The Messenger
Nov 1, 2022
“The ones who have a voice must speak for those who are voiceless.”
~ Oscar Romero
Sarah wants you to REV UP the disability vote!
ELECTION DAY IS TUEDAY NOVEMBER 8!
EARLY VOTING LOCATIONS ARE OPEN!
The Board and Staff of The Arc-Dane County remind you that your voice counts and encourage you to pledge to vote in 2022! Voting is very important. It is a way for you to help choose the people that run our government. Our government makes laws, decides how money gets spent, and much more. Who gets picked to run the governments makes a big difference for people with disabilities and their families. If you do not vote, then you do not get a say in what happens. Pledge to vote and encourage others to vote and
help improve your community today!
If you need support getting your documents together to register to vote, contact VoteRiders. They provide voter ID assistance so that every American can cast a ballot that counts.
Are you a first time voter?
Will you be voting this year?
Are you encouraging others to pick people who you believe will make good changes for your community, state and country?

Send us your pictures of you or someone you know who has voted. Show us your I Voted stickers or you with someone you encouraged to vote.

We'd love to celebrate The Arc-Dane County having it's voice heard in 2022.
Staff and students at LaFollette High School remind you to vote on November 8th!
November 8th Election: Voting News from the Disability Vote Coalition
"A report from Madison Region Economic Partnership (MadREP) about workplace diversity and inclusion shows Dane County employers still have work to do to increase workplace diversity in 2022, according to a Wisconsin State Journal report. The survey shows women held 40% of board seats and 42% of leadership positions in 2022 while making up 50% of the total workforce, and only 10% of employer board seats and 8% of leadership positions were held by people of color. Additionally, while making up 17% of the total workforce, people of color only hold 12% of supervisory roles. This is the seventh year for MadREP’s study of employers’ DEI practices. The study involved 2,118 randomly selected employers with 10 or more staff members in Columbia, Dane, Dodge, Green, Iowa, Jefferson, Rock, and Sauk counties and was carried out with the help of the Survey Research Center at the University of Wisconsin–River Falls."
What can you do?
As we come to the end of Disability Employment Awareness Month, The Arc-Dane County wants to invite you to help raise awareness and be an advocate for those with disabilities seeking employment.
***People with Disabilities in the Workplace and the
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) agenda Survey***
Can you answer “Yes” to these three questions?
 
  1. Are you a person with a disability?
  2. Are you employed?
  3. Does your employer actively support a DEI initiative?
 
Ruben Rodriguez, COO of The Arc of the United States needs you and is asking you to take this survey!
If you answered “Yes” to all three questions then click on the link below:
 
Survey will be open till Friday November 4th.

***Help our teachers find job placements and community experiences for
our area high school students are they begin their transition
out of the school system and into the workforce.***
Our high school teachers being transition experiences starting a student's freshman year of high school and they continue through when the student leave's high school either at graduation or age 21.

If you own, work at, or know of a business that could provide vocational opportunities for our students with IDD please help make those connections. Tasks can vary from cleaning and shredding to helping with mailings and organizing and students are supported by staff from their school buildings while at their job site.

Our students and teachers need your help and support. If you have questions or need assistance bringing people together, contact Anne at arc.amstevens@gmail.com or 608-833-1199.
Michael, Austin, & Garrett, , have all worked at The Arc-Dane County office to gain vocational experience while transitioning from Memorial High School.
Act Now to Help Make Access to Medicaid & CHIP Easier!
Millions of people with disabilities, including children, rely on Medicaid and CHIP for health care and help with daily tasks—but people often lose benefits because the system is too complex and has confusing rules.


The Biden Administration has proposed a new rule that would make it easier to receive and maintain Medicaid and CHIP, improving access to health care for adults and children with disabilities.

Among other things, this new rule would:
  • limit renewals to once every 12 months,
  • disallow a requirement for in-person interviews,
  • allow applicants 30 days to respond to information requests,
  • require prepopulated renewal forms,
  • establish consistent renewal processes across states, and
  • require states to accept renewals in four different ways—online, by phone, by mail, and in person.
Time to get your Holiday Fruit Fundraiser orders placed.
We will NOT hold a spring fruit fundraiser in 2023
so don't miss your chance!
Thank you to Pooley's, DJ Tim Wing, all of our volunteers from UW Speech and Hearing Clinic, and all of you for showing up and having such a great time. More photos will be posted on our website later this week.
COVID-19 Information--Stay safe. Stay Informed.
“The COVID-19 vaccines and boosters remain one of the best ways to protect yourself from severe illness, hospitalization, and death due to COVID-19,” said DHS Secretary-designee Karen Timberlake. “As we see rising cases due to the spread of increasingly infectious variants, it is important that we continue to use all the tools we have available to prevent our hospitals from becoming overwhelmed – that includes getting vaccinated if you have not already done so and staying up to date by getting any recommended additional or booster doses.” 
Follow us on social media for updates and information!
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