EMPLOYMENT
11/16/2023
Disability in Iowa: Working Together!
In early November, the Center for Disabilities and Development (CDD), home to Iowa's UCEDD, LEND program, and IDDRC, teamed up with our sister organization, the Iowa Developmental Disabilities Council, to host "Disability in Iowa: Working Together." Iowa's state legislators were invited to CDD for a learning session to increase their awareness of the work we do on behalf of Iowans with disabilities, and to help them understand more about the experience of living with a disability, including the challenges of access to supports and services.
11/15/2023
JFK Partners' Colorado Office of Employment First Celebrates National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) with Development of Video Minis
October was National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) which commemorates the many contributions of people with disabilities to America's workplaces and economy. This year's theme, "Advancing Access and Equity," recognized the importance of ensuring all people have equal opportunity to contribute their skills and talents to our workforce.
10/20/2023
Episode 20 of BoggsCast Now Available: Inclusion and Employment Advocacy with Wendy Lacey
The Boggs Center is excited to share the latest episode of BoggsCast, a podcast where faculty and staff explore best practice, showcase success stories, and help listeners envision possibilities for innovation through interviews with state and national experts.
9/20/2023
Turner Appointed to Kentucky Employment First Council by Governor Beshear
In 2020, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear signed an executive order to create the Kentucky Employment First Council, which helps people with disabilities find meaningful employment. Morgan Turner, HDI Project Assistant, has accepted a position as Vice Chair on that council.
8/11/2023
USM Initiative Expands Education, Career Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities
A collaborative effort at The University of Southern Mississippi (USM) between its Institute for Disability Studies (IDS) and School of Interdisciplinary Studies and Professional Development (ISPD) is opening doors to higher education and job training for individuals who previously had limited or no access to such opportunities. The Reaching, Including, Supporting and Educating (RISE) To The Top! Certificate is a four-year, eight-semester inclusive college program incorporating academics and employment preparation, leading to a certificate upon completion, for persons with intellectual disabilities.
7/20/2023
2024 Call for Presentation Proposals - 39th Pacific Rim International Conference on Disability and Diversity
The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa's Center on Disability Studies, in the College of Education, is accepting presentation proposals for the 39th Annual Pacific Rim International Conference on Disability and Diversity, February 27-28, 2024 in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi. Submissions are being accepted until October 1, 2023 with a preferred submission date of September 15th at http://go.hawaii.edu/na2.
7/19/2023
iGROW Program with the Center on Disability and Development at Texas A&M University Works with Several Rural Businesses to Employ Students
The "I Generate Rural Opportunities for Work" (iGROW) Project is a four-year pre-employment and leadership-training program in partnership (funded by) with TWC's Vocational Rehabilitation Program, for students with disabilities who are currently enrolled in middle school and high school (ages 14-22). This summer several students were selected to work with a rural business that interested them. The purpose of the program is to provide a training environment to support students with disabilities to gain the necessary skills and experiences in work readiness in order to successfully transition into postsecondary education and/or competitive integrated employment.
7/19/2023
PATHS Program Welcomes 14 New Students in the Summer Session
The Summer session for the PATHS Program included cooking classes. Students shopped for the ingredients and worked together in the Hullabaloo dorm kitchens to prepare the meals to share. For many students this is their first time away from home, so the students worked hard and had a great time with different art activities focused on improving their self-advocacy skills.
7/19/2023
Work-Based Learning with the Center on Disability and Development at Texas A&M University Spotlight
Joshua ISD's work-based learning project recently created balloon centerpieces that were featured at two end of the school year events. They provided decorations for the annual HOSA banquet and the district end of year banquet. Joshua's WBL project creates a variety of balloon center pieces and other balloon party decorations. This project has a special focus on adaptive equipment, so all students are able to contribute.
6/20/2023
UNH and Kessler Foundation Report out on NTIDE May 2023: COVID-19 Lockdown's Impact on Visually Disabled Employment
New data show that while individuals with visual disabilities were slow to recover employment because of the effects of the COVID-2019 lockdown, they have made headway, depending on their level of disability, almost meeting their pre-pandemic levels. Possible reasons for their slower recovery include major safety concerns due to the shortage of personal protective equipment, less access to vaccines, and their vulnerability to severe consequences of COVID, according to experts speaking during last month's nTIDE Deeper Dive Lunch & Learn Webinar.
4/14/2023
Iowa Works Together to Address the DSP Workforce Shortage
Recently, our UCEDD joined our sister agency, the Iowa Developmental Disabilities Council, and other organizations, including the Iowa Association of Community Partners, Iowa Caregivers Association, ASK Resource Center, Iowa Vocational Rehabilitation Serves and Iowa Workforce Development, to develop a new recruiting tool. "A Job That Matters: Learn How You Could Become a Direct Support Professional" is publication that features a series of stories about the job, the people who need supports and services to live in the community, and the people who do these jobs in different ways. The publication was recently inserted into local Sunday newspapers and is being circulated electronically throughout the state to build awareness and support DSP recruitment.
4/13/2023
PATHS Student Highlights at Texas A&M Unviersity
The PATHS Program is an inclusive, two-year, certificate training program designed to prepare students, with and without disabilities, for a career as a Direct Support Professional - General, who will work with the elderly or people with disabilities in the community; as a Direct Support Professional - Paraprofessional who will work in school districts and other educational settings; or as a Child Care Professional who will work with children, ages birth to five years old in a daycare setting.
3/17/2023
Release of the Annual Disability Statistics Collection
On February 7, 2023, StatsRRTC at the Institute on Disability released key findings from the Annual Disability Statistics Collection. The annual report addresses critical gaps in national and state data related to people with disabilities by synthesizing complex data from numerous U.S. federal agencies into accessible formats.
3/16/2023
UCLA PEERS for Careers: Breaking Employment Barriers for Autistic Adults
There will be an estimated 700,000 autistic adults aging into adulthood over the next 10 years and yet, a staggering 80% of autistic adults are unemployed. UCLA PEERS� for Careers is an innovative offering to support autistic undergraduate and graduate students in successfully transitioning from post-secondary education to the workforce.
3/15/2023
Innovative Transition Age Youth Curriculum Launched by JFK Partners' Colorado Office of Employment First
The Colorado Office of Employment First (COEF) and JFK Partners, the University Center for Excellence on Developmental Disabilities at the University of Colorado, is proud to announce a partnership with the Colorado Developmental Disabilities Council (CDDC) that launched a new statewide training, "A Brighter Future: Navigating the World of Disability and Employment."