because there's a lot that you can do at the county. So we usually have like elections join and we have an activity. All departments have an activity and we cast your vote. And so the students, they vote on like their favorite dog or like their favorite beach and if Election Day should be like on a Saturday or just things like that. And then we cast the vote and go over the results at the end. And that's just one activity. We do like a zombie apocalypse event when Geographic Information Science joined. So they shared on their screen, you know, it would be in relation to that school. If we had what, Woodland Hills one year. So they would zoom in on Woodland Hills and ask, you know, where would you go to run for water and shelter and things like that. We had Weights and Measures join. They would bring different, like, supplies from the grocery stores and scales and show how they do their work. We had parks and special events. We try to get as many, as many departments involved and try to make it as intimate as possible too, so the students feel that they really do have that mentorship and connection. And then I go over like the HR-related stuff, like a good interview and a bad interview and, and what to say, what not to say, try to make it lighthearted. But I, yeah, I really do love that day. So I've been doing it, I think, yeah, for 7 years. My first year I watched how it was done and then after that I jumped right on in and it's, I look forward to it. All the time. But how I started in disability work, well, I kind of have a similar, I guess, background with Sarah. I went to school at Penn State for psychology, and there was a business option there. I minored in labor employment relations. So I always was fascinated with how people think and how they interact and trying to understand myself and probably my loved ones too. And so I always thought that I would work somewhere in helping people. I didn't really know in what capacity. I didn't really have a plan during college or after. But then I had the opportunity to become the ADA compliance intern. So there are 3 interns, myself, so I was focused on psychology. There was one that studied biology and another one that studied engineering. So we had a diverse group right there, someone that could evaluate the physical part, you know, communicate with with the public and employees and just get that like healthcare kind of background. So we had a really solid team. And then after that summer internship, I finished my senior year at Penn State. And then the previous ADA coordinator, she had another job opportunity and recommended me to apply for the position. She told the staff that, you know, out of all the interns and out of, you know, all the other candidates, I really think that Kayla would be a good fit. So I said, sure, why not? I mean, I love my internship. It's— I was at the parks every day, all day. I wore sneakers and I was able to be outside. So I had no complaints. I was like, yeah, like, sign me up. I'll do more of it. I mean, it was, it was so interesting to learn about how accessibility applies to every aspect of life. I mean, from the moment you go from the parking lot to the pathway and accessing the shelters or swimming pools or the playgrounds or trails. You know, we really looked at every aspect and made measurements, did evaluations, took pictures, wrote up reports on how we can improve it and examples that were already provided at the parks, like, this is what you should do and not do. And it was really impactful. I, I find it so fulfilling and rewarding. I experience something new every day. I get to learn from so many different people about their subject matter expertise, from architecture to like building codes, and then how like communication works and web developing. It's, it's like endless opportunities truly to learn. And, you know, I, from my own personal experience, I have some mental health conditions. And my family members have a variety of disabilities as well. I come from a very big family. There's like 7 of us. There's 9 of them on my dad's side. There's 5 of them on my mom's side. So I have like a family reunion, like 200 people. So no doubt we're gonna run into people with disabilities. And but on like a more close level with my sister as well, and my father who And my grandfather recently passed from stage 4 liver cancer and then of septic and I think just for something else. Oh my goodness, it was a couple of years ago, but being their caregivers and supporting them and really seeing how the world works and, you know, it wasn't really originally built for people with disabilities in mind, of course, like it was just that they were an afterthought. So I just have so much more appreciation for the advocates, for people that are creating accessible programs and services and facilities. And I just find it so fascinating. And I really, really enjoy it.

There's—

I could talk about all these different projects I can work on and influence people and spread awareness. And I just Yeah, it just kind of happened, and I don't really see myself going anywhere else. I mean, I didn't think I was going to be here for 8 years either, so I really enjoy what I do.

