N.D.I. Technical Assistance Team
N.D.I. Consulting, Inc.
http://www.dpnavigator.net
and
The Burton Blatt Institute
Syracuse University
http://bbi.syr.edu
One–Stop Toolkit Resources of the Week Technical Assistance Project E–Mail listserv
31 July 2009
Good morning everyone!
Below please find the website(s) and publication(s) of the week, as well as other resources that we hope will be useful as you work on systems change activities to help improve employment opportunities for persons with disabilities.
To subscribe and / or view past resources of the week archives, access: www.onestoptoolkit.org and click on the link to "Resources of the Week" on the right hand side of the home page.
Have a great weekend!
***NEW CONTACT INFORMATION***
Laura Gleneck
Project Coordinator
NDI Technical Assistance Team
Phone: 781-899-0139
Fax: 781-642-0895
[ E–mail lgleneck@ndi-inc.org ]
[ http://www.dpnavigator.net ]
Good morning Navigators,
Over the years, the DPN technical assistance and training center has received requests for guidelines on service animals. The Animal Legal and Historical Center has released an article, Evolving Functions of Service and Therapy Animals and the Implications for Public Accommodation Access Rules, available at http://www.animallaw.info/articles/arusensminger2009.htm.
This article discusses, among other things, the types of therapy and service animals and the related access rules that apply to each. The article discusses service dogs for individuals who are physically and/or mentally disabled.
For more information on this topic, you may also wish to check out the publication from the Job Accommodation Network's Accommodation and Compliance Series, Service Animals as Workplace Accommodations, available at http://www.jan.wvu.edu/media/servanim.html. In addition to defining service animals, this publication also discusses service animals in relation to the Americans with Disabilities Act and in relation to the responsibilities of employers. Finally, it includes detailed information on accommodating employees who use service animals.
You can also look into the following resources available from the Disability Rights Section of the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division:
Some other news of interest include the U.S. Department of Labor has re-named and re-launched DisabilityInfo.gov as Disability.gov www.disability.gov The site offers comprehensive information about programs and services to better serve more than 50 million Americans with disabilities, their family members, veterans, employers, educators, caregivers and anyone interested in disability-related information. On the site, you can choose to locate information by subject matter for a particular state. You can also stay connected to new resources and information by signing up to receive e-mail updates
www.disability.gov/toolbox/emailUpdatesand/or suscribe to the newsletter
www.disability.gov/toolbox/subscribeNewsletter.
Visit Resources of the Week to find useful brochures to share with appropriate One Stop Career Center and partner staff: 1) from the Social Security Administration on Disability benefits for wounded warriors, and 2) from DOL’s Office of Disability Employment Policy on Employer’s Perspectives on Employment of People with Disabilities.
Happy Friday!
DATES: The closing date for receipt of applications under this announcement is September 22, 2009
SUMMARY: The Employment and Training Administration (ETA) announces the availability of $34 million for grants to serve high schools that have been designated as persistently dangerous by State Educational Agencies for the 2008-2009 school year under section 9532 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. The goal of these grants is to reduce violence within these schools through a combination of mentoring, education, employment, case management, and violence prevention strategies. These grants will be awarded to fund projects in schools not currently receiving a DOL grant for these purposes through a competitive process open both to school districts which include persistently dangerous high schools and to community-based organizations (CBOs) in partnership with these school districts.
High schools which have been designated as persistently dangerous this school year and which are not currently receiving a Department of Labor (Department or DOL) grant under this initiative are located in the school districts of Baltimore City, Plainfield (New Jersey), New York City, Schenectady (New York), Salem-Keiser (Oregon), Philadelphia, and Puerto Rico. These schools are listed in Section VIIIA of this solicitation. School districts and CBOs must submit a separate application for each high school that they propose serving, but may submit as many applications as they have eligible schools.
ELIGIBILE APPLICANTS: Either school districts or CBOs can apply for these grants. Applications submitted by school districts must include plans to have one or more CBOs as sub-grantees/contractors to operate at a minimum the mentoring component. These proposed CBO sub-grantees/contractors do not need to be listed in the application, as the Department strongly encourages the use of competition in selecting sub-grantees and contractors either before or after grant award. Applications submitted by CBOs must have a school district identified as a partner, with a signed memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the school district included in the application. To be eligible to apply for these grants as a CBO, organizations must be not-for-profit entities and can operate either nationally or locally.
AWARD INFORMATION:
A. Award Amount
Grants to serve high schools with enrollments of 1,000 students or more will amount to $6.8 million. Grants to serve high schools with enrollments of less than 1,000 students, including ungraded special education schools that primarily serve students ages 14 and above, will amount to $3.4 million. Applicants should request in their proposals the entire $6.8 million for the larger high schools and the entire $3.4 million for the smaller schools so as to take full advantage of the resources available for turning around each school. Each grant may receive additional years of funding depending on the availability of such funds and satisfactory performance.
