Elmer C. Bartels Papers

1961-2014
8 boxes (11.5 linear ft.)
Call no.: MS 817
rotating decorative images from SCUA collections

As the Commissioner of the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission for thirty years, Elmer C. Bartels became a national leader on issues related to vocational rehabilitation and independent living for people with disabilities. While studying physics at Colby College in 1960, Bartels broke his neck in an inter-fraternity hockey game, but returned to complete his degree and then to earn an MS at Tufts. While working as a computer programmer at the Laboratory for Nuclear Science at MIT and later at Honeywell, he became involved in coordinating services and access that members of the community needed to survive. To address the range of issues relating to employment, housing, and architectural barriers for people with disabilities, he helped found three significant organizations: the Massachusetts Association of Paraplegiacs (1964), the Massachusetts Council of Organizations of the Handicapped (a cross-disability organization created in the late 1960s with Harold Remmes) and the Boston Center for Independent Living (1972). Bartels was a key figure in securing passage of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, considered the first civil-rights statute for persons with disabilities. In 1977, Bartels was appointed to the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission by Gov. Michael Dukakis, serving under seven successive administrations, leaving an important mark on public policy. Since leaving the MRC, Bartels has remained active as a teacher and advocate for disability issues.



The Bartels Papers are an important resource for study of the early history of disability advocacy and public policy in Massachusetts. The collection includes a wealth of material on the formation and activity of the Massachusetts Association of Paraplegiacs, the National Paraplegia Foundation, and the Mass Rehabilitation Commission; correspondence with other leading figures in the disability rights movement; and publications relating to legislation on disability issues, vocational rehabilitation, and independent living.

See similar SCUA collections:

Background on Elmer C. Bartels

As the Commissioner of the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission for thirty years, Elmer C. Bartels became a national leader on issues related to vocational rehabilitation and independent living for people with disabilities. Bartels himself was a quadriplegic as the result of a spinal cord injury at the age of 22. After his rehabilitation, Bartels and his wife, Mary, went on to live lives devoted to securing disability rights for all.

Bartels was a lifelong citizen of New England, born the third of four children on June 10, 1938, in Newton, Massachusetts, to parents Elmer and Dorothy Bartels. Dorothy (née Burnett) had been a dressmaker before marriage, and Elmer senior was a renowned thyroid specialist at the Lahey Clinic in Boston. Bartels spent his childhood with his three sisters Jane Lee, Patsy, and Dorothy. From 1950-1960, beginning at the age of 12, Bartels spent summers at Camp Agawam in Redmond, Maine, first as a camper and later a counsellor. Bartels remained an active camp alum and advocate for the rest of his life, donating time and resources to Agawam to ensure campers of all abilities could have the same positive experience he had benefited from so greatly.

After high school, Bartels attended Hebron Academy in Maine for one year before entering as a freshman to Colby College in Waterville, Maine. At the age of 22, while studying physics at Colby College, Bartels broke his neck in an inter-fraternity hockey game on December 5, 1960. His spinal cord severed at the C4/5 level, meaning he was paralyzed from the chest down with limited use of his upper arms. Following his injury, Bartels was moved to the Deaconess Hospital Intensive Care Unit for a laminectomy, next to the Spinal Cord Injury Center, and finally the Robinson Building, nicknamed "Robby Seven," at Massachusetts Memorial Hospital for rehabilitation.

In six months, Bartels was ready to continue his rehabilitation at Lemuel Shattuck Hospital in Jamaica Plain, Boston. It was there, out of a life changing injury, that a life changing love story, and a lifelong disability activist partnership, would bloom. Bartels met nurse Mary Foster on his first day at Shattuck in June of 1962. They married the day he was discharged from the hospital, on January 21, 1962. With Mary's undying devotion as a wife, skill as a trained nurse, and work as a co-student, the couple spent their first few months of marriage in Waterville, Maine living in motels and commuting to Colby to complete Bartels' undergraduate degree in physics in 1962. Bartels continued on to earn an MS in physics at Tufts University. During the Tufts years, the couple welcomed their first child, Joanne. They later adopted their son, Elmer James, in 1972. Bartels noted in 2005 that, "for Mary, no problem was too big. We charged into life without planning it, but with a lot of faith that somehow or other it would work — and it did."

While working as a computer programmer at the Laboratory for Nuclear Science at MIT, and later at Honeywell, Bartels became involved in coordinating services and access that members of the community needed to survive. His early work with computers and training programs in the 1960s inspired Bartels' early reports about computerized vocational rehab and training for people with disabilities. To address the range of issues relating to employment, housing, and architectural barriers for people with disabilities, he helped found three significant organizations: the Massachusetts Association of Paraplegics (1964), the Massachusetts Council of Organizations of the Handicapped (a cross-disability organization created in the late 1960s with Harold Remmes), and the Boston Center for Independent Living (1972). Bartels was a key figure in securing passage of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, considered the first civil-rights statute for persons with disabilities, and later the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. In 1977, Bartels was appointed to the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission (MRC) by Gov. Michael Dukakis, serving thirty years under seven successive administrations, leaving an important mark on public policy. After leaving the MRC in 2007, Bartels remained active as a teacher and advocate for disability issues. Bartels passed away on July 5, 2014 at the age of 76.

