A monthly e-newsletter for the DD Council Network
|
For an accessib
For an accessible version of Field Notes,
CLICK HERE
|
|
Customized Approaches to Employment
(DD Council Highlight)
Employment for people with developmental disabilities continues to be a challenge as there is no one-size-fits-all solution. There are many approaches to take and I continue to learn about more customized approaches that Councils on Developmental Disabilities are supporting in a multitude of ways.
One project that recently came to my attention is absolutely fascinating! The Wyoming Governor's Council on DD has recently supported a film that is currently in production that highlights the story of the critical first year of operation of Vertical Harvest (VH), a highly innovative, but risky, experiment in growing crops and providing meaningful employment for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in the Jackson, Wyoming area located in the heart of the Grand Tetons. The film, Hearts of Glass, showcases the new form of farming at high elevations called vertical farming. Hearts of Glass delves into perspectives both inside and outside this social venture and explores VH's impact on the lives of its employees, its financial viability and its potential for replication in other communities.
"Although our Council had no previous experience with funding a film, this documentary presented a unique opportunity to present nuanced portraits of community members with disabilities in the context of a high-profile innovative business. We invested in Hearts of Glass because it deals with employment and inclusion issues that affect people with DD and their families. The film will be a valuable resource and represents a commitment to telling the stories of those we advocate for," said Shannon Buller, Executive Director of the Wyoming Governor's Council on Developmental Disabilities.
The film is being produced by Jennifer Tennican, an independent documentary filmmaker from Jackson, Wyoming. NACDD is planning to have Ms. Tennican at our Annual Conference in Salt Lake City where she is hoping that an eager group of folks will be willing to screen and provide feedback on a rough cut of her work-in-progress. Participants will spend an hour (in the evening) watching the film and then another 30-40 minutes discussing various aspects of the film with the Director/Producer. The comments and feedback are meant to provide perspectives from disability advocates. NACDD will be sending out an official RSVP to be one of these screeners in the coming weeks.
I know that many of you are working on equally compelling and exciting projects that will advance employment opportunities for people with I/DD. Please continue to share those efforts with us at NACDD!
Best,
Donna
|
|
POLICY NEWS & INFORMATION
|
|
Busy Time in D.C. ~ Budget and the AHCA
It has been a busy time in Washington, D.C.! Thank you to everyone affiliated with the Councils on Developmental Disabilities who have responded to our alerts and requests for information the last few weeks. NACDD is grateful for the partnership.
Both the House of Representatives and Senate passed the omnibus spending package for FY 2017 thus providing funding for the rest of the fiscal year to the Councils and many other important programs. President Trump has signed the bill. All of the DD Act programs were level-funded at FY 2016 levels, which is $73 million for the Councils.
At the same time, NACDD continues to work on FY 2018 funding by holding meetings with Members, submitting required forms to formally make our request, and getting Members of Congress to support our programs using 'Dear Colleague' letters. To view the final FY 2018 letter that Rep. Langevin (D-RI) submitted to the House Labor, Health and Human Services, Education Appropriation Committee
click here. Thank you to everyone who helped get these Members of the House of Representatives to sign-on in support of our request for $76 million. Please take a few minutes to thank them for their support.
We expect President Trump to release his full budget in mid-late May. The President's budget is just a blueprint that lays out his priorities for funding federal government programs, but it is up to the Congressional Budget Committees to draft and pass an actual budget for both mandatory and discretionary spending for both defense and non-defense.
The American Health Care Act (AHCA), the bill to repeal and replace the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 217-213. As anticipated, it was a party line vote with all Democrats voting no and 20 Republicans voting no. You can see the votes here:
The Senate has indicated that they will not be taking up the AHCA in its entirety, but rather a workgroup of 12 senators are currently working to draft their own legislation. There is still a long way to go in the process with the Senate needing to pass a bill and then reconcile it with the House-passed AHCA.
|
ITACC WEBSITE ~ UPDATES & INFORMATION
|
|
Home Page
|
|
|
Administration for Community Living (ACL) UPDATE
National Self-Advocacy Resource and Technical Assistance Center Rolls Out New Resource Website
The Self Advocacy Resource and Technical Assistance Center (SAR-TAC) is launching a new website at
www.selfadvocacyinfo.org
to help fulfill its mission to strengthen self-advocacy for people with disabilities by supporting self-advocacy organizations to grow in diversity and leadership.
In 2016, Self Advocates Becoming Empowered (SABE) was awarded a grant from the Administration for Community Living to establish SAR-TAC, the first-ever National Resource Center for Self-Advocacy. The resource center is funded as a Project of National Significance by the Administration on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AIDD) under the Administration on Disabilities.
The new website will serve as an online location to categorize, promote, and share the best tools and resources for self-advocacy across the country. Resources range in topics, including board management, using social media, involving youth in self-advocacy groups, and more. Key website components include:
- A resource library/clearinghouse: a one-stop presence for showcasing and promoting outstanding self-advocacy organizational development resources and resources related to self-advocacy issues.
- Feedback and reviews about the tools and resources: a way to hear how the resources are making a difference in communities across the country.
- A submission page to submit new resources created by self-advocates to the collection.
- A technical assistance request page for requests from organizations seeking assistance and support.
- Success stories about self-advocacy and its impact on individual, community, state and national levels.
- Information about additional SAR-TAC project activities. This includes the Fellowship Program, the Civil Rights Project, upcoming webinars, trainings, and the 2018 National Self-Advocacy Conference.
|
A
CL funds SAR-TAC to empower people with intellectual and developmental disabilities for enhancing their voice on issues important to their well-being and daily lives.
