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Vol. 7, No. 4: May 2008

In This Issue

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INFORMATION AND RESOURCES

New URLs added this month: www.fdwc.info (employment); www.nyln.org (youth).

NEWS

2008 NEW FREEDOM INITIATIVE AWARD NOMINATIONS CLOSE ON MAY 30: To nominate a private employer, a service provider or an individual for this prestigious U.S. Department of Labor recognition, read the Federal Register announcement at www.dol.gov/odep/regs/fedreg/notices/20080129.htm.

HISTORIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES FORUM PLANNED: NCIL, AAPD, ACCSES, ADAPT, AFB, AUCD, Epilepsy Foundation, NSCIA, Ohio Olmstead Task Force, SABE, UCP, VSA arts, United Spinal Association, and the Ohio Disability Vote Coalition are partnering to sponsor an historic Presidential Candidates Forum in Columbus, Ohio, on Saturday, July 26, 2008, at Veterans Memorial from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. Information is available at www.aapd.com.

GRANTS, SCHOLARSHIPS, INTERNSHIPS AND OTHER FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

CDRF QUALITY OF LIFE GRANTS: The Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation (CDRF) awards grants in 13 categories, including health promotion, employment, sports and recreation, and advocacy, to fund programs across the globe that help people with paralysis become more fully integrated members of society. Grants that focus on improving the health of individuals are funded through a cooperative agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For more information, go to www.christopherreeve.org.THE WASHINGTON CENTER FOR INTERNSHIPS AND ACADEMIC SEMINARS (TWC): This prestigious educational nonprofit organization, entering its 30th year, offers an academic program combined with internships in Washington, D.C. They offer a fully inclusive program, including accessible housing. To learn more about the program, visit www.twc.edu.

AAPD-ADMINISTERED SUMMER INTERNSHIPS FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES: AAPD administers two prestigious internships. One is funded by the Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation and places students in congressional offices in Washington, D.C. The second, funded by Microsoft, is for students majoring in information technology and accepted candidates will work in various agencies in the executive branch of the federal government. For details visit AAPD’s Web site at www.aapd.com.

AAAS SPONSORS ENTRY POINT! ENTRY POINT!, a program of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, offers internship opportunities for college students with disabilities in science, engineering, mathematics, computer science and some fields of business. To learn more about this program, visit http://ehrweb.aaas.org/entrypoint/.

EMERGING LEADERS INTERNSHIPS: This program, launched and funded by the international consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton, is administered by the National Business & Disability Council and provides internships for college students with disabilities. These internships are located in several geographic locations and with a wide range of companies. For details, visit their site at www.emerging-leaders.com.

WORKFORCE RECRUITMENT PROGRAM: The WRP’s stellar database of individually interviewed and prescreened college and university students with disabilities is available to meet your summer or permanent workforce needs. This pipeline program is co-sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor and the Department of Defense. If you are affiliated with a federal agency, go to www.wrp.gov. If you are not, you may request a search by contacting the Employer Assistance and Recruiting Network (EARN) at www.earnworks.com.

CAREER GATEWAY: A Web-based service of Career Opportunities for Students with Disabilities (COSD) for employers and graduating college and university students where students can post their resumes and employers can search for qualified candidates. For information, go to www.cosdonline.org.

SCHOLARSHIP FOR GRADUATING SENIORS WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES: The National Center for Learning Disabilities annual awards the Ann Ford Scholarship of $10,000 to an outstanding high school senior with a learning disability who is committed to completing a college degree. For information, visit www.ncld.org.

PUBLICATIONS, MEDIA RESOURCES AND RELEASES

ACCESS GUIDES: The 2007–2008 Washington, DC, Access Guide and 2007-2008 New York City Access Guide are available. For details, visit www.DisabilityGuide.org.

NEW ONLINE EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT GUIDE: The National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research recently released a new online publication: Emergency Management Research and People With Disabilities: A Resource Guide. It is available on several Web sites:

  • http://www.ed.gov/rschstat/research/pubs
  • http://www.ncddr.org/new/announcements.html
  • http://www.naric.com/public/pubs.cfm and at
  • http://www.icdr.us/.

CONFERENCES, EVENTS, MEETINGS AND COURSES

NATIONAL ADA SYMPOSIUM: The National ADA Symposium is an annual three-day conference on the Americans with Disabilities Act and related disability laws. The 2008 Symposium & EXPO/Assistive Technology Fair will be held May 12-14, 2008 in St. Louis, MO, at America’s Center. For information, go to www.adasymposium.org.CONFERENCE ON SELF-DETERMINATION: On May 27-29, 2008, at the Detroit Marriott Renaissance Center, the International Conference on Self-Determination will feature panel discussions and roundtables organized by topic with a diversity of moderators and cross-disability panel members. Each session is organized across disabilities. Visit www.self-determination.com.

APSE 19TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE: The Winners Cup …Everybody Works! Everybody Wins! This year’s conference takes place from July 9 -11, 2008 in Louisville, KY. The APSE conference is exclusively focused on employment of people with significant disabilities in the community, and is the forum for sharing knowledge and expertise on the latest developments and innovations in the field with APSE members from across the country. This year’s conference will have nine theme tracks: www.apse.org.

2008 NCIL ANNUAL CONFERENCE: The National Council on Independent Living will hold its Annual Conference, “Time for Change … Use Your Power,” from July 21 – 24, 2008, at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Washington, D.C. Information on the conference, including sponsorship and exhibit opportunities, can be found on their Web site at www.ncil.org.

FLORIDA DMD KICKOFF & CAREER FAIR: The Able Trust and the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation will hold its annual Disability Mentoring Day (DMD) Statewide Kickoff Celebration and Career Fair for students with disabilities. This signature event will take place on October 2, 2008, at the Rosen Centre Hotel in Orlando. For details, visit their Web site at www.abletrust.org.

WHERE IS THE JAN ANNUAL CONFERENCE: Looking for information about the annual Job Accommodation Network (JAN) Conference? 2008 brings about a change in the type of conference training JAN will offer. JAN is joining forces with the U.S. Business Leadership Network (USBLN) to offer a JAN SuperTrack at the USBLN’s 2008 conference in Portland, OR, October 5-8, 2008. Conference details and information about how to register will be available on the JAN Web site in the near future at www.jan.wvu.org.

USBLN® ANNUAL CONFERENCE: The USBLN Annual Conference & Career Fair will be held at the Marriott Portland from October 5-8, 2008, in Portland, OR. Additional information will be on their Web site at www.usbln.org.

JAN/USBLN WEBCAST SERIES: The Job Accommodation Network and USBLN have teamed up for the 2008 series. These educational sessions are held the second Tuesday of the month at 2 p.m. Eastern (with the exception of May.) For details, go to www.jan.wvu.edu/webcast/.

ACCESSIBLE TRANSPORTATION TRAINING SCHEDULE: People on the Move: Using All Transportation Options (ADA and Beyond…) is a free “train-the-trainer” initiative to increase accessible transportation in local communities. Training courses started in February 2008 and continue through July 2010. Locations are San Diego; New Orleans; Washington, D.C.; Bloomington, IN; and Eugene, OR. For details, go to http://projectaction.easterseals.com/site/PageServer?pagename=ESPA_people_move&autologin=true&JServSessionIdr009=53bbjymya1.app28a.

ONLINE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT COURSES: Online courses from experts in Disability, Workplace & Employment Support Practice are now available from the Employment and Disability Institute (EDI) at Cornell University’s ILR School. These are online professional development courses and certificate programs in Disability, Workplace & Employment Support Practice. Each course consists of interactive multimedia presentations and downloadable PowerPoint course materials: www.ilr.cornell.edu/edi/.

WINDMILLS: The nationally recognized training program WINDMILLS has recently been updated and is distributed exclusively by Damon Brooks Associates. For information, visit their Web site at www.DamonBrooks.com.

DOJ ON-LINE COURSE ON REACHING THE DISABILITY MARKET: The U.S. Department of Justice’s Disability Rights Section’s has an online course for businesses, “Reaching Out to Customers with Disabilities.” The course explains how the ADA applies to businesses in ten short lessons. Putting these lessons into practice enables businesses to both comply with the ADA and attract the disability market. The course is at www.ada.gov/reachingout/intro1.htm.

SPORTS & RECREATION: Disabled Sports USA offers sports and recreation opportunities to people with disabilities at 85 chapters throughout the United States. This includes the “Wounded Warrior Disabled Sports Project”, a program for the service men and women injured in recent conflicts overseas. For more information, a chapter listing and calendar of events, visit www.disabledsportsusa.org.

AT YOUR SERVICE: WELCOMING CUSTOMERS WITH DISABILITIES: A free, accessible, self-paced Web course for people interested in discovering best practices for working with customers who have disabilities. This course has recently been revised and expanded in response to requests from more than 10,000 participants who have taken the course. It was funded with federal dollars for training local public customer service representatives, but has been found to be a valuable training tool for the private sector. Check it out at www.wiawebcourse.org.

WEB-BASED EMPLOYMENT TRAINING AND PLACEMENT COURSES: TRN, Inc., offers a variety of Web-based courses such as Job Coaching, Career Development, and Marketing and Job Development. For information, visit disabilityfunders.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=8207&qid=6713.