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 September 2006
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 ability to access transportation is critical to living a full life. For many it represents the vehicle to participation. For instance, transportation can be the key to securing and maintaining employment. The Disability Program Navigator (D.P.N.) initiative is a demonstration project, and as such there is a large evaluation component. The evaluation is necessary to inform discussion of the impact of the D.P.N. Program within One-Stop Career Centers in achieving successful outcomes, including employment that leads to self-sufficiency. One of the components of the D.P.N. Evaluation Plan includes a State Evaluation Using a Telephone Survey Approach (administered in fall of 2004 and again in fall of 2006). Survey participants include approximately 11 One-Stop and local workforce development system staff, partners and stakeholders for each D.P.N. One of the goals of the telephone survey is to describe barriers to services, supports and employment outcomes for individuals with disabilities in the Workforce Development System. The findings from the survey that was conducted in 2004 revealed that the one of three greatest barriers to employment is transportation.
D.P.Ns are engaged in different activities within the areas that they cover to address the transportation needs of job seekers with disabilities. Some D.P.Ns are working at the community level to address access to transportation, some are participating on transportation committees or boards to lend their voice on the needs of job seekers with disabilities, and others are trying to address the transportation needs in rural areas. The L.H.P.D.C. has been working collaboratively with the Community Transportation Association of America (C.T.A.A.) since the inception of the D.O.L.-funded Work Incentive Grants. In July 2005, C.T.A.A. held a focus group with five D.P.Ns (representing the states of Massachusetts, New York, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Wisconsin) to better understand their experiences, activities and successes as they relate to transportation. As a result of this focus group, C.T.A.A. created a dedicated transportation website for D.P.Ns. This week’s resource highlights transportation strategies that work and can assist D.P.Ns as they work within their communities to address the transportation needs of job seekers with disabilities.
[The full announcement of the first highlight is located under the section heading "Websites of Interest."
]
This page, designed with the goals of the Disability Program Navigator in mind, intends to assist all advocates, planners and leaders in meeting the mobility needs of people with disabilities. The Community Transportation Association offers information and resources linking individuals with transportation needs to the workplace and vital services such as medical care. There are resources and guides in development now particularly aimed at assisting the Disability Program Navigators in identifying their customers' mobility needs and working with partners, like transit, in the community.
[The full announcement of the second highlight is located under the section heading "Publications of Interest."
]
The Community Transportation Association of America (C.T.A.A.) is launching a series of briefs profiling Disability Program Navigators. This is the first brief in this series.
[The following is excerpted from the brief highlights.]
In Karen Engel’s experience as a D.P.N., she has learned to appreciate that “every community is different.” She comments, “What may seem huge in one area may be fairly insignificant in another. When we navigators get together we may be rejoicing over what some consider minor. Yet, in learning what customers need and trying to make system-wide changes, some of those seemingly small accomplishments are really huge.” This sentiment applies to her experience working with transportation improvements too.
Karen explains that transportation challenges can prevent capable individuals from fulfilling their potential. To illustrate her point, Karen describes the challenges a visually impaired student in her program faces. He lives in a very rural area with limited employment options nearby and has difficulty finding alternative transportation. In this interview, Karen tells more of how she helped this student solve his mobility challenges and other ways in which she has become involved in transportation solutions in her community.
[The following is excerpted from the News Release.]
U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao announced grants of nearly five million dollars for pilot projects and research to develop systems models designed to increase self-employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities.
"Self-employment and entrepreneurial pursuits could provide many individuals with disabilities good opportunities to optimize their talents and earn a good living for themselves and their families," said Secretary Chao. "These $5 million in grants further President Bush's New Freedom Initiative goal of helping workers with disabilities pursue their career dreams and give our nation the benefit of their participation in the workforce."
