15 December 2006

 

Good morning everyone,

The One-Stop Toolkit will be taking time off for the Holidays but will rejoin you in the new year to continue to put you in touch with resources of interest. From all of us at LHPDC to all of you, we wish you a beautiful holiday season filled with much happiness and good cheer!!!

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 ]

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ONE–STOP TOOLKIT TABLE OF CONTENTS

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Resource of the Week Highlight for Disability Program Navigators

Enjoy Your Holidays

L.H.P.D.C., the national technical assistance provider to the Disability Program Navigator projects, wanted to take this opportunity to wish all of you a very happy and joyous holiday season. We are honored to work on behalf of projects that improve the effective and meaningful participation of youth and working age adults with disabilities in the One Stops and comprehensive workforce development system. Through various evaluation activities, the great work that you are doing at the community level highlights the impact that you are having as systems change agents; you are truly making a difference!!!

Enjoy your holidays with family and friends and we look forward to helping you to continue to impact systems change in the New Year.

The L.H.P.D.C. Team

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RESOURCE OF INTEREST

A.D.A. Best Practices Tool Kit for State and Local Governments
U.S. Department of Justice

[ http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/pcatoolkit/abouttoolkit.htm ]
[ http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/pcatoolkit/abouttoolkit.pdf ]
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"On December 5th, the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice issued the first installment of a new technical assistance document designed to assist state and local officials to improve compliance with Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (A.D.A.) in their programs, services, activities, and facilities. The new technical assistance document will be released in several installments over the next ten months."

The Tool Kit is designed to teach state and local government officials how to identify and fix problems that prevent people with disabilities from gaining equal access to state and local government programs, services, and activities. It will also teach state and local officials how to conduct accessibility surveys of their buildings and facilities to identify and remove architectural barriers to access.

• Chapter 1, A.D.A. Basics: Statutes and Regulations
  [ http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/pcatoolkit/chap1toolkit.htm ]
  [ http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/pcatoolkit/chap1toolkit.pdf ]
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• Chapter 2, A.D.A. Coordinator: Notice and Grievance Procedure
  [ http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/pcatoolkit/chap2toolkit.htm ]
  [ http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/pcatoolkit/chap2toolkit.pdf ]
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• Chapter 2, Addendum: Title II Checklist
  [ http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/pcatoolkit/noticetoolkit.htm ]
  [ http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/pcatoolkit/noticetoolkit.pdf ]
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While state and local governments are not required to use the A.D.A. Best Practices Tool Kit, the Department encourages its use as one effective means of complying with the requirements of Title II of the A.D.A..

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WEBSITES OF THE WEEK

N.C.W.D. / Youth Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities (K.S.A.)

[ http://www.ncwd-youth.info/ksa/ ]
[ Get Microsoft Office C.D., free trial, S / H applies ] (free but shipping and handling fees apply)
[ Get free Word Viewer ]
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This section of the National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth website has information about the Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (K.S.A.) Initiative and all of the National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth’s training resources. In this section, you can: learn about the 10 K.S.A. Competency Areas, discover practical professional development strategies, and connect to new training resources, including K.S.A.–specific materials. The K.S.A. Initiative was developed to improve the awareness, knowledge, and skills of youth service practitioners, those individuals who work directly with youth. In addition, the National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth has developed training materials in key areas, such as assessment, universal design, and youth development and leadership. The K.S.A. Initiative and the training materials on this site are part of the National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth’s on–going efforts to connect all youth, including youth with disabilities, to better workforce development opportunities.

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Partnership for Workplace Mental Health

http://www.workplacementalhealth.org/

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 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 website includes sections for employers (http://www.workplacementalhealth.org/employer_resources/index.aspx) and employees (http://www.workplacementalhealth.org/employee_resources/index.aspx).

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PUBLICATIONS OF THE WEEK

Employees’ Practical Guide to Requesting and Negotiating Reasonable Accommodations Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (A.D.A.)
Job Accommodation Network

http://www.jan.wvu.edu/EeGuide/

The Job Accommodation Network (JAN) is a free service of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy. JAN consultants have been providing job accommodation information since 1983 when JAN was founded. In addition, JAN consultants have been providing information about the Americans with Disabilities Act (A.D.A.) since 1992 when the A.D.A. went into effect. Over the years, JAN consultants have developed practical ideas to help employees understand the A.D.A. and request and negotiate reasonable accommodations in the workplace. The Employees’ Practical Guide to Requesting and Negotiating Reasonable Accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act is a summary of some of the most frequent issues that employees have regarding accommodations and the A.D.A. and JAN’s practical ideas for resolving them. As new information is available or new issues develop, the Guide will be updated to reflect the changes.

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The Basics of the National Council on Disability’s Social Security Report
National Council on Disability (N.C.D.) Issue Brief
November 2006

[ http://www.ncd.gov/newsroom/publications/2006/issue_brief.htm ]
[ http://www.ncd.gov/newsroom/publications/2006/pdf/issue_brief.pdf ]
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This is a follow–up to N.C.D’s 2005 report The Social Security Administration’s Efforts to Promote Employment for People with Disabilities: New Solutions for Old Problems (http://www.ncd.gov/newsroom/publications/2005/ssa-promoteemployment.htm).

