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Title: Disabilities and Elections DISABILITIES AND ELECTIONS These months of political campaigning in the United States provide many opportunities to quiz candidates on issues affecting Americans with disabilities, such as employment, health care and education, said Sharon Stoike of the Lutheran Office for Governmental Affairs in Washington, D.C. "Numerous existing employment programs are being consolidated into a block grant to the states. People with disabilities experience an overall 69 percent unemployment rate and are the largest unemployed group in the nation," said Stoike. She recommended asking candidates for the presidency and for Congress "whether they will support safeguards in federal legislation to ensure effective and equal access for people with disabilities to employment programs as they are implemented." Stoike said publicly funded health care -- Medicaid -- "is often the only available health care for 6 million American children and adults with disabilities today who often have been denied coverage by the private sector." Ask candidates "whether they will support a federal definition in Medicaid for persons with disabilities as well as a guaranteed benefit package as states are given more flexibility by Washington," she suggested. "The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires educational placement decisions for students with disabilities. These students are to be placed in the least restrictive setting," said Stoike. "Many times this means they can be placed in the general education classrooms." She said voters should know if candidates "believe that the federal government should guarantee that children with all kinds of disabilities attend school in the regular classroom with their peers with appropriate related and other support services and adequate teacher training and back up." For information contact: Ann Hafften, Dir., ELCA News Service, (312) 380-2058; Frank Imhoff, Assoc. Dir., (312) 380-2955; Lia Christiansen, Asst. Dir., (312) 380-2956