MI
New
Playground Easy for Disabled - Diverse groups from Lansing - business, government and even
a motorcycle club - united for a good cause: Playing. The
"Able to Play" project at Henry H. North Elementary School is
billed as the first of its kind in Michigan. It is a
playground designed to be accessible to children of all
physical abilities. The playground opened Nov. 5, 2004.
Self-directed Support
Corporations (SDSC) and Microboards (PDF; size=101k) -
What A Difference a SDSC Can Make: Joshua’s House
Incorporated! by Jackie Golden "Self-directed Support
Corporations (SDSC’s) and Microboards share the same
philosophy. Simply put they are a small legal provider for one
person with a disability, but then again, they are much more
than that. Both the SDSC and the Microboard put control and
direction of supports back in the hands of the person with the
disability needing the supports." Read this article to learn
more about this exciting concept.
Microboards and Microboard Association Design, Development and
Implementation by David and Faye Wetherow, August, 2003 -
In recent years there has been an increasing interest in
the prospect of establishing ‘Microboards’ for developing
personal support services for individuals with disabilities,
for obtaining and managing direct, individualized funding, and
for engaging members of the larger community in purposeful
personal support networks.
The Parent Gap Part 1:
Pulling in
Separate Directions - Soon
after her daughter died and Brenda Joyner found herself
raising three grandchildren, the Durham retiree couldn't help
but notice something unusual about other black parents in the
public schools. In short, they weren't around much. "I just
don't see a lot of African-American parents involved in the
schools," said Joyner, 51. "I wonder if they really see the
importance of it."
The Parent Gap Part 2:
Building
Partnerships - North Carolina
teachers know all about the achievement gap that divides black
and white students in the classroom. They know closing the gap
will require better relationships with African-American
parents. What they don't know is how to get there.
Employment
Paving the Way to Work: A Guide to Career-Focused Mentoring -
Mentoring is recognized as one of the most important strategies for assisting
youth in making a positive transition into adulthood. This excellent and
comprehensive guide provides the framework for setting up a successful mentoring
program.
Growing Up and Staying Healthy!
- This new e-Newsletter, from the Healthy & Ready to Work National Center (HRTW),
contains information on health and transition issues of those with special
needs, along with employment, accessibility issues, adulthood, health care, and
more.
The U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment
Policy (ODEP) is now offering a free database, The
Workforce Recruitment Program (WRP), of 1,900 qualified
college students and recent graduates with disabilities who
seek summer and full-time employment. This CD-ROM database can
be used by employers to search from a pool of pre-screened
applicants from over 45 states and territories who have skills
in disciplines ranging from computer sciences and business to
communications, engineering, office administration and more.
To request a free copy of the entire WRP database on CD-ROM,
send your name, company name and mailing address to
wrp@dol.gov; or, by calling
202- 693-7880; or, information about WRP is available by
clicking on the link above.
Serving Up
Skills - Marcos Gomez made a
lasting impression when he walked into Chicago's Deep Dish 'n
Dogs restaurant to look for work. The 21-year-old from Ada had
just graduated from Goodwill Industries' Hospitality Food
Service program that offers job training to people with
disabilities or other barriers to employment. He showed up
ready for work and a paycheck. The enthusiasm showed.
Career Development Web Page from Diversity World
- Diversity World, an organization that works to
enrich workplaces and reduce employment barriers, has created
a career development page on its Web site about employment
issues for persons with disabilities. The page includes a list
of links to career development resources, scholarships,
internships, and awards.
eSight Launches New
Blog to Tap Community Support for Job Seekers
- Mike Burks, a seasoned IT professional, is seeking
a job. He is eSight Careers Network's first selected "joblogger"
to keep a diary of his job search journey on a new eSight
service, a blog called Job Seeker's Network.
New Accommodation Ideas Paper For Workplace Personal
Assistance Services Created - For some people with
disabilities, Personal Assistance Services (PAS) may be needed
to successfully maintain gainful employment. A new paper
describing accommodation ideas for workplace personal
assistance services (PAS) has been created by the Job
Accommodation Network (JAN), a Center partner from the
Institute for Community Disability Information at the
University of West Virginia. This publication discusses PAS in
the workplace. It provides a definition of PAS; information
about using PAS to accommodate people with sensory, cognitive,
mental health, and motor impairments; a discussion about PAS
and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA); and a list of
resources for additional information.
eSight Careers Network
- "A bridge connecting business leaders to talent in the disability
community." eSight offers free membership, newsletter, employment searches and
more!
