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
29 June 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."]
Designed to enhance the quality of youth services, this Toolkit is useful to all professionals assisting youth in developing the knowledge and skills to succeed in a demand-driven economy. The Toolkit consists of 1) a Manual, which provides information about preparing youth, particularly the neediest youth (including youth with disabilities), to become increasingly more self-sufficient; and 2) the training tools, which deliver the content described in the Manual through the presentation of modules. Each module includes presentation slides, group exercises, and a training guide designed to guide trainers in the delivery of the content described in the Manual. Modules can be presented individually, depending on training time available. PowerPoint slides have been included which will enable trainers to personalize their presentation(s).
Appendix B, which begins on page 100 of the full document, includes guidance and resources on serving the neediest youth (which includes youth with disabilities). This section begins with the Training Employment and Guidance Notice (No. 3-04) from the U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration on its New Strategic Vision for the Delivery of Youth Services Under the Workforce Investment Act from 2004 and then the Expanded ETA Vision for the Delivery of Services…to include Indian and Native American Youth and Youth with Disabilities issued May 9, 2006. The Service Brief, which begins on page 118, defines this population and then highlights organizations that provide resources to support youth with disabilities, publications and other tools and resources.
[The following is excerpted from the ETA News Release.]
On June 20th, Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao announced the U.S. Department of Labor's third generation of Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) regions. Each of the 13 self-identified areas successfully competed for $5 million to be awarded over a three-year period. "The WIRED program recognizes that local economies often transcend geographical boundaries," said Secretary Chao. "These grants are catalysts to mobilizing the diverse array of stakeholders in a community to focus on developing the human talent that will be key to any successful regional economic plan." The department launched WIRED in late 2005 with a competition among the nation's governors. In February 2006, 13 competitively selected regions were awarded a total of $195 million to transform their economies. In January 2007, 13 additional regions, which also were among the best nationally, were presented awards to reposition their regional economies. Today's announcement launches the third generation of selected regions.
Generation III WIRED projects are as varied and unique as the regions themselves. For example, rural Minnesota will use its know-how and ingenuity in agriculture to grow emerging bioscience and renewable energy industries. Central New Mexico will combine the capabilities of industry, research and development at its universities, and national laboratories to become a focal point for clean energy and advanced manufacturing. Oregon's Northern Willamette Valley will align regional services to respond to needs for talent in advanced manufacturing and other industries.
"These 13 regions join 26 others in transforming their regions into innovative, entrepreneurial economies, and preparing their workers with the education and skills necessary to be successful in the 21st century global marketplace," said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Employment and Training Emily Stover DeRocco. "We are already encouraged by the results of the WIRED strategic partnerships, demonstrating that talent development can drive economic transformation."
WIRED's Generation III regions include: five counties in central New Jersey; 25 cities and counties in southeastern Virginia; 15 counties in central Kentucky; 18 counties in southeastern Mississippi; 12 counties in south central and southwest Wisconsin; 36 counties in south central and western Minnesota; 14 counties in southeast Missouri;10 counties in south central Kansas; eight counties in central New Mexico; four counties in southern Arizona; eight counties in south central Idaho; seven counties in greater Portland and Salem, Ore.; and five counties in Washington's Pacific Mountain region.
For more information on the WIRED initiative, go to: http://www.doleta.gov/wired/.
[The following is excerpted in its entirety from the News Release.]
The U.S. Census Bureau, in partnership with 31 states, has launched a series of reports on older workers that presents a detailed picture for people 55 and older in the work force. Individual reports will present data at the county and metropolitan area levels for 2004, based on data from the Local Employment Dynamics (LED) program. “The retirement of baby boomers will have a huge impact on the work force,” said Census Bureau Director Louis Kincannon. “Businesses and planners need a better understanding of labor force trends, the loss of experienced workers and the payout of retirement benefits.”
The first report, The Geographic Distribution and Characteristics of Older Workers in Iowa: 2004 (http://www.census.gov/prod/2007pubs/ledow07ia.pdf [ Get free Adobe Reader ]), highlights the age composition of the state’s work force, job gains and losses for older workers by industry, industries in which older workers are concentrated and their job stability and earnings. More extensive data are in tables available on the Internet. Reports will be issued on a flow basis for the other 30 partner states:
The Department of Health and Human Services’ National Institute on Aging, a component of the National Institutes of Health, funded the reports on older workers. This series is limited to partner states with the cooperative program. In addition, quarterly work force indicators on subjects such as job creation and new hires are available for men and women in all partner states for selected years, age groups and geographic areas at (http://lehd.did.census.gov). Also available on the site is OnTheMap, an interactive application that shows, in high-definition, commuting patterns where people live and work.
[While this News Release was issued back in May, LHPDC did not disseminate this information in its weekly resource, so we want to ensure everyone is aware of it. It is included below in its entirety.]
On May 16th, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) held a public meeting to gather information and address emerging trends in workplace testing and selection procedures, as employers seek lawful and efficient ways to screen large numbers of applicants. Discriminatory employment tests and selection procedures violate EEOC-enforced federal laws, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act.
