AUCDigest
December 20, 2006 • Volume 6, Number 68
Oregon Institute on Disability & Development (LEND Program) Therapy Program Becomes First to Receive APTA Credential. The American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) credentialed the OHSU Pediatric Physical Therapy Residency Program and making the program first of its kind in the nation! This is an exciting development as PT residents will participate in LEND activities. Congratulations to Anne Turner, PT, MS, and her colleagues involved in making the recent credentialing site visit a success.
Center for Disabilities and Development (IA LEND) Developing REACH. The University of Iowa is exploring the development of a two year post-secondary REACH (Realizing Educational and Career Hopes) certificate program which will be located the University's College of Education. The program is designed in meeting the transitional needs of students with multiple learning disabilities in an active participating and inclusive university setting. The program focuses on educating the whole person and emphasizing life skills for independent living in the community at large. Courses will be offered to enrolled students career preparation, life skills, socialization, and career placement following graduation. Dr. Dennis C. Harper (LEND Program Director) is the lead person in this developmental effort.
Vanderbilt Kennedy Center (TN UCEDD) Hosted 2nd Annual Hispanic Disability Conference. The conference addressed three topics: Disability Services in the Hispanic Community; Health Care Services for Individuals with Disabilities; and Life-Span Overview (services for prenatal care, preschool education, public school education, and adults). As a result, Nashville Metro Social Services, the Mental Health Association of Middle Tennessee, and Tennessee Disability Pathfinder have collaborated on development of a Web-based Directory of Community Organizations. Criteria for inclusion include the agency having a staff member fluent in Spanish, and disability or social service programs that specifically serve Spanish-speaking families. The database will be expanded to become statewide. A Hispanic disability conference will be held April 5, 2007 in Memphis in conjunction with the Boling Center for Developmental Disabilities (TN UCEDD). For more information, contact Claudia Avila, MSW at 615-322-7830.
Utah Center for Persons with Disabilities' (UCEDD) WebAIM Awarded Grant from Mozilla Foundation. WebAIM was approached by the Mozilla Foundation to provide resources to developers who work on personalized features in Firefox to make the web browser more accessible for persons with disabilities. WebAIM is devoted to making the internet more accessible in many different ways through the development of software, tutorials, technical assistance, policy reforms, consulting work, site retrofitting and design. WebAIM will create accessibility guidelines for developers of extensions to Mozilla's Firefox browser. This will help developers create add-on features that will be accessible to everyone. For more information, contact Dr. Cyndi Rowland at 435-797-3381 about WebAIM.
Montana Rural Institute (UCEDD) Faculty Appointed to Social Security Advisory Board (SSAB). Project Director Marsha Rose Katz, MA was appointed to the SSAB by the United States Senate in November 2006. She was nominated for the position by Montana Senator Max Baucus, incoming Chair of the Senate Finance Committee. The SSAB is an independent, bipartisan board created by Congress and appointed by the President and the Congress to advise the President, the Congress, and the Commissioner of Social Security on matters related to the Social Security and Supplemental Security Income programs. Ms. Katz is also the author of "Don't Look for Logic: An Advocate's Manual for Negotiating the SSI and SSDI Programs," second edition, published by the UCEDD.
New Projects and Activities from the West Virginia Center for Excellence in Disabilities (UCEDD)
- Program Navigator Initiative (DPN). The DPN is a collaborative effort between WORKFORCE West Virginia and the UCEDD. Eleven new staff members, called "Navigators" are housed at the WORKFORCE WV Centers statewide to increase the employment and self-sufficiency of individuals with disabilities.
- UCEDD Receives National Service Inclusion Project (NSIP) Award. NSIP provides training and technical assistance to increase participation of volunteers with disabilities in national and community service. The project focuses these efforts in the area of community-level emergency response. Project partners include the West Virginia Developmental Disabilities Council and the West Virginia Commission for National and Community Service. NSIP is a cooperative agreement between the Corporation for National and Community Service and the Institute for Community Inclusion (MA UCEDD) in collaboration with the Association of University Centers on Disabilities.
- Education and Technical Assistance to End Violence Against Women with Disabilities Project. This project includes the development and implementation of a strategic plan to address the unmet needs of women with disabilities in West Virginia who are victims of sexual violence. Project partners work with state agencies, service providers, community organizations and women with disabilities to identify the unmet needs and to address these needs through training, technical assistance and systems change activities.
- WIPA Grant. The West Virginia Work Incentives, Planning and Assistance Project (WIPA) is one of the newer grants at CED, replacing the Benefits, Planning, Assistance, and Outreach (BPAO) program. The goal of the WIPA project is to serve Social Security beneficiaries with disabilities who want to return to the workforce or start their first job.
- DRS Staff Participating at 2007 Rehabilitation Education Conference. Staffs from the UCEDD, West Virginia Division of Rehabilitation Services (DRS), and the US Department of Education (DOE) have been accepted to present a poster, "Navigating Youth into Adulthood" at the 2007 National Council for Rehabilitation Education Conference in San Diego in February.
For more information, please contact Melina Danko.
Institute on Disabilities (PA UCEDD) Conference Events and Activities
- American Medical Informatics Association. Research scientist Dr. Mary Segal recently presented a poster on Care Giving Burden Responses Differ for Internet and Telephone Data Collection at the 2006 National Conference on Biomedical and Health Informatics in Washington DC. This November event was sponsored by the American Medical Informatics Association. The co-author was Mark Weiner, MD, assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Division of Internal Medicine.
- Striving for Justice II Conference. Criminal Justice Coordinator Beverly L. Frantz, MS presented at the Conference in Cerritos, CA. The presenters focused on Incidence & Prevalence of Victimization of People with Developmental Disabilities. This 2006 October conference was presented by the University of Southern California UCEDD and was partially funded by a grant from State Council on Developmental Disabilities and the Administration on Developmental Disabilities.
- Holiday Art Festival and Sale. The UCEDD sponsored their first Holiday Art Festival and Sale held at Temple Student Activities Center in November. Over 30 vendors participated in selling jewelry, clothing, pottery, glass and much more. According to UCEDD Director, Dr. Diane Bryen, the event was a huge success.
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