DETAC Announces New Results and Innovation in Systems Excellence (RISE) e-Learning Community
Open to State Councils on Developmental Disabilities (Councils)
Apply HERE! (complete URL included below)
Applications due Friday, February 7, 2025 by 5:00PM Eastern Time (ET)
Access the 508 Compliant PDF Announcement Here
Summary
The Disability Employment Technical Assistance Center (DETAC), funded by the Administration on Disabilities (AoD), is pleased to accept applications to participate in the Results and Innovation in Systems Excellence (RISE) e-Learning Community, Using Data to Set Employment Goals/Objectives and Measure Outcomes.
The purpose of this community is to offer State Councils on Developmental Disabilities (Councils) the opportunity to brainstorm, develop, and solidify employment goals or objectives for the development of the next round of state plans. During the sessions, Councils will revisit key concepts underlying competitive integrated employment (CIE), learn about disability employment data sources that may help them justify the need for these goals and objectives, reflect on past strategies and lessons learned for advancing employment goals in their states/territories, hear from Councils who have made progress on employment, and connect with other Councils to share ideas and troubleshoot challenges. Over the course of the community, participants will develop draft employment goals or objectives for potential consideration by their Councils for inclusion in their state plans and identify actionable strategies for advancing CIE for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Session Schedule
Three 90-minute virtual sessions:
- Wednesday, February 26, 2025 – 2:00 – 3:30 PM Eastern Time (ET)
- Wednesday, March 12, 2025 – 2:00 – 3:30 PM ET
- Wednesday, March 26, 2025 – 2:00 – 3:30 PM ET
Application Instructions
Interested Councils should complete the application form by Friday, February 7 at 5:00PM ET.
This community is intended for Council staff overseeing or participating in state plan development, and Council leadership should be aware of any applications submitted by Council staff or members. Multiple people affiliated with a Council are welcome to participate. If you are approved to participate, you will receive information for sessions in the community.
Community Details
- This community is specifically open to Councils.
- The community will be hosted in the Zoom platform. Zoom Meeting links will be provided once grantees have been accepted into the e-Learning Community.
- The contact person(s) listed in the application will be notified via email.
- All sessions will include CART closed captioning. American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation will be provided on Session 1, and by request thereafter. If you need an accommodation to participate, please note this in the application or send an email to AoDEmploymentTA@gmail.com.
- Please add AoDEmploymentTA@gmail.com to your safe senders list to be sure you do not miss important updates about the community.
Speaker Bios
Amy Gonzalez, M.S.
Amy M. Gonzalez is the Senior Advisor to and Former Project Manager of DETAC. Prior to her roles with DETAC, Amy was a Senior Policy Advisor on the Workforce Systems Policy Team at the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP). She formerly served as the State Director of Employment & Day Services for the Tennessee Department of Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities. Amy started her career in direct service and has a broad range of experience in serving individuals with disabilities through the following systems: Education, Vocational Rehabilitation, Workforce Development, Medicaid, including employer outreach and engagement. She also strives to elevate important systems issues that continue to be overlooked such as marginalized and underserved communities.
Amy has a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Master’s degree in Rehabilitation Counseling from the University of Texas – Rio Grande Valley (formerly Pan American). She is the Founder and Principal of AMG Consulting, LLC.
John Butterworth, PhD
Dr. John Butterworth has over 45 years of experience as a researcher, consultant, trainer, manager, and direct support professional focused on community-based employment and related day services. He works with states, community providers and advocates to develop a service system that leads to high quality individual competitive integrated employment and community life engagement outcomes. John’s interests include state and federal policy, employment and day outcome data, organizational transformation, employment support, person-centered planning, and program management.
Jean Winsor, PhD
Dr. Jean E. Winsor is a Senior Associate and leads the Employment Systems and Policy team at the Institute for Community Inclusion. Jean focuses on building the integrated employment system, and bridging research to practice through technical assistance to employment system partners. She is the Principal Investigator for Access to Integrated Employment, a longitudinal Data Collection Project of National Significance.
Alison Whyte
Alison Whyte is the Executive Director of the DC Developmental Disabilities Council (DDC), leading grassroots efforts to engage families and advocates in systems and culture change through policy advocacy and program development. Alison has Co-Facilitated several systems change initiatives in DC, including the Supporting Families Community of Practice, Community of Practice for Cultural and Linguistic Competence, and the Bridging Aging and Disability Networks and Racial Equity Community of Practice. Alison engages with people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families to support person-centered practices, self-advocacy and leadership, employment, and initiatives that help people live and thrive in their community. Alison loves calling DC home, meeting dogs, biking around DC, and planning her next adventure.
Kevin Wright
Kevin Wright is a native Washingtonian with a learning disability and speech impairment. However, Kevin does not view these as barriers; rather, he believes his quiet nature is his only obstacle. Growing up, Kevin attended two private schools. He attended Accotink Academy in Springfield, VA from kindergarten to eighth grade. Kevin attended Kingsbury Day School in Washington, DC for high school, graduating in his senior year. Afterward, he went to Mitchell College, a private four-year institution in New London, CT, where he majored in Communications with a minor in Graphic Design. Kevin received support from the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) throughout high school and college.
Following college, Kevin’s persistence and networking led to a six-month internship with the Department on Disability Services (DDS) through the Aspiring Professionals Internship Program, a program focused on Employment First initiatives. This program places qualified individuals with disabilities in paid positions within District government agencies. As a result of his internship, Kevin was hired as a contractor for DDS under the DC Learners & Earners initiative. Kevin contributed to employment and advocacy efforts by presenting at national conferences, conducting trainings, creating and editing materials, and mentoring others.
In 2016, Kevin became a certified trainer for the People Planning Together program, which empowers people with developmental disabilities to create their own life plans and gain independence. He worked with DDS for five years before starting a new journey with the DC Developmental Disabilities Council (DDC) in 2021, where he now serves as a Program Support Assistant.
Kevin’s former ultimate career goal was to mentor young adults by sharing his own experiences and helping them develop their career paths. His new objective is to spotlight as many individuals as possible, with or without developmental disabilities, allowing them to share their stories, accomplishments, and insights with professionals and employers, highlighting the benefits of hiring individuals with developmental disabilities.
Sue Babin, MPA
Sue Babin has been working in the field of developmental disabilities for 40+ years. She was the administrator of the Office of Quality Assurance for the State Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD) for 30 years advocating for the human rights of people with disabilities and overseeing investigations on abuse, neglect and mistreatment; administrator for supported employment statewide grants; program manager for Rhode Island’s Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) waiver; and responsible for designing and implementing monitoring and quality improvement programs for DD community agencies. For the last 10+ years she has been a Special Projects Coordinator for the Rhode Island Developmental Disabilities Council (RIDDC), staff to the Systems Advocacy Committee (SAC), and founder and Project Director for Rhode Island’s Self-Employment Business Incubator Project since 2018. Sue has a Master’s Degree in Public Administration (MPA), is a graduate of Leadership Rhode Island’s Omnicron Class, and was a recipient in 2021 for Providence Business News (PBN’s) annual “Rhode Island Leaders and Achievers” Awards. In July 2024, Sue was awarded the 2024 Dave Hammis Employment Innovation Award at the National Association of People Supporting Employment First (APSE) Conference.
Questions?
Contact AoDEmploymentTA@gmail.com with questions about this e-Learning community.
Subscribe to the DETAC National Community of Practice listserv to receive updates when new RISE communities are announced: http://eepurl.com/hq0D2H.
And, connect with us on social media (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn).