Free Training for Foster Parents 

Practical Parenting for Foster Parents and Kinship Caregivers
from Raising Special Kids, presented by professionals in the areas of psychology, kinship, behavioral health, and education.

Saturday - January 29, 2011 7:30 am - 2:00 pm

Registration Begins at 7:30am 

Disability Empowerment Center

5025 E. Washington Street Phoenix, AZ 85034 

Registration required - No childcare

Breakfast and lunch included.

Certificates of attendance provided

To register online: www.raisingspecialkids.org  or call  Raising Special Kids at  602-242-4366 or 800-237-3007 

Info on housing

New series of six FREE trainings with information on housing related issues for persons with disabilities, their families, and professionals on affordable and accessible community living situations for families and their family members with developmental disabilities.

First session titled: "Community Services and Support: What We Have and What We Need". Offered by Arizona Community Living NOW.
Monday, January 24, 2-4pm. 
Each two-hour presentation will be broadcast live via interactive video at the following locations.

  
Locations:

Pima: Abrams Bldg. (east of UPH Kino Hospital and host site) 3950 S. Country Club Rd., Tucson (Room 2102)

Cochise: University of Arizona, South Campus in Sierra Vista Academic Technology Building 1140 N. Colombo Ave., Sierra Vista (Room B138)

Coconino: Flagstaff Medical Center 1200 N. Beaver, Flagstaff (Magee Auditorium)

Yuma: Yuma Regional Medicine Center, Corporate Center 399 West 32nd Street, Yuma (Rooms Kokopelli & Ocotillo)

Maricopa: Disability Empowerment Center 5025 E. Washington Street, Phoenix (Nina Mason Pulliam Conference Ctr.)

RSVP Required: (520) 626-0442 or ucedd@email.arizona.edu
For more information and to view taped sessions, go to http://azcommunitylivingnow.org

Join people with disabilities, their families and providers in a daylong conference addressing life for people with disabilities living along the Arizona/Mexico border.

Sponsored by:  the Sonoran University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities in conjunction with the Arizona DD Network, Arizona Department of Economic Security Division of Developmental Disabilities, and the Southeast Arizona Area Health Education Center

Topics will include: 

• Positive Behavioral Management Strategies
• The Learned Art of Support Giving to individuals with developmental disabilities
• Relationships, Boundaries, and Safety Issues for people with developmental disabilities
• Aging of Individuals with Disabilities, including Help Through Technology

When:  March 4, 2011, 9:00am-4:30pm
 **Optional trip to Nogales, Sonora to visit disability related projects and programs on March 5, 2011

 
Where: The Quality Inn in Nogales, Arizona 85621
Teleconference participation is available in Yuma and Douglas
For more information, please contact the Sonoran UCEDD at (520) 626-0442 or cedd@email.arizona.edu.

Sign up for regular updates and information from Just Vote Arizona on legislative issues related to disability. Join the Action Alert Network to receive legislative updates with information on the Governor's budget and bills that Just Vote Arizona is tracking this session.

Visit http://www.jvadc.org/content/get-involved to sign up, or click on the Advocacy tab to view previous updates and alerts.

Workers could be eligible for a special tax credit ths year and not know it. As a result, they may overlook claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit, or EITC.

Taxpayers have several choices for free help determining their EITC eligibility and claiming the credit. Many Arizona communities have volunteer income tax assistance (VITA) sites. ABIL will have a VITA site at the Disability Empowerment Center (DEC), 5025 E. Washington St. in Phoenix, every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., February 5 through April 18.To locate a VITA site nearest you, call the IRS at 1-800-906-9887 or Community Information and Referral at www.cir.org/tax.  Help also is available at IRS Taxpayer Assistance Centers.  Locations are online at www.irs.gov.
 
"People move into and out of EITC eligibility based on changes in their earnings, their parental status or their marital status," said Amina Kruck, director of advocacy programs for Arizona Bridge to Independent Living (ABIL).  "Many people will qualify for the first time this year due to economic changes in their incomes." Kruck encourages anyone who earned $48,362 or less from wages, self-employment or farming in 2010 to see if they qualify.

For more information, please call (602) 443-0720 or visit www.abil.org.

http://weconnectnow.wordpress.com/
For individuals interested in rights and issues affecting people with disabilities, with particular emphasis on college students and access to higher education and employment issues.Offering resources, links, blogs, news, information on laws and opportunities.

The Department of Justice published four advance notices of proposed rulemaking (ANPRMs) in the Federal Register in July seeking public comment on the topics addressed by these fact sheets. Comments will be accepted until January 24, 2011 on the following topics:

• Accessibility of Web Information and Services Provided by Entities Covered by the ADA
• Movie Captioning and Video Description
• Accessibility of Next Generation 9-1-1
• Equipment and Furniture

Visit http://www.ada.gov/anprm2010/anprm2010.htm to submit comments on the Advance Notices of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRMs)

The Arizona Autism Coalition has posted a website to serve as a forum for questions and comments. Subjects include:

• Steven's Law and autism insurance reform
• Birth-adulthood resource guide for individuals with autism spectrum disorder
• Best practice standards
• ALTCS PAS instrument.

You do not have to be a member of the Arizona Autism Coalition to participate in this blog.
http://azautismworkgroup.org/

Links to information about accessible air travel for people who use wheelchairs and other mobility aids. Includes information about the Air Carrier Access Act, tips for transferring and lifting a passenger, security screening and procedures for filing complaints.
http://www.disability.gov/transportation/accessible_transportation/air 

March 9-10, 2011 (two-day conference)

Disability Empowerment Center, 5025 E Washinton, Phoenix 85034