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
30 October 2009
Good morning everyone!
Here is a friendly reminder for time zones that observe Daylight Savings Time (DST) and Eastern Standard Time (EST), on November 1st, clocks are set back one hour at 2am. local daylight time, which becomes 1am local standard time. Check out your area resource to learn if your time zone will be affected. You can also check out Wikipedia for a list of states (including the District of Columbia) that are part of the Eastern Time Zone at: [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Daylight_Time#United_States ]
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!
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,
REMINDERS
Participate in a National Dialogue about Accessible Transportation
Many Navigators have worked tirelessly within their communities to help make transportation more accessible especially since this is a key component to many individuals with disabilities obtaining and maintaining employment. Do you have suggestions and ideas that you would like to share with national leaders that can assist communities to increase access to affordable and reliable transportation services for people with disabilities, older adults, and people with limited incomes? If so, please register to participate in an upcoming national online dialogue with representatives of the federal government, state and community leaders! For more information, and to register, just click the link to visit the Dialogue website: [ www.UWRdialogue.org ] and read more details under For Your Information.
October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) and
21 October 2009 is Disability Mentoring Day (DMD)
On behalf of the national DPN Program Office and the NDI Technical Assistance team, thank you for once again playing an integral part in recognizing National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) and Disability Mentoring Day (DMD). Each year, Disability Program Navigators across the nation work diligently to rally partners, their local community, schools and businesses, and city and state government to help raise awareness and educate different entities about the valuable contribution individuals with disabilities bring to the American workforce. These activities range from workshops, forums, career/job fairs, luncheons, award ceremonies, tours, etc. Using various platforms and media, you help work within your community to raise awareness, make connections and create systems change. Many of you shared how this is the second, third or even fourth year of activities. We have heard that organizations and employers, in some cases, are coming to you expressing interest in becoming involved and/or continuing these activities beyond just the month of October. Through your work, you are truly helping to build the capacity of the public workforce system to provide more meaningful and effective employment opportunities for job seekers with disabilities.
Throughout the month, the national DPN Program Office has been “spotlighting” some of your NDEAM and DMD activities on its new website, Disability and Employment. Check it out at: : [ http://disability.workforce3one.org/ ] by clicking on “Spotlight.”
The NDI TA team is building the chart of NDEAM and DMD activities for 2009. If you have not already done so, let us know what activities took place in your community to be included in this chart. It is a great opportunity to share with your peers across the nation and with the public workforce system all of the great work that communities are doing to help raise awareness about employment for people with disabilities!!!
Be sure to check out the message from Assistant Secretary Kathy Martinez, U.S. Department of Labor Office of Disability Employment Policy, on NDEAM at [ http://www.dol.gov/odep/ ] Some of her words: “Today and every day, people with disabilities add significant value to America’s workplaces and economy. Their skills and talents benefit businesses of all sizes and in all industries. They are entrepreneurs, innovators, and community leaders. Yet, whether good economic times and bad, people with disabilities have fewer job opportunities than those without disabilities. This is unacceptable and opposes the ideals upon which our nation was founded and prides itself. This year’s National Disability Employment Awareness Month focuses on the interdependence of expectation and opportunity in advancing America’s ideal of equal opportunity for all. It’s a time to celebrate the contributions of people with disabilities to our nation’s workplaces and communities and reaffirm our commitment to creating a more inclusive America, one where every person is rightly recognized for his or her abilities and accomplishments—every day of every month.”
Resources, Resources, and Resources
As always, check out the other resources included in this issue. During the month of November, we are going to highlight asset building strategies, so stay tuned!
Happy Friday!
U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Celebrates National Disability Employment Awareness Month
DOL’s Employment and Training Administration hosts Art Exhibit
ETA News Release: October 19, 2009
[ http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/eta/eta20091285.htm ]
[The news release is included below in its entirety.]
Beginning today [October 19th], in observance of National Disability Employment Awareness Month, the U.S. Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration (ETA) is hosting an art exhibit at the department's headquarters building located at 200 Constitution Ave. N.W. in Washington. The exhibit, which will remain until Oct. 30, displays the works of apprentices in the WVSA ARTs connection's ARTiculate Employment Training and Outreach Program.
"I am very pleased that these young artists have given us the privilege of sharing their works with the Department of Labor family," said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Employment and Training Jane Oates. "We are proud to display their artwork and prouder still to see young people who are actively involved in preparing for future careers."
WVSA ARTs connection is a nonprofit organization providing multiple creative environments, opportunities and experiences for children and adults through arts-infused educational and vocational programs. The ARTiculate Employment Training and Outreach Program provides individuals ages 16 to 25 with disabilities who live in the Washington, D.C., area training and experience in applied graphics and fine arts, as well as career readiness, to develop vocational, social and life-management skills.
