Live Work Achieve

Thursday, October 4, 2012

[Mspe] MSPE Live.WORK.Achieve Listserv - October 2012. . . National Disability Employment Awareness Month

Live.WORK.Achieve

A Listserv for the

Mississippi Partnerships for Employment

For Youth and Young Adults with Developmental Disabilities

Including Intellectual Disabilities Project

October 2012. . . National Disability Employment Awareness Month

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:

National Disability Employment Awareness Month

October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month, or NDEAM. This year's theme is "A Strong Workforce is an Inclusive Workforce: What Can YOU Do?" NDEAM began in 1945, when Congress enacted a law declaring the first week in October each year "National Employ the Physically Handicapped Week." In 1962, the word "physically" was removed to acknowledge the employment needs and contributions of individuals with all types of disabilities. In 1988, Congress expanded the week to a month and changed the name to "National Disability Employment Awareness Month."

The Mississippi Partnerships for Employment (MSPE) project has a primary focus to increase competitive employment outcomes for youth and young adults with DD/ID in Mississippi by enhancing the collaboration of existing state education and employment service systems. To celebrate this month, MSPE is having the following activities during the month of October:

• statewide promotion of October as National Disability Employment Awareness Month; distribution of the 2012 Poster which may be found at http://www.dol.gov/odep/topics/ndeam/2012PosterEnglish.pdf (download it or order one);

• launch of a Share Your Story page to the MSPE website at www.mspeidd.org - a place for youth and young adults with disabilities can share their personal stories of wanting to work, barriers to work and even successes;

• celebration of October 17 as National Disability Mentoring Day with 10 youth with intellectual and other developmental disabilities participating in day long events at the Institute for Disability Studies and an end of day Celebration in collaboration with Oak Grove Jr. Civitan Club with a panel of guest speakers with disabilities – contact Dr. Jerry R. Alliston at jerry.alliston@usm.edu or 601.266.5979 for more information; and

• the establishment of a Students for ASPE group in MS – work with MS ASPE in establishing a student group - contact Dr. Jerry R. Alliston at jerry.alliston@usm.edu or 601.266.5979 for more information.

***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

_______________________________________________

MSPE Live.WORK.Acheive mailing list

mspe@usm.edu

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

Friday, September 7, 2012

MSPE Live.WORK.Achieve Listserv - September 2012

Live.WORK.Achieve

A Listserv for the

Mississippi Partnerships for Employment

For Youth and Young Adults with Developmental Disabilities

Including Intellectual Disabilities Project

September 2012

Inside this issue:

1) MS PTI Webinar – “Getting and Keeping the First Job” – Sept. 11

2) Assistive Technology Survey

3) More States Receive Waivers for No Child Left Behind

4) Transition Resource Available on Updated Website

5) Career Development and Transition Fact Sheets

6) Education for Life and Work: Developing Transferable Knowledge and Skills in the 21st Century

1) MS PTI Webinar – “Getting and Keeping the First Job” – Sept. 11

This MS PTI (Mississippi Parent Training and Information Center) webinar scheduled for Sept. 11, from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. will help parents of children with disabilities of any age. It's hard to think outside of the box on a daily basis, and this presentation will help jumpstart new ideas on how to help you and your child learn new ways to build job skills at home. It's never too early to get started. The webinar will be presented by Leslie Junkin, community outreach and training coordinator for MS PTI. To register, visit https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/633992626.

2) Assistive Technology Survey

ILRU (Independent Living Research Utilization) is conducting a survey to assess the assistive technology needs of people with disabilities. This survey is designed to determine the current availability of assistive technology and the potential for new, innovative devices. By identifying the assistive technology needs of people with disabilities, ILRU will be better able to work with policymakers and funders to address assistive technology needs. Access the survey at http://fifthfreedom.org/u/i2. Learn more about ILRU at http://www.ilru.org.

