AUCDigest

May 8, 2006 • Volume 6, Number 61

RESOURCES

Network Related Resources

Brighter Tomorrows: Supporting Families with Accurate Information about Down Syndrome. The Interdisciplinary Human Development Institute (KY UCEDD) recently released Brighter Tomorrows, an interactive CD designed to teach physicians how to provide families of children with Down syndrome accurate and supportive information about their child at the point of initial diagnosis. This teaching tool, funded as part of an RTOI project under the AUCD-NCBDDD cooperative agreement, includes two interactive cases studies (after birth and in utero diagnoses) and is complete with real-life stories of how families were informed; physician stories of how they were able to give the news to families in positive and supportive ways; life glimpses of individual children and young adults that cover a range of ages, activities, and accomplishments; and a resources feature.  For additional information or a copy of the Brighter Tomorrows, please contact Carol Lunney (859-257-4460) or Harold Kleinert (859-257-3045).

 Information on Mobile Technology Available.  The National Center on Disability and Access to Education within the Center for Persons with Disabilities (UCEDD) held their ninth audio webcast “Mobile Education and Access for Students with Disabilities” on April 26th. This broadcast dealt with the problems that students who are hearing, visually or otherwise impaired face when mobile technology (such as cell phones or PDA’s) is used in the classroom for instruction.  The broadcast can be heard at the NCDAE website and transcripts soon will also be available.

 

New NCCC Web Feature on Language Access from Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development (DC UCEDD).   The National Center for Cultural Competence knows that dealing with interpretation and translation are challenges that we all face as the linguistic diversity of our country is growing. This feature is a list of frequently asked questions about the whats, whys and hows of providing language access for the individuals and families you serve. Visit the Language Access Resource Page.

A.J. Pappanikou Center (CT UCEDD) School-Age Projects Resources

• The Student Technical Assistance Response (STAR) Team is a project that provides technical assistance to individual educational planning teams to increase access to the general education curriculum for students with intellectual disabilities. The project is funded by the Connecticut State Department of Education as part of the settlement agreement in the P.J. v. State of Connecticut class action suit, settled in 2001. The STAR project has responded to 54 referrals since November, 2005.  More information can be found on the STAR project website or by contacting the Project Director Kathleen Whitbread at 860-679-1565. 
• The Connecticut Coaches Academy , a graduate-level training course for educators, has also been funded by the Connecticut State Department of Education in response to the PJ settlement agreement. The course is designed to train inclusion facilitators/ coaches and includes a job embedded mentorship that takes place in participants’ classrooms.  Since November 2005, 108 participants from 12 Connecticut school districts, including special educators, general educators and administrators, have enrolled in the course, which will be completed in May 2006. For more information, see the Connecticut Coaches project website or by contacting the Project Director Kathleen Whitbread at 860-679-1565.

New Products and Resources from WY UCEDD’s Victims of Crime with Disabilities Resource Guide.  Every month, new products and services are added to the Wyoming Institute for Disabilities (UCEDD) Resources Database.  Conduct a quick search and review the following resources:

• A Preliminary Study of the Association Between Self-Injury and Sexual Abuse in Persons with Developmental Handicaps
• Abuse and Neglect of Children And Adults With Developmental Disabilities CD-Rom 
• Crime Victimization in Adults with Severe Mental Illness: Comparison with the National Crime Victimization Survey
• Escaping from Abuse: Unique Issues for Women with Disabilities
• Intimate and Caregiver Violence Against Women with Disabilities
• Invalidation: A Central Process Underlying Maltreatment of Women with Disabilities
• Power and Control Wheel - Abuse of People with Developmental Disabilities by a Caregiver
• Violence Against Women with Disabilities - Final Report 

 

 Resources from NCSET Partners/ Institute on Community Integration (MN UCEDD)

• Impact: Feature Issue on Children with Disabilities in the Child Welfare System (Newsletter).  This issue of Impact examines the presence and needs of children with disabilities in the child welfare system. When children with disabilities and their families become involved with the child welfare system—with child protective services and/or permanency services—the child welfare system is often unsure how best to serve them.
• School Behavior and Disciplinary Experiences of Youth with Disabilities (Fact Sheet).  Although most secondary-school-age youth with disabilities behave appropriately at school, this document from the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 reports that 20-40% exhibit problem behaviors, including not controlling behavior and arguing with others. One-third of students with disabilities have experienced disciplinary actions, such as suspensions, expulsions, referrals to the principal’s office, and detentions, and students with disabilities are more likely than their peers in the general population to have faced such actions.
• Uneven Transparency: NCLB Tests Take Precedence in Public Assessment Reporting for Students with Disabilities (Report).  This report marks the National Center on Educational Outcomes’ (NCEO) eighth analysis of the public reporting of state assessment results for students with disabilities.  States are gradually improving their public reporting practices; the report explains how states can further improve. A growing number of students with disabilities are becoming proficient on statewide math and reading tests, but NCEO still found large performance gaps between them and students without disabilities, gaps which tended to be wider at higher grades.   

