May 2014

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TACE Talks Transition 
Monthly Transition Information from the Southeast TACE

TACE Training Archives

 

2010 - 2014 TACE webinar recordings, handouts and PowerPoint slideshows are archived and available for you to access at your convenience.
TACE Learning Community
 

The Asset Development Exchange (ADX) is designed to improve employment outcomes and retention through financial stability. Asset building strategies and information can sometimes make the difference between an unsuccessful closure and a successful employment outcome.  

 

The Job Development Exchange (JDX) offers a variety of resources for vocational rehabilitation counselors and other job development professionals.  

Upcoming TACE Webinars

How to Position Your Employment Services in the Labor Market - Part 2

June 19, 2014
1:00-2:30 PM ET

This presentation will provide participants the opportunity to share the marketing strategies that they have developed to better position their organization's employment services in their local labor market.  

 

The Four Steps to an Employer Relationship

July 15, 2014

1:00-2:30 PM ET

Learn the best way to reach the person with the power to hire, put learnings into practice with the support of user-ready resources to establish and grow relationships with decision makers, and access a JDX listserv to network with job developers in the Southeast and engage in dialogue with a national expert for guidance on this topic.

 

Managing Stress and Feelings of Isolation Related to Job Development

August 7, 2014

1:00-2:30 PM ET

Learn the best way to reach the person with the power to hire, put learnings into practice with the support of user-ready resources to establish and grow relationships with decision makers, and access a JDX listserv to network with job developers in the Southeast and engage in dialogue with a national expert for guidance on this topic.

 

Upcoming Training Events

"Qualified" under the ADA: The New Legal Battleground after the ADA Amendments Act

May 21, 2014

2:00-3:30 PM ET

Cost: Varies

This webinar will first review how "qualified" is defined in the ADA and interpreted by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and then focus on how "qualified" is being treated in the courts. 

 

Removing Access Barriers for Autistic College Students - Peer Mentor Model  May 27, 2014

2:00-3:00 PM ET
Physical and attitudinal barriers deny access to autistic college students. Learn how peer mentoring and other supports are effective in helping to diminish and remove these barriers.

 

Raising Student Knowledge and Skill about Transportation Options to Improve the Successful Transition to Post School Settings

June 5, 2014

2:00-3:00 PM ET

Cost: $25 APSE Members/$50 Non-members

This webinar will also introduce attendees to community mobility management systems that serve as an additional resource for people with disabilities in accessing reliable transportation. These free materials can be integrated in instructional content related to the common core standards and serve to build connections across education, transit, and human service organizations.

 

Integrating Effective Mentoring Strategies and Services into Youth Services

June 9, 2014

2:00-3:30 PM ET

This webinar will offer nationally-recognized strategies for developing and implementing a mentoring program. (Note: if you do not already have a Workforce3 One account, you will need to create a free account to register for the webinar.)

 

Work-Based Learning Experiences and the Individualized Learning Plans

June 10, 2014

2:00-3:00 PM ET

Pre-registration is not required for this free webinar. To login, choose the "enter as guest" option and type your name. Also dial in to 1-800-201-2375 and enter the Participant Code:  611914.

 

Self Determination: Past, Present, Future

June 12, 2014

2:00-2:45 PM ET

Cost: Varies

This webcast will give a brief history of self-determination, then focus on self-determination's  important role in workplace support and employment issues.

 

Work-Based Learning and Fair Labor Standards Act

June 24, 2014

2:00-3:00 PM ET

Join this in-depth training on the federal guidelines that must be used to establish the understandings between employer, school, family and student. Pre-registration is not required. To login, choose the "enter as guest" option and type your name. Also dial in to 1-800-201-2375 and enter the Participant Code:  611914.

 

25th Annual APSE National Conference

July 1-3, 2014

Long Beach, California

This conference focuses exclusively on employment of people with disabilities in the general workforce and features nationally renowned keynote speakers and over 70 breakout sessions.

 

Customized Employment

July 7-August 4, 2014

Cost: $125

This course will take a closer look at customized employment and how it can facilitate employment outcomes for individuals with disabilities. It will also review strategies for collaboration and braiding funding to support the needs of an individual with a disability in order to be successfully employed in the community.

 

Association on Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD) Conference and pepnet 2 Training Institute
July 14-19, 2014
Sacramento, California

The AHEAD conference, "Access Always, in All Ways" features foundational and advanced training in disability law, civil rights, disability services management, access technologies, student services, and new ways of thinking about all of these. The pepnet 2 Training Institute offers more than 30 sessions, reflecting research and best practices in the design and delivery of state-of-the-art educational opportunities for deaf or hard of hearing students.

 

Reinventing Quality 2014

August 3-5, 2014

Baltimore, Maryland
The National Association of State Directors of Developmental Disabilities Services, the Research and Training Center on Community Living at the University of Minnesota, the Human Services Research Institute The American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and The University of Delaware's National Leadership Consortium come together to organize the Reinventing Quality Conference.

 

Job Development

August 4-Sept.1, 2014

Cost: $125

This course covers specific principles associated with job development via online lectures and readings and then requires the learner to take action on his or her behalf to further develop a particular skill.

Other Learning Opportunities

The archived Inside Workforce3 One Webinar What's in Your Piggy Bank? Motivating Young First-Time Workers to Save [Video] is now available for viewing.

 

The archived recording of The Role "Credit" Plays in the Employment of People with Disabilities webinar is now available. Learn what credit is and how it is established; the ways that credit can directly impact employment; and strategies for educating and supporting job seekers with disabilities and/or multiple challenges to employment in establishing and/or rebuilding credit.

 

flowers5.jpg Welcome to the monthly electronic Southeast TACE Talks Transition! We've gathered transition-related information from across the country to help you guide the young people you serve successfully into adulthood. 

 

  
TACE News:

Hot off the Presses!!!

Work Incentives Information Sheets for Vocational Rehabilitation Professionals

Many VR clients are concerned about losing their benefits if they go to work. There are many "work incentives" programs or rules that minimize the risk of losing benefits and make employment the better choice. They provide financial incentives for working or they allow the individual to save money without impacting benefits. Work incentives are available through the Social Security Administration, housing authorities and some community services. These information sheets provide information vocational rehabilitation counselors and their clients can use to make the most of work incentives.

 

Fact sheets currently posted include:

Impact of Work on SSI [PDF]

1619b Continuation of Medicaid [PDF]

Impact of Work on SSDI [PDF]

Impact of Work for Beneficiaries Who Are Blind [PDF]

Student Earned Income Exclusion 2014 [PDF]

Individual Development Accounts 2014 [PDF]

AFI IDAs and SSI [PDF]

AFI IDAs and SSDI [PDF]

Non-AFI IDAs and SSI [PDF]

PASS Fact Sheet [PDF]

Counselor Tips on When to Contact a Benefits Planner [PDF]

 

VR Partnerships and Programs: Making a Difference for Jobseekers with Disabilities in the Southeast

To promote replication of effective VR practices, SE TACE is highlighting VR partnerships with providers/programs in the region that have had measurable impact on employment outcomes for VR-referred adults and youth, especially those with the most significant disabilities. We are interested in how these partnerships work, what makes them effective and innovative, and how they contribute to improved outcomes. If you have a promising practice that meets these criteria, please contact us. We have a series of partnership questions to which you will be asked to submit written responses.

Regional Spotlight:

Join professionals and advocates in the region for a one-day Regional Conference Wednesday, September 10, 2014 at the Loudermilk Center in Atlanta, Georgia, entitled Promoting Self Determined Futures.  This regional conference is cosponsored by Southeast TACE and the Georgia DD Council. Participants will learn the philosophy and values that guide practice; successful transition self-directed planning; employment experiences during high school and post-secondary options that lead to employment; and roles and responsibilities of each stakeholder. Participants will also hear from a mother and daughter team about their transition experiences through high school and into the community, and from an attorney about alternatives to guardianship that increase self-determination and empower people with disabilities to exercise their legal capacity. Each workshop during the conference has specific objectives that allow participants to take principles and apply them immediately to their schools and communities. Please spread the word!

 

NC TASH will be hosting its annual Summer Retreat for Families on Secondary Transition June 19-20, 2014. During this time, NC TASH will be inviting experts in the field of secondary transition and adult services to lead breakout sessions on a variety of topics. In addition, there will be a TASH Night Out held which will allow parents and advocates to mix and mingle while enjoying a night of great food and entertainment. These events will provide a wonderful opportunity for parents to network and become involved in advocacy efforts in North Carolina. Lodging will be provided on the campus of Western Carolina University. For more information, please contact Kelly Kelley.

