NTAC e.News — June 1, 2005

Announcements: Local

NEW! Meet Dr. Kim-Rupnow at the 2005 National Leadership Summit!

Dr. Weol Soon Kim-Rupnow will be an invited speaker at the 2005 National Leadership Summit on Improving Results for Youth: Policy and Practice Implications for Secondary and Postsecondary Education and Employment for Youth with Disabilities scheduled for June 14-15, 2005 at the Capital Hilton, 1001 16th Street, Washington, DC. The 2005 Summit is hosted by the National Center on Secondary Education and Transition (NCSET), in partnership with the U.S. Departments of Education, Labor, and Health and Human Services; the Social Security Administration; and other federal agencies and national organizations. Dr. Kim-Rupnow will talk about the best practices and methods involving the employment of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders with disabilities and she will also serve as a content expert in the areas of career preparation, youth leadership, and cultural competency. For more information, please contact her by email at kimrupno@hawaii.edu.

NEW! Dr. Jean Johnson represents NTAC at NAAPAE conference!

Dr. Jean Johnson presented on behalf of NTAC-AAPI at the National Association for Asian and Pacific American Education (NAAPAE) conference in San Francisco on May 19th-21st. The NAAPAE conference is an extremely important national gathering of educators of Asian and Pacific Island heritage, and through her presentations, Dr. Johnson ensured that AAPIs with disabilities were represented. In particular, one of the needs Dr. Johnson identified during the conference was the lack of children’s literature on or related to disabilities from AAPI groups. NAAPAE has worked closely with the U.S. Department of Education to design and implement several national studies of interest to Asian and Pacific American education. For more information, click on http://www.naapae.net/.

NEW! Meet Dr. Kim-Rupnow at the RSA Transition Conference!

Dr. Kim-Rupnow, Project Director of NTAC-AAPI, will be attending the RSA Transition Conference in DC scheduled for June 16-17, 2005 at the Capital Hilton, in an effort to promote the employment of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders with disabilities. To meet Dr. Kim-Rupnow or learn more about NTAC-AAPI, please contact her by email at kimrupno@hawaii.edu.

NEW! Hire me!

In today’s world, employing individuals with disabilities is not only the right thing to do, it is a necessity. One out of every five individuals has a disabling condition. The benefits of employment to the individuals, employers as well as their consumers, the economy and society are enormous and far outweigh the costs. Unfortunately, however, individuals with disabilities have historically been an untapped resource for most employers. Some businesses have recognized this oversight and partnered with Vocational Rehabilitation to offer jobs to qualified individuals with disabilities. To learn more and read about some of these individuals as well as comments from several of the employers, please follow this link: http://www.ntac.hawaii.edu/resource_links/downloads/pdf/VR_brief.pdf.

Free Online Course on AAPI Culture!

NTAC-AAPI invites you to take our free online course for VR professionals. We are very close to offering this course with a target date of late May 2005. It will be a web-based, continuing education credit, distance-learning course offered through the Center on Disability Studies at the University of Hawaii, Manoa. Professor, Dr. Paul Leung of the Department of Rehabilitation, Social Work and Addictions, at the University of North Texas and Associate Professor, Dr. Nanzhang Hampton, a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor, at the University of Massachusetts-Boston will be conducting the course. Approximately, 10 hours of Certified Rehabilitation Continuing Education Credits will be offered. For more information please contact Amy Nawatani, Training Coordinator at amy.nawatani@cds.hawaii.edu.

Announcements: National and International

NEW! Marketing and Job Development for Youth and Adults with Disabilities

Online Course: August 9, 2005 - August 23, 2005
The Training Resource Network, Inc. is offering its Web course “Marketing and Job Development for Youth and Adults with Disabilities” from August 3-17, 2005. The course will cover the key principles and hands-on tools for finding jobs for people with disabilities and other high-unemployment groups, including an introduction to job placement marketing research, marketing tools for job placement programs, job development principles, and job development tools. Registration fee: $149. For more information, click on http://www.trninc.com/entry/welcome2.asp.