In addition, representatives from the SAR-TAC project will present information about the opportunities listed above and more at the TAI in Salt Lake City, Utah, July 12, 2017!
|
|
DIVERSITY, INCLUSION and CULTURAL & LINGUISTIC COMPETENCE (DICLC)
|
D
ICLC
Resources & Opportunities to support DICLC in all aspects
of DD Council Work
DICLC Webinar #2: Register Today
Wednesday, May 24th at 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time
Register today for the Diversity, Inclusion and Cultural and Linguistic Competence (DICLC) webinar,
Effective Identification and Recruitment Strategies for Representative/Diverse Council Members ~
Presentation by Tawara D. Goode, Assistant Professor, Director, Georgetown University National Center for Cultural Competence |
Deputy Director, University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities
- The difference between outreach and engagement
- Principles and values for community engagement
- Engaging diverse communities: What are the steps?
Additional presentations will be provided by the GA and NY Councils! This webinar will be recorded and posted to the itacchelp.org website on the
Other News Page
To register,
click here
Call in number: 1-800-832-0736 | Room number: *2680372#
Everyone must register for this to participate.
_____ _____ _____ _____
Do you know the difference between Translation and Interpretation?
Visit the National Center for Cultural Competence -- Working with Linguistically Diverse Populations FAQ Page
Community of Practice
Georgetown University National Center for Cultural Competence is excited to announce that the following states and jurisdiction were selected to participate in the Community of Practice (CoP) for Cultural and Linguistic Competence in Developmental Disabilities.
Arizona, California, Colorado, District of Columbia, Indiana,
Michigan, New York, Utah, Vermont, Wisconsin
|
State Plan Submissions
Several Councils still need to address Tier 2 State Plan Peer Review Comments. If you are one of the Councils (and have not done so already) please send Sara Newell-Perez an email
[email protected] and identify the specific areas/sections of the plan you need "unlocked" in the ACL Reporting system.
The specific reporting areas are:
- Council Identification
- Designated State Agency
- Comprehensive Review & Analysis
- 5-Year Goals
- Evaluation Plan
- Logic Model
- Projected Council Budget
- Assurances
- Public Input & Review
- 2017 Annual Work Plan and 2018 Annual Work Plan
Once Sara Newell-Perez has "unlocked" the section, you will be able to go in and make changes. If you need any assistance, please contact ITACC staff.
The deadline for all submissions is August 15, 2017.
|
|
UPCOMING EVENTS & OPPORTUNITIES
|
|
(1) NACDD 2017 Annual Conference
A Quality Life: Count Me In!
July 11-14
Register for NACDD's 2017 Annual Conference - A Quality Life: Count Me In! in Salt Lake City, Utah.
To register, visit
EVENTBRITE
.
Visit the
NACDD WEBSITE
to learn more about the conference, view the tentative agenda and book your hotel.
(2) NACDD General Assembly Meeting
July 14, 2017 during the Annual Conference (Time to be confirmed)
All conference participants are invited to join the General Assembly meeting held at the 2017 Annual Conference. Each Council gets one vote on important matters such as dues, board elections, and choosing the new nominating committee. Agenda and more details to come in early June.
Please contact Jessica at
[email protected]
with any questions.
(3) ITACC Technical Assistance Institute "R.A.D. Reporting, Advocacy & Diversity"
July 11-12
Join ITACC staff, AIDD, self-advocate leaders, guest speakers and DD Council panelists to learn more about reporting requirements, what's working in self-advocacy and diversity, inclusion and cultural and linguistic competence. Visit the
ITACC WEBSITE
to view the full TAI Agenda.
Be sure to register for the TAI by using the NACDD registration link above. Although the TAI is a free event, everyone must register. Hope to see you there!!
|
|
|
(4) NACDD Member Services Committee
Disability Awareness Training (DAT) with David Whalen
SAVE-the-DATE: May 17, 2017 at 3:00 p.m. Eastern
The ability to accurately and appropriately respond to individuals with disabilities has posed varying challenges to first responders across the country. High profile cases have exposed the need for more involved awareness and education. Niagara University has developed the nation's only comprehensive disability awareness training program for law enforcement, firefighters, emergency medical services, and 911 telecommunicators. It has been successfully implemented in the New York through funding from the NYS DDPC, and is currently progressing in Missouri through a grant from the MO CDD.
This webinar will introduce the program, how NU customizes it per state, the process to establishing it within state offices and associations, and the role of first responders and the disability community to make it standard and sustainable.
David Whalen ~
founded Disability Awareness Training (DAT) in September 2004 and has since conducted over 600 sessions. He has worked in the disability field his entire career, with his first 17 years at Niagara County (NY) ARC. Dave is the President of the Board of the Williamsville Special Education Parent Teacher Student Association (SEPTSA), past Chair of the Board of Directors of the Parent Network of WNY, Chair of the Town of Amherst's Committee on Disabilities, co-founder of Access Buffalo, a certified ADA trainer through the Region II Northeast ADA center, Commissioner of Central Amherst Little League Challenger baseball, and past member of the NYS Independent Living Council. In 2014 NYS DDPC awarded NU with the Forging Pathways Award and in 2016 Western New York Deaf Access services awarded Dave Deaf Advocate of the Year.
|
|
Don't miss the next edition of Field Notes, click below to Join our Mailing List
|
|
|
|
|
This publication is supported through AIDD's contract (#HHSP233201600068C) with NACDD to provide technical assistance to the national network of DD Councils.
|
|
|
|
