"Putting Abilities to Work" DisABILITY Employment Awareness Training will be held in Helena May 24, 2012. Disable myths about people with disabilities and learn to put their Abilities to work! Discover ways to attract, hire, welcome and retain employees with disabilities. Whether you are a hiring manager, HR professional, disability service provider, legal staff or a person with a disability this conference is for you. There is a $50 registration fee, which includes continental breakfast and lunch.

Register now for a nearby session of Montana Medicaid for Workers with Disabilities:  The Last Piece of the Puzzle in Supporting Return to Work. This free, all-day workshop will be held in Billings on June 5th, Great Falls on June 7th, and Missoula June 8th. The Montana Medicaid for Workers with Disabilities Program began in July of 2010.   This program is the final important piece of a system of public benefits work incentives that encourage individuals with disabilities to obtain employment.   During this training, presenters will review the key Social Security and healthcare work incentives with a particular emphasis on how the new Montana Medicaid for Workers with Disabilities fits into this larger system. The registration deadline is May 25, 2012. Interested individuals are asked to register for one of the following locations:

GREAT FALLS

MISSOULA

The Summer Jobs+ Bank is a new online search tool to help connect young people to jobs, internships, mentorships and other employment opportunities.

In March 2012, the Knowledge Translation for Employment Research Center published Benefits of Supported Employment for Workers with Intellectual Disabilities [PDF]. This technical brief summarizes the findings of The National Cost-Efficiency of Supported Employees with Intellectual Disabilities: The Worker's Perspective research.

The Office of Disability Employment Policy recently launched the Employment First State Leadership Mentor Program to help states align their policies and priorities to promote community-based, integrated employment. Iowa, Oregon and Tennessee were selected as prot�g� states and Washington State will serve as their mentor.

Gov. John Kasich of Ohio has issued an executive order [PDF] creating an Employment First policy for the state. The order states, "Community employment shall be the priority and the preferred outcome for working-age Ohioans with disabilities" and applies to the state departments of Developmental Disabilities, Mental Health and Education; the Rehabilitation Services Commission; and school districts. The order also creates a Governor's Employment First Taskforce (EFT) "to collaborate, coordinate and improve employment outcomes for working-age adults with developmental disabilities."

Beyond Segregated and Exploited: Update on the Employment of People with Disabilities [PDF], a new report from the National Disability Rights Network, provides an update to the organization's 2011 report Segregated and Exploited: The Failure of the Disability Service System to Provide Quality Work [PDF] on the failure of the disability service system to provide quality work. According to Curt Decker, NDRN Executive Director, "The following update to our report details the work started over the past year and examines further how federal policies are contributing to the segregation and exploitation of workers with disabilities. We are proud of the work that has been accomplished this past year but there is much still to do. Indeed we are only just beginning. Only 20% of people with disabilities are in the workforce with over 400,000 of them stuck in sheltered workshops earning on average only $175 per month. Few receive health care or the other benefits typical of the average American worker. And because of the nature of segregated work - in which workers with disabilities are isolated and hidden away - there continues to be instances of exploitation, abuse and neglect. This must end. Now."

Effective Training for Employment Consultants: Job Development and Support Strategies [PDF], an Institute for Community Inclusion Brief, summarizes the key elements of a training and support approach for Employment Consultants. Key elements include focused training content, a variety of training formats and delivery methods, and on-the-job mentoring.

The 2010-2011 National Survey of Community Rehabilitation Providers Report 1: Overview of Services, Trends and Provider Characteristics [PDF] is a Research to Practice brief from the Institute for Community Inclusion. The brief presents findings on people with disabilities who are served in employment and non-work settings by community rehabilitation providers (CRPs).

Looking ahead to the summer months, the Forest Service has announced that thousands of temporary seasonal jobs will be available and now is the time for interested individuals to apply. These jobs will be part of the President's White House Summer Jobs+ initiative to provide pathways to employment for low-income and disconnected youth.

The Workforce Recruitment Program has developed a series of videos addressing topics that will help young people with disabilities navigate the job search process. The videos feature young professionals that either have disabilities themselves or work with college students with disabilities.

On April 16, 2012, Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced the establishment of the Administration for Community Living within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. This reorganization brings together the Administration on Aging, the Office on Disability, and the Administration on Developmental Disabilities. The agency will work with states, localities, the nonprofit sector, businesses and families to help seniors and people with developmental and other disabilities to live in their homes and fully participate in their communities.