Research Based Studies

 

Approaches to Child Protection Case Management.  Researchers in Minnesota have been examining the delivery of child protection services by county child protection agencies involving cases with a family member with a disability.  Using telephone surveys, 89% of the child protection agencies in a Midwestern state were asked about the policies and/or procedures for approaching cases involving a person with a disability and the barriers and strengths agencies have in serving people with disabilities.  While few county agencies had any written policies, researchers found that both formal and informal collaboration is happening at the individual level.  The lack of standardization in providing services indicated a need for more attention to issues regarding disability within child protection services.  Citation: Lightfoot, E. and LaLiberte, T. (2006). Approaches to child protection case management for cases involving people with disabilities. Child Abuse & Neglect, 30, 381–391.

 

Study Shows People with Mental Illness are Victimized at an Alarming Rate.  Researchers from the Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University set out to determine the prevalence and incidence of crime victimization among persons with severe mental illness and to compare crime rates for this group with general population data available in the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS). The study used a randomly selected, stratified sample of 936 patients aged 18 or older and compared data on this group with the data taken from participants in the NCVS.   Using this information, researchers found that that the annual incidence of violent crime in the sample of people with severe mental illness was more than 4 times higher than the general population. Additionally, depending on the type of violent crime (rape/sexual assault, robbery, assault, and their subcategories), prevalence was 6 to 23 times greater among persons with severe mental illness. Citation:  Teplin, L., et al. (2005). Crime victimization in adults with severe mental illness: Comparison with the national crime victimization survey. Archives of General Psychiatry, 62, 911–921.

Other Resources

 

May is Mental Health Month.  This 50 year tradition, which helps improve the lives of millions of Americans every year, promotes mental wellness and overall health in your community. The theme for this year’s observance is MIND Your Health, which focuses on the mind-body connection. The National Mental Health Association offers materials that give practical tips that people of all ages and backgrounds can use to help balance everyday stresses, increase their awareness of mental health issues, and improve their overall health.  Two products of interest include the 2006 Mental Health Month Messages and Fast Facts.

Celebrate Older Americans Month.  Pay tribute to the older Americans in your community! During the month of May, communities across the country will hold ceremonies, events, fairs, and other activities to honor the contribution of older persons.  The theme for Older Americans Month 2006 is "Choices For Independence".  Visit the Administration on Aging for more information and to download marketing materials.
 

Children with Disabilities and LEP Students: Their impact on the AYP determinations of schools (No Child Left Behind Commission Research Report).  This report indicates that neither ELL students nor students with disabilities are likely to be the reason why schools fail to meet Annual Yearly Progress (AYP).  This report should be really helpful in dispelling a widely held belief that students with disabilities keep schools from meeting AYP. 

New Doctoral Program in Culturally Responsive Special Education.  Arizona State University and the University of Arizona are seeking applications for a joint PhD program in Special Education with an emphasis on culturally responsive education for students with learning disabilities or emotional/behavioral disorders.  Students who are accepted into the program will receive support including a tuition waiver, research or teaching assistantship stipend, conference travel support, books, and health insurance.  Review the Informational Flier for further details.

 

Reports Explore Long-Term Care Issues Included in the Deficit Reduction Act.  The Deficit Reduction Act (DRA) of 2005, which became law this February, includes several significant changes to Medicaid long-term care policies. The Kaiser Family Foundation's Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured released five new reports on long-term care issues that were addressed by the DRA changes:

• Medicaid Long-Term Services Reforms in the Deficit Reduction Act
• Asset Transfer and Nursing Home Use: Empirical Evidence and Policy Significance
• Beyond Cash and Counseling: An Inventory of Individual Budget-based Community Long-Term Care Programs
• Nursing Home Transition Programs: Perspectives of State Medicaid Officials
• Home Transition Programs: Perspectives of Medicaid Care Planners

New Project Forum Documents from NASDS.  The National Association of State Directors of Special Education, Inc. offers a series of In-Brief Policy Analyses synthesizes three sections of the State and Local Implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (SLIIDEA) report and provides implications for policy:

• Increasing the Use of Positive Approaches for Addressing Behavioral Issues of Students with IEPs
• Placing and Serving Children with Disabilities in the LRE
• Increasing Involvement of Parents of Children with Disabilities

   

 

