Register Now – Free – https://unh.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_524WzzT_SQiGzAbajDHYpQ?mc_cid=36f32c23b9&mc_eid=57377cc242#/registration Welcome to the National Trends in Disability Employment (or nTIDE) Lunch & Learn series. On the first Friday of every month, corresponding with the Bureau of Labor Statistics jobs report, we will be offering a live broadcast via Zoom Webinar to share the results of the latest nTIDE findings. In addition, we will provide news and updates from the field of Disability Employment, as well as host an invited panelist who will discuss current disability related findings and events.
12:00 p.m. Introduction & Welcome
12:10 p.m. Overview of National Trends in Disability Employment (nTIDE) Jobs Report
12:15 p.m. Announcements from the field of Disability Employment
12:30 p.m. Guest Presenter: Kelly Israel, National Disability Rights Network (NDRN)
12:45 p.m. Question and Answer for Attendees
Note: All webinars will be recorded and closed-captioned and will be added to our website archives along with full transcripts following the live broadcast.
The StatsRRTC is funded by a grant from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR grant number 90RTGE0005).
In today’s polarized landscape, can we still have constructive bipartisan dialogue, especially with a contentious election season underway? Are good-faith discussions across divides even possible in America’s white-hot political climate? Our panelists say not only are they possible, they’re essential if our democracy is to survive and thrive. By fostering respect and understanding – and most importantly, by truly listening to one another – we can still bridge gaps, collaborate, and succeed. Join us with an incredible panel of public servants who believe bipartisan dialogue in a democratic society is both possible and indispensable.
Featuring:
Lee Fisher, Former Ohio Attorney General, and Dean and Joseph C. Hostetler-BakerHostetler Chair in Law, Cleveland State University College of Law;
Betty Montgomery, Former Ohio Attorney General, and Of Counsel, Mac Murray & Shuster;
Nancy Rogers, Former Ohio Attorney General, and Professor Emeritus and Director of the Law and Leadership Program, The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law;
Moderator Judge Laurel Beatty Blunt, 10th District Court of Appeals, State of Ohio.
Columbus Metropolitan Club: YouTube Link for 09/04/24 at 12 NOON:
The Ohio Olmstead Task Force is having a direct care workforce crisis workgroup meeting Tuesday, September 3, 2024 from 1-3 p.m. on Zoom.
The discussion will feature Teresa Kobelt, Chief Innovation Officer, and Pete Moore, CEO & President of Ohio Provider Resource Association (OPRA), with additional agency representatives to be confirmed.
The meeting will address abuse and neglect within DODD systems for individuals with intellectual or other developmental disabilities (I/DD) and developmental disabilities (DD). Individuals with lived experience are encouraged to join, and privacy will be respected through non-recording and options to remain anonymous.
Minutes will exclude personal stories and identifying details, capturing only factual information from agency representatives. Workgroup members will be named, while other participants will be listed by number.
The Level 1 waiver, Individual Options waiver, and SELF waiver amendments proposed for adoption on January 1, 2025, are a result of stakeholder engagement between the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities (DODD), the Ohio Department of Medicaid (ODM), families and individuals, advocates, and associations.
DODD is seeking your input on these applications; information on how to submit your comments can be found at:
As part of the waiver amendment process, the public can comment on the proposed amendment. The public comment period is August 30, 2024, to September 29, 2024. Comments must be received by midnight on September 29, 2024.
As part of the Developing Artificial Intelligence (AI) Equity, Access & Inclusion for All Series, the Access Board is holding public hearings with members of the disability community, Federal Agency AI leaders, and AI practitioners.
In total, three virtual hearing sessions will take place: two were held for the disability community on August 8, and one will be held for federal agency and AI industry practitioners on August 22.
Attending the Federal Agency and Industry Practitioner Hearing:
No pre-registration is required to attend the hearing. Individuals who want to make a public comment are required to register via the instructions linked below. Please note that space is limited and excess registrants may need to be waitlisted. Registered speakers will each be allotted two minutes to present comments.