Scope of collection

The Bartels Papers are an important resource for study of the early history of disability advocacy and public policy in Massachusetts and the greater New England area, spanning the mid-1960s through 2010. The collection includes a wealth of material on the formation and activity of the Massachusetts Association of Paraplegics, the National Paraplegia Foundation, and the Mass Rehabilitation Commission; correspondence with other leading figures in the disability rights movement; and publications relating to legislation on disability issues, vocational rehabilitation, and independent living. The collection is organized alphabetically.

Bartels' collection includes a numerous draft and final reports related to disabilities legislation. Bartels organized a number of papers by organization. These organization files contain assorted papers under a variety of categories including correspondence to, from, and between the various organizations of which he was a member or with whom he partnered; publications including handbooks, pamphlets, newsletters, clippings; and internal documentation such as by-laws, meeting agendas, meeting minutes, notes on mission goals, and memos.

From 1978 to 2001, Bartels and his assistants labeled much of the media he received as "Fan Files." These files include thank-you notes from individuals and organizations, birthday cards, holiday cards, commemorative cards, funeral programs, newspaper clippings, awards certificates and ceremony programs, invitations (including one from the White House's Clinton Administration), letters of professional support, and printed emails.

Within the Mass Rehabilitation Commission files are Bartels' papers associated with his retirement from the MRC in 2007. He continued as an educator and disability rights activist until his passing in 2014. One of his final projects was a book, pending publication as of 2019, about his life's work, The Road Taken: The Personal and Political Life of a Disability Rights Activist. Bartels' daughter, Joanne, admirably noted she wants to add a section about her father's strength of character before publication. Some of the materials Bartels set aside for the book are in this collection.