The grants include a cooperative agreement for $1,499,767 to Virginia Commonwealth University, which will be partnering with Griffin-Hammis Associates L.L.C., to establish a National Self-Employment Technical Assistance and Research initiative. This initiative will provide direct technical assistance to the Sub-National Projects of Systemic Innovation and Technical Assistance; develop and implement a comprehensive strategy for increasing the capacity of existing systems for providing self-employment services to people with disabilities through training, technical assistance, and research; conduct research and analysis of resources currently available to persons with disabilities for pursuit of entrepreneurship; and analyze structures currently in place that either promote or impede the expansion of business ownership in the disability community. The cooperative agreement will be funded for 36 months.
The grants also include cooperative agreements to Sub-National Projects of Systemic Innovation and Technical Assistance in the amounts of $1,199,959 to the Governor's Council on Disabilities and Special Education in Anchorage, Alaska; $1,044,957 to the Onondaga County Department of Social Services in Syracuse, N.Y.; and $1.2 million to the Florida Agency for Workforce Innovations in Tallahassee, Fla. Grantees will use these funds to research, test, and evaluate innovative models of self-employment service delivery that can be adopted nationwide. The cooperative agreements will be funded for 36 months.
[The following is excerpted from the News Release.]
U.S. Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chao announced a grant of $500,000 to Syracuse University's Burton Blatt Institute: Centers of Innovation on Disability, to lead a national research consortium to study employer practices in employing, retaining and promoting people with disabilities.
"This $500,000 grant will help identify effective employer policies and practices for recruiting, retaining and promoting workers with disabilities," said Chao. "This research is designed to further President Bush's New Freedom Initiative goal of helping Americans with disabilities enter the workforce and build solid career paths."
Other members of the consortium are the Program for Disability Research at Rutgers University School of Management and Labor Relations and the Employment and Disability Institute at Cornell University's Industrial and Labor Relations School.
During an 18-month period, the research consortium will develop a standard design methodology and conduct case studies. The research will identify ways in which an organization's structures, values, policies and day-to-day practices promote the employment and retention of people with disabilities and benefit the organization as a whole. The information generated will result in individual case studies that can serve as models for other employers nationwide.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Ad Council launched a series of new national public service print and billboard ads to encourage individuals who may be experiencing psychological distress from last year's hurricanes to seek mental health services. The P.S.As, the latest ads created for the Hurricane Mental Health Awareness Campaign, are being distributed to media outlets nationwide to coincide with the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.
To read the full SAMHSA press release, access:
http://www.samhsa.gov/news/newsreleases/060829_psa.htm.
The Social Security Administration’s (S.S.A.) Red Book serves as a general reference source about the employment-related provisions of Social Security Disability Insurance and the Supplemental Security Income Programs for educators, advocates, rehabilitation professionals, and counselors who serve people with disabilities.
Access the website to download / view the 2006 Red Book in H.T.M.L. and P.D.F. formats. To obtain hard copies, contact the following:
Office of Supply and Warehouse Management
239 Supply Building
6301 Security Boulevard
Baltimore, Maryland 21235
Telephone: (410) 965-2019
The Job Accommodation Network (JAN) is a free service of the Office of Disability Employment Policy of the U.S. Department of Labor. JAN's mission is to facilitate the employment and retention of workers with disabilities by providing employers, employment providers, people with disabilities, their family members and other interested parties with information on job accommodations, self-employment and small business opportunities and related subjects. JAN's efforts are in support of the employment, including self-employment and small business ownership, of people with disabilities. JAN represents the most comprehensive resource for job accommodations available. JAN provides basic educational and training instructional strategies that facilitate learning among students with disabilities in classroom or training sessions.
This page, designed with the goals of the Disability Program Navigator in mind, intends to assist all advocates, planners and leaders in meeting the mobility needs of people with disabilities. The Community Transportation Association offers information and resources linking individuals with transportation needs to the workplace and vital services such as medical care. There are resources and guides in development now particularly aimed at assisting the Disability Program Navigators in identifying their customers' mobility needs and working with partners, like transit, in the community.