TO WATCH PREVIOUS AUGUST 8th MORNING & AFTERNOON HEARINGS:
U.S. Access Board Video of August 8 Disability Community Hearings on Artificial Intelligence (AM & PM Sessions) on YouTube Website:
Want to work from home? If you’re looking for a job and have questions about employment opportunities, a Ticket to Work service provider can help!
Work Incentives Seminar Event (WISE) webinar on August 28 at 3 p.m. ET to learn how Ticket to Work service providers can help you find and keep a work from home position.
During the webinar, learn more about:
Types of work from home opportunities
Successfully working from home
How to connect with Ticket Program service providers
You will receive a registration confirmation message with instructions on how to log in to the webinar. Please be sure to check your spam folder.
WISE in American Sign Language (ASL) – Our ASL Guide can help individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing access our monthly WISE webinars using Video Relay Services (VRS).
Additional accessibility information is available on the registration page.
Questions about Ticket to Work?
The Ticket Program supports career development for people ages 18 through 64 who receive Social Security Disability benefits (SSDI/SSI) and want to work. Monthly WISE webinars provide information about Social Security programs, Work Incentives and other resources that may help you or someone you know on the path to financial independence through work.
How Proposals to Eliminate U.S. Dept of ED Could Impact People with Disabilities
Mark E. Seifarth
Every two to four years as people are running for state and federal offices, politicians and hopeful politicians put forward ideas for drastic cuts in federal programs under the guise of returning responsibility to the states – of course usually cutting the funding significantly so the programs can no longer be maintained.
While many times this could be a good starting point for productive discussions to improve programs and make the best use of limited tax dollars, currently the U.S. Department of Education is being targeted for complete elimination in written proposals.
When I was in graduate school years ago, some similar proposals were called “The New Federalism” which I saw as simply block granting program responsibilities back to the states and cutting the funding by half to cut the federal budget. As the federal government was in bipartisan hands at the time, program changes were debated at length and changes were made responsibly and not by meat axe.
It is important that people with disabilities and all advocates realize the possible impact on their lives, especially in their formative school and preparing for jobs years.
Very briefly, here are just a few of the programs targeted for elimination or block granting to the states for oversight with I believe greatly reduced funding over time:
Cuts to free school meals programs
Eliminates the Head Start program providing comprehensive early childhood education, health, nutrition, and parent involvement services to low-income children and families.
Proposes eliminating the Department of Education and allowing states to opt out of federal programs or standards.
Programs under the Individuals with Disabilities’ Education Act (IDEA), which provides $14.2 billion in federal money for the education of school-aged children with disabilities, would be mostly converted to “no-strings” block grants to individual states and distributed directly to local education agencies by Health and Human Service’s Administration for Community Living
Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) supports federal efforts to enforce our laws against discrimination of individuals with disabilities, those assets would be moved to the Department of Justice (DOJ) along with the Office for Civil Rights (OCR). The OCR at DOJ should be able to enforce civil rights protections only through federal courts and litigation.
As you recall, for vocational rehabilitation, every state dollar is matched with almost four federal dollars (21.3% state funds matches 78.7% federal funds). Without federal match most state rehabilitation programs for education and training for people with disabilities leading to jobs would cease. Generic jobs programs do not have the expertise or resources to support and train folks with significant disabilities for tax-paying employment.
While IDEA has never covered the proposed 40% of the costs of programming for students with disabilities with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), the current federal funding of approximately 14.7% of the costs is critical to help the states support students with disabilities in our schools.
Now is the time for everyone to talk with their state and federal elected officials to educate and inform them of how important these programs are for people with disabilities to live, work, and contribute to their communities. Even though these are only proposals, and some may need Congressional action, now is the time to have your voice heard.
Finally, one last piece of history to remember:
When it was time for me to begin kindergarten, there was one school in the entire county for every student with a disability and I was to go there. My parents would have none of this and my mother met at length with the local school principal. At the end of the meeting, the principal looked at me and said, we have no elevator, he must be able to climb a flight of stairs. So, me and my leg braces clanked up and back down that flight of stairs – and the principal said, Okay, he can come.
If he had said no, I had no recourse as there was no IDEA. I would have not attended my local school, but the one disabled school in the county.