Inventory

Award: The Elmer C. Bartels Leadership Recognition Award
1991 Nov
Box 1: 1
Award: The Elmer C. Bartels Leadership Recognition Award Correspondence
1991
Box 1: 2
Award: The National Spinal Cord Injury Association Certificate of Recognition
1988 Aug 12
Box 1: 3
Award: PSD Achievement Awards
1969-1970
Box 1: 4
Award: Ten Outstanding Young Leader Awards
1991-1992
Box 1: 5
Baystate Wheelchair Games
1967-1968
Box 1: 6
Baystate Wheelchair Games
1970
Box 1: 7
Baystate Wheelchair Games
1977
Box 1: 8
Boiler Repair
1960, 1961, 1998
Box 1: 9
Brochure - Ed Roberts Campus
ca.2000
Box 1: 10
Camp Agawam
1967, 1975
Box 1: 11
Clippings
1964-1974
Box 1: 12
Clippings
1981-2009
Box 1: 13-14
Colby College
1961-1976
Box 1: 15
Colby College
1962
Box 1: 16
Correspondence
1962-1968
Box 1: 17
Correspondence
1968-1987
Box 1: 18
Correspondence
2010-2012
Box 1: 19
Correspondence
2014
Box 1: 20
Correspondence: Fan Files
undated
Box 1: 21
Correspondence: Fan Files
1977-1982
Box 1: 22-23
Correspondence: Fan Files
1982-1987
Box 1: 24-26
Correspondence: Fan Files
1985-1989
Box 1: 27-28
Correspondence: Fan Files
1989-1990
Box 1: 29-30
Correspondence: Fan Files
1990-1991
Box 1: 31-32
Correspondence: Fan Files
1979-1992 (bulk1991)
Box 1: 33
Correspondence: Fan Files
1992-1993
Box 1: 34-36
Correspondence: Fan Files
1993-1996
Box 1: 37-39
Correspondence: Fan Files
1997-1999
Box 1: 40-42
Correspondence: Fan Files
2000-2002
Box 1: 43-45
Correspondence: Fan Files
2003-2006
Box 2: 1-4
Correspondence: Fan Files
2010-2011
Box 2: 5
Correspondence: "Letter for Book"
1966-1981
Box 2: 6
Correspondence: "Letter for Book"
1981-2004
Box 2: 7
Easter Seal Society: Annual Reports
1969-1970
Box 2: 8
Easter Seal Society: Assorted Papers
1970-1973
Box 2: 9-11
Easter Seal Society: Assorted Papers
1973-1974
Box 2: 12
Easter Seal Society: Board Directors Meeting Materials
1971
Box 2: 13-15
Easter Seal Society: Board Directors Meeting Materials
1972 Jun
Box 2: 16
Easter Seal Society: Long Range Planning Committee Report
1970 Mar
Box 2: 17-18
Easter Seal Society: National Convention in D.C.
ca.2010
Box 2: 19
Easter Seal Society: Proposal to Automate Accounting Functions
1971 Oct 14
Box 2: 20
Easter Seal Society: Rehabilitation Literature
1985 Nov-Dec
Box 2: 21
Easter Seal Society: Systems Planning and Financial Statements
1971-1973
Box 2: 22
Endorsement: Spaulding Hospital Cambridge Endorsement
2011 Mar 28
Box 2: 23
Event Programs: Masens, Newton High School
1986, 1988
Box 2: 24
Family
ca.1970-1984
Box 2: 25
Family Genealogy
undated
Box 2: 26
Grant Proposal: "Sexual Behavior in the Physically Handicapped"
1974
Box 2: 27
Guides: A Citizen's Handbook for the Rehabilitation Act
ca.1990
Box 2: 28
Guide: Guidelines for Chair Car Transportation
ca.1970
Box 2: 29
Guide: Resource book - State Opportunities; Models and Strategies for an Inclusive Workforce
2000 Jun 26
Box 2: 30
Guide: Resource Guide for the Disabled of Massachusetts
1975 Mar
Box 2: 31
Hebron Academy
1962-1981
Box 2: 32
Housing: Assorted Papers
1966, 1969-1970
Box 2: 33
Housing: Assorted Papers
1970-1972
Box 2: 34-39
Housing: Assorted Papers
1972-1973
Box 2: 40-41
Housing: Brochures, Guides, and Newsletters
1969-1972
Box 2: 42
Housing: Correspondence, Housing Survey Notes
1965-1969
Box 2: 43
Housing: Dwelling Application - Worcester Housing Authority
1973 Jan 24
Box 2: 44
Housing: Guidelines for Housing for the Elderly and Handicapped Persons
1973 Mar
Box 2: 45
Housing: Management Program for State-Aided Low Rent Housing in Massachusetts
1973
Box 2: 46
Housing: Proposal for a Practical Research Experiment in Housing for Independent Living for the Severely Physically Disabled
1973 Apr 24
Box 2: 47
Housing: Proposal for a Practical Research Experiment in Housing for Independent Living for the Severely Physically Disabled
1973 Jun 25
Box 2: 48
Housing: Rules and Regulations to Provide Housing for the Handicapped
ca.1970
Box 2: 49
Housing: Seed Money Loan Application - Correspondence
1970
Box 2: 50
Housing: Segments of Guidelines for the development of Community Residences Under Chapter 667
1973 Aug
Box 2: 51
Housing: Selecting Sites for Housing for the Physically Disabled
1971 Jan
Box 2: 52
Housing: Sites for Housing of the Handicapped, Boston Redevelopment Authority
1971 May 12
Box 2: 53
Housing: State House Conference - M.A.P. Housing Project
1971 Jun 23
Box 2: 54
Housing: Tenant Selection for the Elderly and the Handicapped
1973 Feb 27
Box 2: 55
Housing: Unofficial Blueprint - Revere, MA
ca.1970
Box 2: 56
Institute of Rehabilitation and Independent Living for the Physically Handicapped
1976
Box 2: 57
Massachusetts Association of Paraplegics (MAP)


MAP: Architectural Barriers Literature
1961, 1968, 1975
Box 3: 1
MAP: Advisory Board
1967-1968
Box 3: 2
MAP: Assorted Papers
1969-1973
Box 3: 3
MAP: Assorted Papers
1971-1972
Box 3: 4-7
MAP: Assorted Papers
1971-1973
Box 3: 8-12
MAP: Assorted Papers
1972-1973
Box 3: 13-16
MAP: Assorted Papers
1975-1976
Box 3: 17
MAP: Banquet
1967
Box 3: 18
MAP: Banquet
1968-1973
Box 3: 19
MAP: Binder of Vocational Rehabilitation materials
1969-1971
Box 3: 20-21

Binder kept, and most likely assembled, by Mary Bartels.

