NTAC e.News — October 1, 2008

Asian/Pacific Islander Words of Wisdom


The Beijing Olympics have long since ended; however, still reviewing some Mandarin you should've picked up:

Please speak slower = Ching swo man yi dyien.
What did you say? = Ni shwo shenme?


Source: http://www.helium.com/items/234635-key-phrases-in-chinese-that-travelers-should-know

Announcements: NTAC


EARN 10 CEUS ONLINE--POSTPONED!

The tenth offering of the online course, "Introduction to Disability/Rehabilitation with Asian/Pacific Islander Americans," has been postponed until October 6th. Tuition for this offering remains a very reasonable $100. To offer this course, we need to enroll 11 more people, so tell all your colleagues to register with you.

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 (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 website: http://www.ntac.hawaii.edu/AAPIcourse/. To get on the mailing list for the course, or to find out where to mail your tuition payment, please send an email to James D. Brightman, NTAC-AAPI Vocational Rehabilitation Coordinator, at jamesdb@hawaii.edu. Tell all your colleagues that they too, like you, can complete this popular course while earning 10 Continuing Education Units (CEUs) to apply to their CRC.

Announcements: National and International


October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month in the US

The US Department of Labor has announced that "America's People, America's Talent... America's Strength!" will be the official 2008 theme for National Disability Employment Awareness Month. Each October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month by congressional designation. The Labor Department's Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) leads the nation's activities and produces materials to increase the public's awareness of the contributions and skills of American workers with disabilities. Typically, private sector; federal, state and local government; and advocacy organizations piggyback on the same theme to plan events and programs that showcase the abilities of employees and job candidates with disabilities. Click here for more information.

President Bush Signs S. 3406 Into Law

On Thursday, September 25, 2008, President George W. Bush signed into law: S.3406, the "ADA Amendments Act of 2008," which clarifies and broadens the definition of disability and expands the population eligible for protections under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. The Act retains the ADA's basic definition of "disability" as an impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, a record of such an impairment, or being regarded as having such an impairment. However, it changes the way that these statutory terms should be interpreted in several ways. More information is available here as well as here.

Positions Available


San Diego State University - Full Time, Tenure-Track Position

To read the full job announcement in pdf, click here. Interested faculty applicants are asked to submit a letter of intent, a current vitae, samples of teaching materials, teaching evaluations, at least one scholarly publication and at least three professional references. Applications will be reviewed starting on or shortly after November 15, 2008 with the anticipated start date of August 15, 2009. For further information contact Dr. Sax by email at csax@mail.sdsu.edu or by phone at 619-594-7183 or Dr. Hampton by email at nhampton@mail.sdsu.edu or by phone at 619-594- 6425.

Senior Research Associate Position at George Washington University

The George Washington University's National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition (NCELA), within the Graduate School of Education and Human Development, seeks qualified applicants for a Senior Research Associate or Research Scientist position. Funded by the U.S. Department of Education's Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA), NCELA collects, analyzes, synthesizes, and provides technical assistance information on the education of English language learners. To view the job announcement, click here.

Recent Products


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

Resources


NEW OPPORTUNITY TO ORDER OR DOWLOAD FREE MATERIALS FROM CFBCI!

The Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives has created a variety of materials for community and faith-based non-profits and government agencies about providing excellent workforce services to those in need and building public-private partnerships.

New Prisoner Reentry Initiative Grants Announced

The President's Prisoner Re-entry Initiative (PRI) seeks to strengthen (19) urban communities characterized by large numbers of returning prisoners through an employment-centered program that incorporates mentoring, job training, and other comprehensive transitional services. This program is a joint effort of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of Labor (DOL) designed to reduce recidivism by helping inmates find work when they return to their communities. Under this new solicitation, DOL will be awarding grants to faith-based and community organizations (FBCOs) to provide post-release services to ex-prisoners in urban communities within the target counties. To read the solicitation, go to http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2008/pdf/E8-20570.pdf. Applications are due by November 4, 2008

Official US Government Benefits Website

www.benefits.gov, the official benefits Web site of the U.S. Government, connects citizens from all walks of life to government benefit and assistance programs that meet their specific needs. This one-stop source provides citizens with the ability to complete a free and confidential questionnaire that will match their individual needs to more than 1,000 Federal and State assistance programs, including disaster relief, employment services, education, housing, small-business loans, Medicare and more.