Displaying the work of these young artist apprentices reflects ETA's focus on promoting educational and career pathways for youth with disabilities and facilitating their economic self-sufficiency. For more information, visit the Employment and Training Administration's new resource Web page on disability and employment at [ http://disability.workforce3one.org. ]In addition, the office will join the Department of Labor, Social Security Administration and other federal agencies for a celebration sponsored by the American Association of People with Disabilities October 12th through 13th in Duluth, Minn., highlighting the importance of exposing youth with disabilities to work-based learning and job shadowing opportunities. OSERS staff will be gathering input in coming weeks from parents, educators, students with disabilities and others to inform work on upcoming legislative reauthorizations and issues of importance to students with disabilities.
DOL’s Art Exhibits:
[ http://www.dol.gov/dol/media/photos/slideshows/20091022-wvsa.htm]
[ http://www.dol.gov/dol/media/photos/slideshows/20091019-vsa.htm ]
DOL’s Office of Disability Employment Policy Stars Focus on Ability
[ http://www.dol.gov/odep/#stars ]
On October 22nd, Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis convened a panel to discuss and answer audience questions about people with disabilities in the performing and visual arts. Before a standing room only audience in the DOL auditorium, Secretary Solis was joined by Assistant Secretary for Disability Employment Policy Kathleen Martinez, performance artist Fred Beam, and actor Robert David Hall, who portrays Dr. Al Robins on the popular TV show "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation."
Access the URL to click on a link to learn more about the panel and the VSA arts exhibition, acknowledged during the panel discussion and organized by the Office of Disability Employment Policy. VSA arts is an international nonprofit organization founded 35 years ago by Ambassador Jean Kennedy Smith to create a society where people with disabilities learn through, participate in, and enjoy the arts.
FUNDING OPPORTUNITY: U.S. Department of Education
Office of Postsecondary Education; Overview Information Student Support Services (SSS) Program; Notice Inviting Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2010
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.042A
[Federal Register: October 22, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 203)]
[ http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/E9-25389.htm ]
DATES:
SUMMARY. The purpose of the Student Support Services (SSS) Program is to increase the number of disadvantaged low-income college students, first generation college students, and college students with disabilities in the United States who successfully complete a program of study at the postsecondary level. The support services provided should increase the retention and graduation rates for these students and facilitate their transfer from two-year to four-year colleges and universities. The support services provided should also foster an institutional climate supportive of the success of students who are limited English proficient, students from groups that are traditionally underrepresented in postsecondary education, students with disabilities, students who are homeless children and youths, students who are in foster care or are aging out of the foster care system, and other disconnected students. Student Support Services should also improve the financial and economic literacy of students.
ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS
AWARD INFORMATION
This notice is for discretionary grants. The Administration has requested $848,089,000 to fund the Federal TRIO Programs, of which, $ 268,905,822 has been allocated for new awards for the SSS Program for FY 2010
.
Access the URL to read the full notice including application and submission information.
Prompt Passage of Economic Recovery Act Payment for 2010 Needed Law Does Not Provide for a Social Security Cost-of-Living Adjustment for 2010
Social Security Administration News Release
October 15, 2009
[ http://www.ssa.gov/pressoffice/pr/2010cola-pr.htm ]
[The news release is included below in its entirety.]
With consumer prices down over the past year, monthly Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits for more than 57 million Americans will not automatically increase in 2010. This will be the first year without an automatic Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) since they went into effect in 1975 .
“Social Security is doing its job helping Americans maintain their standard of living,” Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security said. “Last year when consumer prices spiked, largely as a result of higher gas prices, beneficiaries received a 5.8 percent COLA, the largest increase since 1982 . This year, in light of the human need, we need to support President Obama’s call for us to make another $250 . recovery payment for 57 million Americans.”
The Social Security Act provides that Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits increase automatically each year if there is an increase in the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W ) from the third quarter of the last year to the third quarter of the current year. This year there was no increase in the CPI-W from the third quarter of 2008 to the third quarter of 2009. In addition, because there was no increase in the CPI-W this year, under the law the starting point for determinations regarding a possible 2011 COLA will remain the third quarter of 2008 .
Some other changes that would normally take effect in January 2010 based on the increase in average wages also will not take effect, even though average wages did increase. Since there is no COLA, the statute prohibits an increase in the maximum amount of earnings subject to the Social Security tax as well as the retirement earnings test exempt amounts. These amounts will remain unchanged in 2010. The attached fact sheet provides more information on 2010 Social Security changes.