3) More States Receive Waivers for No Child Left Behind

The U.S. Department of Education has announced seven additional states that have been granted waivers to many of the No Child Left Behind’s requirements, upping the total number of states with approved waivers to 32. The newly approved states are: Arizona, Kansas, Michigan, Mississippi, Oregon, South Carolina, and Washington, DC. For more information, visit http://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/obama-administration-approves-seven-more-nclb-flexibility-requests-32-states-and.

4) Transition Resource Available on Updated Website

Achieve has updated the design and organization of its website. Achieve is nonprofit organization providing support to states to help them design, develop, adopt, implement and sustain policies to ensure all students graduate from high school ready for college, careers, and life. In recent years, Achieve has been particularly focused on supporting states as they transition to the Common Core State Standards. Achieve offers state-specific advocacy materials for all 50 states and Washington D.C. in the states section of the website. Achieve is the project manager for states in the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) and the Next Generation Science Standards, and has links in the “Our Networks” section of the website. For more information, visit http://www.achieve.org/.

5) Career Development and Transition Fact Sheets

The Council for Exceptional Children’s Division on Career Development and Transition (DCDT) has developed fact sheets on independent living, vocational education, self-determination, age-appropriate transition assessment, transition planning, competencies, and student involvement in the Individualized Education Plan (IEP) process. For more information, visit http://www.dcdt.org/publications/.

6) Education for Life and Work: Developing Transferable Knowledge and Skills in the 21st Century

The report, “Education for Life and Work: Developing Transferable Knowledge and Skills in the 21st Century,” from the National Research Council, discusses the key skills that increase deeper learning, college and career readiness, student-centered learning, and higher order thinking, including both cognitive and non-cognitive skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, collaboration, effective communication, motivation, persistence, and learning to learn, as well as creativity, innovation, and ethics. All these are important to later success and may be developed in formal or informal learning environments. The report also describes how these skills relate to each other and to more traditional academic skills and content in the key disciplines of reading, mathematics, and science. A brief of the report is available free for download at http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13398.

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SUBSCRIBE/UNSUBSCRIBE

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

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

_______________________________________________

MSPE Live.WORK.Acheive mailing list

mspe@usm.edu

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

Thursday, August 9, 2012

August 2012

Inside this issue:

1) ODEP and AIDD Join Forces

2) Working to Reach Employees with Disabilities

3) DOL Publishes “Plain Language” Guidebook for the Family and Medical Leave Act

4) Creating an Inclusive Workplace: Integrating Employees with Disabilities into a Distribution Center Environment

5) 2012 National Disability Employment Awareness Toolkit is Now Available

6) Delaware’s Governor Signs Employment First Bill into Law

7) "Telling Your Story" with Apple iTunes

1) ODEP and AIDD Join Forces

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) and the Administration on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AIDD), an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Community Living, completed a memorandum of agreement in July to create a partnership that will work to expand and promote integrated employment as the first option for individuals with significant, including intellectual and developmental, disabilities. This partnership between the two federal agencies will further their coordination of resources and efforts so the concept of “Employment First” is more broadly embraced. Many states have already resolved to implement policies that promote integrated employment as the first option of services for individuals with intellectual and other developmental disabilities through the establishment of Employment First initiatives. Both ODEP and AIDD support these initiatives and other efforts to change states’ employment systems by providing technical assistance, training and capacity building support. For more information, visit http://www.dol.gov/odep/topics/EmploymentFirst.htm .

2) Working to Reach Employees with Disabilities

This article from the Baltimore Sun details the complexities of the federal government’s commitment to hiring more employees with disabilities. Read the entire article at http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/federal/bs-md-federal-disabilities-20120713,0,1553346.story .

3) DOL Publishes “Plain Language” Guidebook for the Family and Medical Leave Act

The complexity of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) process can be confusing to employers as well as employees. In an attempt to clarify the FMLA application and implementation process, the Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division (WHD) has issued a 16-page summary entitled “Need Time? The Employer’s Guide to the Family and Medical Leave Act.” The booklet is directed primarily to employees, but it also provides a roadmap for employers detailing obligations for successfully navigating the FMLA application process, and explains how the DOL believes the FMLA process should be implemented. For a copy of the guide, visit http://www.dol.gov/whd/fmla/employeeguide.htm .

