American Job Center Toolkit Resources of the Week E-Mail listserv

Real Economic Impact

National Disability Institute

http://realeconomicimpact. org/

and

The Burton Blatt Institute

Syracuse University

http://bbi. syr. edu

American Job Center Toolkit Resources of the Week E-Mail listserv

January 11, 2013

Good morning everyone!

The National Disability Institute (NDI) is happy to bring you the American Job Center Toolkit Resources of the Week. The Resources of the Week includes weekly information on websites of interest, funding opportunities, policy development, resources of interest, publications, and articles that are relevant to increasing the employment opportunities of individuals with disabilities that we hope will be useful as you work on systems change activities to help improve employment opportunities for persons with disabilities.

To subscribe or unsubscribe to the Resources of the Week, please email *****@***org with the subject of either ‘subscribe’ or 'unsubscribe'.

Laura Gleneck

Project Coordinator

NDI Technical Assistance Team

P: 9

F: 5

*****@***org

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AMERICAN JOB CENTER TOOLKIT TABLE OF CONTENTS

For Your Information

· Evaluation of Waivers Granted Under Workforce Investment Act:

Profiles of 12 Sites and Evaluation of Waivers Granted Under WIA 2

Disability and Employment Discussion Forums: What is on your mind?

· Check this section out each week to learn about current discussions 3

Upcoming Events of Interest

· Webinar—Expanding Your Reach: New Tools and Tactics to Connect with Taxpayers with Disabilities 4

· Webinar: New Disability Status Report 4

· Webcast: Job Accommodation Network Best Practices 5

· Webinar: Assistive Technology and the Interactive Process of Employee Accommodations 6

· Conference: 2013 National Americans with Disabilities Act Symposium 7

Resources of Interest

· Universal Design in the Workplace: How to better serve all employees,

including Persons with Disabilities 7

· 2013 Workforce Recruitment Program Database 7

Real Economic Impact

· Innovations in Action: Disability Employment Initiative Projects

Leverage Additional Resources 8

· National Disability Institute’s LEAD Center to advance employment,

economic stability for people with disabilities 9

Websites of Interest

· U. S. General Accountability Office New “Key Issues” Website 10

Publications of the Week

· Final Report: Longitudinal Statistics for new Supplemental Security

Income Beneficiaries 11

· College Students with Disabilities: What Factors Influence Successful

Degree Completion? A Case Study 11

* * * * *

FOR YOUR INFORMATION

Evaluation of Waivers Granted Under Workforce Investment Act: Profiles of 12 Sites and Evaluation of Waivers Granted Under WIA: Final Report

Release and Availability of Two Occasional Papers

U. S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration

Training and Employment Notice Number 16-12

http://wdr. doleta. gov/directives/corr_doc. cfm? DOCN=8461

[The following is excerpted from the Notice.]

Background. The Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA), administered by the U. S. Department of Labor (Department), is the largest source of federally-funded employment and training services. The program services, provided by state and local WIA agencies, involve many statutory and regulatory requirements applied uniformly across the country. Due to state and local area differences, WIA allows states to apply for waivers of WIA regulations, providing greater flexibility in serving the specific needs of local populations. These waivers may affect how resources are allocated or the types of employment and training services available to various groups.

Between Program Years (PY) 2008 and 2010, the Department approved more than 750 state-requested waivers of statutory and regulatory requirements. To learn more about the implementation and possible effects of waiver implementation, ETA contracted with Mathematica Policy Research to conduct an evaluation of selected waivers approved in PY 2008 through 2010. This study includes two interim reports and one final report. The first interim report was published in August 2012 and is available on the ETA Research Publication Database Web site (http://wdr. doleta. gov/research/FullText_Documents/ETAOP_2012_14.pdf).

This second interim report provides findings primarily from the second phase of data collection for this study. The report focuses on profiles of the 12 local areas visited and provides descriptive information about waiver use in those local areas. Drawing from the two interim reports and additional analysis, the final report summarizes the findings from all phases of data collection under the study.

