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
12 October 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) 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 week’s edition of the One-Stop Toolkit again includes some great resources that Navigators can access to share during National Disability Employment Awareness Month, as well as Disability Mentoring Day. For example, you can share with employers resources on hiring people with disabilities and providing accommodations and work supports (look under “Resources of Interest” at DOL Disability Resources and RRTC on Work Supports, along with “Websites of the Week” at JAN’s Portal for Employers. Employers always want to hear from their peers about how they can effectively employ and accommodate job seekers with disabilities. Under “Publications of the Week,” you can share the report prepared by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Dispelling the Myths — How People with Disabilities Can Meet Employer Needs.”
Do you need some statistics to back up the need to connect with youth with disabilities who are of transition age with career and training opportunities before they “fall through the cracks,” then check out the publication on Dropout Prevention for Students with Disabilities.”
Finally, a wonderful option for connecting individuals with disabilities with meaningful job opportunities that provide training and mentorship is through Apprenticeship. Check out the July 2007 TEGL under “For Your Information/Action” on Leveraging Registered Apprenticeship as a Workforce Development Strategy for the Workforce Investment System.”
The purpose of this Training and Employment Guidance Letter (TEGL) is to provide information and resources to support the use of Registered Apprenticeship by the workforce investment system as an effective approach to building a skilled and competitive workforce in regional economies. It was sent by Assistant Secretary Emily Stover DeRocco to all State Workforce Agencies, State Workforce Liaisons, State Workforce Investment Boards And Staff, Local Workforce Investment Boards And Staff, Business Relations Group State Liaisons, State Rapid Response Coordinators, Office Of Apprenticeship Field Technicians, Office Of Apprenticeship State And Regional Directors, and State Apprenticeship Directors.
The 21st century economy demands a workforce with postsecondary education credentials, and the adaptability to respond immediately to changing economic and business needs. The public workforce system is playing a leadership role in meeting these demands by catalyzing the implementation of innovative talent development and lifelong learning strategies that will enable American workers to advance their skills and remain competitive in the global economy. Registered Apprenticeship, a critical postsecondary education, training, and employment option available in every state in the country, is an important component of these talent development strategies. Registered Apprenticeship is business- and industry-driven, with more than 29,000 programs impacting 250,000 employers and almost 450,000 apprentices — predominantly in high-growth industries that face critical skilled worker shortages now and in the foreseeable future. Full collaboration between the publicly funded workforce investment system and Registered Apprenticeship leverages each system’s strengths to maximize the benefits in the context of regional talent development strategies.
This TEGL provides information, examples, and policy guidance to support the full integration of Registered Apprenticeship into workforce system activities. The document is one of a number of products that the Employment and Training Administration is releasing to assist regions in developing Workforce Investment Act and apprenticeship efforts that are mutually supportive.
The Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) provides the following programs to help employers find qualified applicants with disabilities:
The resources in this section are materials and information that facilitate employment and job retention for individuals with disabilities, including new knowledge gained from the Center's research activities. Resources of interest include:
MAPS is a collaborative project between the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs, Easter Seals of the Birmingham Area, and the Alabama Department of Rehabilitation Services for the Alabama Career Center System through a Disability Program Navigator agreement awarded by the U.S. Department Of Labor. The purpose of the project is to implement a statewide Disability Program Navigator network within Alabama to enhance service delivery for jobseekers with disabilities.. The project is intended to identify and overcome barriers to employment for Alabama’s citizens with disabilities. This website is designed to provide One-Stop Career Center customers with disabilities and staff serving them with resources to maximize a customer's success in locating any and all services needed by them to become successfully employed.
While the location of services is Alabama specific, the site also offers service providers, specifically One-Stop Career Center staff, with tools, information, and educational materials to better serve customers with disabilities under both the “Resource Documents” and “E-Learning Modules” links. Locate Power Point presentations on subjects related to serving people with disabilities, Fact Sheets on various disabling conditions, Disability Etiquette handbook, Polices and Procedures for Career Centers based on laws affecting people with disabilities, guidelines for determining accessibility, and guidelines for a Universally Accessible Workstation.
The Job Accommodation Networks (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’s portal for employers includes information on Accommodations, Human Resources, Legal issues and general resources.
The Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC) grant program is intended to stimulate the development of state systems that integrate information and referral, benefits and options counseling services as well as facilitating access to publicly and privately financed long term care (LTC) services and benefits. The forty-three ADRC projects awarded in 2003, 2004, and 2005 serve older adults and individuals with disabilities. As of October 2006, there were over 100 ADRCs operating in 43 states. The program is jointly sponsored by the federal Administration on Aging (AoA) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), both part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Aging and Disability Resource Centers are also a part of the President's Long Term Care Re-balancing Initiative and New Freedom Initiative.
Access the website and click on any state to locate the ADRC near you.
This website is an introductory gateway into the world of Telework for interested jobseekers, service providers, and employers in the United States. This website will:
This site is meant to be a “how to” guide for workforce development boards, employers, jobseekers, workers, veterans, persons with disabilities, and the agencies that serve them.
TeleworkTools.org is a Telework/telecommute Research and Demonstration project of The WorkPlace, Inc. funded by a cooperative agreement from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP). Congress designated the cooperative agreement funds to ODEP for the further development of self-employment as an employment outcome for individuals with disabilities. The Telework/Telecommute Research and Demonstration Project is a national research project managed by The WorkPlace, Inc. in Bridgeport which serves Southwestern Connecticut. The WorkPlace, Inc. is one of three organizations nationwide chosen by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy to receive funding for this research.
The Telework Research Project's primary partners are: Career Resources, Inc., Connecticut Veterans' Administration, Department of Labor Veterans Services, and the U.S. Department of Veterans’ Affairs Connecticut Health System.
The Medicaid Infrastructure Grant Research Assistance to States (MIG-RATS) center has launched a new website to provide resources and support to states implementing MIGs. The website is designed to help MIG staff find useful research reports and resources, learn about current MIG-RATS activities and initiatives, and connect with fellow MIG researchers. The website includes information on a range of topics such as Medicaid Buy-In programs, outreach and marketing, and youth in transition and also provides links to tools and a calendar of events.
Disability: Dispelling the Myths is a resource for businesses. It provides information on successful strategies used by employers to meet their labor force needs and includes practical examples and commonsense approaches for hiring and retaining people with disabilities. The publication was developed from a series of Internet ChamberCasts hosted by CWP. These ChamberCasts, titled Untapped Resources in Today’s Economy, focused on the economic advantages of employing nontraditional populations—people with disabilities, people transitioning from welfare, and dislocated workers.
The Center for Workforce Preparation (CWP) is a nonprofit affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce that focuses on workforce development and quality education issues. It develops workforce strategies for businesses, chambers of commerce, and communities to hire, train, retain, and advance skilled workers in the 21st century. CWP strengthens the leadership role of chambers and businesses in their communities to create market-driven workforce development systems and to connect the resources available to support this effort.
CWP’s partnerships with local chambers, other workforce development organizations, and funders have been instrumental in defining and demonstrating the important role of local chambers in workforce development and education. Together, CWP and local chambers excel at reaching small and medium-size businesses, where the majority of job growth occurs.
The 2004 reauthorization of IDEA requires states to collect and report data to plan and evaluate their obligations under the law. Since increased accountability in the area of dropout prevention is crucial to avoiding costs such as unemployment and higher rates of incarceration incurred by individuals with disabilities and society as a whole, the National High School Center (NHSC) has published an issue brief on this topic. The NHSC's brief provides recommendations for data collection by state education agencies, identifies successful programs, and lists guidelines for states developing performance plans.
[The following is excerpted from the From the Editors section.]
When disasters occur people with disabilities are often among those most in harm’s way. In many cases this is because the planning and processes in place to respond to disasters and emergencies haven’t made adequate provision for people with disabilities. In this Impact issue we seek to address that need for greater inclusion of people with disabilities in disaster preparedness, response, and recovery efforts by providing strategies, stories, and resources that we hope will be of use to disability service providers, advocates, individuals with disabilities, families, and policymakers. Through personal stories, reflections on lessons learned from previous disasters, reviews of what works and doesn’t work in policies and procedures, and a variety of preparedness checklists we hope to give readers information they can use to evaluate and improve disaster preparedness where they live, work, and participate in their communities. Whether it’s doing personal emergency planning, organizing neighbors into a circle of support for one another in case of an emergency, ensuring that local and state disaster planning agencies include input from people with disabilities, or evaluating the disaster preparedness of the agency or organization in which we work, we can each take steps to make sure that when the next disaster or emergency occurs, no one is left behind.