Transition:

A Comprehensive Approach to Transition is geared toward transition-age individuals with disabilities. It is formatted as a workbook and addresses self-determination, transition planning, collaboration, and teamwork.

 

International Efforts to Serve Youth with Disabilities: Lessons for the U.S. Disability Support System [PDF] is a Mathematica Center for Studying Disability Policy Issue Brief that summarizes barriers to successful transition in the United States and strategies used in ten other countries to address similar barriers. Some of the strategies may be transferable to the U.S.

 

Experiences of Germany and the Netherlands in Serving Transition-Age Youth [PDF] explores the transition strategies used by Germany and the Netherlands, and examines which of the strategies might be transferable to the United States.

Announcements: 

TASH has extended the deadline for presentation proposals for the 2014 Annual Conference, "Be the Future," to be held in Washington, DC, December 3-5, 2014. Proposals are now due by June 2, 2014.

 

On April 30, 2014, the LEAD Center issued a Policy Update on Employment, Health Care and Disability. The update features stories on the closing of the initial Affordable Care Act Open Enrollment period, the recent settlement of the Rhode Island segregated employment lawsuit, and more.

 

The U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy has announced the theme for 2014 National Disability Employment Awareness Month: Expect. Employ. Empower. NDEAM is observed each October to raise awareness about disability employment issues.

 

Employment:

Paul Wehman, Ph.D., a professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation with joint appointments in the departments of Rehabilitation Counseling and Special Education and Disability Policy at Virginia Commonwealth University, recently published Autism and (un) employment in the Richmond Times-Dispatch. In the article, Dr. Wehman discusses the state of employment for people with autism and the success of the Project SEARCH model.

 

Self-Employment for People with Disabilities [PDF] is the final report of START-UP, a three-year project examining barriers and supports to individuals with disabilities becoming self-employed. The report includes policy and practice recommendations.

 

The newest issue of the JAN E-News includes articles about Applying the ADA in a Global Economy, Addressing Accommodation Needs Specific to Gastrointestinal Disorders, Autism Awareness and more.

 

Navigating Online Career Exploration and Planning Tools: A Skills Gap Roadmap for Case Managers is designed for Workforce case managers, but offers information and resources that other employment and rehabilitation professionals might find useful as well.

 

The Influence of Social Capital on Starting Wage for People with and Without Disabilities by B.N. Phillips, L.J. Robison, and J.F. Kosciulek (Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin, 2014) reports that social capital is an important factor in starting wage decisions. As such, it is recommended that VR services include "increased use of a customized, strength-based approach for development and use of social capital for both consumers and counselors." (Article abstract is free; the full text version may require a subscription or purchase.)

 

Interviewing Tips for Applicants with Autism Spectrum Disorders includes guidance about disclosure, accommodations, and more.

 

Analysis of Wage and Total Compensation Gaps by Disability Measure explores the pay gaps between workers with and without disabilities. Total compensation, not just wage- or salary-based pay, is considered.

 

Workplace Flexibility: A Strategic Business Approach for an Inclusive Workplace [PDF], a fact sheet from the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy, shares examples of how businesses can benefit from implementing flexible workplace strategies. ODEP's Workplace Flexibility Toolkit can assist employers with adopting these strategies.

 

The Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Evidence-Based Practice in Vocational Rehabilitation develops evidence-based knowledge and tools for VR practitioners that will improve employment rates and quality of employment for people with disabilities.

 

The Vocational Rehabilitation Services Models for Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders' Guide to Effective Employment Programs highlights effective practices implemented by VR service providers for people with ASD. The guide also provides program design details and requirements for replication.

 

Presentation materials and conference handouts from the RRTC-EBP VR State-of-the-Science Conference: Advancing Evidence-Based Practices and Polices to Close the Employment Gap are now available online.

National News: 

State Intellectual and Developmental Disability Agencies' Service Trends Data Note No. 49 reports that state investment continues to emphasize facility-based and non-work services over integrated employment services. State-level data for fiscal year 2012 is included in the Data Note.

 

Do you want to know how people with intellectual and developmental disabilities are faring in your state? View United Cerebral Palsy's annual report, The Case for Inclusion.

 

Striking While the Iron Is Hot: The Effect of Vocational Rehabilitation Service Wait Times on Employment Outcomes for Applicants Receiving Social Security Disability Benefits reports study findings that longer wait times for VR services were associated with lower employment outcomes at VR closure, reduced VR agency revenues, and increased Social Security Administration benefit costs.  (Article abstract is free; the full text version may require a subscription or purchase.)

