Issue 2 | July 2021
In this Issue:
DETAC Needs Your Input: Landscape Assessment & Five-Year Strategic Plan ◆ June Grantee Representative Work Group Meeting ◆ New RISE Peer eLearning Community #2 ◆ Take Advantage of DETAC TA-on-Demand ◆ New DETAC TA Resources Available ◆ DETAC’s National Monthly CoP Webinars ◆ Coming Soon: DETAC Learning Management System
Celebrating ADA Month by Reaffirming our Commitment to Supporting the Goals and Dreams of People with Disabilities
Hello and welcome to the Disability Employment TA Center’s (DETAC) July 2021 Monthly Newsletter! In celebration of the 31st anniversary of the passage of the American with Disabilities Act, we wish to acknowledge the amazing contributions of individuals with disabilities to our nation’s workforce, economy, and local communities. We also wish to renew our commitment to supporting the extraordinary efforts of the Administration on Disabilities’ grantee network in advancing employment and economic outcomes of people with disabilities. Please check out some of our upcoming events and TA opportunities, as well as new technical resources that are available this month.
DETAC Still Needs Your Input:
Landscape Assessment & Five-Year Strategic Plan
Recently, the DETAC published its environmental landscape assessment of grantees’ current impact on improving CIE outcomes, as well as the five-year strategic plan for the Center. The Center is looking for feedback from stakeholders about both the findings of the landscape assessment as well as the strategic plan. All feedback is requested by July 31st, 2021, and may be sent electronically to aodemploymentta@gmail.com.
AoD Grantee Representative Work Group Update
The Center’s Grantee Representative Work Group participated in a meeting on June 30, 2021 from 3:00-4:30/EST. During this time, the Work Group members heard about the DETAC’s focused efforts thus far, and provided feedback on the Technical Assistance (TA) elements for the remainder of 2021. Key topics included strategies for successfully engaging grantees into the offerings, provisions of TA in a way that fosters cross-grantee collaboration, and the importance of focusing on practical implementation tactics to support the work of the grantees in the space of employment. The next meeting of the Grantee Representative Work Group is scheduled for August 30, 2021. To learn more about the AoD Grantee Representative Work Group members, click here.
New RISE Peer eLearning Community #2:
Building Back Better: Reinventing Our Approach to Competitive, Integrated Employment
SPACE IS LIMITED!! APPLY ASAP AND NO LATER THAN JULY 27TH!
It has been approximately 18 months came face-to-face with living through a global pandemic. In relation to supporting people with disabilities through this crisis in our nation’s history, providers of disability services have had to pivot and immediately prioritize the health and safety of the individuals they serve through the provision of remote, individualized supports, often via a hybrid virtual/home-based model that had to deploy unique and different strategies given the threats of COVID-19. Communities were called upon to invent new, creative ways for individuals (both with and without disabilities) to remain connected and vibrant with unprecedented constraints. And as AoD grantees, you were called upon to go the extra mile in terms of advocating for the interests of people with disabilities, advising on the development and quick implementation of alternative approaches to service provision, and monitoring (through research, data collection and exploratory engagement) the impact of the pandemic and these subsequent changes in systems on people with disabilities.
As a result of preparing to “Bring Back Better”, we have designed a dynamic Results & Innovation in Systems Excellence (RISE) peer-action e-Learning community that will engage and challenge you to build initiatives based up on your organization’s unique footing (resources, strengths, assets, level of experience, and interests) to advance competitive integrated employment (CIE) opportunities for people with disabilities, at both an individual and systems-level. If you want to engage with like-minded professionals in the pursuit of quality CIE, and you’re ready to take your organization’s focus on the employment and economic advancement of people with disabilities to the next level, this RISE peer action e-Learning Community is FOR YOU!
We will hold ten 90-minute sessions between July and December 2021. At each session, there will be content, conversation, and the expectation to engage in the practices needed to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to emerge from COVID, through employment. Each participating entity will also receive two 1:1 consults to supplement the ongoing group coaching for bringing a concept related to employment to reality within their organization. Participants should include senior-level executive leaders and/or mid-level program managers who are responsible for teams/staff that have the advancement of employment of people with disabilities as part of their portfolio.
Interested grantees should complete the application here.
Application is required by 11:59 PM ET on July 27, 2021.
Taking Advantage of AoD TA-on-Demand
Need advice from an Expert? Reach out! Send your requests directly to the AoD Disability Employment TA center at AoDEmploymentTA@gmail.com or fill out the form here.
Check out New DETAC TA Resource:
Ending Segregated Workshops and Promoting Competitive Integrated Employment– Legal Foundations for Protection and Advocacy Entities, Part 1
DETAC’s subject matter experts Steven Schwartz (Center for Public Representation) and Ruby Moore (Georgia Advocacy Office) recently teamed up to craft the first in a three-part technical resource series describing the intersections between the ADA, Olmstead, and competitive integrated employment. This is a great primer for professional staff within a protection and advocacy entity (P&A) or other AoD grantee organization that would like to learn more about the legal underpinnings supporting our collective systems-change efforts to promote CIE options for people with disabilities. Check out Steve’s blog entitled, “The ADA and End to Sheltered Workshops” that also ran on July 15th.
DETAC’s National Monthly Webinars
The Center hosts monthly national webinars on the second Tuesday of every month from 3:00-4:30 p.m. ET. “Office Hours with the Experts” are held on the 2nd Friday of every month from 12:00 noon-1:30 p.m. ET.
Monthly CoP Webinars: Coming up in August:
Overcoming Systemic Racism in the Education System to Build Equity for Students with Disabilities of Color
Webinar: Date: August 10, 2021 | Time: 3:00 pm to 4:30 pm EST
Office Hours: Date: August 13, 2021 | Time: 12:00 pm to 1:30 pm EST
For centuries, students with disabilities, particularly those who identify with underserved or marginalized populations have been faced with extraordinary challenges as they navigate the school system as a young person with a disability of color. Educators are presented with challenges in connecting with individuals of different backgrounds in addition to providing quality integrated special education services that lead to competitive, integrated employment outcomes. Providers of services for youth with disabilities are hungry for resources to support their colleagues in the education system to enable and empower them to raise the bar in providing equal services to youth with disabilities of color. During this webinar, participants will learn how to apply assessment tools and unique strategies that help in breaking barriers and identifying realistic solutions to supporting students with disabilities of color that are struggling to navigate the complexities of being an underserved or marginalized population in local education system.
Presenters:
Hasan Davis, J.D.
National Speaker/Author/ Trainer
Chisa O’Quinn, M.S.W.
Program Manager, WISE
Registration at: https://bit.ly/DETAC-CoP-Aug-10-2021
In Case You Missed Them Live
Celebrating Olmstead: It’s Time for 14(c) Phase-Out: Lessons Learned from Advancing Legislation & Leaving the Shop
June 8, 2021
The June webinar focused on celebrating Olmstead by helping attendees understand the history of civil rights for people with disabilities. Additionally, the webinar highlighted Washington state’s successful model of passing legislation to permanently phase out 14(c) and sheltered work in the state, delving into the valuable role the Washington Council on Developmental Disabilities played in bringing stakeholders together in executing a coordinated advocacy strategy with state legislators. Participants also heard about the remarkable journey of four self-advocates from Washington State, Maryland, and Rhode Island who transitioned out of sheltered workshops or segregated work and into CIE, optimal self-sufficiency, and full community inclusion.
Celebrating Olmstead: It’s Time for 14(c) Phase-Out: Lessons Learned from Advancing Legislation & Leaving the Shop
June 8, 2021
The June webinar focused on celebrating Olmstead by helping attendees understand the history of civil rights for people with disabilities. Additionally, the webinar highlighted Washington state’s successful model of passing legislation to permanently phase out 14(c) and sheltered work in the state, delving into the valuable role the Washington Council on Developmental Disabilities played in bringing stakeholders together in executing a coordinated advocacy strategy with state legislators. Participants also heard about the remarkable journey of four self-advocates from Washington State, Maryland, and Rhode Island who transitioned out of sheltered workshops or segregated work and into CIE, optimal self-sufficiency, and full community inclusion.
Reflecting on the Americans with Disabilities Act: Advancements in Technological Support Solutions on the Job in a COVID World
July 13, 2021
We celebrated the 31st anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by highlighting the importance of technological innovation in supporting and propelling individuals with disabilities to secure and maintain competitive, integrated employment (CIE). Participants got the opportunity to hear opening remarks from Alison Barkoff, Acting Administrator for the Administration for Community Living, on the impact that technological advancements have had in fulfilling the promise of the ADA. Then, participants learnt about innovative assistive technologies and applications that help individuals with significant disabilities improve their productivity and interpersonal communications in the workplace. Experts from the AT3 Center also spoke about the role that federally-funded assistive technology programs in every state and territory under the Assistive Technology Act can play in partnership with AoD grantees at the state and local level to enhance employment and economic outcomes for individuals with disabilities by increasing access to vital assistive technologies. Finally, participants heard the real-life success stories of two individuals with disabilities who benefited from individualized technological solutions to help them achieve CIE.
Coming Soon: DETAC Learning Management System
The AoD Disability TA Center’s Learning Management System (LMS) will be a state-of-the-art, interactive platform where AoD grantees can complete courses on a variety of topics, receive professional development, participate in peer-learning communities and topical discussions, and download AoD-grantee specific curriculum and trainings. Be on the lookout: we are busy developing the system and the LMS will be available within the next couple of months!