Link to research report ETAOP 2013-01: http://wdr. doleta. gov/research/keyword. cfm? fuseaction=dsp_resultDetails&pub_id=2495&mp=y Link to research report ETAOP 2013-02: http://wdr. doleta. gov/research/keyword. cfm? fuseaction=dsp_resultDetails&pub_id=2496&mp=y

DISABILITY AND EMPLOYMENT DISCUSSION FORUMS: WHAT IS ON YOUR MIND?

Are you part of the discussion? Workforce3 One Disability and Employment Community of Practice: New Discussion Forum on Disability and Workforce

https://disability. workforce3one. org/page/discussions

The discussion forum is a place where workforce professionals can share ideas, communicate with peers across the country, and read what others are saying and thinking around disability and workforce issues. Each week, the forum will post a new topic for discussion. This is your forum – a place to comment on important issues, learn about best practices, and find out what others have to say.

Current Discussions: what do you think?

What Is in store for 2013?

Happy New Year everyone. As we embark on a new year, we want to take a moment to hear from workforce professionals to learn what is happening across the country.

• Are you implementing any new strategies?

• Do you have any “go to” resources that you can share?

• Do you have any burning questions / ideas to share with your peers?

A cool resource to check out, highlighted in the January 2013 Workforce One Newsletter, is Workforce Strategies. You can now receive weekly e-lerts for the experimental studies, implementation evaluations and supporting tools found on ETA’s Workforce System Strategies site at: http://strategies. workforce3one. org/.

UPCOMING EVENTS OF INTEREST

Webinar—Expanding Your Reach: New Tools and Tactics to Connect with Taxpayers with Disabilities

Internal Revenue Service Stakeholder Partnerships, Education and Communication (SPEC)

January 15, 2013 / 2:00 PM Eastern Time

http://www. /IRS/90514/reg. asp? id=90514

Presenters include:

o Verlinda Paul, Director, SPEC

o Don Dill, Senior Analyst, SPEC

o Johnette Hartnett, National Disability Institute

o Michael R. Roush, National Disability Institute

o Jamie Robinson, National Disability Institute

This webinar will provide you some valuable resources and innovative ideas that will help make your services more accessible to people with disabilities.

You will learn about a Disability Awareness Training course that can help your volunteers better understand and assist people with disabilities. Also, this training will incorporate some basic steps on how to talk to people with disabilities. We will discuss alternative free filing options to supplement the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program including Facilitated Self - Assistance and Virtual VITA and successful practices that can offer you opportunities to increase services in your communities. Our partners from the National Disability Institute will give us an overview of the next generation of issues facing the disability community and the opportunities you will have, as service providers, to be at the forefront of this movement. And, finally, we will hear about a new pilot with the US Department of Labor and their America’s Job Centers (formally known as One-Stops) on free tax preparation services throughout the nation.

REGISTRATION AND FOR MORE INFORMATION

Please access the web link for online registration and to access additional information.

Webinar: New Disability Status Report

Cornell University’s Employment and Disability Institute

January 18th, 2013 / 2:00 – 3:00 PM Eastern Time

http://www. ilr. cornell. edu/edi/register/index. cfm? event=4152

Cornell University's Employment and Disability Institute (EDI) will host a free online webinar to present the findings of the 2011 Disability Status Report. This free webinar will explore data from the recently released 2011 American Community Survey (ACS) related to disability and employment, education, poverty, household income and labor earnings. Cornell University researchers will present the latest information and issues associated with disability statistics and the circumstances that people with disabilities face.

Cornell research found that in 2011, 33.4% of working-age (21-64) people with disabilities were employed, compared with the 75.6% of people without disabilities. Moreover, 27.8 %  of working-age Americans with disabilities lived in poverty, compared to 12.4% of those without disabilities.
 
These dramatic discrepancies continue to separate Americans with disabilities from their peers without disabilities. The relevance of these statistics to the process of developing and maintaining policies that relate to people with disabilities in the United States cannot be overstated.

REGISTRATION AND FOR MORE INFORMATION

Access the web link listed above.