MAP: Board of Directors Meetings
1965-1970
Box 3: 22
MAP: Board of Directors Meetings
1970-1971
Box 3: 23
MAP: Boston Center For Independent Living
undated
Box 3: 24
MAP: The Boston Globe - Bartels
1974-1975
Box 3: 25-26
MAP: By-Laws
1966, 1968
Box 3: 27
MAP: Clippings
ca.1965-1988
Box 3: 28
MAP: Clippings
1972-1974
Box 3: 29
MAP: Correspondence
1966-1968
Box 3: 30
MAP: Correspondence
1969-1972
Box 3: 31
MAP: Correspondence - Massachusetts Rehabilitation
1965-1969
Box 3: 32
MAP: Correspondence - Massachusetts Rehabilitation
1970-1974
Box 3: 33
MAP: Correspondence - Massachusetts Hospital School
1965-1968
Box 3: 34
MAP: Correspondence - Removal of Architectural Barriers
1968-1974, 1989
Box 3: 35
MAP: Correspondence - NYU Medical Center Institute of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
1965-1969
Box 3: 36
MAP: Employment Correspondence
1967-1970
Box 3: 37
MAP: Education Literature
1969-1971
Box 3: 38
MAP: Employment Literature
1962-1968, 1974
Box 3: 39
MAP: Governor's Commission on Employment of Handicapped
1967-1970
Box 3: 40
MAP: Lay Advocacy Training Project, Chapter 766
1975
Box 3: 41
MAP: Legislation
1966-1969
Box 3: 42-43
MAP: Legislation
1970-1971
Box 3: 44
MAP: Legislation
1972-1973
Box 3: 45
MAP: Massachusetts Corporation Official Documentation
1965 Mar 5
Box 3: 46
MAP: Meeting Notes
1968
Box 3: 47
MAP: Membership
1965, 1967
Box 3: 48
MAP: Newsletters
1967-1974
Box 3: 49
MAP: Newsletter
1971 Aug
Box 3: 50
MAP: Newsletter
1972-1973
Box 3: 51
MAP: Newsletter Correspondence
1976 Feb 20
Box 3: 52
MAP: Newsletter Material
1965-1968
Box 3: 53
MAP: Newsletters and Meeting Minutes
1966-1971
Box 3: 54
MAP: Pamphlets and Informational Material
1968-1971
Box 3: 55
MAP: PCA Program Development
1976
Box 3: 56
MAP: Photographs - Absentee Voting
1968
Box 3: 57
MAP: Photographs - Architectural Barriers
1971
Box 3: 58
MAP: Photographs - Awards Banquet
ca.1970
Box 4: 1
MAP: Photographs - Brooke, Edmund W. (Senator)
1991
Box 4: 2
MAP: Photographs - Sargent, Francis W. (MA Gov.)
1971
Box 4: 3
MAP: Presentations
ca.1967
Box 4: 4
MAP: Presentation - Employment of the Handicapped
1973 Sep 27
Box 4: 5
MAP: Presentation - Housing Seminar
1971 Feb 11
Box 4: 6
MAP: Proposal to the Office of the Physically Handicapped Executive Office of Human Services
ca.1967
Box 4: 7
MAP: Public Relations Clippings
1963-1988
Box 4: 8
MAP: Public Relations Correspondence
1967-1971
Box 4: 9
MAP: Report on Committee Activities
1968-1969
Box 4: 10
MAP: Surveys
1968
Box 4: 11
MAP: Tax Exemption Status with IRS
1969
Box 4: 12
MAP: Wheel in Annual Picnic
1966-1967
Box 4: 13
MAP: Worcester
1969-1970
Box 4: 14
MAP: Worcester
1970
Box 4: 15
Massachusetts Council of Organizations of the Handicapped (MCOH)


MCOH: Assorted Papers
1968-1969
Box 4: 16
MCOH: Assorted Papers
1970-1973
Box 4: 17-20
MCOH: Housing Survey
ca.1970
Box 4: 21
MCOH: Industrial School for Crippled Children
1968-1972
Box 4: 22
MCOH: Meeting Minutes
1975
Box 4: 23
MCOH: Newsletters from Other Organizations
1971-1973
Box 4: 24
Meeting: 18th Spinal Cord Industry Conference Program
1971 Oct
Box 4: 25

Joint meeting of International Medical Society of Paraplegia and U.S. Veterans Administration.

MIT Salary Information
1966-1968
Box 4: 26
Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission (MRC)


MRC: Advisory Council on Social Security Public Hearing
1994 Sep 30
Box 4: 27
MRC: Application for Reappointment
2007 May
Box 4: 28
MRC: April Fools
ca.1978
Box : 28b
MRC: Business Cards
2007
Box 4: 29
MRC: Clippings - Retirement
2007
Box 4: 30
MRC: Commissioner's Executive Summary
1979, 1989
Box 4: 31
MRC: Congressional Record - Employers with Labor Shortages Should Look to Vocational Rehabilitation
2000 Sep 07
Box 4: 32
MRC: Corcoran, Paul
1989-1992
Box 4: 33
MRC: Corcoran, Paul
1993-1999
Box 4: 34
MRC: Correspondence - Bartels, Elmer C. to McKeon, Howard
1997 Apr
Box 4: 35

Regarding the Reauthorization of the Rehabilitation Act.

MRC: Correspondence - critique
1977 Jan 12
Box 4: 35b
MRC: Correspondence - Pelka, Fred to Bartels, Elmer C.
2001 Jan 10
Box 4: 36

Concerning Bancroft Library, UC Berkeley, Oral History Project.