B. Period of Performance
Grants will be awarded for a 36-month period of performance, which may be extended with grant officer approval. This period of performance includes a planning period of up to 12 months leading up to the start of the school year in September 2010, and an operations period of two calendar years. Applicants should budget for two full school years of direct service delivery for each major component. All program components need to be started by the beginning of the 2010 school year. Grantees must provide separate budgets for planning and operations. Grantees should be judicious in their use of planning funds and careful to use them specifically for planning components associated with this grant.
Access the URL to read the full announcement including application and submission information.
DATES: Please send your responses to NCD by September 15, 2009.
The National Council on Disability (NCD) is gathering public input for a study of emerging issues and trends affecting the lives of people with disabilities. Information gathered will be used in the development of NCD's next annual progress report to the President and Congress, "National Disability Policy: A Progress Report," which is required by Section 401(b) of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended.
The purpose of this public consultation is to gather input to inform NCD's assessment of the status of the nation in achieving policies that guarantee equal opportunity for all individuals with disabilities, and empower individuals with disabilities to achieve economic self-sufficiency, independent living, and inclusion and integration into all aspects of society.
NCD is seeking input on specific quality of life areas and issues. Your input will be used in the development of recommendations including, but not limited to, recommendations for changes in legislation, regulations, policies, or programs, as appropriate. NCD seeks input from individuals with disabilities, organizations representing a broad range of individuals with disabilities, and agencies interested in or serving individuals with disabilities.
Access the URL to read the full notice, which includes information on how to respond.
Military service members can receive expedited processing of disability claims from Social Security. Benefits available through Social Security are different than those from the Department of Veterans Affairs and require a separate application.
The expedited process is used for military service members who become disabled while on active military service on or after October 1, 2001, regardless of where the disability occurs.
Access the website to link to the following questions that include answers to questions most people ask about applying for disability benefits.
I was disabled for a while several years ago and my health has now improved.
In addition, this website includes links to other useful information.
In the first survey of its magnitude, 3,797 businesses representing 2.4 million companies, across 12 industry sectors and various company sizes, reported on their beliefs about and strategies for recruiting, hiring, retaining and advancing employees with disabilities. The print version of Employer Perspectives on Employment of People with Disabilities will be available soon. In the meantime, an online version is available in both MS Word or PDF
Disability.gov is an online resource designed to provide people with disabilities, their family members, employers, service providers, educators and others with quick and easy access to the information they need. The site offers a number of ways to find this information, including:
[The following is excerpted from a July 27th news release.]
In conjunction with the 19th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the U.S. Department of Labor has re-named and re-launched DisabilityInfo.gov as Disability.gov. The site offers comprehensive information about programs and services to better serve more than 50 million Americans with disabilities, their family members, veterans, employers, educators, caregivers and anyone interested in disability-related information.
The new Web site integrates content from 22 federal agencies and will be managed by the Labor Department. The former DisabilityInfo.gov site was revamped with social media tools to encourage interaction and feedback, and new ways to organize, share and receive information. Visitors can sign up for personalized news and updates, participate in online discussions and suggest resources for the site. New features include a Twitter feed, Really Simple Syndication feeds, a blog, social bookmarking and a user-friendly way to obtain answers to questions on such topics as finding employment and job accommodations. Additional tools will be added during the months ahead.
The site is organized into 10 subject areas: benefits, civil rights, community life, education, emergency preparedness, employment, health, housing, technology and transportation. By selecting a category, visitors are directed to useful information on federal and state government programs and services, news and events, grants and funding opportunities, and more.
This section of the CareerOneStop portal allows service members to match military skills and experience to civilian occupations.
Career Voyages new Green Jobs section includes information and resources on this growing employment sector. You’ll find a discussion of the future of green careers as well as information on green jobs in the Energy; Construction; Transportation; Advanced Manufacturing; and Agriculture and Natural Resources industries.
This article discusses, among other things, the types of therapy and service animals and the related access rules that apply to each.
The purpose of the current research was to investigate the impact of green economy activities and technologies on occupational requirements in an effort to determine their impact on current O*NET®-SOC occupations and to identify new and emerging (N&E) occupations that may be considered for inclusion in the O*NET-SOC system. Toward this end, over 60 publications on various workplace topics relevant to the green economy were collected and reviewed. These publications included established academic journals, commissioned reports, industry white papers, and governmental technical reports. Additionally, numerous internet sources on the world of work were reviewed.
This report is organized in three sections. Section I describes the occupational implications of the green economy and its associated activities and technologies. Section II focuses on important occupational staffing implications within different sectors of the green economy. Section III describes the methodology and results of this research, including identification of current O*NET-SOC occupations impacted by the green economy and specific green economy N&E occupational candidates.