Law, Health Policy & Disability Center
University of Iowa College of Law
http://disability.law.uiowa.edu/dpn/
and
The Burton Blatt Institute
Syracuse University
http://bbi.syr.edu
One–Stop Toolkit
Resources of the Week Technical Assistance Project E–Mail listserv
7 March 2008
Good morning everyone,
Please note that due to travel, there will not be a weekly resource next week (Friday, March 14th).
Remember, this weekend Daylight Savings time begins…don’t forget to set your clocks forward!!!!
Below please find the web site and publication 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.
To view an indexed list of the resources of the week by subject matter, visit the L.P.H.D.C. web site at http://disability.law.uiowa.edu/lhpdc/resources/wig/default.asp. It currently includes 20 categories, covering over 300 annotated references. Each category opens to a new window with each Resource of the Week which covered material in that area.
Have a good day and weekend!
Laura Gleneck
Program Associate
Law, Health Policy & Disability Center
University of Iowa College of Law
P: 617–489–0086
F: 617–489–1374
[ E–mail Lgleneck@mail.law.uiowa.edu ]
[ E–mail LFarah8@aol.com ]
[ http://www.onestoptoolkit.org ]
This quote reminds me of the work of you Navigators! Samuel Johnson has similar quotes like this when defining “knowledge.” Ultimately, what he is saying—and what is evident in all of you who serve in this role—is that when you are knowledgeable it is because you have background and history in a certain subject area or you do not bring any previous connection to a subject, but you have skills/resource to know where to find it…..
Knowledge, by Samuel Johnson
“Knowledge is of two kinds. We know a subject ourselves, or we know where we can find information on it.”
This week’s Navigator highlight focuses on connecting transportation strategies and resources to the workforce investment system. Findings from the DPN Telephone Survey and other research reveal transportation is one of the most significant barriers, reported by all stakeholders, to job seekers with disabilities obtaining employment. It is an issue for older workers as well (with a high percentage who have a disability, over 1/3).
During the February DPN Project Lead’s administrative conference calls, the DOL National Program Office arranged for a guest presentation on addressing transportation barriers for people with disabilities and older workers. Representative from the National Center on Senior Transportation (http://www.seniortransportation.net) and the National Resource Center (http://www.unitedweride.gov/) spoke about available technical assistance resources to address the needs of individuals with disabilities and others that experience transportation barriers that Navigators can tap into. During the February administrative conference calls with the DPN Project Lead’s, the DPN National Program Office arranged for guest presenters to. The “Websites of the Week” section highlights both of these websites (N.C.S.T., N.R.C.) and the resources available through these Centers. In a nutshell, the goal of the National Resource Center is to provide states and communities with the support they need to coordinate transportation services for people with disabilities, older adults, and individuals with lower incomes. The mission of the National Center on Senior Transportation, which is only a year and-a-half old, is to increase transportation options for older adults and enhance their ability to live more independently within their communities throughout the United States.
Last April, we asked DPN projects to highlight transportation challenges and share effective strategies to address them. Send Laura Gleneck an e-mail if you would like a synopsis of the responses.
Navigators, check out the new employment transportation briefs for youth and older workers under “Resources of Interest,” developed by CTAA. The topics of the briefs include:
And, finally, check out the “Upcoming Events of Interest” to learn about an upcoming webinar on March 26th being hosted by CTAA.
[The article is included below in its entirety.]
Individuals with disabilities face numerous challenges when disaster strikes, says John Duplessis. They may be stranded and unable to walk or drive to safety. They may be unable to communicate effectively with first responders. They may not have access to critical resources when they take refuge in an unfamiliar city. When Duplessis addressed the Preparedness for All Conference on the subject of disaster preparedness for people with visual impairments, he wasn’t speaking theoretically. Two years ago, he was a blind man escaping New Orleans after the levees broke in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. A former boxer left legally blind by an injury in the ring, Duplessis, with 20/300 eyesight and a near complete loss of central vision, drove 16 hours from New Orleans to Birmingham and stayed with a good Samaritan for two weeks. “I spoke to the conference about the importance of people who are blind and legally blind having resources and some sort of plan for an emergency,” Duplessis says. “I originally never had a plan for emergencies. But going through Hurricane Katrina, I’ve learned some things that I need to do to prepare before a major disaster occurs.”