“Today employers commonly use a range of employment tests and other screening tools to make hiring, promotion, termination or other employment decisions,” said EEOC Chair Naomi C. Earp. “With the growth of technology, buttressed by post-9/11 security concerns, it is important that employers review their applicant selection procedures to ensure they are non-discriminatory.”
During today’s meeting at agency headquarters, the Commission heard from a broad range of invited expert panelists, including EEOC attorneys and charging parties, advocates on behalf of employers and employees, and two nationally recognized organizational psychologists. Topics of discussion included written tests, criminal and credit histories as a basis for selection, medical exclusions in hiring, and employer best practices. The meeting also highlighted the increased use of personality and integrity tests.
James Robinson, an African American skilled trade worker at the Ford Motor Company, discussed his role as an original charging party in a major racial bias case against the auto giant and the United Auto Workers union (UAW) filed by the EEOC in 2004. The EEOC alleged that Ford and the UAW used discriminatory tests when selecting people for their Joint Apprenticeship Program. The parties negotiated a broad-reaching settlement that included updating the apprenticeship tests so that Ford could benefit from the skills of all its workers.
“I saw the financial and personal harm that exclusion from the apprenticeship program caused many of my African American coworkers,” said Robinson, an apprentice test-taker who was hired by Ford in 1996 as a manufacturing technician at a plant near Cincinnati. “A lot of us felt betrayed that these things still happened today. But then I realized that we cannot allow people to discriminate against us – we have to stand up for what we believe in to make things change.”
Rae T. Vann, general counsel of the Equal Employment Advisory Council, a national association of large federal contractors, observed, “When done properly, testing can be a very important tool in the employment selection process, and we commend the Commission on its efforts to improve the quality and fairness of tests and other job screening methods.” She called on the EEOC to “develop education and outreach programs aimed at assisting both its own investigators as well as employers to understand the rules that apply to testing and selection procedures.” Other employer advocates testifying at the meeting recommended ways in which the Commission could assist employers with compliance.
The meeting concluded with commentary from Dr. James Outtz and Dr. Kathleen Lundquist, nationally prominent psychologists who design state-of-the-art employment tests. They both emphasized that employers using tests need to continually reassess the validity of tests used, as well keep abreast of testing developments that may provide a less discriminatory alternative to current practices.
The EEOC enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. Further information about the EEOC is available on its web site at www.eeoc.gov.
Designed to enhance the quality of youth services, this Toolkit will be useful to all professionals assisting youth in developing the knowledge and skills to succeed in a demand-driven economy. The Toolkit consists of 1) a Manual, which provides information about preparing youth, particularly the neediest youth (including youth with disabilities), to become increasingly more self-sufficient; and 2) the training tools, which deliver the content described in the Manual through the presentation of modules. Each module includes presentation slides, group exercises, and a training guide designed to guide trainers in the delivery of the content described in the Manual. Modules can be presented individually, depending on training time available. PowerPoint slides have been included which will enable trainers to personalize their presentation(s).
The HEATH Resource Center of The George Washington University, Graduate School of Education and Human Development, is an online clearinghouse on postsecondary education for individuals with disabilities. Support in part from Lumina Foundation for Education, an Indianapolis-based, private, independent foundation dedicated to expanding success in education beyond high school, enables the clearinghouse to serve as an information exchange about educational support services, policies, procedures, adaptations, and opportunities at American campuses, vocational-technical schools, and other postsecondary training entities.
DCMP’s mission is to promote and provide equal access to communication and learning through described and captioned educational media. The ultimate goal of the DCMP is for accessible media to be an integral tool in the teaching and learning process for all stakeholders in the educational community, including students, educators and other school personnel, parents, service providers, businesses, and agencies.
Diversitydata.org, a website from the Harvard School of Public Health, allows visitors to explore how metropolitan areas throughout the U.S. perform on a diverse range of social measures. Available data relevant to education include: proportion of the population that is foreign born, non-English language spoken at home, child poverty rate, composition of public school enrollment by race/ethnicity, poverty rate of school where average primary school student attends by race/ethnicity, and segregation of the population.
[The following is excerpted from the Issue Brief.]
The purpose of this issue brief is to provide information and guidance to state education agencies (SEAs) regarding their accountability for IDEA 2004 legislative mandates in the area of dropout prevention for students with disabilities.
There are significant costs to individuals with disabilities who do not complete high school. These costs include unemployment, underemployment and higher rates of incarceration. There are also significant costs to society related to lost tax revenues and welfare expenditures. The extent of the problem is illustrated in the following statistics:
The Case for Inclusion 2007 ranks all 50 States and the District of Columbia on how well they are providing community-based supports to Americans with intellectual and developmental disabilities being served by Medicaid. Some of the reports key findings include:
Simply documenting the problem is not enough. The purpose of The Plan for Inclusion is to arm UCP affiliates, self-advocates, families, service providers, policymakers and concerned citizens with suggested tactics and policy proposals targeted to improve the lives of Americans with intellectual and developmental disabilities in your state. The Plan leads you through an advocacy development effort to: