NTAC e.News — November 15, 2006

Asian/Pacific Islander Words of Wisdom

“The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trials.”
Chinese Proverb (source: http://www.lovelandia.com/archive/004433.html)

Announcements: Local

NEW! Online Course—Free Continuing Education

Planning has begun for the fifth NTAC-AAPI online course: “Introduction to Disability/Rehabilitation with Asian/Pacific Islander Americans.” NTAC-AAPI will again facilitate this free course, worth ten Continuing Education Units (CEUs), which may be applied to your CRC. Returning to teach the course are Paul Leung, Professor and Director of the Department of Rehabilitation, Social Work, and Addictions at the University of North Texas, and Nan Zhang Hampton, Associate Professor of the Department of Administration, Rehabilitation, and Postsecondary Education at San Diego State University. The course is a wonderful opportunity to further your cultural competence, and enhance your counseling abilities, while earning continuing education units in the process. The three-week course will begin in January 2007. For more information, and to preview the required readings, please go to the following Web site: http://www.ntac.hawaii.edu/AAPIcourse/. To reserve your space and get on the mailing list, send an email to James D. Brightman, NTAC-AAPI’s Vocational Rehabilitation Coordinator, at jamesdb@hawaii.edu.

NEW! Success Story

One of our network members, Clarisa Braulick, a Vocational Rehabilitation Lead Counselor/Certified Rehabilitation Counselor with the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation in the State of Washington, was kind enough to share the following success story of Kauilani Kapololu (with Kauilani’s permission):

Kauilani Kapololu, born in Honolulu, was diagnosed with learning disabilities when she was a young child. In 1991, she moved with her parents and two sisters to the State of Washington and graduated from Richland High School in 2002.

In 2005, with a little help from Washington Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, Kauilani started working for Walmart in their garden department. Her supervisor soon realized Kauilani’s true potential and promoted her to Greeter. Kauilani’s enthusiasm and outgoing personality is a great asset to Walmart and its customers.

When asked what she enjoys about her new home, Kauilani said she loves hanging out and shopping with her new friends but misses her grandparents, cousins, and the food. “The winters are a little too cold here in eastern Washington,” she said, “and I have to go to all the way to Seattle to find good food.” Kauilani continues to work at Walmart and is planning to take a class at the local community college this winter.

Congratulations to Kauilani, and many thanks to Clarisa for sharing.

NEW! National Federation of the Blind (NFB)/STEM Leadership Academy

This four-day academy (July 30-August 4, 2007), called “Youth Slam,” will engage and inspire the next generation of blind youth to consider careers falsely believed to be impossible for the blind and will bring a unified voice to the next generation of blind professionals. Two-hundred blind high school students will be selected to participate in this science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) program. Applicants do not need to have an interest in science, technology, engineering, or math.

While staying at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, the students will be mentored by blind role models during fun and challenging activities meant to build confidence and increase science literacy. There is no cost to apply for the academy. Students who apply and are accepted will need to pay a $200 registration fee by May 31, 2007. NTAC encourages AAPI youth with disabilities to apply and can partially pay registration fees of students who are accepted into the academy. Local members of the NFB will also be available to help students raise the registration fee.

For more information, please go to the following Web site: http://www.blindscience.org/ncbys/Youth_Slam.asp?SnID=31542471.

Announcements: National and International

EEOC: Workers with Disabilities Have Less than 1% of US Federal Jobs

The latest numbers from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission show that workers with disabilities make up less than 1% of the federal work force, despite the Bush administration’s efforts to reverse the trend. In 2005, federal agencies employed 25,142 workers who were deaf, blind or had mental illness or an intellectual disability, according to an annual EEOC report. That was a 16% decrease from 29,930 workers in fiscal 1996. Read the full story.

The US Department of Transportation issued a final rule, Adopting new rules under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

They were published on October 30, 2006 in the Federal Register, to be in effect Nov 29th 2006. The Department is amending its Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) regulations to adopt, as its regulatory standards, the new Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG) recently issued by the Access Board (2004), including technical amendments the Access Board subsequently made to the new ADAAG. Learn more about this US Department of Transportation rule.