Information about Medicare changes for 2010, when available, will be found at www.Medicare.gov. The Department of Health and Human Services has not yet announced if there will be any Medicare premium changes for 2010. Should there be an increase in the Medicare Part B premium, the law contains a “hold harmless” provision that protects about 93 percent of Social Security beneficiaries from paying a higher Part B premium, in order to avoid reducing their net Social Security benefit. Those not protected include higher income beneficiaries subject to an income-adjusted Part B premium and beneficiaries newly entitled to Part B in 2010. On September 24th, the House passed legislation by 406-18 that would, on a fully paid-for basis, prevent abnormally large premium increases. The President is calling on the Senate to enact this legislation before it becomes too late for the Social Security Administration to update its computer systems to implement this needed change.
For additional information about the 2010 COLA, go to [ www.socialsecurity.gov/cola ] to tell your story and read about Business Champions.
Webinar: Social Security for Wounded Warriors
Social Security Administration
November 4, 2009 at 2pm Eastern Standard Time
[ http://www.socialsecurity.gov/ ]
Please join the Social Security Administration on November 4th for a national webinar - “Social Security for Wounded Warriors.” During the webinar, you can learn more about Social Security benefit programs and the expedited processing of disability claims available to our nation’s Wounded Warriors. 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.
Service members, their families and friends, and those that advocate on their behalf are all welcome to participate in this seminar for the web to learn about:
REGISTRATION
To RSVP for the webinar, please visit:
[ http://www.socialsecurity.gov/survey/woundedwarriorsrsvp.htm ]
You will have the option of submitting questions in advance of the webinar with your RSVP.
Please share information about the webinar with your members, colleagues, clients, and any others who may be interested.
ADA Amendments Act of 2008
- Town Hall Meetings
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
[ http://www.eeoc.gov/ada/adaaa-townhall.html ]
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Civil Rights Division are holding four full-day Town Hall Listening Sessions in October and November to obtain direct input from the business/employer community and the disability and disability advocacy community on EEOC's proposed regulations under the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA).
Presided over by EEOC's Acting Chair, Stuart J. Ishimaru, Acting Vice Chair, Christine Griffin, and Commissioner Constance S. Barker, as well as DOJ’s Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, Samuel Bagenstos, Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, Mazen Baswari, and Chief of the Disability Rights Section of the Civil Rights Division, John Wodatch, the Town Hall Listening Session is an opportunity for these officials to hear directly from stakeholders of all perspectives on the proposed regulations.
The Listening Sessions will be held on:
[ At the time of this publication, these dates will have passed; however, they are being included as a for your information.]
Five-minute time slots to address the panel will be available from 9am. to 4pm Some of the slots will be available on an advance registration basis and some on first-come, first-served sign up basis at the event. Members of the public are also invited to attend and view the proceedings, with space available on a first-come, first-served basis.
As a reasonable accommodation, there will be limited availability to provide public input by telephone. To request this accommodation you must register in advance.
Sign Language Interpreters, CART, and assistive listening devices will be available. If you need printed materials in an alternative format please email ;Elisa.gonzalez.ctr@tma.osd.mill letting her know what you need and the location (city) of the event you will be attending.
FOR MORE DETAILED INFORMATION
For more detailed information about each Listening Session and information about registration, access: [ http://www.eeoc.gov/ada/adaaa-registration.html ]
Both EEOC and DOJ want to encourage all individuals and organizations who cannot attend this event to make sure you submit comments and attachments electronically at www.regulations.gov the Federal eRulemaking Portal. To submit a comment, you can locate the NPRM by typing in the keyword "ADA Amendments Act." The ID# for the ADAAA regulation is 3046-AA85.
Written comments may also be submitted to Stephen Llewellyn, Executive Secretariat, EEOC, 131 M Street, NE., Suite 4NW08R, Room 6NE03F, Washington, DC 20507. Comments may be transmitted by facsimile (``FAX'') machine by dialing (202) 663-4114. (This is not a toll-free number.) Only comments of six or fewer pages will be accepted via FAX transmittal. Comments must be submitted on or before November 23, 2009.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Access the URL to find links to the following information:
28th
Annual Perspectives on Employment of Persons with Disabilities Conference
U.S. Department of Labor Office of Disability Employment Policy
Hyatt Regency
Bethesda Maryland
December 9th through 11th, 2009
[ http://www.graduateschool.edu/Conferences/Perspectives/index.php ]
Get an edge in recruiting, hiring and retaining qualified federal employees with disabilities. Attend the 28th Annual Perspectives on Employment of Persons with Disabilities Conference to find the latest information on personnel policies and practices, developments in technology, legal updates, and resources that will help your agency achieve its goals. Through workshops, keynote speakers and a general session you will hear from key officials and experts knowledgeable in disability employment issues in the federal sector. Perspectives also offers a unique opportunity to learn from and network with your federal colleagues from across the nation in an informal and comfortable setting. Federal Human Resource and Equal Employment Opportunity specialists, hiring managers, and others who manage employment matters concerning persons with disabilities should attend the Perspectives Conference!
Access the URL for more information including registration.