The Disability Status Reports are produced and funded by the Employment and Disability Institute at the Cornell University ILR School. This effort originated as a product of the Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Disability Demographics and Statistics funded  by the U. S. Department of Education, National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (grant No. H133B031111).

Webcast: Job Accommodation Network Best Practices

January 22, 2013 (rescheduled from January 8th) / 2:00 – 3:00 PM Eastern Time

http://prod. askjan. org/webcast/registration. cfm

During this JAN webcast, Michelle Maybaum, Sr. Manager, Employee Relations with Qualcomm, Incorporated, will share how Qualcomm has implemented best practices in hiring, retaining, and accommodating talented workers with disabilities. The session will also include Qualcomm's approach to hiring and retaining wounded and injured service members.

Speakers: Anne Hirsh, M. S, JAN Co-Director, moderating Michelle Maybaum, Sr. Manager, Employee Relations with Qualcomm, Incorporated.

REGISTRATION AND FOR MORE INFORMATION

All registrants will receive training materials for each session, which will be sent via email prior to the scheduled event.  These materials will be in an accessible format and may include Microsoft Word and PowerPoint, as well as Adobe PDF files.  All training events will start promptly at 2:00 pm eastern and will last for one hour.

All registrations are processed on a first come first serve basis.

If you are unable to attend a session you have registered for, please notify JAN by calling (8/ option 5 or email at *****@***org.

To ensure that we have received your registration form, JAN will send you an email confirmation.  If you do not receive a confirmation email, please call JAN at (800) / option 5 or email at *****@***org.

Learn more about how JAN Webcasts Work.

Webinar--Assistive Technology and the Interactive Process of Employee Accommodations

ADA National Network and the RESNA Catalyst Project

January 23, 2013 / 2:00 – 3:30 PM Eastern Time

http://www. adaconferences. org/RESNA/

The Great Lakes and Southwest Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Centers have joined with the Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America (RESNA) to provide a series of free webinar sessions to meet the needs of the AT Act Programs. The sessions are designed to provide timely information by experts on various aspects technology and its interface with issues covered under the ADA. The programs are 90 minutes in length and provided free to interested persons.

Presenters:

o ·Andrew Winnegar

o ·David Altman

o ·Desirae Vallier

It is important that employers understand new technologies, accommodation strategies and best practices to assist and support employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities. Technology Act States and ADA Regional Centers have valuable free services to assist employers and employees with job accommodations. Each individual employee accommodation solution requires research and time. The RESNA Catalyst Project and the SW-ADA Center will present a webinar on how Assistive Technology (AT) demonstrations, equipment loans, and ADA support and technical assistance from the ADA Network may enhance the interactive accommodation process.

REGISTRATION AND FOR MORE INFORMATION

Access the web link for online registration and session materials and to learn more about the web conferencing features, as well as to view the upcoming schedule and access archives.

Sessions are presented via a fully accessible Blackboard Web Conferencing platform. For first time users it is recommended that you prepare your technology prior to the session. For more information about this platform visit:
http://www. adaconferences. org/RESNA/FirstTimeUsers. php

Conference: 2013 National Americans with Disabilities Act Symposium

16th Annual Conference on the Americans with Disabilities Act

San Antonio, Texas

May 12-15, 2013

http://www. adasymposium. org/

The National ADA Symposium is a comprehensive conference on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) that provides practical, expert training on ADA implementation from the country's top presenters. Explore this site and register now for the premeire training event on the ADA!

· Get information that you can use! More than 98% of past attendees said they used information from the ADA Symposium on the job and in their communities.

· Keynote by Dr. Lex Frieden, Executive Director, Independent Living Research Utilization (ILRU) and the Honorable Julian Castro, Mayor of San Antonio (tentative).

· Training on the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design from the U. S. Access Board.

· 72 break-out sessions on a wide-range of ADA related topics and online access to hand-outs from all sessions prior to the conference.

· Venue in beautiful San Antonio next to the River Walk and just a block from the Alamo!

REGISTRATION AND FOR MORE INFORMATION

Access the web link to access online registration, as well as additional details regarding the symposium.