MRC: Correspondence - National Rehabilitation Association
1984 Oct 16
Box 4: 36b

Concerning Bartels' denial of insurance due to his quadriplegia.

MRC: Correspondence - Retirement
2007
Box 4: 37-38
MRC: Department of Education Memo
2002
Box 4: 39
MRC: Disability Determination Reform
1981-1982
Box 4: 40-41
MRC: Disability Determination Reform
1983
Box 4: 42-49
MRC: Disability Determination Reform
1984-1985
Box 4: 50-51
MRC: Disability Determination Services Management Conference
1985 May 21
Box 4: 52
MRC: Dukakis, Michael (Massachusetts State Governor)
1988-1990
Box 4: 53-54
MRC: Early Personnel Upheaval Internal Organization Notes
1977
Box 4: 55
MRC: Executive Office of Health and Human Services
1980-1991
Box 4: 56
MRC: Executive Office of Health and Human Services
1992-1996
Box 4: 57
MRC: Executive Office of Health and Human Services
1996-1999
Box 4: 58
MRC: Gittens, Robert, Secretary of EOHHS
2001-2002
Box 4: 59
MRC: Harold Russel Foundation
2002-2006
Box 4: 60
MRC: Meeting - Forsberg and Bartels
1992 Jun 12
Box 4: 61
MRC: Newsletters
1985-2004
Box 4: 62
MRC: Newsletters - "Rehab Ripples"
1985-1989
Box 4: 63
MRC: Overview of the MRC - Briefing for Whitburn, Gerald (Secretary)
1994 Dec
Box 4: 64-66
MRC: Pamphlets, Programs, and Promotional Materials
1983, 1986
Box 4: 67
MRC: Photographs
ca.1990-1998
Box 4: 68
MRC: Photographs
ca.2002
Box 4: 69
MRC: Presentation - Accomplishments for State FY '07
2007 Jul
Box 5: 1
MRC: Presentation - Public-Private Partnerships
1991 May
Box 5: 1b
MRC: Presentation - Public Vocational Rehabilitation and the World of Work
2002 Nov 25
Box 5: 2
MRC: Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 1990s Reauthorization
1971-1973
Box 5: 3
MRC: Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 1990s Reauthorization
1991-1995
Box 5: 4
MRC: Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 1990s Reauthorization
1992-1995
Box 5: 5-6
MRC: Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 1990s Reauthorization
1995
Box 5: 7-13
MRC: Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 1990s Reauthorization
1995-1996
Box 5: 14
MRC: Response to Special Commission on Social Security Disability Recommendations
1983
Box 5: 15
MRC: Schalick, Walton, III
2003-2004
Box 5: 16

Project on the rights of patients with disabilities.

MRC: Summary Reports
1986-1987
Box 5: 16b
MRC: State Vocational Rehabilitation Services Program
2001 Apr 26
Box 4: 70
New England Spinal Cord Injury Foundation, Inc. - Long Range Planning
1977
Box 5: 17
National Paraplegia Foundation (NPF)


NPF: Annual Meeting of Members in Chicago, IL
1970
Box 5: 18
NPF: Assorted Papers
1967-1969
Box 5: 19
NPF: Assorted Papers
1970-1972
Box 5: 20-23
NPF: Assorted Papers
1972-1973
Box 5: 24-26
NPF: Chapters - Milwaukee, WI; Hiawatha Valley, MN; Mobile, AL; Virginia
1970
Box 5: 27
NPF: Chapters - L.W. Freeman Chapter, Indiana
1969-1970
Box 5: 28
NPF: Conventional Journal
1978
Box 5: 29
NPF: Member and Fundraising Letters
1970 Dec
Box 5: 30
NPF: Publications - Chapter Newsletters
1971-1973
Box 5: 31
NPF: Publications - "Paraplegia Life"
1978, 1979
Box 5: 32
NPF: Publications - "Spinning Wheels"
1972, 1973
Box 5: 33
NPF: Publications - "The Squeaky Wheel"
1972, 1973
Box 5: 34
Photographs: Bartels, Elmer - Headshots
ca.1998
Box 5: 35
Photographs: Bartels, Elmer and others
1998
Box : 36
Photographs: Justice for All Disability Rights Award
2006
Box 5: 37
Photographs: Thorton, Bob - Birthday, Fundraiser
1998
Box 5: 38
Presentations: BU - Sargent College Convocation
1981 Oct 12
Box 5: 39
Presentations: Creating Balanced Long-Term Care Systems
2008 Jul
Box 5: 40
Presentations: Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation Social Security Disability Program
1995 Oct 10
Box 5: 41
Presentations: Public-Private Partnerships Rehabilitation Services Administration Meeting
1974-1975
Box 5: 42
Publication: Association for Computing Machinery - "SIGCAPH Newsletter"
1969 Mar 20
Box 5: 43
Publication: Analysis of Fragmented Analog-State Resonances by Coup Optical Equations with Effective Nonlocal Potential
1990 Aug
Box 5: 44
Publication: Choices: A Cultural Access Directory
1967 Jan-Feb
Box 5: 45
Publication: Divine World Messenger
2005
Box 5: 46
Publication: DRI News
1993
Box 5: 47

Disability Research Institute at U.II. AY Urbana Champaign.