No, we're not going to let you go anywhere. We need you there. You're not allowed to go anywhere. Well, Sarah and Kaylin, it is time for our news break. We are the only show in the world that has a news break. Every day on every show on disability issues. And we have— I call her Sarah, my Rachel Maddow. Where are you, Jennifer? Jennifer, nice to see you again. Mathis on the mic. Mathis on the mic. Jennifer Mathis, just known, extraordinary across the country as a mental health disability rights leader. Kaylin, this is the person in the New York Times or Washington Post when they have any question about mental health issues. And guess what? She was at the Tony Coelho Award Ceremony with me where our company presented Senator Markey from Massachusetts the award, and I had the great honor of her introducing me. You know how I love you, Jennifer. All right, well, Jennifer, never do you have a hard time. I've noticed you never have a hard time with news because there in Washington, D.C., you always have news. So what news do you have for us today?

So today I have not so great news, and that is that on June 1st, CMS, which stands for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, put out an interim final rule about the Medicaid work requirements. And as we have talked about on prior news segments, Congress in the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act for the first time enacted a national work requirement for people in the Medicaid program, specifically in the Medicaid expansion, and it will go into effect in January of 2027. So coming up, not that long from now. And Congress had directed CMS, the Medicaid agency, to do a rule, an interim final rule, um, setting out standards for this work requirement, how it's supposed to work. So we saw it, um, on June 1st, and it was published in the Federal Register on June 3rd, and it is much more draconian than even the law that Congress passed. So I want to highlight two quick things about it that are important. The first is that one of the big important things in what Congress said about work requirements is that certain people are exempted from them. And, you know, the reason we are concerned about making sure people are exempted is not that people with disabilities can't work, but often, as you know, employment is an issue. Securing employment is an issue for people with disabilities. And also, regardless, even when people are working, we know from past experience when states got waivers to do work requirements in the past in Medicaid, the people fell off the Medicaid rolls, not because they weren't working or not because they weren't supposed to be exempt, but because of all the red tape and the bureaucracy that they had to navigate. And so So that's the concern. So what CMS did is they made it super restrictive to qualify for an exemption. There's an exemption that Congress set out for people who are quote unquote medically frail. And what Congress said that means can include having a physical, intellectual, developmental disability that substantially impairs at least one activity of daily living. It can include having a substance substance use disorder, it includes having a disabling mental disorder, disorder, and it includes having a serious or complex medical condition. So those are kind of the buckets that Congress set out for what medically frail includes. So if you have— if you fall in any of those buckets, and those are the big ones for people with disabilities, then you're supposed to be exempt from the work requirement. So what CMS did since when they put out this interim final rule is they said, well, to figure out who's covered, who falls into those buckets, states have to create a list. They can all create their own lists of things that are covered, they think are covered under those buckets, like who has a physical or intellectual or developmental disability that substantially impairs one ADL. I mean, mostly it's, it's just diagnoses, you know, that they're talking about. And for that one, it's very specific already in the law. The ones where it's less specific are like, what counts as a disabling mental disorder? What counts as a serious or complex medical condition? So some states have already started to do this. They have lists of conditions that are covered. But what CMS said is to be exempt, you not only have to fall into one of the buckets on the state's list, but in addition, you have to show that the way that that particular condition affects you, it substantially impairs you from meeting the work requirement. So it's this very individualized test. So that is incredibly complicated. That's going to be incredibly hard for states to administer. Basically, it's going to be incredibly hard for people to prove that. And I think many, many more people are going to lose their coverage than we expected. We already expected lots of people, millions of people to lose coverage. Now it's going to be even worse if this rule goes into effect. The next thing that CMS did that I want to highlight, and that— and I'll Stop is that it set up very, very restrictive requirements for what states have to allow or what states can allow in terms of how people prove either that they're meeting the work requirement or that they're exempt. So Congress said states can choose to allow people to what they call self-attest, to say simply, you know, I, I'm medically frail because I have X disability, right? But CMS set up this very complicated system where basically if a state can't figure it out with its own data, then until January of 2028, it can allow people to provide quote unquote other information besides like documentation. So it seems like they're allowing people to simply describe or provide information that they have a disability, um, that would exempt them, um, or that they're simply meeting the work requirement. Um, but after January 2028, then to show that you fit the disability exemption, the medically frail exemption, um, You only get once to just make a statement saying, "I have X disability and, and it substantially impairs me from meeting the requirement." After that, they have to demand that you provide documentation. So that's going to be incredibly, incredibly onerous for many people to keep providing that documentation all the time. And for just meeting the work requirement itself, as opposed to showing you're exempt. You also, after January of '28, you have to either provide documentation if it's quote unquote reasonably available, and no one knows what that means at this point. So basically much more restrictive than even the law itself, which was already draconian.

