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
11 May 2007
Good morning everyone,
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 Farah
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 ]
[The full announcement is located under the section heading "Resources of Interest."]
Thank you to Alicia Rouse, a Disability Program Navigator (DPN) with the State of Michigan DPN project, for sharing this resource, which was developed by a workgroup brought together by the Michigan Division on Deaf and Hard of Hearing. Navigators, this is a wonderful resource for you to share with (make sure under ‘information and support’ you modify the resources to what is available in your state/community) One-Stop staff, partners and community partners, as well as employers. It represents a guide and checklist on best practices for agencies serving people who are deaf, hard of hearing or deaf–blind. It provides information in six key areas: office environment, programs and services, safety, population(s) served, advocacy, and information and support and for each provides examples of best practices.
DATES: Closing date for applications is June 15, 2007.
SUMMARY: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is soliciting proposals from States to develop the infrastructure to support competitive employment opportunities for people with disabilities. Section 203 of the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999 directs the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to establish the Medicaid Infrastructure Grant (MIG) Program. Funding for this program is intended to facilitate enhancements to State Medicaid programs and services, to promote linkages between Medicaid and other employment-related service agencies, and to develop a comprehensive system of employment supports for people with disabilities. CMS is the designated DHHS agency with administrative responsibility for this grant program. While CMS anticipates that the proposals submitted by applicants will vary, it expects that grantees participating in this program will use funding to first remove employment barriers for people with disabilities by creating systemic change throughout the Medicaid program, and later to remove employment barriers within State and local systems generally. States may develop employment systems through a progression of activities beginning with the development of core Medicaid components. The components include personal assistance services and a Medicaid buy-in program that enable people with disabilities to participate in their communities through meaningful employment opportunities. States may then use program funds to enhance these supports by building other infrastructure needed to develop a comprehensive employment system.
ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS: Either of the following may apply to administer the Medicaid Infrastructure Grant: (a) the single State Medicaid agency; or (b) any other agency or instrumentality of a State (as determined under State law) in partnership, agreement and active participation with the single State Medicaid Agency. A letter of commitment from the single State Medicaid agency must be included in the application if a non-Medicaid State agency or instrumentality is applying for the Medicaid Infrastructure Grant. Eligible States are defined in Appendix One, which contains CMS' operational definition of personal assistance services. For purposes of this grant program, "State" is defined as each of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, the United States Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
DATES: Application deadline for the first bootcamp is June 5, 2007.
This program is designed as an intensive training program positioned to offer cutting edge, experiential training in entrepreneurship and small business management to veterans with disabilities resulting from their service in Iraq and Afghanistan. The goal of the EBV program is to open the door to entrepreneurship and small business ownership to veterans, developing their competencies in the many steps and activities associated with creating and sustaining an entrepreneurial venture, and also in coordinating with programs and services unique to veterans and others with disabilities.
The inaugural bootcamp will be offered during the summer of 2007. EBV anticipates enrolling approximately 20 veterans in this first bootcamp – individuals who have expressed an interest in entrepreneurship, and demonstrate both the ability and motivation necessary to successfully complete the program and subsequently start their own business. This program is being offered entirely without cost to the veteran. Following the first offering of the program this summer, it is estimated that the program will grow to 30-35 attendees at each EBV, with the residency lasting two full weeks. The sponsors hope to offer 2-3 EBV programs per year beginning in 2008. The program will involve two phases.
First, delegates in the EBV will participate in a self-study curriculum, facilitated by an online discussion and assessment module, which will be moderated by entrepreneurship faculty and graduate students from the Whitman School of Management. This module will begin the 15th of July, and run through early August. Phase two will take place from August 11th through August 19th, and involves delegates traveling to Syracuse University to participate in an onsite program modeled after an existing, and very successful entrepreneurship training program, already established at Syracuse University. Key topical areas addressed in the program will include opportunity recognition, business concept development, profit models, resource acquisition strategies, business plan development, venture launch methods, guerrilla marketing approaches, deal structuring and negotiation, valuation, entrepreneurial finance and unique funding opportunities for veterans with disabilities, operations and operating models, service delivery, risk management, human resource management, and legal and regulatory challenges.
