National Technical Assistance Center (NTAC-AAPI)

"to increase employment opportunities for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders with Disabilities" - FUNDED BY: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, REHABILITATION SERVICES ADMINISTRATION

Semi-Monthly e.News, August 1, 2003
You can find this and previous issues of e.News online at http://www.ntac.hawaii.edu


~ Announcements
~ Resources
~ Institutes / Conferences (& Teleconferences)
~ Research / Publications

ANNOUNCEMENTS

New!!! NTAC-AAPI Resources Information Brief posted online at http://www.ntac.hawaii.eduOur plan to translate this brief into different Asian American/Pacific Islander languages for your communities depends on you! Please provide us with your feedback at ntac@cds.hawaii.edu.

NATIONAL DISABILITY POLICY: A PROGRESS REPORT Ð July 2003

The National Council on Disability (NCD) released an excerpt from its annual report, National Disability Policy: A Progress Report, which highlights a number of issues related to the challenges for advancing employment opportunities across the nation for people with disabilities. http://www.ncd.gov/newsroom/publications/progressreport_final.html

CRPF Awards $620,969 in Quality of Life Grants

The Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation (CRPF) has awarded $620,969 in Quality of Life grants as part of its Spring 2003 funding cycle of the Quality of Life Program.The Quality of Life Program, conceived by Dana Reeve, CRPF Director and Chair of the Quality of Life Committee, awards grants to programs that improve the daily lives of people living with disabilities, particularly spinal cord injuries. Grant categories include: accessibility, education, independent living, arts, sports activities, advocacy, assistive technology, children, counseling, employment, health promotion, practical service and therapeutic riding. Contact the Quality of Life department at (973) 467-8270, ext. 201. http://www.christopherreeve.org/News/News.cfm?ID=579&c=30

Special education 602: Special Education Law and Compliance - Fall Semester
University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu
Focuses on understanding special education law necessary to provide services for students with disabilities in a variety of placements. The class will cover the disability rights movement, statutory, regulatory, and case law. We will use multiple case studies, presentations, guest speakers, and will cover strategies to assure compliance. Tuesdays beginning August 26th, 4:30 to 7:00 p.m., Webster 115. For additional information:
Ann Barnes, Ph.D. mbarnes@hawaii.edu. Registration information is available at:
www.hawaii.edu/myuh/manoa

Ending Chronic Homelessness Through Employment and Housing
In partnership with this DOL award, HUD announces the availability of $13 million for permanent housing grants from recaptured McKinney Act monies. These funds will be used to supplement each DOL Cooperative Agreement effort with a HUD grant award, ranging from approximately $2-3 million per award, to support permanent housing
for individuals who are ``chronically homeless'' served through the DOL Cooperative Agreement. Applications and eligibility information for this solicitation are available in the Federal Register notice, which can also be accessed through http://www.dol.gov/odep and http://www.hud.gov. For more information, contact Margaret Roffee Roffee.Margaret@DOL.GOV

"LIVE IT UP, LIVE, HAWAI'I" - August 15, 2003

Beethoven's Nightmare and other Musicians, Hard Rock CafŽ, Honolulu, HI

Hawaii's musicians, singers and songwriters and chanters with disabilities will perform with Beethoven's Nightmare, America's only All-Deaf Professional Rock and Roll Band. VSA arts of Hawaii-Pacific www.vsarts.hawaii.edu, a nationally linked organization launches its "Artists Unlimited" project promoting professional career opportunities in the arts for people with disabilities. Advanced tickets go on sale Tuesday, May 27 for $25 each (include dinner pupu and beverage) To reserve your tickets, call Hawaii Services on Deafness in Honolulu at 808-926-4763.

Youth Anthology Call for Submissions - October 15, 2003
Poetry and Artwork by Asian American Youth published by The Asian American Writers' Workshop. An editorial committee consisting of five Asian American teenagers and AAWW's Arts-in-Education Director will review your poetry and artwork. http://www.aaww.org/youth

October 15, 2003 Designated As National Disability Mentoring

Day By Labor Secretary Chao

Begun in 1999, National Disability Mentoring Day promotes career development for students and job seekers with disabilities through one-on-one job shadowing, group visits to public and private employers, and hands-on career exploration. http://www.wcdfoundation.org/index3.htm

RESOURCES

National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum (NAPAWF)

Founded in 1996, National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum (NAPAWF) is dedicated to forging a grassroots progressive movement for the social and economic justice and the political empowerment of Asian and Pacific American women and girls. NAPAWF, DC Chapter, creates a vehicle for local activists to connect with others across the country to share strategies and form lasting coalitions around policy initiatives and grassroots organizing campaigns. http://www.napawfdc.org

Emergent Group, LLC

The Emergent Group, LLC is an event management company offering a full range of management services and partnership opportunities. The company brings years of knowledge and experience to a variety of industries, including healthcare, media, travel, financial, entertainment and sports, and produces several premier industry-specific events including Consumer Directed Healthcare Conference (CDHCC), Healthcare Delivery Solutions Congress (HDSC) and The Emerging Technologies and Healthcare Innovations Congress (TETHIC). For more information, visit www.theemergentgroup.com.

INSTITUTES / CONFERENCES & Teleconferences
Center on Disabilities Assistive Technology Applications Certificate Program (ATACP) - August 4-8, 2003

Washington, DC

The ATACP is designed to provide a practical approach to the applications of Assistive Technology in meeting the needs of individuals with various disabilities in many settings.