If you can give us more information next week, but I got to tell you, that's terrible. That's my answer. That is terrible because like epilepsy, person doesn't drive or elderly or they just don't have a way of getting there. All these people are going to drop off Medicaid. You're going to see people die. Yep. Jennifer, you are going to see people die. And we all have to keep fighting the fight and we all have to speak up. Speak up about this. Jennifer, thank you. Sorry to tell us that news, but—

And I would just say there will be a chance for people to speak up. There is a comment period, even though it's an interim final rule goes into effect. There will be a comment period, 60 days, I believe. So keep on the lookout, AAPD, Bazelon, Dread F, lots of organizations will have comments that I think people can sign on to, and they'll have templates and all of that.

So people should definitely let us know.

I will let you know.

Okay. Well, we, as you know, we've had a lot of power with the listeners on this show, so make sure you let us know. Jennifer, thank you. Thank you. All right.

Bye-bye.

Take care.

Not good, Sarah.

No, no, we're actually at the county with the passage of HR 1, which is also known as the big beautiful bill. We're already seeing those cuts trickle down to the county, um, and specifically like the changes in Medicaid, um, and how that's impacting our funding for our Area Agency on Aging, which is the organization within the Department of Human Services that provides programming for older adults in Allegheny County. Very necessary programs. So, you know, this is, this is already having an impact and we expect it to just accelerate in early 2027 as those work requirements and the other regulations kick in. And it's going to be really hard. It's going to be really hard on service providers. It's going to be really hard word on county government, um, and it's not going to be good.

No, it's pretty bad. We'll be lucky if hospitals in rural areas don't have to close. Yeah, when people don't have insurance, uh, or Medicaid I should say, and can't get coverage, so they have to go in emergency room. And, uh, well folks, you heard it. I'm gonna make sure you know that comment period, we've gotta just overwhelm them. That's what we have to do. Before the show ends, there is something very important I have to ask. Could you explain to everyone what is the county executive?

Sure. Um, I'll be brief. So the county executive is elected every 4 years by registered voters. For voters within Allegheny County. And my role is to represent all 1.25 million people who call this place home and be the steward of a nearly $3 billion budget across 20 different departments and a number of authorities that are county adjacent. This is like Pittsburgh Regional Transit, the Airport Authority, the SEA, the Community College of Allegheny County, the RAD. So these are agencies that are outside of county government, but, you know, there's some connection with county government. And really, I say my job is to create an Allegheny County for all. And the way that my team moves, the way that we've been structuring programming and prioritizing funding, is really trying to deliver on that promise each and every day and really make the best region that we can so that we encourage not only economic growth, but growth that results in shared prosperity, that we improve the quality of life of all people that are here and really build a more sustainable and resilient region for everyone.

Is that also connected to that Forward with Families, the work you're doing.

Yeah, so our Forward with Families is one of our recent initiatives that we launched, and like all good ideas, it's not an original one. It's actually borrowed from the Aspen Institute, which is a DC-based think tank, and they had launched this initiative called Forward with Families, and we were like, oh, this really sounds like work that we're trying to do here in Allegheny County. County. The goal is to say, how does Allegheny County market itself nationally and internationally as a great place to start and raise a family? And it looks at 5 pillars: health and well— health and well-being, childcare and caregiving, employment and education, housing and food, and savings and cash. Because there's a constellation of programs that exist inside and outside of county of government and generally government structures that lend itself to supporting families in that way. And so we wanted to launch that initiative and know that it can continue to grow and we can continue to put various programs under that umbrella. So the first program that we launched was expanding and strengthening our child care network because that's an rural piece in getting people to participate in our economy on their own terms. So the goal is to add 5,000 new slots of childcare and out-of-school time over the next 5 years. So we're currently working, we have funding dedicated to it and we're fundraising more for it. So we're working with childcare providers and out-of-school time providers on developing that fund and expanding those slots. And then the second initiative that's come out of it is what's been introduced to the Board of Health, which is a paid parental leave policy that would require public and private employers to provide 18 weeks of paid leave, and that's in its first draft form, so public comment is open right now for the Board of Health to consider, and that window closes in closes in mid-June, so another way to, you know, support families because there's a tremendous amount of public health data. Nearly 60% of women who give birth in Allegheny County do not have any form of paid leave, but 40% do, so employers have figured it out and we need to be able to support our workforce and our talent and treat them with dignity and respect. And we know when we provide— when employers provide paid parental leave, or it's mandated at a state level, which it is in 14 other states and Washington, D.C., that more specifically women stay in the workforce. And that's what we need right now. We need everyone off the benches and participating in a way that allows them to take care of themselves and their family.