On behalf of the U.S. Department of Labor, the Community Transportation Association of America prepares resources supporting access to employment. These resources facilitate a learning network among grantees and others interested in employment transportation and access for all, including those with disabilities. For more information on passengers with disabilities and employment transportation, visit www.ctaa.org/ntrc/is_accessibility.asp and http://www.ctaa.org/ntrc/is_employment.asp.
The Partnership for Workplace Mental Health advances effective employer approaches to mental health by combining the knowledge and experience of the American Psychiatric Association and our employer partners. The partnership delivers educational materials and provides a forum to explore mental health issues and share innovative solutions. It promotes the business case for quality mental health care, including early recognition, access to care and effective treatment. The site includes the following sections:
Working Partners strives to build a drug-free workforce by equipping businesses and communities with tools and information to effectively address drug and alcohol problems. This website includes a wealth of information and resources including:
The Community Transportation Association of America (C.T.A.A.) is launching a series of briefs profiling Disability Program Navigators. This is the first brief in this series.
[The following is excerpted from the brief highlights.]
In Karen Engel’s experience as a D.P.N., she has learned to appreciate that “every community is different.” She comments, “What may seem huge in one area may be fairly insignificant in another. When we navigators get together we may be rejoicing over what some consider minor. Yet, in learning what customers need and trying to make system-wide changes, some of those seemingly small accomplishments are really huge.” This sentiment applies to her experience working with transportation improvements too.
Karen explains that transportation challenges can prevent capable individuals from fulfilling their potential. To illustrate her point, Karen describes the challenges a visually impaired student in her program faces. He lives in a very rural area with limited employment options nearby and has difficulty finding alternative transportation. In this interview, Karen tells more of how she helped this student solve his mobility challenges and other ways in which she has become involved in transportation solutions in her community.
Seven counties and six job centers comprise the Fox Valley Workforce Development Area1 that Karen Engel canvasses in her D.P.N. endeavors. Counties range in size from rural Waushara County and its largest city of Wautoma with 2,096 residents to Outagamie and Winnebago Counties, each with their largest city numbering at least 59,000 people. A variety of community transportation services and gaps in service exist in this expansive area.
Access the U.R.L. to read the full interview with Karen Engel.
[The following is excerpted from the Abstract.]
Over the past several decades, research from a variety of fields has presented powerful evidence of the importance of employment to people with psychiatric disabilities. Many of these people want to work and can successfully participate in the labor market in a variety of competitive jobs. Researchers have also shown how employment can alleviate poverty, reduce hospitalization, and improve quality of life. Society also benefits through taxes paid by workers, goods and services they purchase, and reductions in entitlements and the overall cost of care. However, the 1997 National Health Interview Survey (N.H.I.S.) reports employment rates for people with a wide range of mental disorders to be 37.1 percent (Harris et al., 2005; New Freedom Commission on Mental Health, 2003). Employment rates for people with schizophrenia and related disorders are 22 percent (Jans, et al., 2004).
Recently, funding agencies and practitioners have begun to move towards evidence-based practice in serving people with psychiatric disabilities. A number of reviews and meta-analyses of single-site, randomized controlled trials of supported employment for this group have found it to be more effective at establishing competitive employment outcomes than prevocational training or non-vocational community care (Crowther et al., 2001; Twamley et al., 2003; Wewiorski & Fabian, 2004). Still in question at the time of this study's funding, however, was the effectiveness of different models of supported employment, operating in a variety of organizational settings, for consumers with diverse demographic characteristics, in different regions of the country. Therefore, the Employment Intervention Demonstration Program (E.I.D.P.) was designed as a multi-site randomized controlled trial of the effectiveness of supported employment (S.E.) for people with psychiatric disabilities in eight locations across the U.S. S.E. programs use a rapid job search approach to help clients obtain jobs directly (rather than providing lengthy assessment, training, and counseling), and provide them with ongoing support to maintain and improve their earnings after they start work. This policy brief describes the E.I.D.P., presents study findings, and suggests some policy and research implications.