The aftermath of the hurricane threw that oversight into sharp relief. Duplessis had pursued higher education after his career–ending injury in 1995; he earned his master’s degree in social work mere months before the hurricane and had been working with Armstrong Family Services in New Orleans to help the agency better address the needs of disabled and homeless clients. He escaped the city just before Hurricane Katrina hit—“in the 11th hour,” he says—and returned after the storm had passed, only to leave again after the levees broke.
Once Duplessis arrived in Birmingham, he found himself in the same shoes as his former clients, with no permanent place to live, no job, and only $51 in his pocket. He looked for a job that would accommodate both his disability and his desire to help others facing similar challenges. That search led to the Alabama Department of Rehabilitation Services, which hired Duplessis as a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) reintegration counselor to help fellow displaced Katrina evacuees find emergency assistance and human services. Now a Birmingham resident, Duplessis works for MAPS (Mapping Access to Program Services), a job–seeking resource for individuals with disabilities, as a disability navigator. His daily life, he says, is “consumed with trying to help people”—helping disabled individuals find employment and helping career center staff to better serve disabled job seekers and provide resources and access to special programs. “My time is consumed with looking for resources, researching services that I can provide for people,” Duplessis says. “It [his disability] has been a very difficult struggle, and that gives me an understanding of what it takes to be successful. I’m always looking for needs that I can help someone with.”
Participating in the Preparedness for All Conference, he says, was like “a pre–Katrina flashback,” calling to mind some of his scariest moments in the hope of sparing other people with disabilities from a similar ordeal. “One step is establishing a network of communication, of people they can communicate with in case of a major disaster,” Duplessis says. “And have five or 10 people, at least. I had four people ask me to come along with them before the hurricane hit, and I turned down all four of those offers. But the fifth offer, in the hour that Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, I decided to take. If I had not had that many resources out there communicating with me, I probably wouldn’t be here today.”
Duplessis recommends that individuals with disabilities establish their communication networks in advance, involving friends and family members who are aware of the many challenges that may arise, and to maintain a connection with those networks as much as possible throughout an emergency. He also suggests that service agencies take the initiative to reach out to people with disabilities in cases of emergency to offer services and programs that cater to their particular challenges. The Preparedness for All Conference was, he says, a great opportunity to reach out and share his experience and resources with others dealing with disabilities and with the emergency management agencies who can help them. “There were times when I really was scared for my life,” Duplessis says. “I had nowhere to stay, and I had no plan for emergencies. I hope I can help somebody else who may be in my position to avoid going through what I’ve been through.”
[The article is included below in its entirety.]
Here is Pat’s story on Jeff, a client who reached out for help from his community and has became a real success story.
RUIDOSO -- What we do can make such a difference in someone’s life. As a Navigator, I get to work with many wonderful and dedicated people in the community to make a difference in one person’s life. I got a call in late September from a veteran about a homeless, 100 percent disabled veteran living in a cheap motel here in Ruidoso. We worked together and got him a place to live in a small travel trailer. It was obvious that this Vietnam veteran, I will call him Jeff, had many problems. Jeff was a Green Beret and was wounded nine times. He has also worked with the CIA around the world to help keep us safe from illegal guns and drugs. He was not taking his medication properly, including a couple of strong narcotics for pain and his brain injury. Because of his huge giving heart, he was always out of money by the 10th of every month. The vultures were picking his pocket as soon as his checks came in. Jeff was clearly someone in need of help.
I contacted the VA to get assistance with his medicines. I worked with a local doctor and pharmacist to find out what he was on and how to straighten out his mess. I contacted a church in town and got some help from its membership with handling his medications. I found a great lady to take over Jeff’s finances and to make sure that everything was paid and he was not being taken advantage of. It seemed as if things were going to turn around for Jeff, when law enforcement picked him up on a bench warrant for some three-year old outstanding bad checks. Off to jail he goes.
