Saturday, May 01, 1999
Shortened life may have long reach
Mentally disabled girl's fight goes on
BY STEVE KEMME
The Cincinnati Enquirer
HAMILTON — During her tragically short life, Debra June Crouse's giving spirit made a lasting impression on those who knew her.
The mentally disabled Hamilton resident never forgot to commemorate the birthday of a family member or a friend by sending a card. Everyone grew accustomed to her cheerful, outgoing nature. She thought nothing of walking a mile from her Hamilton home to Fort Hamilton Hospital in the worst winter weather to visit an ailing relative or friend.
Although she and her men tally retarded brother, Jeff, died three years ago in a car accident, her most far-reaching gift to others may be yet to come.
Because of a discrimination complaint she filed with the Ohio Civil Rights Commission in 1991, more job opportunities might open up for other mentally disabled people in the near future.
Ms. Crouse, who was 43 when she died, applied for a food services job at Miami University at Oxford in 1990. But she was rejected when she
failed to attain a high enough score on a written civil service exam.
She and Dennis Burger, director of Employment Services, an agency that provides job training, education and support for people with disabilities,filed complaints with the Ohio Civil Rights Commission. They said requiring mentally disabled people to take written tests for jobs at Miami violated their civil rights.
The Ohio Civil Rights Commission and Butler County Common Pleas Court agreed with them.
The 12th District Court of Appeals recently upheld the lower court decision, ordering Miami to develop an alternative plan for evaluating mentally disabled job applicants that might include special training.
Miami officials will decide within a week whether to accept the court ruling or appeal to the Ohio Supreme Court, said Richard Little, university spokesman.
Fred Valerius, superintendent of the Butler County Board of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (MRDD), has written a letter to Miami President Dr. James Garland, asking the university to accept the appeals court decision.
“I think after nine years, it's certainly time to move on,” Mr. Valerius said. “I would hope that Miami would see this as an opportunity to support the spirit of the law prohibiting discrimination against people with handicaps.”
Pam Long, a spokesman for the Butler County MRDD, said mentally disabled people have a lot to offer employers.
“There's a lot to be gained by hiring somebody with a disability and looking beyond their limitations and seeing what the possibilities are,” she said. “I hope the court decision opens doors and opens minds.”
It's unclear whether this case has implications for other state universities in Ohio.
Attorneys for each university will have to determine whether the case would require them to make any changes in how they evaluate job applicants, said Gretchen Hull, chief of communications for the Ohio Department of Administrative Services.
The employment issues in the Miami case do not apply to the University of Cincinnati because of differing circumstances, said Greg Hand, university spokesman.
In defending their position, Miami officials have said that even jobs in food and custodial services require reading at certain times. A lack of reading skills could cause an employee to put something in the food they shouldn't or mix the wrong chemicals for cleaning, they said.
Debra Crouse's mother, Mary Crouse, said these arguments have no validity.
“Debbie would have been washing dishes, scraping plates and clearing tables,” Mrs. Crouse said. “Why should she have to take a civil service exam to do that?”
Debra Crouse's father, Robert Crouse, a former member of the Butler County MRDD Board, said proper training is the key to obtaining good job performance from mentally disabled people.
“Most mentally handicapped people who have the right training are more conscientious about their work than employees with no handicaps,” he said.
When Ms. Crouse applied for a food services job at Miami, she was washing dishes at the Olive Garden Italian Restaurant in Fairfield and had previously worked in the Hamiltonian Hotel's restaurant.
She and her brother lived together in a house in Hamilton that their parents, who live in Wayne Township, bought for them. Debbie cooked, and Jeff handled the yard work. Bicycles were their primary mode of transportation.
“Debbie wanted to be independent and self-sufficient,” Mr. Burger said. “She was an extremely hard worker who was very conscientious about any job she worked on.”
Ms. Crouse wanted to work for Miami so she would have the same job benefits her brother had in a job with the Butler County Environmental Services Department.
But Ms. Crouse, who read at a fourth-grade level, couldn't achieve a high enough score on the exam for the food services job at Miami.
“They didn't give the girl a chance,” Mrs. Crouse said.
Her daughter continued working at the Olive Garden until her death.
Ms. Crouse's co-workers thought so highly of her that on the day of her funeral, they worked split shifts to enable everyone to attend her visitation.
Despite her handicap, she pursued a full life.
Ms. Crouse went to picnics, dances, movies and Reds' games and attended Wednesday night services at Grace United Methodist Church in Hamilton. She would use vacation days to work at the Butler County MRDD booth at the county fair.
Ms. Crouse and her brother were being driven to work on Feb. 29, 1996, when the car they were in collided with a pickup truck on Ohio 63 at Interstate 75 in Monroe.
“It just tore me up when I heard that Jeff and Debbie died,” said Mrs. Long, who also was a neighbor of the siblings.
After the deaths, their parents decided to continue their daughter's legal fight, which is being financed by the Ohio Civil Rights Commission.
“It started out as a fight to get a job for Debbie,” Mrs. Crouse said. “After her death, it was a fight to get other people the chance to have a job. We want others to benefit.”
If the Crouses receive a settlement from Miami for back pay owed their daughter, they plan to use all the money to establish a scholarship fund for mentally handicapped people.
They believe this would be a fitting memorial to a generous person like their daughter.
“If she thought she had something to do with helping somebody else,” Mr. Crouse said, his voice cracking with emotion, “she would be very happy.”
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