Live Work Achieve: February 2016

Live.WORK.Achieve

A Listserv for the Mississippi Partnerships for Employment

for Youth and Young Adults with Developmental Disabilities

Including Intellectual Disabilities Project

February 11, 2016

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) Chit Chat Thursday with Taylor

2) Golden Eagles Wheelchair Basketball Exhibition Game – Feb. 20, Hattiesburg

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1) Chit Chat Thursday with Taylor

Chit Chat Thursday with Taylor is a monthly video series highlighting self-advocacy activities, services and successes in Mississippi. It is hosted by Taylor Carley, self-advocacy coordinator, and is produced by the Institute for Disability Studies, specifically through the Mississippi Partnerships for Employment Project which is a joint project of Mississippi’s Developmental Disabilities Network. This network includes the Mississippi Council on Developmental Disabilities (MS CDD), The University of Southern Mississippi Institute for Disability Studies (IDS), Mississippi’s University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education, Research and Service (UCEDD), and Disability Rights Mississippi (DRMS). To view the first episode, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7wdsVnmsSI.

2) Golden Eagles Wheelchair Basketball Exhibition Game – Feb. 20, Hattiesburg

Join the Golden Eagles and the Rollin Tigers on Sat., Feb. 20, from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. at the Payne Center on the Southern Miss campus for a chance to watch and play wheelchair basketball. Lunch will be served. For more information, call Devin Bellman at 228.214.3400. This activity, sponsored by the Institute for Disability Studies, the STEP UP TO LEADERSHIP Council, TRIAD AmeriCorps and MACE, is free and open to the public.

***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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Please visit the IDS Calendar of Events at http://www.usm.edu/ids/calevents/.

Questions may be addressed to

Alma.Ellis@usm.edu

Jerry.Alliston@usm.edu

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MSPE Live.WORK.Acheive mailing list

mspe@usm.edu

https://mailman.usm.edu/mailman/listinfo/mspe

Live.WORK.Achieve

A Listserv for the Mississippi Partnerships for Employment

for Youth and Young Adults with Developmental Disabilities

Including Intellectual Disabilities Project

February 2016

Inside this edition:

1) Building Partnerships. . . Working Together Conference – Feb. 25-26, Jackson

2) Disability Employment Tracker

3) Employment First Technical Briefs

4) Customized Employment

5) Virtual Wheelchair Coaches

6) Business and Vocational Rehabilitation Can Build Employment Partnerships

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1) Building Partnerships. . . Working Together Conference – Feb. 25-26

Mississippi’s 8^th Annual Special Education Conference for parents and professionals will be held Thur., Feb. 25, and Fri., Feb. 26, at the Jackson Convention Center at 105 East Pascagoula Street in Jackson. Registration for the conference begins at 8 a.m. Sessions begin at 9 a.m. Registration is $25 and includes breakfast, lunch, and snacks. For more information on speakers or to register, visit http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07ebwqjwfzee0eeb24&llr=julfnscab&showPage=true.

2) Disability Employment Tracker

Open enrollment for year three of the Disability Employment Tracker is now underway. Sponsored by the National Organization on Disability (NOD), this tool provides companies a confidential assessment of their disability and veteran employment policies and practices, providing tailored reports in four areas. Completion of the Tracker is required to be considered for DiversityInc’s annual list of Top 10 Companies for People with Disabilities, and this year, for the first time, top scorers have the opportunity to earn an NOD Disability Employer Seal of Approval. To learn more about this free and confidential online assessment, visit http://nod.org/services/tracker.html.

3) Employment First Technical Briefs

The Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) and the LEAD Center has released three Employment First Technical Briefs for anyone working to implement Employment First in their state, region or agency.

· Technical Brief #1: Connecting the Dots: Using Federal Policy to Promote Employment First Systems-Change Efforts, provides a summary and overview of public policy, regulations, rules and informational bulletins that support employment outcomes and employment first for youth and adults with disabilities.

· Technical Brief #2: Federal Legal Framework that Supports Competitive, Integrated Employment Outcomes of Youth and Adults with Significant Disabilities, “highlights various legal actions by Federal enforcement agencies that have significant implications for how states prioritize and deliver services for individuals with disabilities.”

· Technical Brief #3: Criteria for Performance Excellence in Employment First State Systems Change & Provider Transformation, provides guidance to states that are involved in systems change efforts aimed at improving competitive, integrated employment outcomes of youth and adults with disabilities.

To download the briefs, visit the LEAD Resource Center http://www.leadcenter.org/resource-center/publication/employment-first-technical-briefs.

4) Customized Employment

Customized employment is a flexible process designed to personalize the employment relationship between a job candidate and an employer in a way that meets the needs of both. This information brief from the LEAD Center, in collaboration with the Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) and EconSys, provides the results of six focus groups conducted in 2015 under ODEP’s Employment First State Leadership Mentoring Program (EFSLMP). The purpose of the focus groups was to garner the perspective of employers of various sizes, sectors, and locations who had hired individuals with disabilities into customized jobs within the past year. For a copy of the brief, visit http://www.leadcenter.org/resource-center/publication/employment-first-information-brief-perspective-employers-customized-employment.

5) Virtual Wheelchair Coaches

The Self-Management Assistance through Technology (SMART) – Virtual Coaches for Wheelchair Users project will be developing a suite of interactive coaching tools based on smart mobile devices (e.g., smartphones and wearable devices) that support wheelchair users to learn about safe and effective use of their wheelchair, to navigate the wheelchair service delivery process, and to lead a healthy lifestyle. This project is supported by the National Institute of Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR): Disability and Rehabilitation Research Project (DRRP). For more information about the project, visit http://www.vwc.pitt.edu/index.html.

6) Business and Vocational Rehabilitation Can Build Employment Partnerships

Vocational rehabilitation (VR) is a series of programs and services designed to help a person with a disability find and keep a job or return to work after injury. These services are most often provided by counselors at a VR agency. VR counselors spend a lot of time getting to know the individuals with disabilities they work with, understanding their needs and abilities, and supporting them as find their place in the workforce. A new study conducted by Mississippi State University discovered VR counselors and agency personnel can improve outcomes for job seekers with visual disabilities by building strong relationships with employers and area business organizations. For more information about this study and a copy of the report, visit http://www.naric.com/?q=en/RIF/Business%20And%20Vocational%20Rehabilitation%20Can%20Build%20Partnerships%20For%20Employment%20Success.

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TO SUBSCRIBE

If this mailing was forwarded to you and you are not already subscribed to the Live.WORK.Achieve listserv, here’s how you can become a subscriber:

TO UNSUBSCRIBE

****************************************

Please visit the IDS Calendar of Events at http://www.usm.edu/ids/calevents/.

Questions may be addressed to

Alma.Ellis@usm.edu

Jerry.Alliston@usm.edu