I worked with him to get him legal representation and get enough money gathered up to pay for an attorney. After 16 days in jail with drug withdrawal and many other problems of incarceration, he got a hearing before a judge. His financial trustee and I worked together to get money orders purchased to pay for the hot checks outstanding. To shorten the story we got him out of jail. He is now much more stable with his medicines being overseen by an angel in is life and he actually is getting his finances in shape with the help of his financial planner.
We have gotten Jeff moved to a new apartment with a fireplace which helps calm him with his mental problems. He is getting furniture that has been donated by his church members, has found himself with the help of some new friends and the help of God. Things are looking up for Jeff. He will always need some help.
As of now, he is signed up to do volunteer work for the Food Bank and Chamber of Commerce and will be able to get a part time job at Wal-Mart soon. Jeff’s next big goal is to get himself a car so that he can get a job and be a productive member of society again. He has struggled through the holidays with the loss of his pseudo friends and the temptations of his alcohol addiction. He has survived both of these and is now off and running with his new life.
During last year’s National Disability Employment Awareness Month, the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) profiled individuals who have personally benefited from agency-sponsored programs aimed at eliminating the chronic underemployment of people with disabilities, as well as employers and organizations that have successfully implemented strategies to hire, support, empower and otherwise value employees with disabilities on their website. “Workers with Disabilities: Talent for a Winning Team" was last year’s theme. The special web feature is intended to dispel misconceptions about workers with disabilities by showcasing real faces and success stories. Each installment will include the story and photograph of a person whose life has been changed, or an employer or organization that has influenced positive change. The entire montage will include people and efforts from across the nation.
ODEP is still contributing to this feature and highlight great examples. Check it out!
Presenters: Rick McGahey, Program Officer, Ford Foundation
Jaque Picone, Project Manager, San Diego Workforce Partnership
Karen Sitnick, Director, Mayor's Office of Employment and Development, Baltimore
Moderator: Thomas M. Dowd, Administrator, Office of Policy Development and Research, Employment and Training Administration
The National Fund for Workforce Solutions (NFWS) is a public/private funding collaborative that aims to strengthen and expand regional sectoral workforce partnerships. The NFWS aims to invest $50 million in 30 or more regional and rural collaborative across the country between 2007 and 2011. Through these investments, the NFWS expects to place and/or advance at least 50,000 people in career-oriented jobs, leverage more than $200 million in local funding, and provide services to at least 1,000 employers to help them recruit, train and advance new and incumbent workers. This initiative is funded by the Annie E. Casey, Ford, Hitachi, the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg, and John S. and James L. Knight Foundations in collaboration with the Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration. National strategic partners include the Council on Foundations, Jobs for the Future, and The United Way of America.
This webinar will provide an overview of the NFWS, share examples of how the public workforce systems in San Diego and Baltimore have been leaders in their regional collaboratives, and discuss future opportunities to become involved in this initiative. Participants are encouraged to refer to Training and Employment Notice 15-07 issued on October 16, 2007 and http://www.nfwsolutions.org/ for background information.
Registration for this Webinar is limited and seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. Please access the link to login to Workforce3 One and register today!
If you are deaf, hard-of-hearing, or have speech disabilities
and captioning would facilitate your participation in this
Webinar, you can register for captioning service through the
Federal Relay Conference Captioning. Please note the Federal
Relay Service requires at least 48 hours notice (2 working
days) to guarantee coverage. For more information, visit
http://www.workforce3one.org/support/index.cfm?id=966.