The Whitman School of Management is home to one of the most respected and comprehensive entrepreneurship programs in the world. Recently ranked by Entrepreneurship Magazine and the Princeton Review as the #1 entrepreneurship program in the United States, the expertise and training of the entrepreneurship faculty at Whitman is unmatched. The Entrepreneurship and Emerging Enterprises (EEE) Program at Syracuse University includes 18 faculty members and twenty-five course offerings. Currently serving over 1200 students a year, the program includes an undergraduate major, undergraduate minor, MBA concentration and a Ph.D. in entrepreneurship. Collaborating with the Whitman School of Management, and infusing the core disability related content, is the Burton Blatt Institute. The Burton Blatt Institute (BBI), located at Syracuse University, is building the premier organization to advance civic, economic, and social participation of persons with disabilities in a global society.
More information about this program, eligibility requirements, and application procedures can be found at: http://whitman.syr.edu/eee/veterans. Questions about the program application procedures and eligibility requirements can be directed to Ellie O’Neill EBVinfo@syr.edu or to 315-443-8736.
[The DOL News Release is listed below in its entirety.}
[On April 26th] the U.S. Department of Labor announced nearly $14.2 million in grants to fund Disability Program Navigators (DPNs) in 15 additional states and Puerto Rico. The DPN initiative aims to assist individuals with disabilities in accessing employment through services offered by One-Stop Career Centers. ‘We all have a responsibility to help people with disabilities access job opportunities in our growing economy. Disability Program Navigators is a special program to help disabled workers access the public workforce investment system more effectively,’ said Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao. ‘The $14.2 million in grants will help workers with disabilities access career opportunities generated by America’s growing economy.’
The DPN initiative grew out of a joint venture between the Department of Labor and the Social Security Administration to fund, implement and evaluate DPNs within the One-Stop Career Center system. Begun in 2003, the primary objective of the DPN initiative has been to increase the One-Stop Career Center system’s ability to enhance the employability of job seekers with disabilities and to add to the number of career advancement opportunities available to them. To date, local workforce areas with DPNs are serving more customers with disabilities, and these customers are faring better in gaining employment than their counterparts in places that have yet to establish DPNs.
‘This most recent phase of Disability Program Navigators funding will assist more states in reaching out to and helping workers with disabilities find employment,’ said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Employment and Training Emily Stover DeRocco. ‘These grants will help an additional 15 states and Puerto Rico streamline access to employment programs and services for persons with disabilities.’
DPN awards currently support approximately 400 navigators throughout the country. With this year’s grants, the program will effectively have national reach, as just five states and one territory have declined to participate. DPN grants previously awarded to 30 states and the District of Columbia will maintain their funding levels to continue their programs.
For more information on the Department of Labor’s DPN initiative, please visit www.doleta.gov/disability/eta_default.cfm.
| Grantee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Alabama | $1,198,096 |
| Connecticut | $1,180,000 |
| Georgia | $1,200,000 |
| Idaho | $1,071,822 |
| Kansas | $1,073,000 |
| Louisiana* | $300,000 |
| Maine | $824,652 |
| Montana | $682,998 |
| New Hampshire | $434,946 |
| North Carolina | $1,184,361 |
| Ohio | $1,200,000 |
| Pennsylvania | $1,200,000 |
| Puerto Rico | $529,802 |
| South Dakota | $581,995 |
| Utah | $452,362 |
| Washington | $1,075,557 |
| TOTAL | $14,189,591 |
* Additional funds will be made available to Louisiana through the Hurricane Initiative of the Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP).
Sandra Efstratiou, DPN covering the North Shore, and Jennifer Hinde, DPN covering Metro North, with the state of Massachusetts DPN initiative, held two big events ‘back to back’ in April to raise awareness and address the employment needs of youth and adults with disabilities.
The Youth Transition Fair was an opportunity for students (14 – 22), parents, caregivers and professionals from the North Shore and Metro-North areas to receive information on transition services as students enter into the adult service system. Participants were able to learn how to begin planning the transition into adulthood, post-secondary education and beyond with empowering options and choices.
Topics covered were: Guardianship, Social Security, Representative Payee, Benefits Planning, Vocational Services, Estate Planning, Transportation, Career Planning, Resume Preparation, Recreation, Higher Education, Job Corps, Self-Determination, Self-Advocacy, and Transition Goals for the IEP.
