NTAC e.News — December 15, 2007

Asian/Pacific Islander Words of Wisdom

“Mele Kalikimaka me ka Hau'oli Makahiki Hou”
Explanation: Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year in Hawaiian
Source: http://gohawaii.about.com/od/festivals/a/hawaii_xmas_a.htm

Announcements: NTAC

NEW! Happy Holidays!

The National Technical Assistance Center for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders with Disabilities wishes all of our network members the very best this holiday season!

Earn 10 CEUs Online

The eighth offering of the “Introduction to Disability/Rehabilitation with Asian/Pacific Islander Americans” online course is tentatively set to begin on January 14, 2008. For a nominal tuition payment of $20, you can earn ten Continuing Education Units (CEUs) to apply to your CRC.

Each offering of this month-long course has been facilitated by NTAC-AAPI, with 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 serving as professors.

For more information, or to preview the required readings before the next course begins, please go to the following Web site: http://www.ntac.hawaii.edu/AAPIcourse/. To be placed on the mailing list for that course, please send an email to James D. Brightman, NTAC-AAPI Vocational Rehabilitation Coordinator, at jamesdb@hawaii.edu.

Announcements: National and International

Workers with disabilities gaining attention in India

India has the good fortune of having one of the largest workforces in the world. A recent World Bank report has pointed out how a sizeable section - those with disabilities - barely even features in its scheme of things. This neglected group presently consists of anywhere between 40-90 million people. Making a conscious effort to take them along in India's growth story would not only alleviate their current situation, but also give an incremental boost to our economy. Read the whole article here.

Positions Available

Director of Government Relations - Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation (CSAVR), Bethesda,Maryland

Contact: Carl Suter, Chief Executive Officer, csuter@rehabnetwork.org CSAVR serves as a resource for the formation and expression of the collective points of view of State VR programs on all issues affecting the provision of quality rehabilitation services to persons with mental and/or physical disabilities. CSAVR seeks an experienced individual to relate to Congress on disability employment issues. Minimum 3 years Hill experience, with in-depth understanding of legislative and regulatory processes required. Knowledge of federal disability programs and policy is highly desired.

Health Policy Analyst/Senior Health Policy Analyst - The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

CBPP is seeking a health policy analyst to focus on emerging health reform efforts in states across the country.Ê Candidates should have a strong background in health policy, including an understanding of the barriers low-and moderate income people face in obtaining health coverage; knowledge of the interaction among public programs, employer-provided health insurance, and the individual health insurance market; and familiarity with issues that arise in state health reform initiatives such as individual and employer mandates, pooling of risk, guaranteed issue, and ERISA. Click here for a full job description.

Recent Products

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

Resources

Steppingstones of Technology Innovation for Children with Disabilities

Grants to improve results for children with disabilities by promoting the development, demonstration and use of technology; supporting educational media services activities designed to be of educational value for children with disabilities; and providing support for captioning and video description for use in the classroom setting. Application deadline is January 9, 2008. Click here for more information

National Job Site to Connect Employers with Disabled Workers

AccessibleEmployment.org is designed to provide employers with one central place to post employment positions and search resumes of qualified disabled candidates. In addition, AccessibleEmployment.org also allows potential job candidates to post their resumes for review by prospective employers who have made a commitment to include people with disabilities in their workforce. The website was started by the New Jersey Business Leadership Network (NJ BLN), which in turn was established with generous support from the Henry H. Kessler Foundation. http://www.accessibleemployment.org/

Integration of Schools and Mental Health Systems

The Department of Education, Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools is estimated to give 19 awards of $250,000 to increase student access to high-quality mental health care by developing innovative approaches that link school systems with the local mental health system. Eligible Applicants: State educational agencies; local educational agencies; and Indian tribes. The application deadline is January 30, 2008. Click here to read more

Empowerment for Americans with Disabilities: Breaking Barriers to Careers and Full Employment

The National Council on Disability offers recommendations to supplement best practices and existing public policies and initiatives integral to the employment of people with disabilities. It has two broad aims: 1) to summarize existing knowledge regarding employment of people with disabilities; and 2) to present new information on the perspectives of employers, people with disabilities, and disability specialists on key barriers and facilitators of employment. Click here to read more

Institutes / Conferences

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

2008 Annual Early Hearing Detection & Intervention (EHDI) Conference

February 25-26, 2008; New Orleans, Louisiana
The 2008 EHDI Conference will focus on the following ten program tracks: EHDI Program Enhancement; Audiological Assessment and Intervention; Early Intervention; Medical Home; Follow-up, Tracking, and Data Management; Family Issues; Program Evaluation and Quality Assurance; Information Dissemination and Marketing; Providing Services to Underserved Groups; Enhancing Language and Cognitive Development. Sponsors include the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Center for Hearing Assessment and Management (NCHAM), and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). Click here to read more.

TASH/APSE Collaborative Web Training - Working Life: Towards a Lifestyle of Employment for All.
A Webinar Series on Customized Employment Winter - 2008

APSE: The Network on Employment TASH and the Institute on Community Inclusion (U-MASS-Boston) are collaborating on an exciting new training on Customized Employment, January 28 - February 25. Detailed information and registration materials are available on the APSE website at http://www.apse.org. If you have questions, feel free to call Celane McWhorter, 703-946-6793.

Education Finance Summit

February 15-17, 2008, San Antonio, Texas. Cosponsored by National Council of State Legislators and the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education. The Education Finance Summit presents the newest ideas on the latest information about what works for students and how we can pay for it. Topics include: the nuts and bolts of K-12 school finance, how states fund early education; how states support adult learners, what the costs of implementing NCLB are, what is driving college costs, and more. Click here to read more.

Research / Publications

Disability and Health Journal

The American Association on Health and Disability (AAHD), in collaboration with Elsevier Publishing, announces the launching of theDisability and Health Journal, which will be the official Journal of AAHD. The Disability and Health Journal is a scientific, scholarly and multidisciplinary peer-reviewed journal for reporting original contributions that advance knowledge in disability and health. Visithttp://www.ees.elsevier.com/dhjo to learn more about the Journal, submissions process and Editorial Board. The Journal will be published quarterly, in print and electronically, with the first issue scheduled for February 2008. Click here to visit their website.

Study maps brain abnormalities in autistic children

November 28, 2007; Reuters: Autistic children have more gray matter in areas of the brain that control social processing and sight-based learning than children without the developmental disability, a small study said on Wednesday. Click here to read the whole story.