Institutes / Conferences


DiversABILITY Employment Summit

The DiversAbility Employment Summit will be held on October 17th at The Conference Center at OCLC. Keynote Speaker include Actress/Comedian/Advocate - Geri Jewell "Cousin Geri" from "The Facts of Life" and Commissioner Christine Griffin. Registration is $50 and can be done by calling Jennifer Smith or TyKiah Wright at 614-802-2364 or visit http://www.wrightchoice.org for more information or to register online.

TRN Training Course

TRN, Inc. is offering its popular 2-week, 20-hour web training covering key principles and hands-on tools for job development for youth and adults with disabilities. The course includes applying marketing principles, creating various job seeking tools, and developing business partnerships. Participants will learn to approach employers and represent job seekers with confidence. Registration is $149 US. Participants can log on at any time during the course period and participate in the training. Registration is limited and all previous courses have filled to capacity. To learn more about the training, and to register, go to: http://www.trn-store.com/catalog/web-courses-0.

Nothing About Us Without Us: Voices of Adults with Learning and Attentional Disabilities

Saturday, October 4th, 2008 from 1:00pm - 5:00pm at the Oakland Main Public Library:
125 14th Street (between Oak and Madison ) in Downtown Oakland CA.
This event will feature: an introductory presentation by Nina Ghiselli, Psy.D. about her personal experience as a child and adult with LD, a panel discussion of adults sharing their personal experiences, facilitated by Dr. Ghiselli, refreshments, and much more. Best of all, the EVENT IS FREE!!! However, you must RSVP to info@eastbaylda.org or 510-433-7934 by September 29th.

Free Opportunity Conference

Once again, under the leadership of Secretary Elaine L. Chao, the U.S. Department of Labor will host a national Opportunity Conference in Orlando, FL. Celebrating the contributions of the Nation's Asian Pacific, Hispanic, and African American communities, the Opportunity Conference will emphasize key components of economic development and working with the Federal, state, and local governments. The conference will be held on October 23, 2008 from 8:30am - 5pm. Registration opens at 7:30am and early attendees are free to enjoy a Continental Breakfast.

11th Annual Accessing Higher Ground

Disability Services at the University of Colorado at Boulder presents Accessing Higher Ground: Accessible Media, Web and Technology Conference for Education, for Businesses, for Web and Media Designers. Early registration ends October 5th and can be done here.

TRANSFORMING LIVES THROUGH WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

Transforming Lives through Workforce Development will cover building strategic business partnerships; creating a prisoner re-entry program based on mentoring and gaining employment; showing the success of your programs through outcomes-based evaluation; and discovering high-growth jobs in your area and how to place people in those jobs.

Research / Publications


A New EEOC Publication Aimed at Increasing Jobs for People with Disabilities in Federal Employment

The percentage of federal employees with targeted disabilities, which are severe physical or mental disabilities, has declined each year since reaching a peak of 1.24% in 1993 and 1994. In 2007, the participation rate of people with targeted disabilities declined to 0.92% of the federal government's total work force, the lowest participation rate in more than 20 years.

In response, the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has developed a LEAD Initiative (Leadership for the Employment of Americans with Disabilities), which aims to boost the ranks of individuals with disabilities in federal employment to 2% by 2010. The new question-and-answer guide responds to frequently asked questions about what the law allows and requires federal agencies to do with respect to affirmative hiring and employment of individuals with disabilities. Click here for more information.

EEOC ADDRESSES PERFORMANCE AND CONDUCT ISSUES UNDER THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today issued a comprehensive question-and-answer guide addressing how the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) applies to a wide variety of performance and conduct issues. The document is available on the agency's web site at http://www.eeoc.gov/facts/performance-conduct.html

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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: October 25, 2008), please contact the editor at david.baker@hawaii.edu. If you wish to stop receiving these messages, you may send an email to listserv@hawaii.edu with the subject line blank and signoff ntac-l@hawaii.edu in the body of your message.

Copyright 2008. National Technical Assistance Center (NTAC-AAPI).

NTAC