RESOURCES OF INTEREST

Universal Design in the Workplace: How to better serve all employees, including Persons with Disabilities

http://www. /watch? feature=player_embedded&v=EtGPqGgvbu4

Under the U. S. Department of Labor-funded Disability Employment Initiative's (DEI) Virginia DEI project, the Arlington/Alexandria Workforce Investment Board has produced a 5-minute video on "Universal Design in the Workplace." This video highlights a variety of assistive technology in the workplace for persons with various disabilities. It also discusses the Return on Investment (ROI) and the value to the business sector.

2013 Workforce Recruitment Program Database

U. S. Department of Labor

http://www. askearn. org/refdesk/Recruitment/WRP

The 2013 Workforce Recruitment Program (WRP), a no cost recruitment resource, is available for public and private employers seeking a diverse workforce of individuals with disabilities, including veterans. Sponsored by the U. S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) and the U. S. Department of Defense Office of Diversity Management and Equal Opportunity, the newly updated WRP database contains over 2900 profiles of college students and recent graduates from over 300 campuses representing a wide variety of academic backgrounds and degree levels.

REAL ECONOMIC IMPACT

Innovations in Action: Disability Employment Initiative Projects Leverage Additional Resources

Workforce3 One

U. S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration

https://www. workforce3one. org/view/

[The information from the Innovation is included below in its entirety.]

DOL/ETA [U. S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration] has been a partner with the IRS, National Disability Institute, and other agencies / organizations in the Real Economic Impact (REI) Tour since 2004 (when the initiative was referred to as the TaxFACTS Campaign).  The goal is to provide workers with disabilities access to free tax preparation assistance and other asset building strategies to increase their economic and social well being.

We have also been part of the MyFreeTaxes Partnerships (MFT).  MFT is funded by Wal-Mart, National Disability Institute, United Way Worldwide (UWW) and Goodwill Industries International (GII) to expand awareness/access to free, in-person tax preparation services, while pioneering the free online filing option.  Over the past 4 years, the number of filers who submitted taxes on increased by almost 500%. This year, the IRS has expanded training/support for self-preparation models, including to offer alongside traditional Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA).  Many American Job Centers (AJCs) have hosted VITA sites during tax season.

ETA’s Disability Program Navigator (DPN) Initiative promoted the projects’ implementing asset development and financial literacy activities. The DEI built on this component. The DEI is the first DOL initiative to incorporate asset development as a major strategic component to enhance the economic self-sufficiency of individuals with disabilities (mandated by Congressional language); any new approaches implemented will be value-added for all customers within the public workforce system.  Under the DEI, Disability Resource Coordinators (DRCs) are charged with implementing asset development strategies within AJCs, including promoting access to free tax preparation services. DRCs are natural partners to the MFT Partnership and can build upon this work by improving awareness on other asset building strategies, further contributing to DEI outcomes. 

Ten (10) DEI projects (Alaska, California, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, New York State, Tennessee, and Virginia) have just been selected to participate in the MFT.  This means that National Disability Institute will recruit/pay a certified IRS VITA Tax Coach to work 20 hours a week in an AJC(s) to collaborate with local UWW and GII partners, VITA/tax.

This is a win-win-for AJC low-income customers with disabilities and other multiple challenges to employment. This has potential for many of the AJC customers, with or without a disability. 

National Disability Institute’s LEAD Center to advance employment, economic stability for people with disabilities

In October 2012, National Disability Institute received funding through a five-year cooperative agreement with the U. S. Department of Labor’s Office on Disability Employment Policy to establish the LEAD Center. Known formally as the National Center on Leadership for the Employment and Advancement of People with Disabilities – the LEAD Center is a collaborative of disability, workforce and economic empowerment organizations dedicated to advancing sustainable individual and systems level change to improve competitive, integrated employment and economic self-sufficiency for all people with disabilities.

