• Engaging activities for children inside CMU's Child Development and Learning Laboratory
• Interactive demonstrations
• Therapy dogs
• Refreshments

• An individual with a disability
• A family member or caregiver of an individual with a disability
• A community member interested in resources in our community
• A student interested in an exciting profession that includes working with individuals who have a disability
• Eager to learn

Then stop on by the Education and Human Services Building on the CMU Campus in Mount Pleasant.

For more information, please call 989-774-1498 or email disabilityexpo@cmich.edu! 

A United States Senator is pressing for a quarter-million more young people with disabilities to be employed by 2015.

In a new report, Senator Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, says that public and private sectors should come together to grow the number of young workers with disabilities by 250,000 in the next three years.

"The enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act, 23 years ago, helped grant the promise of equality to Americans with disabilities. But today, more work remains to be done to knock down one of the last remaining barriers -- the gap in workforce participation that exists for millions of young adults," Harkin said.

The call for greater job opportunities for young people comes two years after Harkin worked with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to set a goal of increasing the number of Americans with disabilities in the workforce by 20 percent - from 4.9 million to 6 million - by 2015.

Currently, those ages 16 to 35 account for about 6 percent of all workers with disabilities, Harkin said.

Growing job opportunities for this demographic is part of a broader push from the senator to strengthen prospects for what he calls the "ADA Generation" - those who have come of age since the ADA became law more than two-decades ago.

To meet what he called the "high, but achievable" employment goal, Harkin said that young people need to be offered opportunities for internships and other work experience while they are still in school, among other opportunities.

As the first U.S. government shutdown in more than 17 years takes hold, some programs benefiting people with disabilities will continue with business as usual while others grind to a halt.

The shutdown, which began Tuesday, comes after Congress failed to reach a deal to fund the federal government for the new fiscal year starting in October. Under a shutdown, some services considered "essential" will continue operating while many other government activities will come to a standstill as 800,000 federal workers are sent home until a new budget takes effect.

Here's a look at how the shutdown will impact programs that people with developmental disabilities rely on:

SOCIAL SECURITY

Benefit payments will continue to be distributed on schedule to individuals receiving Social Security and Supplemental Security Income. Local offices will be open, but only to perform select services.

MEDICAID

Services provided by Medicaid will largely proceed as usual since an advance appropriation ensured that states receive funding for the program on Oct. 1. However, disability advocates say they are worried that the shutdown could exacerbate payment delays that providers of long-term services and supports are already facing. "The long delays have put many of our affiliates in almost untenable cash flow positions and further delays may cause some to cease Medicaid services," said Katy Neas, senior vice president of government relations at Easter Seals.

HOUSING  

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development says it will not be able to provide further funding to local housing agencies during the shutdown. However, most local agencies already have enough money to fund rental assistance vouchers for the month of October, more than half of which help the elderly and people with disabilities.

SPECIAL EDUCATION  

Schools won't see much impact immediately, with states receiving $22 billion in special education funds on schedule this month from the federal government, the U.S. Department of Education said.

DISABILITY RIGHTS ENFORCEMENT  

The U.S. Department of Justice says that civil litigation, which includes the enforcement of disability rights laws like the Americans with Disabilities Act, will be "curtailed or postponed" to the extent possible.

RESEARCH Developmental disability surveillance programs - which track the prevalence of such conditions - will come to a halt during the shutdown, said Barbara Reynolds of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Meanwhile, the National Institutes of Health will not make any new grant awards for research.