Those who attended were enthusiastic and excited about having all of the representatives and agencies in the same room so that information could be gathered in a One-Stop environment. Most participants expressed an interest in this Youth Transition Fair becoming an annual event. There were 106 students that attended the Transition Fair.
The Metro-North Collaborative sponsored this Disability/Diversity Job Fair. This event targeted the customers of the North Shore Career Center and The Career Place with diverse needs. This Collaborative emerged from round table discussions that dealt with meeting the needs of individuals with disabilities. The Job Fair was promoted to qualified applicants who could meet the needs of the 21 employers who participated.
Also participating in the Job Fair were partnering agencies that could serve as resources for work incentives, transportation, on-the-job training funds and other benefits that could make the job match successful. There were 246 customers the attended the Job Fair.
If you would like to highlight events that your area is hosting to raise awareness and address the needs of job seekers with disabilities in a future issue of the One-Stop Toolkit Resources of the Week, please send a brief write-up to laura-farah@uiowa.edu.
DATES: Early Bird registration rates are in effect until May 31st.
Join more than 3000 of your colleagues from across the country in attending Workforce Innovations 2007, July 17-19, 2007 at the Kansas City (MO) Convention Center. Workforce Innovations, the premier annual conference for local, state, and national workforce, business, economic development, and education leaders, provides an important opportunity to share common experiences and challenges in building a highly skilled and adaptable workforce.
Workforce Innovations is co-sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration and the American Society for Training & Development. This year’s conference theme, Beyond Boundaries, will explore ways in which regional partners can collaborate and innovate to break down boundaries – be they historical, geographical, political, or financial – to create a competitive workforce advantage.
Whether you’re involved in Regional Economic Competitiveness, Workforce System Transformation, or Lifelong Talent Development, you will come away energized and equipped with the tools and strategies you need to succeed. The Plenary Sessions, Town Halls, and Learning Labs – plus the Conference’s dynamic exhibit area – will engage you throughout. Workforce Innovations promises to be a true catalyst for innovative thinking and creativity!
Conference features already in the works include sessions targeted on going ‘beyond the boundaries’ in youth development and with apprenticeship programs; a Business Day on July 18 packed with information and speakers of special interest for employers and human resource professionals; a focus on rural economies, and on talent development partnerships with community colleges and universities; discussions of current legislative, policy and regulatory issues, and much more.
And you’re going to love Kansas City. The city is a model of economic transformation, with new restaurants, museums, and cultural attractions. Visit the conference web site regularly for exciting conference updates and for more about what’s happening in Kansas City.
Online registration is now open! Register early at www.WorkforceInnovations.org and take advantage of the early bird discount rate.
The Employer Focused Sessions began April 19! All Webinars are held 2pm-3pm Eastern Time. Registration Fee is $159 per log in ($99 for BLN Chapter members and sponsors).
The presenter will discuss the statistics of unemployment and the scope of disability on college campuses in order to provide a framework of why career employment for college students with disabilities is so important. Additionally, the presenter will focus on research with employers and higher education and outline specific solutions for the recruitment of college graduates with disabilities, including Career Gateway.
To Register for this Webinar: https://www.123signup.com/register?id=xfjfv
Winner of the 2004 New Freedom Initiative and the 2004 Ohio Governor's Employment Award, Project SEARCH is a unique collaboration between business, a community rehabilitation partner, and vocational rehabilitation. Rather than focus on the traditional "easy" jobs such as food or environmental services, Project SEARCH targets nontraditional "complex but systematic" jobs that allow people with significant disabilities to maximize their potential in independent work settings.
Participants will learn how to:
To Register for this Webinar: https://www.123signup.com/register?id=xfjqg
The presenter will discuss answers to the following questions and ways to create an enabling infrastructure to expedite accommodations and inform innovative outreach strategies for persons with disabilities:
To Register for this Webinar: https://www.123signup.com/register?id=xfjqb
The Division on Deaf and Hard of Hearing published this document entitled "Best Practices," a guide and checklist for agencies serving people who are deaf, hard of hearing or deaf–blind or people with disabilities. This guide/checklist was developed by a workgroup brought together by the Division on Deaf and Hard of Hearing.
Thank you to Alicia Rouse, a DPN with the State of Michigan DPN project, for sharing this resource.