Social Security News Release: Public Warned about E-mail Scam

Jo Anne Barnhart, Commissioner of Social Security, and Patrick O’Carroll, Jr., Inspector General of Social Security, issued a warning today about a new email scam that has surfaced recently.

The Agency has received several reports of an email message being circulated with the subject “Cost-of-Living for 2007 update” and purporting to be from the Social Security Administration. The message provides information about the 3.3 percent benefit increase for 2007 and contains the following “NOTE: We now need you to update your personal information. If this is not completed by November 11, 2006, we will be forced to suspend your account indefinitely.” The reader is then directed to a Web site designed to look like Social Security’s Internet website.

To report receipt of this email message or other suspicious activity to Social Security’s Office of Inspector General, please call the OIG Hotline at 1-800-269-0271. (If you are deaf or hard of hearing, call the OIG TTY number at 1-866-501-2101). A Public Fraud Reporting form is also available online at OIG’s Web site www.socialsecurity.gov/oig.

Recent Products

For a complete list of NTAC products, please visit the Products section of our Web site.

Resources

Webcast Archive, Section 301—Presented by Lucy Miller

The term “section 301” refers to the continued payment of Social Security benefits to disabled or blind individuals who have been medically ceased but are permitted to receive benefit payments because of their participation in an approved program of vocational rehabilitation (VR) services, employment services, or other support services. These continued payments are often called “section 301 payments” because the authority for such payments is contained in section 301 of the Social Security Disability Amendments of 1980.

Unfortunately, section 301 is relatively unknown in the vocational rehabilitation community and many people who would be eligible for continued benefits under section 301 miss this unique opportunity. View the Archive.

Institutes / Conferences

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

Audioconference Educational Series on Psychiatric Rehabilitation Registering Now!

The Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation is offering three innovative and stimulating AudioConferences for mental health and rehabilitation professionals, education support staff, program administrators, public healt” lectures by leaders in the field of psychiatric rehabilitation. The lectures are interactive so that audiences may propose questions or comments.

Health and Hope: Helping People Live Optimally in Their Communities Through Health Promotion Services
Nov. 8, 1:00-2:30 p.m. EST - Dori Hutchinson, Sc.D.

Reclaiming Lives: Evidence for Improvement and Recovery in Schizophrenia
Nov. 15, 1:00-2:30 p.m. EST - Courtenay Harding, Ph.D.

Psychiatric Rehabilitation: Philosophical and Evidence Base
Nov. 29, 1:00-2:30 p.m. EST - William Anthony, Ph.D.

Find out more about the Fall 2006 AudioConference Educational Series online at http://www.bu.edu/cpr/training/audioconferences/ or contact Joan Rapp at 617-353-3549 or via email at joanrapp@bu.edu.

NCDDR WebCast: Capacity Building and Cultural Competence

On Thursday, November 16, the National Center for the Dissemination of Disability Research (NCDDR) will host a webcast entitled “Capacity Building and Cultural Competence When Working with Minority Populations.” The presenters are Fabricio Balcazar, PhD, Department of Disability and Human Development, and Yolanda Suarez, PhD, Department of Occupational Therapy, University of Illinois at Chicago. This webcast is presented in collaboration with the Independent Living Research Utilization (ILRU) program.

The presentation will describe the researchers’ conceptual framework for cultural competence training, review the factors that determine cultural diversity, and summarize their training activities in this area to date. Cultural diversity is constantly challenging our ability to outreach and effectively involve minority individuals with disabilities in research projects and/or services. This webcast provides important information to members of the NIDRR researcher community on diversity and research outreach as well as other interested parties.

The 90-minute webcast will begin at 3:00pm Eastern; 2:00pm Central; 1:00pm Mountain; 12:00pm Pacific; 11:00am Alaska; 9:00am Hawaii. NCDDR Webcast page: http://www.ncddr.org/webcasts/webcast4.html

White House Conference on Faith-Based and Community Initiatives

On Thursday, November 16, 2006, the White House will host a conference in Charlotte to help social service organizations learn more about President Bush’s Faith-Based and Community Initiative. These conferences are geared towards faith-based and community organizations that have no history of applying for government grants, as well as those that have applied, but have not yet been successful.