Publication: "Employment and the Public Rehabilitation Program Impact of the ADA"
1963-1966
Box 5: 48
Publication: Institute of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
1985
Box 5: 49
Publication: Journal of Rehabilitation
2011 Jan
Box 5: 50
Publication: "Person of the Year Judith Herman"
1990
Box 5: 51
Publication: Work Life
1991 May 21
Box 5: 52
Publication: Rehabilitation Gazette
1998
Box 5: 53
Publication: Spinal Cord Injury Life
1992
Box 5: 54

National Spinal Cord Injury Association.

Publication: Spinal Cord Injury Life
1993, 1996
Box 5: 55
Publication: "Their Story"
1994 Apr
Box 5: 56

Article on Mary and Elmer Bartels.

Rehabilitation Act of 1973 Literature
1971-1973
Box 5: 57-58
Rehabilitation Act 1973 Literature: Reauthorization
1982
Box 5: 59
Rehabilitation Act 1973 Literature: Reauthorization Hearings
1983
Box 5: 60
Rehabilitation Act 1973 Literature: Reauthorization
1986
Box 5: 61
Reports


Achieving Independence
1996 Jul 10
Box 5: 62
ADA and the Public Vocational Rehabilitation Program
2001 Jul
Box 5: 63
Agenda for the Future 1999-2001 "Independence for People with Disabilities Through Goal Directed Services"
1997 Dec
Box 5: 64
Agenda for the Future - 2000-2001 "Independence for People with Disabilities Through Goal-Directed Services"
1998 Dec
Box 5: 65
Agenda for Social Security: Challenges for the New Congress and the New Administration
2001 Feb
Box 6: 1
Americans with Disabilities Act... Rights Responsibilities... Resources.
1989 Sep
Box 6: 2

A white paper prepared by the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission.

Analysis of the National Health Interview Survey: The Vocational Rehabilitation Perspective
2000 Dec
Box 6: 3
Annual Report on Federal Activities under the Rehabilitation Act
2004
Box 6: 4
Boston Center for Independent Living - A Summary of the First Three Years
1977 Jul
Box 6: 5
Breakthrough Vehicles, Inc. - Report for MIT Enterprise Forum Review
1991
Box 6: 6
Commonwealth Corporation - Research and Evaluation Brief
2006 Nov
Box 6: 7
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts State Independent Living Council Five Year Plan
1992-1997
Box 6: 8
Community First - Proposal for Preventing or Delaying Nursing Facility Admission Section 115 Demonstration
2006 Dec 22
Box 6: 9
Consumer Advocacy: State of the Art
1975
Box 7: 1
Consumer Control in Independent Living
1988
Box 6: 10
Consumer Involvement in the Rehabilitation Process
1972
Box 6: 11
Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation and Rehabilitation Services Administration
1996-1997
Box 6: 12
Design of an On-line Computer Based Education System
1970 Jun 26
Box 6: 13
Disability Income Policy
1996
Box 6: 14-14b
Disability System for the 21st Century, A Report by the Social Security Advisory Board
2006 Sep
Box 6: 15
Economic Independence for Individuals with Disabilities, Citizens' Handbook for the Rehabilitation Act
1993
Box 6: 16
Economic Independence for Individuals wish Disabilities, Citizens' Handbook for the Rehabilitation Act
2001 Mar
Box 6: 17
Federal Register: Part VI Department of Education 34 CFR Part 361 State Rehabilitation Services Program
2001 Jan 17
Box 6: 18
Half in Ten: Why Taking Disability into Account is Essential to Reducing Income Poverty and Expanding Economic Inclusion
2009 Sep
Box 6: 19
Interim Report of Demonstration Activities Under Public Law 96-265, Section 505(a)
1990-1991
Box 6: 20
Improving Employment Options of People with Disabilities
1994 Dec
Box 6: 21

Prepared by the American Youth Policy Forum.