Now is the time to speak out. Let’s not go back decades to where each school district decides if people with disabilities have the same rights as everyone else in our communities.
U.S. Access Board Holds Hearings on Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Disability Community and AI Practitioners
As part of the Developing Artificial Intelligence (AI) Equity, Access & Inclusion for All Series, the Access Board is holding public hearings with members of the disability community, Federal Agency AI leaders, and AI practitioners. This series stems from the Board’s Memorandum of Understanding with the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) and the Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT). In total, three virtual hearing sessions will take place: two for the disability community (on August 8) and one for federal agency and AI industry practitioners (on August 22).
Attending the virtual hearings:
Disability Community Hearings:
August 8, 2024, at 10:00 – 12:00 PM and 2:00 – 4:00 PM ET
No pre-registration is required to attend any of the hearings. Individuals who want to make a public comment are required to register via the instructions linked below. Please note that space is limited. Registered speakers will each be allotted two minutes to present comments.
Individuals with disabilities born after 1990 show higher employment rates than their older counterparts
July 23, 2024 – A comparative analysis of employment experiences before and after the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) reveals that the “ADA generation” working-age population with disabilities (individuals born after 1990) boasts a higher employment-to-population ratio compared to the non-ADA generation with disabilities. That’s according to last Friday’s National Trends in Disability Employment (nTIDE) Deeper Dive Lunch & Learn Webinar presented by Kessler Foundation and the University of New Hampshire’s Institute on Disability (UNH-IOD).
The data also showed that the ADA generation without disabilities lags behind their non-ADA counterparts in employment rates, indicating ongoing challenges for this group. Overall, the data suggests progress in closing the employment gap between individuals with and without disabilities, largely driven by the ADA generation’s significant presence in the labor market, according to presenter Hyun Ju Kim, PhD, project director III at UNH-IOD.
Additionally, guest speaker Brittany Potvin, PhD candidate and community health worker in the Strafford County Public Health Network, New Hampshire, who is partially paralyzed as a result of a head-on collision, offered a personal overview of models of disability. She clarified the difference between ADA compliance and accessibility for people with disabilities and underscored the necessity for universal design.
ADA Generation Moves the Needle
“In 2023 to 2024, the ADA generation (people who are 34 years old and younger) had a 45% employment-to-population ratio, and for the non-ADA generation, the employment rate was far lower than that, which is 34.6%,” recounted Dr. Kim. “This has been the trend so far since the Great Recession, where the ADA generation has been driving the employment rate of people with disabilities,” she said.
Meanwhile, the overall employment rate for people without disabilities was 75.2% in 2023 to 2024. Within this group, those from the non-ADA generation had an employment rate of 79.9%, while those from the ADA generation had a lower rate of 68.4%. “This data highlights the persistent trend that the ADA generation without disabilities is less likely to be employed compared to the non-ADA generation,” asserted Dr. Kim. “Overall, it’s interesting to see the strong presence in the labor market of the ADA generation with disabilities compared to the ADA generation without disabilities,” she added.
Dr. Kim posed several hypotheses that might be driving this finding including more widely available and accepted workplace accommodations for this generation, which helps them engage in the labor market. Also, more people in this generation may be identifying themselves as disabled because the inclusion of disability in all aspects of community has helped them feel proud of their identity.
Personal Story of Resilience
Brittany Potvin shared her journey of overcoming a life-altering accident and living with visible and invisible disabilities. “Navigating life with disabilities has been challenging, but it has also given me a unique perspective on the importance of accessibility and inclusion,” she said. “The ADA has been instrumental in my ability to advocate for myself and others.” Her story underscores the importance of accessibility, inclusion, and universal design in creating equitable opportunities for people with disabilities.
“I learned that managing my disability was relative to the situation at hand. When we leave our own environments, our disabilities can become more prominent and challenging. When I’m at home, I’m not disabled because my home environment emphasizes my abilities. But unfortunately, the outside world emphasizes my limitations,” asserted Potvin.