The conference is free, but pre-registration is required. Registration is on a first-come, first-serve basis. We strongly encourage you to register online. If you are unable to register online, please call (202) 456-6708 to have a registration form faxed to you.

The deadline for registration is Friday, November 10th. If you must cancel your registration, please send an email to fbci@dtihq.com or a fax to the number listed above so we may accommodate as many people as possible.

Thursday, November 16, 2006, 8:00am - 5:00pm, The Blake Hotel, 555 South McDowell Street, Charlotte, NC 28204

For more information, please call 202-456-6708, send an email to fbci@dtihq.com, or visit www.fbci.gov.

Increasing the Success of Employees with Mental Health Disabilities in the Workplace

The Ohio State University Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Coordinator’s Office and the Division of Occupational Therapy are co-hosting a one-day seminar to address the issue of how to help employees with disabilities increase their success in the workplace. A primary focus will be accommodations for social, behavioral, and mental health issues.

When: Friday, November 17, 2006 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., Deadline for registration is October 25, 2006
Where: The Ohio State University, The Fawcett Center, 2400 Olentangy River Rd, Columbus, OH 43210

The $75 Registration includes continental breakfast, lunch, and conference resources. Contact: Andrea Cooper, phone: (614) 292-1076; TDD/TTY: (614) 688-8605; cooper.437@osu.edu

The Nuts and Bolts of Telework—Increasing Employment Opportunities for People with Disabilities

Date: December 7, 2006, Time: 2:00 - 2:45pm ET, Presenters: Richard Horne, Jane Anderson, Richard Salnick
In this webcast, the presenters will discuss the basics of telework. Not to be confused with telemarketing, telework can be used as a strategy for return-to-work for people with disabilities and for increasing competitive employment for disabled Veterans. The webcast includes an overview of Federal interest in telework, given by Richard Horne, an in depth review of exactly what telework consists of, given by Jane Anderson, and an exploration of the success of Expediter, given by Richard Salnick. In addition, the presenters will give an overview of the resources and services that are available for employers and job-seekers on the new DOL-ODEP TeleworkUSA.net Web site. Please join in as they take employers through the steps needed to build a successful telework environment, enjoy the many perks of holding telework positions in their companies, and the rewards of engaging job-seekers that need to work remotely. Register for this webcast.

Ticket to Work Advisory Panel Beneficiary Summit Announcement

The Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Advisory Panel (the Panel) will be having a Beneficiary Summit in Atlanta, Georgia on February 6-7, 2007, for individuals who receive (or recently received) a Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and/or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefit and/or their health insurance from Medicare or Medicaid (beneficiaries). Beneficiaries will be invited to the Summit to give us their thoughts and ideas on the way that Social Security disability and other programs operate now and how they can be made better for people who want to go to work. Also, beneficiaries attending the Summit will propose an ongoing process for beneficiary involvement in the work of the Social Security Administration (SSA).

The Summit will be a meeting of about 50 beneficiaries to discuss the disability programs as they are now and what could be changed to make them work better for people with disabilities. Recommendations will focus on work and what SSA and its partners can do to encourage work for more beneficiaries. It costs nothing to attend the Summit. The beneficiaries who are selected to attend will have their travel, meal, lodging, transportation, and incidental costs paid by the Panel. In addition, if a beneficiary requires a personal assistant or support person in order to participate, those costs will be paid by the Panel as well.

Applications can be sent via e-mail to Jenn Rigger with the Panel to TWWIIAPanel@ssa.gov or faxed to: 202-358-6440. They can also be mailed to the: Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Advisory Panel, 400 Virginia Avenue, SW, Suite 700, Washington, DC 20024, Attn: BENEFICIARY SUMMIT.

If there are questions about the application, call Jenn Rigger at 202-358-6425. REMINDER: The deadline for applications is October 6, 2006.

Consortia of Administrators for Native American Rehabilitation, Inc. (CANAR, Inc.): “Making Life Better, One Individual at a Time”

February 18 - 21, 2007: Washington, DC
Annual CANAR Conference, Hyatt-Regency on Capital Hill, 400 New Jersey Avenue, 202-737-1234 or 800-233-1234
The Annual 2007 National Conference on Native American Rehabilitation is scheduled for February 18 - 21, 2007 in Washington, D. C. and will be co-sponsored by the Consortia of Administrators for Native American Rehabilitation, Inc. (CANAR, Inc.), Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA), and other rehabilitation agencies. Download the registration form in Microsoft Word format.