NEW! JHU Focuses On Online Accessibility

Johns Hopkins University Gazette (TECHNET - USA) - May 9, 2005:
According to recent census figures, nearly 50 million people in the United States live with a disability such as a visual, hearing or cognitive impairment. For this group, the everyday act of Internet surfing can be a struggle as a site's construction too often limits what information they can see, hear or use. So, too, can Web site perusal be a challenge for those with aging software and computer equipment. http://www.jhu.edu/~gazette/2005/09may05/09access.html

NEW! DOD program uses technology to help disabled

ComputerWorld (TECHNET - USA) - May 6, 2005:
For many people, technology is a tool that allows them to work more quickly and efficiently. For people with disabilities or those who have physical challenges, technology offered through the Computer/Electronics Accommodation Program at the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), makes it possible for them to do their jobs. http://computerworld.com.sg/ShowPage.aspx?pagetype=2&articleid=985&pubid=3&issueid=46

NEW! Workforce Recruitment Program

The 2005 Workforce Recruitment Program database containing profiles of 1,913 job candidates is now available! Fill your summer or permanent hiring needs with talented college students with disabilities. These candidates, from more than 200 colleges and universities, represent all majors, and range from college freshmen to graduate students and law students. To request a free copy of the entire WRP database on CD-ROM, send your name, company name and mailing address to wrp@dol.gov. Please note: if you represent a federal agency, contact (Betsy Kravitz) for information on access to the WRP. http://www.dol.gov/odep/programs/workforc.htm.

Positions Available

Manager of Case Management Industrial Services

Anixter and Stuart G. Ferst Schools
Qualifications: Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources or related degree and a minimum of two years of experience. http://www.anixter.org/Career%20Opps/manager_case_industrial.htm.

Certified Special Educator

Anixter and Stuart G. Ferst Schools
Qualifications: BA/BS in Special Education or related field. Must have Illinois Special Education Certification or LBS in area required for assigned classroom. www.anixter.org/Career%20Opps/certified_special_education_teac.htm.

Recent Products

http://www.ntac.hawaii.edu/products/products.htm

Resources

ForEmployers.com

ForEmployers.com helps businesses tap into a growing workforce that has emerged as a result of rapid and innovative developments in technology—a workforce that includes people with disabilities. Site topics include hiring, accommodations and technology, legal resources, demographics and diversity, and success stories. http://www.foremployers.com/

National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability/Youth (NCWD/Youth)

NCWD/Youth assists state and local workforce development systems to better serve youth with disabilities. Their mission is to ensure that youth with disabilities are provided full access to high quality services in integrated settings in order to maximize their opportunities for employment and independent living, http://www.ncwd-youth.info/.

Institutes / Conferences

For a complete list of conferences, please visit the Conferences section of our Web site.

Leadership Summit on Improving Results: Policy and Practice Implications for Secondary and Postsecondary Education, Transition, and Workforce Development for Youth with Disabilities

June 14-15, 2005: Washington, DC
In order to continue the national conversation which occurred at the National Leadership Summit in 2003, NCSET in partnership with federal agencies and national organizations will co-host a second National Leadership Summit on Improving Results for Youth. http://www.ncset.org/summit05/index.htm

Workforce Innovations 2005: A Declaration of Innovation

July 11, 2005 - July 13, 2005: Philadelphia, PA
Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor and co-sponsored by the American Society for Training & Development, the Workforce Innovations 2005 conference will focus on integration, transformation, and innovation. http://www.workforceinnovations.org/

Research / Publications

Job Networking in Diverse Communities (April 2005)

Brief
The Institute for Community Inclusion, University of Massachusetts-Boston produced this brief describing a project to introduce and broaden personal and professional networking techniques among job seekers with disabilities from African-American, Haitian, and Latino backgrounds. The project formed a unique partnership with four community-based immigrant organizations. http://www.communityinclusion.org/publications/pub.php?page=rp37

It’s My Life: Employment (2004)

Guide
This guide, intended for child welfare professionals and others responsible for helping young people prepare for transition to the workplace, provides the following recommendations: start early to develop employability, cultivate interests and skills and relate them to future employment, promote activities that help young people explore careers, build job-readiness skills, help young people get and keep jobs, and promote work-related education and training after high school. The guide also provides benchmarks for career exploration by age group and techniques for job seeking. From Casey Family Programs. Available in PDF (80 pages, 886 KB). http://tinyurl.com/c2qze

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