Well, that's what people with disabilities want. Absolutely. Paychecks, not pity. They want to work. And I will say, Sarah, as I said before, thank you for including people with disabilities. Like, for example, the NFL Draft. Wow. Woo-wee! We had it here in Pittsburgh. It was big. And I'm assuming, Caitlin, you probably worked on way ahead of time on all the accommodations and everything else people would need.

Vibrant Pittsburgh really took the lead in planning the, the NFL Draft, but the City County Task Force on Disabilities gave it a lot of input. They met with people at Vibrant Pittsburgh to share their concerns, and we work with SLIP, of course, you know who SLIP is, Sign Language Interpreting Professionals, and just work with the members on, yeah, the physical accessibility part, but also the communication and the captions, transportation, making sure medical help was close by and charging stations. So yes, it was a big, big project for them.

Wow.

Well, Sarah, were you happy with the draft?

We were, and to Caitlin's point, really it was a community effort. It was people with disabilities who were informing those who were architecting the event. It was funders, like I believe the Citrone family, like really stepped up and provided money to help support the infrastructure necessary to support our neighbors who were going down and enjoying the draft who have disabilities. And yeah, we were really thrilled. Thrilled with what happened. Um, you know, record-breaking, but also Pittsburgh got to show ourselves as who we are, um, and what we're all about.

Not only— tell everyone the best city in the United States.

I would agree, Joyce. 100%.

Yeah. And, uh, well, that— it was, it was great. I was not there. I mean, I watched it on TV, but wow. It was just unbelievable. It was unbelievable. Well, Sarah, before we end the show, I want to say a couple of things. Number one, when you talk to a company and they say they can't find people, like all these data center jobs, etc., please tell them about people with disabilities. We're going to count on you to carry that message, and you can count on us that We're going to keep talking about you even when you're not on the show and support you through your next reelection and just keep us included in what you do.

Yeah, absolutely. Well, thank you, Joyce, so much for having myself and, and Kaylin on your show today, and we will continue to prioritize inclusion when it comes to people with disabilities. Disabilities and know that it's— yes, there are special events that Kaylin leads, but it's about something we're working on baking into the very DNA of all our county departments. So thank you for, you know, always using your voice and making sure that people with disabilities have a platform that can feel heard and that, you know, it's not just about using your voice, but it's also about making sure that that translates to action, and in Allegheny County, we're about delivering on our promises. So thank you again.

You're welcome. And also, Kaylyn, we'll be seeing you again as we're marching forward with what we're doing. And we end every show with a quote, and today it is, "I still believe in the power of each voice." 'to make the impossible inevitable,' said Valerie Jarrett. And if we remember Mary Brocker, a quote from Mary who worked here and lost her 5 years ago now, but she's known everywhere. And in her words, when you go out tomorrow, remember, choose Joy. You won't be disappointed. Talk to everyone and see everyone next week. You can, by the way, everyone, you can also, if people wanted to hear Sarah, so either go to YouTube or Spotify, Apple, Amazon, almost every social media platform, share this show. See you all next week.

Voice America would like to thank you for tuning in. Please join us next Tuesday at 11 AM Pacific time and 2 PM Eastern time for another installment of Disability Matters right here on the Voice America Variety Channel. We are the leader in live internet talk radio. VoiceAmerica.com.