4) Creating an Inclusive Workplace: Integrating Employees with Disabilities into a Distribution Center Environment

An article in the June issue of Professional Safety by individuals affiliated with the Walgreens Distribution Center in Anderson, SC, shares specific performance statistics, as well as management policies, techniques and strategies used by the national retail pharmacy chain in employing people with disabilities. To read the article, visit http://insurancenewsnet.com/article.aspx?id=346155&type=newswires

5) 2012 National Disability Employment Awareness Toolkit is Now Available

Prepare for 2012 National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) activities and observances. Held each October, NDEAM is a national campaign that raises awareness about disability employment issues and celebrates the many and varied contributions of America's workers with disabilities. This year's theme is "A Strong Workforce is an Inclusive Workforce: What Can YOU Do?" Posters are free and are available for order in English and Spanish. For more information, visit http://www.dol.gov/odep/topics/ndeam/ .

6) Delaware’s Governor Signs Employment First Bill into Law

On Monday, July 16, Delaware Governor Jack Markell signed the state’s first Employment First bill into law. As the newly elected chair of the National Governors Association, he has also made the employment of people with disabilities a priority of his term as chair. For more information, visit http://news.delaware.gov/2012/07/16/governor-signs-employment-first-bill-into-law/ .

7) "Telling Your Story" with Apple iTunes

"Telling Your Story" is a free application (app) that can be downloaded through Apple iTunes to help people with disabilities and others, to compose and practice their personal story to share with elected officials and policymakers. The app guides users through the steps of developing a testimonial, from introducing yourself, identifying the specific issue, to the best methods for presenting a compelling personal story. The app allows the user to enter the text of their story and use an audio recording feature to rehearse their story. Learn more about this tool at http://itunes.apple.com/app/telling-your-story/id541403749?mt=8

Monday, July 30, 2012

July 2012

Inside this issue:

1) Introduction to Live.WORK. Achieve Listserv

The Consortium for the Mississippi Partnerships for Employment (MSPE) project was established in June 2011. The Consortium developed and received a federal grant to direct a state-level collaborative approach to improve employment outcomes for Mississippi youth and young adults with intellectual/developmental disabilities. Managing partners are the Mississippi Council on Developmental Disabilities (MS CDD), Disability Rights Mississippi (DRMS) and The University of Southern Mississippi Institute for Disability Studies (IDS), Mississippi’s federally funded Developmental Disabilities Network. The goal of the MSPE project is to build capacity across existing state services for sustainable systems change that improve outcomes for youth and young adults with intellectual/developmental disabilities seeking competitive employment in integrated settings.

Over the next five years, MSPE will work to: 1) develop and implement policies that support competitive employment outcomes for youth and young adults with intellectual/developmental disabilities seeking competitive employment in integrated settings; 2) develop innovative strategies to remove systemic barriers to competitive employment in integrated settings; 3) identify and implement strategies and best practices that improve employment outcomes for youth and young adults with intellectual/developmental disabilities; 4) enhance statewide collaborations that can facilitate the transition process from secondary and post-secondary schools or other pre-vocational training settings to competitive employment in integrated settings; and 5) develop and implement evaluation measures to ensure the effectiveness and efficiency of the project in meeting its goal and objectives.

You are receiving the initial issue of the new Live.WORK.Achieve listserv because of your interest and involvement in employment issues for youth and young adults with intellectual/developmental disabilities. This listserv will include information for self-advocates, families and professionals and will evolve with the project, providing not only project information but employment information. Please forward this email to others you know who may be interested. Contact information is provided below. If you have resources or information you want to share with others, please reply to this e-mail or contact Alma Ellis at aellis@ihl.state.ms.us.

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