The NCEO Data Viewer represents an interactive data reporting website. At this site you can view data related to students with disabilities and create individualized reports based on criteria that you can choose. Two major databases are currently available for your use:
Please be advised that on July 1, 2007 America's Job Bank (AJB) will cease operations. To assist customers in identifying an alternative job bank, hyperlinks to state job banks and private-sector job bank Web sites can be found at http://careeronestop.org/ajbprsjbl.
The U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration released an Employment and Training Notice (TEN) about the phase-out of AJB, via the Internet on April 4, 2007. A copy of the TEN can be found at http://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/corr_doc.cfm?DOCN=2325.
JobCentral National Labor Exchange has been selected by The National Association of State Workforce Agencies (NASWA) (www.naswa.org) to provide job seekers, employers and states a cost-effective transition from America's Job Bank (AJB) when it is discontinued June 30, 2007, as previously announced by the U.S. Department of Labor. Read more at: http://www.jobcentral.com/whitepaper/. [ Get free Adobe Reader ]
JobCentral National Labor Exchange is a service of DirectEmployers Association, a nonprofit consortium of leading U.S. corporations. The Association's online services also include DirectEmployers.com, an Internet search engine dedicated exclusively to employment. The Association‘s purpose is to develop and manage systems and software for employers to increase efficiency and reduce Internet recruiting costs.
The Council for Disability Awareness (CDA) is a non-profit group formed in 2005 to help the American workforce become aware of the growing instances of disability and its financial consequences. The CDA engages in communications, research and education to provide information and helpful resources to wage earners, their families, the media, employers and others who are concerned about disability and the impact it can have on wage earners and their families.
CDA recently published the ‘2007 Disability Awareness Survey,’ a landmark survey of working Americans, which gauged wage earners’ awareness of their likelihood of experiencing a disability, as well as their preparedness should a disability strike. The executive summary thoroughly reviews the survey findings and extracts critical implications regarding the ability of America’s workforce to financially weather an income-limiting disability.
The ‘2007 Disability Awareness Survey’ fact sheet accompanies the survey’s executive summary, and provides readers with key highlights of the survey findings. Specifically, highlights reveal that disability is not top of mind for American workers, financial uncertainty looms for those unprepared and women are more aware of disability’s likelihood, but less prepared to deal with its financial consequences.
Most Workers Underestimate Chances, Impact of Disability, Survey Shows: Misinformation, Poor Planning Can Threaten Financial Security ( March 7, 2007)
The Benefits Assistance Resource Center (BARC) of Virginia Commonwealth University is one of 3 regional training and technical assistance centers that was funded by the Social Security Administration (SSA) under the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999. The purpose of the VCU BARC was to provide training and technical support to Benefits Planning, Assistance and Outreach (BPAO, now called Work Incentives Planning and Assistance (WIPA)) projects and Protection and Advocacy for Beneficiaries of Social Security (PABSS) projects on the operations of the Social Security disability benefit programs (SSI and SSDI) and all associated work incentives. VCU BARC also offers training and technical assistance on the federal rules governing other national benefit programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, Food Stamps, Temporary Aid to Needy Families (TANF), HUD rental subsidy programs, Unemployment Insurance and Workers’ Compensation.
This website provides great information and resources on work incentives and benefits planning, as well other resources of interest from the Social Security administration for disability beneficiaries. SSA is in the process of identifying new training and technical assistance projects to work with the WIPAs and benefits planners through these new projects called Community Work Incentives Coordinators (CWICs) and LHPDC will provide more about this when the information becomes available. In the meantime, please check out some of the resources on this website (keep in mind that some of the information developed for the BPAO program will be changing). Resources of interest include:
The 2007 Case for Inclusion report identifies how states are serving Americans with intellectual and developmental disabilities under Medicaid. The report ranks all 50 states and the District of Columbia on how well the states are providing community-based supports. The URL provides links to the full report and state-by-state break-downs on more than 40 data categories (not all of which are included in the report). The report and data provide a tool to compare how your state is doing in comparison to the rest of the country.
This is the second year that UCP has scored and ranked states on their Medicaid-funded services to Americans with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The 2007 rankings were developed with a new methodology that is more comprehensive and focused and, therefore, does not allow easy comparison to the 2006 rankings. UCP plans to use this new methodology as the foundation for any future rankings, providing advocates and elected officials with a vehicle for year-to-year comparisons on how their state is performing. Additional detail on how the rankings were compiled is available on page nine of the report.