Guide for Employing People with Disabilities- In partnership with the U.S.
Chamber of Commerce, ED released a guidebook suggesting ways
that businesses can find qualified workers with disabilities,
put disability & employment research into practice, & learn
from successes in integrating individuals with disabilities
into the workforce.
Job Accommodation
Network 1-800-526-7234 Job Accommodation Network (JAN) has a free consulting
service from 8am-8pm ET (Monday-Thursday) and 8am-5pm ET
(Friday) that provides information on: equipment, methods and
modifications for persons with disabilities to improve their
work environment. All information is specific to the
disability, including learning disabilities.
Career Guidance
& Exploration - This topic explores how
families and professionals can help youth with disabilities to gain an
understanding of their interests, skills, abilities, and aptitudes as
they relate to employment.
Common acronyms associated
with workforce and disability and their translations
-
click here.
Entertainment
Video
Releases with Descriptive Narration from DVS Home Video -
DVS Home Video®, an initiative of the Media Access Group at
WGBH, announces the availability of six new film titles on
home video-fully described for viewers who are blind or
visually impaired. These feature films, available to order
November 24, include Finding Nemo, Pirates of the Caribbean:
The Curse of the Black Pearl, Seabiscuit, Matrix: Reloaded,
Bruce Almighty and The Lion King-Special Platinum Edition.
Entertainment EXTRA!Movies
and Disabilities - Check out
this list of 2,500 feature films which involve disabilities in
one way or another. Films are divided into
15 categories and includes a list of
recommended films. Each category is
then split into Major and Minor films. Each film
has either been
reviewed or includes a summary.
MI
Open-Captioned Movies in Metro Detroit Every Week -
EMAGINE Novi has made a commitment to the
Deaf and Hard of Hearing communities and will present a new
open-captioned movie each week with show times throughout the
day, everyday.
Entertainment EXTRA! Movies featuring
characters with disabilities -
Disability is a minority that has been featured
in some way throughoutHollywood's
history -- from major starturns
like Sean Penn's in "I am Sam" to
smaller parts such as John Leguizamo playing Toulouse-Lautrec
in"Moulin
Rouge!" iCAN has put together a
wonderful list of movies crossing all genres and disabilities.
Check it out!
Housing
and Independent Living
Current Legislation:
MiCASSA
(Medicaid Community-based Attendant Services and Supports Act) of 2003
- MiCASSA gives people real choice in long term care options by
reforming Title XIX of the Social Security Act (Medicaid) by ending
the institutional bias. MiCASSA ALLOWS INDIVIDUALS eligible for
nursing facility services or intermediate care facility services for
the mentally retarded (ICF-MR) the OPPORTUNITY TO CHOOSE WHERE TO
RECEIVE SERVICES instead of being forced into an institution or
nursing home. In other words, the money follows the person.
MIThumb Area
Seeking to Establish a Regional Interagency
Coordinating Council to Promote Inclusion of Disabled Residents
- For the second time in three months, a Huron County group
of citizens met to create a local Regional Interagency
Coordinating Committee (RICC). Primarily, the group came to
receive input from Terry Hunt and Angela Hoff. Hunt is a
representative of the Michigan Developmental Disabilities
Council (MDDC). Hoff is a representative of the Blue Water
Center for Independent Living (BWCIL).
Community
Works - Independent facilitators and teachers in
person-centered planning, self-determination and community living.
Working towards communities in which each individual is cherished.
Independent Living Legislation:
The Rehabilitation Act of 1973
The following are the provisions covered by Title V of the
Rehabilitation Act, which deals with prohibitions in discrimination
against persons with disabilities. Section 501 requires affirmative
action and nondiscrimination in employment by Federal agencies of the
Executive branch. Section 503 requires affirmative action and
prohibits employment discrimination by Federal government contractors
and subcontractors with contracts of more than $10,000. Section 504
states that "no qualified individual with a disability in the United
States shall be excluded from, denied the benefits of, or be subjected
to discrimination under" any program or activity that either receives
Federal financial assistance or is conducted by any Executive agency
or the United States Postal Service. Requirements include reasonable
accommodation for employees with disabilities; program accessibility;
effective communication with people who have hearing or vision
disabilities, and accessible new construction and alterations. The
standards for determining employment discrimination under the
Rehabilitation Act are the same as those used in Title I of the
Americans with Disabilities Act, and subsequently the issues for HR
professionals in dealing with how these rights play out in the
workplace are very similar. For more information, see
http://www.eeoc.gov/laws/rehab.html(from
Cornell
University's Online Library).