Reports, Guides & Briefs

• Medicare Trustees Release Annual Report.  The 2006 Medicare Trustees Report shows that Medicare’s financial outlook declined slightly, compared to last year’s estimate.  HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt said the report points to the need to quickly and efficiently build on the reforms provided by the Medicare Modernization Act (MMA) to strengthen and improve Medicare, along with the steps proposed in the President’s budget to address Medicare's fiscal health.
• Maximizing Productivity: Accommodations for Employees with Psychiatric Disabilities (Guide).  Not all employees with psychiatric disabilities need accommodations to perform their jobs.  For those who do, it is important to remember that the process of developing and implementing accommodations is individualized and should begin with input from the employee. Accommodations vary, just as people's strengths, work environments and job duties vary.
• IDEA Parent Guide.  The National Center for Learning Disabilities has created an online guide to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in order to explain the federal laws that underpin special education in every state.
• Benefits, Limitations, and Emerging Research Needs in Treating Youth with Depression (Conference Report). In February 2006, experts in child and adolescent depression met to review the state of the science of the treatment of youth depression and discuss approaches to further research. The main aims of the meeting were to: 1) review the evidence for benefits and risks of existing treatment interventions for children and adolescents with depressive disorders; 2) identify important knowledge gaps in need of further research; and 3) discuss approaches to future research with respect to design, methods, and implementation. 
• What Consumers and Researchers Say About Research (Technical Brief).  The National Center for the Dissemination of Disability Research (NCDDR) and the Research Utilization Support and Help (RUSH) project at the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory conducted two studies in 2005 with different audiences in order to learn more about their perceptions of research and how best to get information to diverse groups of end users.  
• Positive Outcomes: A Provider's Guide to Active Treatment.  A user-friendly manual that promotes better understanding and implementation of active treatment by providers, this resource provides: An introduction to the survey process and the regulatory requirements; Helps your staff better understand the ICF/MR regulations; Offers design guidance for an internal quality assurance system enabling the achievement of positive outcomes for the individuals you support.
• National Conference on State Legislatures (NCSL) Dental Workforce (Report).  Ensuring that all citizens have the opportunity to maintain good oral health depends on the number, diversity and geographical distribution of dentists in the field.  The dental workforce has been plagued by problems in these areas, however, and the number of dentists in every state will severely decline by 2020.

Various Resources

• ODEP Updates.  Receive the latest news and updates from the Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) at the U.S. Department of Labor by signing up for their electronic newsletter (at the bottom of the ODEP home page).  ODEP provides national leadership by developing and influencing disability-related employment policy and practice affecting the employment of people with disabilities.
• CMS Launches Resources on Retention of Direct Support Workers Database. The web portal is meant for any government or not-for-profit organization, employer, or professional seeking information on direct care workforce issues. Department of Labor Releases Free Database on College Students with Disabilities who are Ready for 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.  ODEP, in cooperation with the Department of Defense, is offering the database of job seekers through its Workforce Recruitment Program.  To request a free copy of the entire WRP database on CD-ROM, send your name, company name and mailing address to [email protected].
• Updates Data on Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services, Hospital Expenses, Infant Mortality Rates, and Unemployment (Statehealthfacts.org).  New information on recent state activity in developing new models of community-based long term care for elderly Medicaid beneficiaries is now available.  Updated data on infant mortality rates by race/ethnicity are also available.  Unemployment rates for all states and the have been updated to March 2006.  Other recent updates include state-by-state total expenses incurred by hospitals and expenses by hospital ownership type. 
• Summer Pre-College Programs for Students with Disabilities 2006 (List).  The HEATH Resource Center at The George Washington University has compiled this list of pre-college summer programs for students with disabilities to help them prepare for college and enhance college performance. Campus disability support providers report that students who receive some preview of the college experience tend to manage the first year with fewer adjustment problems.

New Websites

Systems of Care.  The Child, Adolescent, and Family Branch of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has a new Web site. The site provides information about the mental health of children, youth, and families, as well as information about systems of care, an approach to services that recognizes the importance of family, school, and community, and seeks to promote the full potential of every child and youth by addressing his/her physical, emotional, intellectual, cultural, and social needs.

DisabilityPreparedness.gov.  This website from the Federal government provides practical information to help people with and without disabilities prepare for emergencies.  It also provides information for their family members and service providers, as well as for emergency planners and first responders.

National Association of State Head Injury Administrators.  The National Association of State Head Injury Administrators (NASHIA) assists state governments in promoting partnerships and building systems to meet the needs of individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and their families.

Project Forum.  Our aim is to facilitate improved services to children and youth with disabilities by gathering and sharing information that supports changes to policy and practice at the national, state and local levels.

National Center for Learning Disabilities.  The National Center for Learning Disabilities has just launched an innovative, on-line guide to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which is designed to explain the federal laws that underpin special education in every state.  Although created primarily for parents, the guide is also a valuable source of information – in accessible language – for classroom teachers who may not have a background in special education.  

Brookes online Disabilities Dictionary.

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