Managing Social Security Disability Programs: Meeting the Challenge
2001 Jan
Box 6: 22
MRC: Annual Report
1982, 1983
Box 6: 23
MRC: Annual Report
1983, 1984
Box 6: 24
MRC: Annual Report
1987, 1992-1995
Box 6: 25
MRC: Annual Report
1997, 1998
Box 6: 26
MRC: Annual Report
2001
Box 6: 27
MRC: Annual Report
2005, 2006
Box 6: 28
MRC: Annual Report
2007
Box 6: 29
MRC: Examination of the Accounts of the MRC
19771979
Box 6: 30
MRC: Final Report of Results of Management Survey by Research Evaluation Associates, Inc.
1989
Box 6: 31
MRC: Goals for State
2007 Jan
Box 6: 32
MRC: The Long Range Plan of the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission
1985-1989
Box 6: 33
MRC: Massachusetts' Adult Population with Disabilities
2006 Dec
Box 6: 34
MRC: Massachusetts and National Data on Clients Served, Cost and Benefit
1992 Sep 29
Box 6: 35
MRC: Progress Report on Implementation of the Recommendations of the Vocational Rehabilitation Planning Commission
1970 Jun
Box 6: 36
MRC: The Public Health Rehabilitation Services Social Security Disability Services Data
1992 Sep 29
Box 6: 37
MRC: The Public Rehabilitation Program, Vocational Rehabilitation Services
1992 May
Box 6: 38
MRC: A Regional System of Care For the Spinal Chord Injury Steering Committee
1972 Sep
Box 6: 39
MRC: Supported Living: A Cost Effective Model of Independent Living for People with Disabilities
2004 Jul
Box 6: 40
MRC: A Survey of the Need for and Utilization of Vocational Rehabilitation Services
1972 Jun
Box 6: 41
MRC: Transition Briefing
2002 Oct 29
Box 6: 42
MRC: Transition Report
1990 Dec
Box 6: 43
MRC: Transition Report
1990 Dec
Box 6: 44
MRC: Vocational Rehabilitation Program Order of Selection: Who do we Serve? A Position Paper.
1989 Dec
Box 6: 45
Mutual Aid Institutes I and II
1970
Box 6: 46
National Disability Policy: Progress Report
1997
Box 7: 2
National Disability Policy: Progress Reports
2001-2003
Box 7:
The Nature and the Use of Conversion Software
1976 Jun
Box 7: 3
New England Spinal Cord Injury Office Prospectus
1973 Apr
Box 7: 4
Partners Healthcare Quality Dashboard
2010 Sep
Box 7: 5
Quality in Vocational Rehabilitation: Caring, Competence, Commitment, Professionalism, Integrity
1990 Jun
Box 7: 6
A Plan to Reorganize Massachusetts Human Services for the 1980s
1981 Jul
Box 7: 7
Preliminary Status Report of the Disability Policy Panel
1994 Mar
Box 7: 8

Convened by the National Academy of Social Insurance.

Recap of VR Reimbursements
2006
Box 7: 9
Re-Charting the Course
1998
Box 7: 10-11

First Report of the Presidential Task Force on Employment of Adults with Disabilities.