Presenters: Asante Clarke, Northern Virginia Community College
Melinda Mechur Karp, Teachers College, Columbia University's Community College Research Center
Michael Webb, Jobs for the Future
Moderator: Maisha Meminger, DYS
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, by 2012, over 40 percent of the factory jobs will require post secondary education and 90 percent of the fastest growing jobs require post-secondary education and training. Whether it is community college; a vocational program; the military; an apprenticeship; or a 4-year university, post-secondary education is becoming less an option than a necessity in order to compete in this 21st century global economy. There is more than one way to get to college; however, many young people, and those who are working with them, are not informed of these options. This 90 minute webinar will focus on established pathways that programs can utilize to connect out-of-school youth, and those youth at-risk of dropping out of school, to post-secondary educational opportunities. Though there are many paths, we will hear from experts that will address Dual Enrollment; GED programs; the Early College Model; and the Ability-to-Benefit test. This webinar will discuss the benefits and challenges of connecting youth to education and the workforce through these models and where to find these models in your local system. Join us as we learn how to strengthen pathways to college for young people.
Registration for this Webinar is limited and seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. Please access the link to login to Workforce3 One and register today!
If you are deaf, hard-of-hearing, or have speech disabilities
and captioning would facilitate your participation in this
Webinar, you can register for captioning service through the
Federal Relay Conference Captioning. Please note the Federal
Relay Service requires at least 48 hours notice (2 working
days) to guarantee coverage. For more information, visit
http://www.workforce3one.org/support/index.cfm?id=966.
Your agency’s success in linking youth with jobs, employment training and other locations is made more certain when you know that your young customers can actually reach those destinations. Hear about community partnerships that increase the ability of youth to access reliable, affordable, safe transportation and how this has made a difference in their ability to connect with key destinations. Learn how travel training programs can be the vital link between youth with disabilities and employment and job development programs. Receive tools to develop an individualized transportation plan for your youth customers.
Access the URL to register.
For more information contact E–mail price@ctaa.org.
The National ADA Symposium is an annual three day conference on the Americans with Disabilities Act and related disability laws that has earned the reputation as the most comprehensive event available on the ADA. Each year, the ADA Symposium brings representatives from key federal agencies involved in implementing the ADA including the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Access Board and the EEOC to provide comprehensive training and updates. All Symposium presenters are nationally recognized experts in their fields.
The ADA Symposium offers break-out sessions on a wide range of topics. Registrants select courses to create a schedule that reflects their interests and needs. A Pre-Conference is offered to provide both introductory and advanced sessions. A hallmark of the National ADA Symposium is the opportunities for networking and problem solving among participants. Social activities such as the Evening Reception and table-top discussion areas in the large EXPO Hall provide an atmosphere that encourages interaction.
The National ADA Symposium features an EXPO Hall filled with disability related products and services, an Assistive Technology Fair and demonstrations such as wheelchair golf.
Access the URL to read more about the session schedule and registration.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has issued two new question-and-answer (Q&A) guides providing technical assistance for employers and veterans on workplace issues affecting veterans with service-connected disabilities.
The new guide for employers explains how protections for veterans with service-connected disabilities differ under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA). The document further describes how the ADA in particular applies to recruiting, hiring, and accommodating veterans with service-connected disabilities. The EEOC enforces Title I of the ADA, which prohibits employment discrimination against people with disabilities in the private sector and state and local governments. The U.S. Department of Labor enforces USERRA, which applies to the reemployment of veterans with and without service-connected disabilities.
This publication answers questions that veterans with service-connected disabilities may have about the protections they are entitled to when they seek to return to their former jobs or look to find their first, or new, civilian jobs. The document also explains changes or adjustments that veterans may need, because of their injuries, to apply for, or perform, a job, or to enjoy equal access to the workplace.
The Prisoner Re-entry initiative, which is part of the Center for Faith Based and Community Initiatives, recently released some helpful resources that include a list of websites, documents and programs that may be useful in learning more about prisoner re-entry programs and how faith-based and community organizations are active partners in the re-entry process.
Access the URL to link to these resources, as well as other agency efforts and programs, training, and technical assistance opportunities and publications.
The mission of NCST is to increase transportation options for older adults and enhance their ability to live more independently within their communities throughout the United States. The goal is to achieve the mission through the development, collection and distribution of information and resources for use by communities, transportation providers, state and local governments, aging and human service providers, and older adults and their caregivers. Technical assistance, research toward solutions, strategic communications and building partnerships among stakeholders are additional functions of the center.