The 2011 Annual Disability Statistics Compendium [PDF] is now available from the Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Disability Statistics and Demographics.

The National Council on Disability recently released Exploring New Paradigms for the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act, a supplement to their 2011 publication Rising Expectations: The Developmental Disabilities Act Revisited. The supplement offers specific recommendations for aligning systems and statutes both within and outside the scope of the DD Act.

The April 16th NCWD/Youth's blog Making the Most of College Visits offers tips and resources for young adults considering post-secondary education.

The April 17, 2012 issue of the Special Ed Advocate shares information about planning for, selecting and financing post-secondary education.

Transition of Students With Disabilities To Postsecondary Education: A Guide for High School Educators is available from the U.S. Department of Education web site. The guide answers frequently asked questions about the transition to higher education.

Disability Employment Policy - What Are We Missing? is a blog by Paul Hippolitus, Director, Disabled Students' Program, Equity & Inclusion, University of California, Berkeley. Here is an excerpt from the blog: "During my first few weeks at Berkeley, I embarked on a quest to ask every student with a disability I met the question, 'What's your career goal?' I couldn't wait to hear about their lofty goals, serious plans and impressive ambitions. Much to my chagrin, the response I most often got (about 99 percent of the time) was the student casting their eyes to the ground and saying, 'I'm not sure, I guess I'll go on to graduate schools; or, law school; or medical school.'" "They candidly told me that they felt they had to stay in school as long as possible because they were afraid that when their school years ended, they would be forced to spend the rest of their lives at home, on disability benefits, watching TV, because they were sure no one would hire them."

Got Transition's latest Issue Brief, Guardianship and Alternatives for Decision-Making Support [PDF], describes a number of decision-making supports and provides links to important resources to assist young adults with intellectual disabilities.

Engaging Youth in Work Experiences [PDF] is a September 2011 Innovative Strategies Practice Brief from the National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth (NCWD/Youth). The brief provides practical examples and resources used by promising and exemplary youth programs engaging young people in work experiences.

The March 2012 Practice Brief [PDF] from the National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability/Youth provides a wealth of practical examples and resources to engage youth in career exploration. Some types of career exploration activities include career-related guest speakers, workplace visits and tours, job shadowing, career fairs and career days, and career-focused mentoring.

The National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth published two interesting blogs in March 2012: The People in Your Neighborhood: Utilizing All Your Community Resources for Youth and The Role of Occupational Therapists in Supporting Youth Transitioning at Work.

The State of Washington has developed and posted four Transition Booklets: Going From Teen to Tween;  Your Life, Your Health, Your Way;  Young Adults Transition Plan: Your Future/Your Life; and Planning for a Healthy Transition: A Family Transition Plan.

The National High School Center has released the College and Career Development Organizer [PDF]. This resource synthesizes college and career readiness initiatives.

The Alliance for Health Reform has released six videos summarizing provisions of the Affordable Care Act for various audiences. One of the videos addresses health care reforms for young adults [Video].

The OCALI Transition to Adulthood Guidelines for Individuals with ASD has been formatted into a series of free web-based booklets. Each booklet focuses on one aspect of the transition from school to adult life. Booklets currently available include: IEP Components of the Transition Process, Considerations for School Programming, Age-Appropriate Transition Assessment, and Employment.

Autism Family Online offers information and resources for parents, family members, educators, Speech Pathologists, therapists and others who work to support the learning and living needs of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders and related learning challenges.

The Google web site includes guidance for using Google's accessibility features.

Mobility Map, a tool launched by UsersFirst (a program of the United Spinal Association) guides people who use wheelchairs and other mobility equipment through the process of finding and obtaining the right equipment.

The Disability.gov web site includes national and state information on assistive technology for people living with disabilities.

I am Norm is a youth-designed web site promoting inclusion.

The Department of Labor web site features the Benefit Finder, a tool that asks users questions about themselves to help them determine which government benefit programs they may be eligible to receive.

The goal of ODEP's apprenticeship initiative is "to increase systems capacity to provide integrated inclusive apprenticeship training to youth and young adults with a full range of disabilities, including those with the most significant disabilities, and to utilize the increased flexibilities detailed in DOL's newly released apprenticeship regulations." The ODEP apprenticeship web page offers a variety of resources and links for additional information.