Everyone
Together (Michigan) - At an individual local network level we
seek to educate parents and increase their advocacy for inclusion of
children with disabilities in general education classrooms. As a group
of networks, we seek to support each other and to combine our voices
to advocate for the inclusion of all children who are routinely
separated and segregated based on disability. As a statewide coalition
of networks, we seek the fundamental changes to the education system
that are necessary if we are ever to achieve All Children, All
Together, All the Time. We seek to align ourselves with like-minded
organizations and to advocate for the adoption of policies,
legislation, and practices that support Universal Education. All
Children, All Together, All the Time. That is our mission.
For over 90 years, the non-profit Devereux Foundation has been the
time-honored residential choice of many special needs planning
professionals nationwide. Our founder,
special educator Helena Devereux, said in 1912: “Every person is a
program.” Devereux Pocono Center serves adults with special needs,
such as mental retardation, emotional disorders, autism, and
dementia.
Long Term Care Search on State Website
- Residents can now research the long-term care facilities in
their community at a Web site launched by the Department of
Community Health,
www.michigan.gov/ltc. The
site provides a list of nursing homes and other long-term care
facilities within the zip code provided by site visitors as
well as the size and services offered. Visitors can go through
a self-assessment to determine what services they might need
and to find a list of facilities that might provide those
services.
Recreation
Michigan Highway Welcome
Centers Unveil “Able to Play” Playgrounds - "Able to Play"
playgrounds, the first universally acceptable playgrounds in the
nation to be built at highway rest stops, have been constructed at the
two of the busiest Department of Transportation (MDOT) welcome
centers.
Fact Sheet:
Boy Scouts With
Disabilities and Special Needs - Since its founding in 1910,
the Boy Scouts of America has had fully participating members with
physical, mental, and emotional disabilities. James E. West, the first
Chief Scout Executive, was a person with a disability. Although most
of the BSA's efforts have been directed at keeping such boys in the
mainstream of Scouting, it has also recognized the special needs of
those with severe disabilities.
The
Justice in Mental Health Organization (JIMHO) Drop-In Center was created in 1985
to provide a place for people to gather who are having or have had emotional or
mental health problems. It is a center run solely by and for mental
health consumers, coordinated by a Director, Assistant Director and aided by the
help of volunteers. The Center is a place for unstructured socialization
and recreation without fear of rejection and stigmatization faced so often by
mental health consumers in the community. Some offer shopping trips in
the community, rent-a-video day, bingo, crafts, tennis, driving range, air
hockey and foosball tournaments and more!
Mott Foundation Continues
Support for Afterschool Programming - The Charles Stewart Mott Foundation in Flint, Michigan, has awarded
a four-year, $3.6 million grant to the University of Wisconsin-Madison
to study the impacts and best practices of afterschool programs,
particularly those that focus on underserved populations.
Click here for information on Social Skills Builders Class
- Social Skill Builders offers a series of peer group programs
for early childhood through adolescent aged children, who demonstrate
difficulties with social skill awareness, social interactions and
social behaviors.
Resources
Featured
Website: The Center
for Personal Assistance Services -
The Center for Personal Assistance Services provides
research, training, dissemination and technical assistance on
issues of personal assistance services (PAS) in the United
States. Personal assistance services (PAS) refer to help
provided to people with disabilities to assist them with tasks
essential for daily living. These tasks include bathing,
dressing, getting around, toileting, eating, shopping,
remembering things, and other activities. PAS, along with
assistive technology such as wheelchairs, text readers, and
hearing aides, help people with disabilities to participate in
activities at home, at work, and in the community.
The
Garaventa Evacu-Trac, an emergency evacuation chair, will help
move a person with limited mobility quickly and safely down a stairway
during an emergency.
The Center for An Accessible Society is a national organization
designed to focus public attention on disability and independent
living issues by disseminating information developed through research
to promote independent living.
Independent Life Resources
- A World of Resources for persons with disabilities, senior citizens,
and the chronically ill. Assistance available for those who provide
for their care, health needs, and support. Includes easy-to-use
directories, articles, news, community-based program materials, and
consulting services.
Communities In Schools
champions the connection of needed community resources with
schools to help young people successfully learn, stay in
school, and prepare for life.
The Parent Side™
A campaign for inclusion, and
against exclusion!