The NCST is administered by Easter Seals Inc., in partnership with the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging. At the 2005 White House Conference on Aging, delegates selected transportation as the third most important priority of today’s older adults right under reauthorization of the Older Americans Act (No. 1) and matters pertaining to long-term care. It is well-recognized that communities across the nation are striving to help older individuals stay healthy; stay connected, and enjoy “aging in place.” Transportation services are – quite literally – a vital link to those goals. The center was established and announced as “open for business” on Aug. 8, 2006.
The goal of the National Resource Center is to provide states and communities with the support they need to coordinate transportation services for people with disabilities, older adults, and individuals with lower incomes. NCR will be administered by the Community Transportation Association of America through a cooperative agreement with the Federal Transit Administration.
The Center will also provide technical assistance to the Federal Interagency Coordinating Council on Access and Mobility (CCAM) and its member agencies.
On February 7, President Bush signed an Executive Order establishing the Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs, a coalition of federal agencies that will help support communities and organizations working on behalf of our nation's youth. The order builds on the success of Helping America's Youth, a three-year interagency initiative announced by President Bush in his 2005 State of the Union address.
Helping America's Youth is a nationwide effort to raise awareness about the challenges facing our youth, particularly at-risk boys, and to motivate caring adults to connect with youth in three key areas: family, school, and community. As the leader of the Helping America's Youth effort, Mrs. Laura Bush is highlighting programs which are effectively helping America's young people.
To read the Executive Order, access:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/02/20080207-15.html
[The following is excerpted from the Executive Summary to this report.]
Youth with disabilities who are also in the foster care system are one of the most vulnerable populations in the United States, yet little attention is focused on the unique challenges they face as they negotiate their way through multiple systems to adulthood. The National Council on Disability (NCD) has decided to delve into the confusing and confounding world faced by these youth, draw attention to their situations, and start a dialogue about how federal, state, and local policies and practices can be more supportive of these young people.
The purpose of this report is to provide policymakers, primarily at the federal and state levels, with information about youth with disabilities in foster care, so that policymakers can begin to understand the characteristics of this population; the challenges they face; how they fare with regard to safety, permanency, self-determination and self-sufficiency, enhanced quality of life, and community integration; and how the complex array of existing programs and services could be better designed to improve these outcomes.
This report will shed light on the poor outcomes of youth with disabilities in foster care, especially with regard to education, employment, and other indicators of well-being. While the federal investment in the multiple systems with which these youth come in contact is significant, the disconnectedness and lack of coordination across programs and agencies call into question the effectiveness of government efforts. The report will therefore describe various policy recommendations for federal and state policymakers that focus on improving coordination, holding systems accountable, developing leadership and the capacity of the system to work more effectively with these youth, improving transitions to adulthood and educational outcomes for them, and better data-sharing and information management. A brief summary of these recommendations will follow at the end of the report (Chapter 4).
The goal for America’s youth is to live healthy, happy lives and to become self-sufficient, contributing members of society in adulthood. However, there are subsets of youth who cannot reach these goals with ease. These youth need additional supports to assist them in their journey toward a healthy adulthood, as they are more vulnerable than the “average” youth to fall through the cracks during this journey. This report will examine one exceptionally challenged group in particular: older youth (specifically, preteen through young adult) with disabilities who are involved in the foster care system.
The child welfare community generally accepts the fact that while the American foster care system has come a long way in recent years, there is still much to be done to ensure the health and well-being of the children and youth it serves. Likewise, the disability community has seen great improvements in disability laws in recent years but still advocates for additional needed change. But what is often overlooked among experts in both of these realms is the idea that foster care is indeed both a child welfare issue and a disability issue, because of the alarmingly high numbers of foster youth with mental, developmental, emotional, learning, and physical disabilities. The purpose of this report, therefore, is to shift the lens through which youth advocates and service providers view the importance of ensuring the well-being of foster youth. This new viewpoint focuses on the importance of understanding the prevalence of disability among foster youth and better ascertaining who should be held accountable for this uniquely challenged and often underserved population.