Our nation’s current disability benefit programs are based on a policy principle that assumes that the presence of a significant disability and lack of substantial earnings equate with a complete inability to work. Americans with disabilities remain under–employed, despite the fact that many are willing and able to work. Although the Social Security Administration (S.S.A.) has instituted a number of incentives to reduce the numerous obstacles to employment faced by its Supplemental Security Income (S.S.I.) and Social Security Disability Insurance (S.S.D.I.) beneficiaries, such efforts have had little impact because few beneficiaries are aware of these incentives and how they affect benefits and access to health care. The issue brief highlights the continuing number of S.S.A. beneficiaries who never leave the S.S.I. and S.S.D.I. insurance rolls, and the need to increase the number of beneficiaries who enter, or re–enter, the U.S. workforce. The brief discusses the need to identify new approaches that emphasize beneficiary control of career planning and the ability to access self–selected services and supports.

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National Disability Policy: A Progress Report — December 2004 – December 2005
National Council on Disability
November 2006

http://www.ncd.gov/newsroom/publications/2006/progress_report.htm

The report covers the period from December 2004 to December 2005. It reviews federal policy activities, noting progress where it has occurred, and makes further recommendations where necessary. The recommendations apply to the Executive Branch, to the Legislative Branch, and in some instances to both. While N.C.D. believes the country is moving forward, expanding opportunities and inclusion for Americans with disabilities, the rate of progress is slow. Federal policy still contains inconsistent messages and unrealistic requirements for people with disabilities who rely on such federal programs as Social Security Disability Insurance, Medicaid, Medicare, special education, and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.

Some of the recommendations include the following:

• Statistics — Recommendation 1.2: N.C.D. recommends that the results of field testing of the new American Community Survey disability question be shared with the disability community, and that opportunity for input and further refinement be made available.
• Civil Rights — Recommendation 2.4: N.C.D. recommends that Congress adopt the A.D.A. Restoration Act.
• Education — Recommendation 3.2: N.C.D. recommends that the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs, through amendment to its proposed Individuals with Disabilities Education Act regulations or through instructional letters to state directors of special education, provide guidance on monitoring requirements, outcome goals, and best practices in connection with efforts to reduce minority over–representation.
• Health — Recommendation 4.4: N.C.D. recommends that Congress act swiftly to identify the measures or resources that would be required to assure a smooth and timely flow of relevant information from the U.S. Department of Defense to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs regarding seriously injured veterans, and that Congress then enact legislation ensuring that the necessary coordination will take place.
• Long–term Services and Supports — Recommendation 5.2: N.C.D. recommends the expansion of money follows the person type programs, both through legislation and through the exercise by federal agencies of their demonstration program authority.
• Child and Youth — Recommendation 7.1: N.C.D. recommends that the House Committee on Education and the Workforce and the Senate HELP Committee request that the U.S. Government Accountability Office continue and deepen its recent vocational rehabilitation (V.R.) study by carrying out detailed research into how particular V.R. services correlate with successful employment outcomes and into how existing definitions of successful case outcomes may influence the range and content of services provided in the field.
• Welfare Reform — Recommendation 8.1: N.C.D. recommends that in defining the concept of work requirements under current law, or in implementing any new statutory definition of this concept, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services consider the circumstances of recipients with disabilities, the resources available for training and supporting them, and the attitudes of prospective employers regarding these welfare–to–work participants.
• Housing — Recommendation 9.2: N.C.D. recommends immediate adoption of legislation, to be developed and submitted in consultation by the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division and by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity along with appropriate Congressional housing committees, to ensure that accessibility will be included as a uniform feature of all funding and procurement contracts and of all grants related to re–building after natural disasters.
• Transportation — Recommendation 10.1: N.C.D. recommends that the U.S. Department of Transportation continue to conduct regular, proactive assessments of transit system compliance with A.D.A. requirements to assure that maintenance, deployment, information accessibility and other components of truly accessible service remain priorities, once accessible capital equipment has been purchased and deployed.
• Assistive Technology and Telecommunications — Recommendation 11.3: N.C.D. recommends passage of the Real–time Writers Act. It is imperative that the nation develop a cadre of trained personnel who are able to meet the growing demand for qualified captioners.
• International Affairs — Recommendation 12.1: N.C.D. recommends that the U.S. Agency for International Development undertake a study of the extent to which the Global Fund and other multi–national efforts currently do, or prospectively could, expand their scope of concern to ensure non–discrimination and full opportunity for those who benefit from the medical interventions and resources that U.S. foreign assistance programs make available.
• Homeland Security — Recommendation 13.1: N.C.D. recommends that Congress adopt overarching procedures to address inter–state issues for all federal–state programs in evacuation situations.

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