For more information contact: Center on Disabilities, California State University at Northridge, 18111 Nordhoff Street, Northridge, CA 91330. (818) 677-2578, susan.ghaemi@csun.edu, http://www.csun.edu/codtraining.

APALA National Convention - August 7-10, 2003

LosAngeles, California

The National Executive Board of the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA), AFL-CIO issued a call to the Seventh Biennial National Convention, to be held August 7 to 10 in Los Angeles, California. The theme of this year's convention will be, "Strengthening Our Voices for Worker Rights, Immigrant Rights, and Civil Rights." http://www.apalanet.org/pr_050703.html

National Assistive Technology Assessment Institute - August 10-15, 2003

Las Vegas, NV

Spend 5 1/2 days of training in Las Vegas, NV on assistive technology training sponsored by the University of Nevada, Las Vega (UNLV) and the National Association of State Directors of Special Education (NASDSE). You will learn the latest techniques in assistive technology assessment and go home with several complete assessment tools in your hand. Fees: $1,400 materials, $1,500 instruction. Credit options: All participants earn an assessment competency certificate from UNLV and NASDSE. Also, CEU's and graduate credit are available from UNLV. For more information, visit http://www.nasdse.com/upcomingseminars.html, (888) 438-1938

Supported Employment Web-Based Certificate Series - August 11, 2003

This web course provides an extensive overview of supported employment and how to facilitate competitive jobs for individuals with significant disabilities. Certificates will be awarded to participants who complete all course work assignments (CEUs and CRCs will be available for those who complete the coursework. The next section of the course will begin August 11, 2003 (14 weeks to complete 6 sessions). http://www.vcu.edu/rrtcweb/cyberu/webcourse/secourse.html

Work Smarter, Not Harder: "Outreach Made Simple" - AUGUST 11-13, 2003

New Orleans, LA

Participants will learn how to use existing data and census results to compare their CIL or SILC's demographics with those of their community. This seminar is designed for administrative staff, board, and council members. This training is specifically intended for participants who have the authority to implement a plan of action upon their return.

For more information, contact Kristy Langbehn at 703-525-3406 (V),

703-525-3409 (Fax), 877-525-3400 (V/TTY, 703-525-4153 (TTY) or

kristy@ncil.org National Council on Independent Living 1916 Wilson Blvd.,

Suite 209 Arlington, VA 22201 IL NET at NCIL 1916 Wilson Boulevard, Suite

209 Arlington, VA 22201

"Best Practices in E-Learning Online Conference" - August 13 & 14, 2003

The latest e-Learning technologies and practices will be used in this conference to make this event accessible to more people from around the world than a traditional face-to-face conference could be. For more information visit http://elearn.ucalgary.ca/conference/ or

contact Rod Corbett at 403-220-6199 or Rod.Corbett@ucalgary.ca

World Congress & Exposition on Disabilities - SEPTEMBER 18 - 20, 2003

Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, Florida

Meet Human Resource Managers of Private Companies & Government Agencies hiring Persons with Disabilities at The World Congress & Exposition on Disabilities (WCD), a precedent-setting annual international conference and trade event, is intended to educate, inform and provide a useful exchange of ideas for persons with disabilities and special healthcare needs and those involved in their care and development. http://www.wcdexpo.com

Emerging Technologies & Healthcare Innovations Conference - September 22-24, 2003

Marriott Wardman Park, Washington, DC

The Emerging Technologies & Healthcare Innovations Congress provides healthcare industry executives with an in-depth conference convening clinicians, healthcare executives, technology thought leaders and vendors to address the impact and promise of technology and innovation on the future of healthcare. This content-driven forum and trade show will address the relevance and role of a wide range of issues, including web-enabled business processes and medical devices, the telecommunications convergence, and advances in medical and bio-informatics. Event participants will have the opportunity to interact with technology providers and suppliers, and preview and demo new and innovative products in an exhibit setting. For more information about TETHIC, visit http://www.tethic.com.

RESEARCH / PUBLICATIONS

Asian American Women and Suicide: A Call for Subjects
If you are an Asian American woman of 24 years or older and have made an attempt at suicide or thought seriously about attempting suicide, and you would be willing to take part in a research study on suicide among Asian American women, please contact:
Eliza Noh, Postdoctoral Fellow, UCLA Asian American Studies Center, 3230 Campbell Hall, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, 714-381-3236,
elizanoh@ucla.edu

Study: Disabled Losing Nearly All Employment Discrimination Cases

Over 9 out of 10 times, employers won when their employees filed disability discrimination lawsuits against them. Those are the findings in a new report in the current issue of the American Bar Association's Mental & Physical Disability Law Reporter: employers prevailed in 94.5 percent of 327 cases decided in federal courts across the United States last year. http://www.accessiblesociety.org/topics/ada/abastudy03.html

Companies firing disabled workers in record numbers

A survey of 723 companies in 2003 by Mercer Human Resource Consulting found that 27 percent dismiss workers as soon as they go on long-term disability. Almost a fourth of the companies surveyed were found to fire workers after a set period on long-term disability, usually six to 12 months. http://www.mercerhr.com

NTAC-AAPI maintains an email list of persons in the disability-related fields that will

remain private. This information has been sent as a courtesy. If you would like to make news contributions to the next issue (deadline Ð August 8th) of if you wish to stop receiving these messages, please contact M.E. Lake Conway at: melake.conway@cds.hawaii.edu