RESOURCES OF INTEREST[The following is excerpted from the Facts for Features. Access the URL to read the full feature that includes some great statistics on Veterans in different areas.]
Veterans Day originated as “Armistice Day” on November 11, 1919, the first anniversary of the end of World War I. Congress passed a resolution in 1926 for an annual observance, and November 11th became a national holiday beginning in 1938. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed legislation in 1938 to change the name to Veterans Day as a way to honor those who served in all American wars. The day honors living military veterans with parades and speeches across the nation. A national ceremony takes place at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.
23.2 million
The number of military veterans in the United States in 2008. Source: Table 508, Upcoming Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2010
[ http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/ ]
Disabilities
5.5 million
Number of veterans with any type of disability in 2008. Source: 2008
American Community Survey
[ http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/DatasetMainPageServlet?_program=ACS&_submenuId=&_lang=en&_ts ]
Service-Connected Disability Ratings
3.4 million
Number of veterans with a service-connected disability rating. Of this number, 588,000 have a rating of 70
percent or higher.
Source: 2008
American Community Survey
http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/DatasetMainPageServlet?_program=ACS&_submenuId=&_lang=en&_ts=
Equal Employment Opportunity is the Law: Poster Request Form
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
[ http://www.eeoc.gov/posterform.html ]
The law requires an employer to post notices describing the Federal laws prohibiting job discrimination based on race, color, sex, national origin, religion, age, equal pay, disability and genetic information. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) poster is available in English, Arabic, Chinese and Spanish. You may order up to 10 copies from this website.
EEOC has revised its “Equal Employment Opportunity is the Law” poster. This new version reflects current federal employment discrimination law (including the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008). The poster was revised to add information about the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008, which is effective November 21, 2009.. The revised poster also includes updates from the Department of Labor.
There are several ways for employers to comply with the law:
If you need more than ten copies of the poster, please contact:
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Clearinghouse
P.O. Box 541
Annapolis Junction, MD 20701
Fax: (301) 206-9789
or call: 1-800-669-3362 (voice)
1-800-800-3302 (TTY)
During National Disability Employment Awareness Month 2009, Kathleen Martinez, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Disability Employment Policy stated that, "At the Department of Labor, our goal is good jobs for everyone, and we mean people with disabilities too." This issue of Disability Connection, the newsletter of Disability.gov, looks at the many efforts underway that support this month’s theme - "Expectation + Opportunity = Full Participation".
Access the URL to check out the articles, resources and information.
In business, expectation and opportunity are two essential, interdependent ingredients for success, regardless of size or industry. Whether good economic times or bad, a business simply can't thrive without a clear vision of success and the chance to demonstrate the value of its goods or services. Of course, the same holds true for individuals, including individuals with disabilities. When expectation meets opportunity, people with disabilities can and do make important contributions to America's workplaces and economy, as not only employees, but also employers and entrepreneurs.
One such individual is Patty Rivas. Together with members of her family, Ms. Rivas, who has paraplegia, owns and operates Mercado Nica, a convenience market in Derwood, MD. Mercado Nica specializes in packaged products from Central and South America but also stocks staples such as fresh milk, produce and meat. Like many small business owners, Ms. Rivas's daily work runs the gamut, encompassing everything from helping customers, ordering stock and running the register to bookkeeping, paperwork and promotion. And like many small business owners, she often works seven days a week.
Ms. Rivas holds a master's degree in social work and worked as a social worker before becoming an entrepreneur. Her disability was never a consideration in either career. "Everyone around me has always said 'you can do it,' so I just always felt I could," she said. "I don't think a disability should limit someone's opportunities or their goals. We are equal individuals and can do the same work." Access the website to read more and to see Ms. Rivas at work - and several other talented individuals with disabilities.
This InfoBrief discusses challenges faced by youth and young adults with mental health needs during their transition to adulthood and describes strategies used by youth service professionals to avoid age-related transition cliffs and prevent service interruptions during this critical stage of development. This InfoBrief is based on a rich body of research about transition-age youth with mental health needs published in four separate reports in the last two years, including two produced by the National Collaborative on Workforce & Disability for Youth (NCWD-Youth).
To be effective in their role as navigators and supporters, it is imperative that youth service professionals know what youth need in order to succeed in the transition process. NCWD/Youth, a national technical assistance center, in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP), created the Guideposts for Success (http://www.ncwd-youth.info/content/guideposts-success), a comprehensive framework that identifies what all youth, including youth with disabilities, need to succeed during the critical transition years. The “Guideposts for Success for Youth with Mental Health Needs,” which incorporate all of the elements of the original Guideposts as well as additional specific needs relating to youth with mental health need, is a valuable resource for youth service professionals who seek to provide young people with an intentional, integrated, well-coordinated, and comprehensive set of services and supports.