23rd Annual Pacific Rim Conference on Disabilities

Registration is open for the 2007 Pac Rim Conference. Be sure to take advantage of the special Early Registration Rate. Mark Your Calendar! March 12-14, 2007, Sheraton Waikiki Hotel & Resort Honolulu, Hawaii. Visit http://www.pacrim.hawaii.edu/ for more details.

Multiple Perspectives on Access, Inclusion, and Disability

April 3 & 4, 2007
As a modern land grant university an important part of Ohio State University’s mission is serving the community. Since 2001 The Ohio State University’s ADA Coordinator’s Office has hosted Multiple Perspectives On Access Inclusion & Disability. The conference offers a unique opportunities for approximately 300 professionals, scholars, advocates. Workshops and presentations are designed to bring a diverse audience together to discuss the full spectrum of disability issues and experiences. The annual gathering provides a forum for individuals and organizations to share their knowledge; broaden their perspectives, and increase community resources through the synergy of collaboration.

For the call for presentations and conference updates visit: http://ada.osu.edu/conferences. For more information on this years program visit: http://ada.osu.edu/conferences Or e-mail ada-osu@osu.edu.

RESNA 2007

Instructional Courses: June 15-16, 2007; Conference Workshop: June 17-19, 2007
RESNA’s Annual Conference will be held in Phoenix, June 15-19, 2007. RESNA 2007 will feature assistive technology’s leading researchers, renowned clinicians and policy experts creating a conference program with unmatched levels of knowledge and expertise. RESNA presenters and attendees will experience a surprisingly intimate conference environment. RESNA 2007 will offer an exciting Exhibit Hall featuring product demonstrations and training sessions, two days of Pre-Conference Instructional Courses, and 3 full-days of Workshops, Interactive Poster Sessions, Themed Paper Sessions and distinguished speakers.
For the latest information and details visit their Web site: http://www.resna.org/.

National Federation of the Blind Youth Slam 2007 A STEM Leadership Academy

July 30 - August 4, 2007: Baltimore, MD
Who:Two hundred blind high school students will be selected to participate in this program. Students who would like to be considered must complete the attached application and return it to the Jernigan Institute by April 1, 2007. Students will be selected based on their ability to participate actively in the activities.

What:This four-day academy will engage and inspire the next generation of blind youth to consider careers falsely believed to be impossible for the blind. While staying at Johns Hopkins University, students will be mentored by blind role models during fun and challenging activities meant to build confidence and increase science literacy.

Cost: There is no cost to apply for the program. Students who apply and are accepted to the Youth Slam will be expected to pay a $200 registration fee by May 31, 2007.

To send questions or comments via email, please write to youthslam@nfb.org, or visit http://www.blindscience.org/ncbys/Youth_Slam.asp

Research / Publications

People with Disabilities Securing Employment

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) is in the business of taking care of people—guests, franchisees, employees and communities. As a global hospitality leader, they are focused on providing an impeccable experience for those who stay with us, and on earning our reputation as the hotel franchisor and employer of choice.

To accomplish this, IHG must recruit, hire and develop the very best and brightest individuals, regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, physical abilities or limitations. IHG has an inclusive culture where different approaches to thinking and problem solving are welcomed and fairness and respect are highly regarded aspects of people and leadership strategies. They welcome the opportunity to partner with respected organizations such as the VCU Rehabilitation Research & Training Center on Workplace Supports & Job Retention. Working together we can make a positive difference in the lives of many while furthering IHG’s business objectives.

Read the Business Making a Difference Newsletter (PDF form) and get more information about pubic-private partnerships that work and obtain the latest research from VCU-RRTC.

Reasonable Accommodations & the Americans with Disabilities Act

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 requires most public and private employers to provide reasonable accommodations that enable qualified people with disabilities to perform the essential functions of their jobs. As the term “reasonable” implies, the accommodation must not constitute an undue hardship to the employer. This fact sheet provides definitions of key terms and procedures related to job accommodations under the employment provisions (Title I) of the ADA. Read the Fast Facts.