She highlighted the ongoing societal challenges and the importance of changing perceptions. “There’s still a lot of stigma surrounding the word disabled. When we talk about accessibility, it’s often seen as a burden,” said Potvin. Working to eliminate those stigmas has been a significant focus of her efforts.
Potvin has also discovered that ADA compliance doesn’t guarantee easy accessibility for people with disabilities. Many buildings can navigate around ADA regulations and frequently qualify for exemptions, especially older, historic structures. “An idea that is still new to a lot of people is universal design, which was defined by the Centre for Excellence in Universal Design for all people, regardless of their age, size, ability, or disability,” explained Potvin.
Universal design offers significant benefits, including long-term cost savings by addressing requirements upfront, driving innovation through multidisciplinary collaboration, and engaging the workforce. “It empowers more employees to use and access content, making it easier to attract, retain, and develop employees with and without disabilities,” said Potvin. “Creating environments that are accessible to everyone, regardless of ability, not only benefits people with disabilities but also fosters a more inclusive and innovative society,” she added.
“Individuals with disabilities didn’t just appear in society yesterday, and they didn’t appear since the ADA was written into law. The battle for inclusion and accessibility has been fought for generations. My hope is that more people become aware of universal design and its benefits and that it will become the norm and there will be less hurdles for the disability community,” Potvin concluded.
Ask Questions about Disability and Employment
Each nTIDE release is followed by an nTIDE Lunch & Learn online webinar. This live broadcast, hosted via Zoom Webinar, offers attendees Q&A on the latest nTIDE findings, provides news, updates from the field, and features invited panelists who discuss current disability-related findings and events.
NOTE: The statistics in the nTIDE are based on Bureau of Labor Statistics numbers but are not identical. They are customized by UNH to combine the statistics for men and women of working age (16 to 64). nTIDE is funded, in part, by grants from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR) (9ORT5022 and 90RT5017) and Kessler Foundation.
About Kessler Foundation Kessler Foundation, a major nonprofit organization in the field of disability, is a global leader in rehabilitation research that seeks to improve cognition, mobility, and long-term outcomes — including employment — for people with neurological disabilities caused by diseases and injuries of the brain and spinal cord. Kessler Foundation leads the nation in funding innovative programs that expand opportunities for employment for people with disabilities. For more information, visit KesslerFoundation.org.
About the Institute on Disability at the University of New Hampshire The Institute on Disability (IOD) at the University of New Hampshire (UNH) was established in 1987 to provide a coherent university-based focus for the improvement of knowledge, policies, and practices related to the lives of persons with disabilities and their families. For information on the NIDILRR-funded Employment Policy and Measurement Rehabilitation Research and Training Center, visit www.ResearchonDisability.org.
For more information, or to interview an expert, contact:
Interactive and engaging training about using Charting the LifeCourse and Person-Centered Thinking. Everyone is welcome! Whether you’re new to Charting the LifeCourse or just curious to learn more, this is the perfect opportunity to get a great overview of all the tools and examples of how to use them. Join us and discover everything you need to know!”Register Here
The Charting the LifeCourse (CtLC) framework supports and empowers people with disabilities, families, and professionals. Learn how to use Charting the LifeCourse (CtLC) to complete your Service and Support Administration Functions. We will discuss how to use Charting the LifeCourse to: Assess, Plan, Identify services and supports.
CTLC Overview and SSA Training August 1, 2024 9:00 am to 12:00 pm Charting the LifeCourse and Person-Centered Thinking Presented by: FAMILY RESOURCE NETWORK OF OHIO; Ohio’s Official Hub for Charting the LifeCourse – http://www.FRNOhio.org
3 hours of DODD CEU credits are available but are contingent upon competition of the presentation and evaluation as well as active participation during the meeting.
Presented by Barbara Sapharas: Ohio Ambassador-Charting the LifeCourse National Team Member, Charting the LifeCourse-University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC)
Brought to you by: Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities
CtLC/Nisonger-Family Resource Network of Ohio<frno@osumc.edu>
The Ohio Olmstead Task Force is having a direct care workforce crisis workgroup meeting Tuesday, September 3, 2024 from 1-3 p.m. on Zoom.
Ohio Disability Blog 