 

Post-Secondary Education:

The Registered Apprenticeship - College Consortium, a new partnership effort between the U.S. Department of Labor and the U.S. Department of Education, will allow graduates of Registered Apprenticeship programs to turn on-the-job and classroom training into college credits toward an associate or bachelor's degree.

 

Are you interested in finding college transition programs for your clients with disabilities? Project STEPP at East Carolina University has compiled a list of programs [PDF] you might find helpful.   

 

Social Security:

The Social Security Administration has launched The Faces and Facts of Disability, a disability education and awareness initiative designed to inform the public about the Social Security Disability Insurance program and dispel common misconceptions.

Technology:

Adults with Autism Get Help from 'Human Simulator' to Navigate Job Interviews  profiles a computer program originally developed to train FBI agents that is now being used by autistic adults to practice job interviews and receive feedback on their performance.

 

According to an article in The Washington Post, InnoCaption, an app designed to transcribe mobile phone conversations in real-time, has received approval from the FCC. This approval allows companies to be reimbursed through the Interstate Telecommunications Relay Services Fund for providing the app to those with hearing or speech problems. InnoCaption is scheduled for release at the end of June.

 

5 Possible Assistive Technology Uses for Google Glass shares links to articles about various ways Google Glass might be used to assist people with disabilities.

Websites:

The Vanderbilt Kennedy Center launched a new employment website for TennesseeWorks. The site will be a resource for professionals, families, employers, and others committed to helping young people with intellectual and development disabilities find and maintain meaningful employment.

 

HCBSadvocacy.org, a new website launched by the National DD Network Partners (AUCD, the National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities, and the National Disability Rights Network) is designed to help advocates improve the implementation of the new Home and Community-based Services regulation. (This regulation seeks to ensure that individuals receiving HCBS supports have full access to the benefits of community living and that the services are delivered in the most integrated setting.) The site provides links to official Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services resources, national advocacy information, and state-by-state news.

 

The START-UP/USA website provides self-employment information and resources.

Have you accessed your Portal today?

Visit the TACE Transition Services web site. In the "Login For" section on the left-hand side of your screen, select "Counselor" or "Coordinator." This will take you to the "Login to MyTACE Account" page. You will use your MyTACE Account to register for available events, seek applicable credit, and access your specialized portal - Transition Services Counselor or Coordinator. 

 

Attended a TACE Webinar? You may already have created a MyTACE Account. If you have a MyTACE Account, email tacesoutheast@law.syr.edu and request to join the TACE Transition Network. If you don't already have a MyTACE account, follow the instructions to "Create a New MyTACE Account" and also apply for Portal access.

Please forward this TACE Talks Transition to others. Invite them to subscribe by joining the Southeast TACE Transition Listserv. To join the listserv, they simply visit the Southeast TACE Transition Services web site and follow the Transition E-Mail-List link . We'll take it from there!  
 
If you have any questions about TACE or would like to request technical assistance, please contact Civa Shumpert at norciva@gmail.com.

For questions about the Southeast TACE Transition Listserv or the monthly Southeast TACE Talks Transition, please contact Kim Brown at brown@ruralinstitute.umt.edu

Sincerely,
The Southeast TACE Transition Team
Meet the Southeast TACE Transition Team
 
Chip Kenney, Project Director & Principal Investigator
Jill Houghton, Deputy Director
Norciva (Civa) Shumpert, TACE Transition Consultant
About the Southeast TACE Talks Transition:
This free service is being sponsored by Southeast TACE, the Technical Assistance & Continuing Education (TACE) Center for Region IV. TACE is a partnership of academic, governmental, and community expertise that provides technical assistance and continuing education activities to meet the training and organizational development needs of State Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) agencies and their partners in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Southeast TACE supports VR, Community Rehabilitation Programs, Centers for Independent Living, Client Assistance Programs, and other agencies to enhance employment outcomes, independent functioning, independent living and quality of life for persons with disabilities throughout the eight states in the Southeast Region IV.
To unsubscribe to the Southeast TACE Transition Listserv, use the SafeUnsubscribe link at the bottom of this message or send an email with "unsubscribe transition" in the "Subject" line to brown@ruralinstitute.umt.edu. Please do not flag the messages as spam - this may prevent delivery of the web blasts to other people using your Internet provider who wish to continue receiving the TACE Talks Transition. 
     

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