Live.WORK.Achieve
A Listserv for the Mississippi Partnerships for Employment
for Youth and Young Adults with Developmental Disabilities
Including Intellectual Disabilities Project
April 2013
Welcome to Live.WORK.Achieve, a monthly e-newsletter targeting anyone interested in and supportive of employment for youth and young adults with intellectual/developmental disabilities. Live.WORK.Achieve is offered through the Institute for Disability Studies in collaboration with the Mississippi Council on Developmental Disabilities and Disability Rights Mississippi and includes resources and information on employment and career development.
Inside this edition:
1) Governors Pushed to Implement Jobs Programs for People with Disabilities
2) Lieutenant Governors Adopt Resolution
3) Hiring Requirements Eased for People with Disabilities
4) Executive Order from Oregon Governor on Implementation of Employment First
5) GoTasks App
6) The K-Fund Microloan Initiative
1) Governors Pushed to Implement Jobs Programs for People with Disabilities
An article in the Huffington Post reports on discussions at the National Governors Association (NGA) meeting in February that focused on the employment of people with disabilities. Delaware Gov. Jack Markell, chairman of the NGA, has designated the issue at this year’s platform. Markell told governors the NGA will continue to explore ways states can work to develop programs for employing people with disabilities. The association is planning two institutes in May for governors and their staffs to meet with business leaders to share findings and to develop a list of best practices. To read the article, visit http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/24/jobs-for-people-with-disabilities_n_2754163.html.
2) Lieutenant Governors Adopt Resolution
“Now, therefore let it be resolved, the National Lieutenant Governor’s Association calls on each Lieutenant Governor to review their policies regarding Americans with disabilities in an effort to increase employment opportunities for people with disabilities.” These are the closing lines of a policy resolution regarding the employment of people with disabilities approved at the National Lieutenant Governors Association (NLGA) 2013 Federal State Relations Meeting. To read the full resolution, visit http://www.nlga.us/web-content/Conferences/FedState2013/4%20NLGA%20Resolution%20Supporting%20the%20Employment%20of%20People%20with%20Disabilties%20FINAL.pdf.
3) Hiring Requirements Eased for People with Disabilities
In the past, people with disabilities might have been required to prove their job readiness to be hired by the U.S. Government. Under a new rule issued in late February, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management said that people with intellectual, psychiatric and severe physical disabilities will no longer be required to provide certification that they are ready to work when applying for jobs with the federal government. For more complete information, read this article by Disability Scoop http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2013/02/25/hiring-requirements-eased/17363/.
4) Executive Order from Oregon Governor on Implementation of Employment First
Governor John Kitzhaber of Oregon has issued an Executive Order as the next step for his state in promoting their ongoing commitment to integrated employment for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. This Executive Order aligns with work already underway to implement Oregon’s Employment First policy. View the Executive Order online at http://www.oregon.gov/gov/docs/executive_orders/eo_13-04.pdf.
5) GoTasks App
GoTasks (Google Tasks™ Client) is an app that works on all mobile devices for on-the-go task management and list prioritization. And it’s free. Check out additional information on the Think College website where it was featured as an App of the Month. Visit http://www.thinkcollege.net/march-2013/app-of-the-month-gotasks.
6) The K-Fund Microloan Initiative
The Center for Social Capital (CSC) and the Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation (JPKF) are pleased to announce the establishment of The K-Fund, a unique microloan program designed to assist working-age individuals with Intellectual or Developmental Disabilities (I/DD) interested in starting a business or enhancing their current job through the acquisition of job-related tools, training, and technology. This collaboration expands the low-interest loan program designed and tested by CSC in several states utilizing local community banks. Currently, loans average $5,000 at 5% interest and are used to supplement other limited resources. The K-Fund design streamlines the loan process, requires no collateral, no bank loan committee review, and is extremely low risk. The start-up phase of the K-Fund is restricted to individuals served by organizations affiliated with CSC and its parent organization, Griffin-Hammis Associates (GHA), both of which have assisted hundreds of individuals in starting their own microenterprises. For examples of inventive employment, visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifrS3YqCjOY .
***PLEASE NOTE: If you are unable to access any of the links in Live.WORK.Achieve, please make sure the entire link is highlighted. If a link is not highlighted, please copy and paste the entire link into your Web browser.
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Live.WORK.Achieve is sponsored by the Mississippi Partnerships for Employment (MSPE) for Youth and Young Adults with Developmental Disabilities, Including Intellectual Disabilities project. MSPE is funded by the Administration on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and is managed by the Mississippi Council on Developmental Disabilities (MS CDD), Disability Rights Mississippi (DRMS) and The University of Southern Mississippi Institute for Disability Studies (IDS).
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