Rehabilitation Act: An Act to Replace the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
2007
Box 7: 12-13
Rehabilitation Act: Annual Report to Congress
1995
Box 7: 14
Rehabilitation Act: The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as Amended by the Amendments of 1993
1993
Box 7: 15
Rehabilitation Act: Title IV Rehabilitation Act Amendments
2007
Box 7: 16-17
Removing Barriers to Work: Action Proposals for the 105th Congress and Beyond
1997 Sep
Box 7: 18
Review of Proposals for Creating a Return to Work Program for Social Security Disability Benefits Recipients
1997 Jul
Box 7: 19
Social Security Disability Insurance: Multiple Factors Affect Beneficiaries' Ability to Return to Work
1998 Jan
Box 7: 20
Social Security Disability Insurance Program and Analysis
1992 Dec
Box 7: 21
Social Security Insurance Recipients by State and County
2006, 2007
Box 7: 22
Strategic Plan to Make Massachusetts a Model Employer for People with Disabilities
2009 Jun
Box 7: 23
Stress Control, Workbook by Behavior Management Associates
1990
Box 7: 24
Study of Variables Related to State Vocational Rehabilitation Agency Performance
2004 Oct
Box 7: 25
Supplemental Security Income (SSI): Annual Statistical Report
2006, 2007
Box 7: 26
Supplemental Security Income (SSI): Modernization Project
1992 Aug
Box 7: 27
Supplemental Security Income (SSI): Quarterly Report on SSI Disabled Workers and Work Incentive Provisions
1993-1998
Box 7: 28-30
Survey on Architectural Barriers in Education Facilities of Massachusetts
1965
Box 7: 31
On the Threshold of Independence
1988 Jan
Box 7: 32
Ticket to Work: Advice Report to the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration
2002 Jun
Box 7: 33
Ticket to Work: Advice Reports to Congress and the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration
2002, 2004
Box 7: 34
Ticket to Work: Annual Report to President and Congress
2003
Box 8: 1
Ticket to Work: Consumer Advocacy in the Ticket to Work Act
2003 Aug
Box 8: 2
Ticket to Work: Effectiveness of Medicaid Buy-In Programs in Promoting the Employment of People with Disabilities
2004 Jul
Box 8: 3
Ticket to Work: Evaluation
2006 Jan
Box 8: 4
Ticket to Work: Evaluation of the Ticket to Work Program
2004 Feb
Box 8: 5
Ticket to Work: Overview of the Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency Program
2002
Box 8: 6
Ticket to Work: Proceedings of the Employment Network Summit
2003 Aug
Box 8: 7
Ticket to Work: Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999
2002 Jan
Box 8: 8
A Time Like No Other: Charting the Course of the Next Revolution, A Summary of the Boston Indicators Report
2004-2006
Box 8: 9
Toward Independence: An Assessment of Federal Laws and Programs Affecting Persons with Disabilities
1986 Feb
Box 8: 10
UMass Medical School Annual Report
2009
Box 8: 11
Valenca Community College Computer Assisted Design for the Disabled Project Evaluation
1988 Oct
Box 8: 12
Valenca Community College Computer Assisted Design for the Disabled Project Evaluation
1989 Jul
Box 8: 13
Vocational Rehabilitation Funding Formula: Options for Improving Equity in State Grants and Considerations for Performing Incentives
2009 Sep
Box 8: 14
Vocational Rehabilitation and Social Security
1997 Jun
Box 8: 15
Workforce Development Act
1995
Box 8: 16
Workforce Development and Welfare Reform: Potential Impact Upon Persons with Disabilities and Community Rehabilitation Programs
1998 Dec
Box 8: 17
Workforce Investment Act
1998 Jul
Box 8: 18
Workforce Investment Act Amendments
2003
Box 8: 19
Research: Bartels, Elmer
2007
Box 8: 20
Research: Hamilton Democrat, 1902 May 24 (microfiche)
ca.1995
Box 8: 21
Research: Public Vocational Rehabilitation Program
2008-2009
Box 8: 22
Research: Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Employment Policy for Persons with Disabilities
2008 Sep
Box 8: 23
Research: Vocational Rehabilitation Statistics
1998-1999
Box 8: 24
Research: Vocational Rehabilitation Statistics
2005-2009
Box 8: 25-27
Response to Government Accountability Office Modernization of Federal Disability Programs and Policies
2009 Apr
Box 8: 28
Tri-State Regional Medical Program
1970-1973
Box 8: 29-31
Tufts Rehabilitation and Training Center
1971-1972
Box 8: 32
Vocational Education Programs
1998
Box 8: 33
Workshop: Paraplegia Workshop
1966 Nov
Box 8: 34

Sponsored by the National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Blindness.

Administrative information

Access

The collection is open for research.

Provenance

Donated by Elmer C. Bartels, 2014.

Processing Information

Processed by Stephanie Bennett, 2019.

Bibliography

  • Bartels, E. C. The road taken: the personal and political life of a disability rights activist. [edited by] Pamela S. Loewy. Cambridge, MA: Merrimack Media, 2014. Citation retrieved April 17, 2019 from https://lccn.loc.gov/2014940566
  • Elmer Bartels, 76, of Bedford; longtime advocate for the disabled led Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission for 30 years - The Boston Globe. (July 13, 2014). Retrieved April 17, 2019, from https://www.bostonglobe.com
  • Go Do Good Things: A Room Dedicated to the Legacy of Former Commissioner Elmer Bartel | Health and Human Services Blog. (December 16, 2014). Retrieved April 17, 2019, from https://blog.mass.gov/hhs/
  • Vishnoski, Joanne. (2014). Obituary for Elmer C. Bartels at Bedford Funeral Home. Retrieved April 17, 2019, from https://www.bedfordfuneralhome.com/obituary/
  • Mary Bartels, at 72; an undaunted advocate for paraplegics’ rights - The Boston Globe. (May 1, 2007). Retrieved April 17, 2019, from http://archive.boston.com
  • Massachusetts Activists and Leaders in the Disability Rights and Independent Living Movement, Volume I. [Interviews conducted by Fred Pelka in 2001]. Accessed through the Online Archive of California. Retrieved April 17, 2019, from https://oac.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/hb6m3nb1g9/?brand=oac4

For materials related to diverse topics in disability rights advocacy, see Special Collections and University Archives "Disability"collections.

Language:

English

Copyright and Use (More information )

Cite as: Elmer C. Bartels (MS 817). Special Collections and University Archives, University of Massachusetts Amherst Libraries.

Search terms

Subjects

  • Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission
  • National Easter Seal Society (U.S.)
  • People with disabilities--Civil rights
  • People with disabilities--Legal status, laws, etc.
  • Vocational rehabilitation--Law and legislation

Contributors

  • Bartels, Elmer C. [main entry]

Genres and formats

  • Correspondence
  • Reports

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