Work is underway to lay the foundation for five years of LEAD Center projects and activities, and the first issue of the LEAD Center quarterly newsletter has been published. The newsletter features a welcome from Kathleen Martinez,  Assistant Secretary of the U. S. Department of Labor for Disability Employment Policy and introduces LEAD, its partners and collaborators, and gives a glimpse into what’s ahead for the LEAD Center.

Read the first LEAD Newsletter

Sign up to receive future communications from the LEAD Center

What is the LEAD Center?

Led by National Disability Institute, the LEAD Center brings together a range of organizations, thought leaders and best-practice innovators to expand employment, policy, leadership and economic advancement opportunities for people with disabilities. The LEAD Center will provide training and technical assistance, policy research and recommendations as well as demonstration projects designed to break down silos in existing systems, processes and practices and foster wider understanding, adoption and integration of next-generation employment practices in both the public and private sector. Learn more about the LEAD Center and its scope of work for 2013 in  “Who We Are” - LEAD Center Newsletter.

National Disability Institute and its LEAD Center are honored to be working with the following national organizations in 2013 to promote employment and economic advancement outcomes for adults with disabilities:

LEAD Center National Partners

National Council on Independent Living (NCIL) Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN) National Association of Workforce Development Professionals (NAWDP) TASH Collaborative Cities for Financial Empowerment (CFE) Employer Research Consortium (ERC) United States Business Leadership Network (USBLN)

LEAD Center Dissemination Partners

Institute for Educational Leadership (IEL) and NCWD/ Youth National Association of Workforce Boards (NAWB) National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC) Service Employees International Union (SEIU) NDI Consulting/ DEI Technical Assistance Center Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America (RESNA) National Association of State Directors Developmental Disability Services (NASDDDS) Community Transportation Association of America (CTAA) National Cooperative Business Association (NCBA) Job Accommodation Network (JAN) Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF)

Look for the initial LEAD Center website  - leadcenter. org – to launch in early 2013. The LEAD Center website will feature best-practice resources, webinars, news, social media integration, and a robust national calendar of events as well as phased in content including blogs from thought leaders, and a resource center with expected outreach to multiple audiences including individuals with disabilities. Stay tuned and stay informed by signing up now for LEAD Center news updates.

WEBSITES OF THE WEEK

U. S. Government Accountability Office New “Key Issues” Website

http://www. gao. gov/key_issues

The Key Issues pages provide information about the U. S. Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) work on a range of issues facing the nation and highlight the most relevant reports. Use the tabs to explore Key Issues by TOPICS or by related AGENCIES.

PUBLICATIONS OF THE WEEK

Final Report: Longitudinal Statistics for new Supplemental Security Income Beneficiaries

Center for Studying Disability Policy, Mathematica Policy Research

November 2012

http://www. ssa. gov/disabilityresearch/documents/SSI%20Cohort%20Report%20Final. pdf

Using Social Security Administration data, this paper presents findings from a longitudinal analysis of the extent to which new Supplemental Security Income (SSI) disability beneficiaries return to work and use SSI work incentives. Longitudinal statistics show that more than 8 percent of those first awarded SSI benefits as adults in 2001 had their benefits suspended due to work for at least a month by December 2007.

College Students with Disabilities: What Factors Influence Successful Degree Completion? A Case Study

Disability and Work September 2012

A joint publication from the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development and the Kessler Foundation

http://www. *****tgers. edu/sites/default/files/content/College_Students_Disabilities_Report. pdf

The challenges students with disabilities face on college campuses have been examined widely, but little is known about the experiences of students with disabilities who have successfully completed college. To level the playing field for people with disabilities by encouraging college education and completion, it is essential to inquire which factors are supporting degree completion.

Much of the information that is known about college success and completion is linked to outcome measures for programs that are linked to specific programmatic funding. This report examines the viewpoints of successful students with disabilities completers and the staff from five colleges and universities in New Jersey without regard to particular program and funding initiatives. This approach yielded a variety of observations about students with disabilities and promising practices and challenges of the colleges they attended, as well as uncovered areas for further study and development of supports for students, staff, and faculty. Noteworthy was the perspective of both students and college professionals that on-campus services and supports were most critical to college completion.