New "Celebrate Diversity" designs are a
great way to promote acceptance of diversity. Buttons make terrific
handouts for trainings or community events! Many products and lots
of gift ideas! New "Mixed Messages" design and new section with
"Disability, One Piece of the Whole Person" puzzle pieces on
products!
Music from the Heart: Jeff Moyer - Internationally known
songsmith, performer, and writer! http://www.jeffmoyer.com/
"How Big is
Your Circle" is a flexible array of materials built around a
musical that addresses the problems of exclusion, ridicule, and
violence and their solutions within school communities. "We're
People First" A catchy collection of songs for all ages, with
special annotations for classrooms.
Wheelchair Bike is Star of
Show - A new British-made motorcycle for wheelchair users was
the start of this year's Mobility Roadshow in the UK.
The U. S. Department of
Transportation's aviation consumer disabilitytoll-free hotline became operational
on August 5, 2002. The toll-freenumbers
for the aviation consumer disability hotline are 1-866-266-1368(voice) and 1-866-754-4368 (TTY).DOT
is asking disability organizations and agencies to help spread thewordabout the establishment of the
hotline. People with disabilities are
encouraged to call the hotline for
information and assistance if they should
experience disability-related air service problems.Disability groupshelped to test out
the hotline before it becameoperational and
DOT will use caller feedback in the coming
few weeks to finetune the system for
effective response to disability issues in air travel.A press releaseannouncing the
hotline to the general public should be
issued in a month or two following this consumerfeedback stage.
Vacations
& Travel
SeatGuru.com:
TravelSmart Everett Potter, USA Weekend Magazine, Feb. 4-6, 2005 Bad Seat on a plane? Here’s a solution.
Most major airlines permit you to choose your seat when you’re buying
a ticket online. But apart from telling you whether a seat is open or
occupied, few indicate whether one seat is better than another. That’s
where SeatGuru.comcomes in.This web site shows you the
seat configurations offered by many airlines by aircraft type. It then
singles out particularly good sets like ones with extra leg room due
to the aircraft’s configuration. If you’re on a long-haul flight, that
extra legroom in coach can make a big difference in comfort. And if
you plan to sleep,
SeatGuru.com helps you find a seat that’s well away from the
galleys and lavatories. Business travelers can determine which planes
have laptop power at which seats.But best
yet, SeatGuru.com’s
map of seats uses a color code to single out less-than-desirable
spots. Yellow-colored seats mean “be aware,” either because there’s no
window; room to recline or stretch your legs is limited; or the tray
table is in the armrest, slightly reducing seat width. Red-colored
seats may have very limited legroom or extremely limited recline space
because they are adjacent to a bulkhead or an emergency-exit row.
Featured Website:
Level Travel
- Level Travel's mission is to provide disabled and mature
travelers with the most geographically comprehensive, objective, and
independently assessed accessibility information on travel and tourism
destinations in the United States. Level Travels
aim is to empower these individuals with the resources they need to
make informed travel decisions. By doing so, the company aspires to
level the field for these travelers so they can spend more time
focusing on the purpose of their travel rather than on their
accessibility needs.
Disability
Organizations Worldwide - Disability
organizations abroad may offer volunteer opportunities and may be able
to assist with accommodation arrangements, such as providing referral
to local disability-related resources; locating personal assistants,
sign interpreters and orientation guides; and advising program
participants on accessibility in the host country. Disability
organizations may also be a good resource for finding accessible
housing as their members may already have accessible homes and could
be interested in hosting a person with a disability from another
country.
Free Michigan Vacation: Little Mary's -
This facility is a year round, family oriented, FREE vacation
located in Wellston, Michigan on Crystal Lake. It serves families who
have children with catastrophic, debilitating, life threatening or
terminal illnesses. Families who have lost a child through illness and
terminal adults are welcome.Visit:
http://www.littlemarys.orgfor more information. To apply, visit
http://www.littlemarys.org/application.htm.Little Mary's Hospitality House was established in memory of
three year old Mary Catherine Fischer who died of a terminal brain
tumor in 1982.Remembering the last
wonderful vacation they took with Mary and their eight other children,
the Fischers decided to find a way to provide a memorable vacation for
other families dealing with special needs children.
Little Marys, P. O. Box 27, 1580 Seaman Road,
Wellston, Michigan, 49689,
Phone: 231.848.4699, Fax 231.848.4711,
Toll Free: 866-435-4297
Dr.
Mel Levine: