Free Employer Webinar ‘The Magic and Art of Job Development’: May 1
Through a grant from the US Department of Labor’s National Expansion of Employment Opportunities Network (NEON) project, the New York Alliance for Inclusion & Innovation invites employers to participate in a series of three free webinars, designed to inspire and inform you about employment for people with disabilities.
The 2024 webinars are: The Magic and Art of Job Development (see more about this below) on May 1; Using Technology to Enhance Employment Supports on May 29; and Individual Placement and Supports (IPS): A Best Practice Approach to Supported Employment for People with Mental Illness on July 16.
New Yorkers with disabilities continue to struggle to access sustainable and lucrative employment opportunities within their communities. This series of webinars was developed to share insights into the supports and services available to assist people with disabilities gain and succeed in meaningful employment opportunities.
All webinars will be held via Zoom. Recordings will be made available on the NY Alliance website following the live sessions. Connection information is included in the registration confirmation.
Each webinar is eligible for 1.5 Social Work CE hours.
The Magic and Art of Job Development
Details
When: Wednesday, May 1, 2024
Time: 2 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Questions, contact Kate Connally at kconnally@nyalliance.org.
Learn About OPWDD Self-Direction: May 2
This virtual webinar will teach you about the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities’ (OPWDD) Self Direction (SD) program, which in theory allows for more choice in OPWDD-funded supports and services.
Here are some examples of things people can Self Direct:
- where they live
- how they spend your days
- what they do in their spare time
- how they stay healthy and active
- relationships with family and friends
- who they hire to assist
But to be approved for SD takes several steps. The individual must be eligible for OPWDD services, be enrolled in the Home and Community Based (HCBS) Waiver, and participate in Care Management services through a Care Coordination Organization (CCO).
Details
When: Thursday, May 2, 2024
Time: 12p.m. to 1 p.m.
A Webinar to Help Parents of Children with Disabilities Cope: May 6
This free webinar from parent, author and certified coach Kris Burbank aims to help parents deal with the complications inherent in raising a child with special needs.
The flier says if “you’re tired of second-guessing yourself as a parent, doubt you can live a full and happy life given all the challenges you face and struggle to prioritize your own needs” this workshop might be for you.
Burbank notes that as the mother of a 27-year-old son with disabilities she knows how it feels to struggle with these difficult feelings and is committed to making it a little less hard for other parents, no matter their child’s age. The hope is that you’ll benefit from looking at things from a different perspective or trying to shift some of your habits.
Details
When: Monday, May 6, 2024
Time: 7 p.m.
Urgent Call to Action: Ask OPWDD to Withdraw Its Self-Direction Draft Proposal Today
The Supporting Our Youth & Adults Network (SOYAN) and Coalition for Self Direction (C4SD) have put out urgent calls to action regarding Self Direction and the lack of transparency over the community classes category.
They note that OPWDD has put out an Administrative Directive Memorandum for comment on community classes that delegate will delegate power to Fiscal Intermediaries (FIs) to “regulate” community classes following unwritten guidance and limit an individual’s right to choose their own supports and services and ignores person-centered planning.
You can read replies from the Supporting Our Youth & Adults Network (SOYAN) for background. The C4SD remarks came as an attachment and are not included, though bullet points from both SOYAN and C4SD are below.
What to do
The deadline is EOD Thursday, April 25. Please email your comments Wednesday, April 24 and/or Thursday, April 25 to two addresses: rau.unit@opwdd.ny.gov (OPWDD’s Regulatory Unit) and self.direction.redesign@
You do not need to write a formal cited reply. Instead, you can copy and paste the below.
The OPWDD must rescind the the Self Direction ADM and consider creating a collaborative working group composed of OPWDD leadership, Self-Direction participants, family members and representatives from FIs to review the current Self-Direction Guidance. The four main points are:
- The proposed ADM fails to safeguard the due process rights of Self-Direction participants seeking reimbursement for IDGS, OTPS and FRR that align with their Life Plan.
- The proposed ADM would relinquish OPWDD’s oversight of its vendors: the Fiscal Intermediaries. Its requirement that FIs become members of “communities of practice” does not ensure that their decisions are in alignment with OPWDD and CMS regulations and guidance documents. Further, it ignores the potential for FIs to have a conflict of interest by denying access to community based activities and rather, promoting their agency’s in-house day programs.
- This added authority is beyond the scope of FIs’ role within the confines of the HCBS 1915c Waiver.
- Community class (Community Classes & Publicly Available Training/Coaching) criteria need to be reevaluated. Subjective rules have been applied restricting choice, access to meaningful community-based experiences that are consistent with the individual’s Life Plan, goals, needs and preferences. This deliberate and finite authority to approve/disapprove an individual’s chosen IDGS community activity that aligns with their Life Plan is neglectful by OPWDD.
Life-Skills Workshop Series for Caregivers: April 23
Life skills, or daily living skills, are abilities that people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) need to achieve their highest level of independence. These include skills related to managing money, personal hygiene, medication management, taking care of living spaces, laundry, cooking, transportation and shopping.
Westchester Institute for Human Development’s Community Support Network is running this virtual three-series workshop for caregivers about supporting life-skills learning for children, teens and young adults with I/DD.
You’ll need to come to the workshop with at least one idea for a life skill that you want your loved one to work on.
The series will cover:
- The process of teaching and reinforcing life-skills
- The self-advocate’s perspective on the challenges in developing these skills
Details
When: Tuesday, April 23, 2024; Workshop #2 is scheduled for May 23, Workshop #3 for June 25. (Check back on the WIHD calendar of events for details.)
Time: 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Preventing Parent Burnout for Parents of Children with Special Needs: April 24
Extraordinary parenting responsibilities create extraordinary pressures on parents. At the same time, parenting a child with special needs requires energy, focus, and enthusiasm to be effective in our role. The better off we are emotionally and physically, the better off our families will be.
Join Parent to Parent of NYS for this webinar on Preventing Parent Burnout and discover positive ways to cope with and effectively manage stress.
Details
When: Wednesday, April 24, 2024
Time: 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Photo: Unsplash
Be Part of the First-Ever ‘Hear Our Voices’ Self-Advocates Conference on May 16
Many of us take self-advocacy for granted. We speak out, voice concerns, share our needs and fight for our rights, and have since we were kids. Yet people with developmental disabilities are rarely taught or given the space to pick up on the communication and negotiation skills needed to self-advocate. In part it’s because society ignores their needs and wants, and because even well-meaning caregivers teach them not to expect too much.
Enter Hear Our Voices. Since 2018, this monthly virtual self-advocacy group — part of Westchester Institute of Human Development’s Community Support Network — does just that. It gives people with developmental disabilities the tools they need to help achieve their goals in areas ranging from employment and housing to community integration, and also serves as an opportunity to develop and grow social connections.
Now, Hear Our Voices is expanding its reach with its first-ever statewide Self-Advocates Conference, open to anyone interested in self-advocacy as well as their allies.
“It’s important to make Hear Our Voices a statewide [group] because there aren’t a lot of self-advocates out there,” says Brendan Klein, president of Hear Our Voices and coordinator of Self Advocacy & Community Engagement at WIHD. “We want to change that.”
The free, virtual event, which is also being run by people with disabilities, will feature speakers with disabilities in each session. The topics range from neurodivergent-friendly mental health and eating disorder care, to highlighting non-verbal voices and an exploration of supported decision-making as an alternative to guardianship. Klein says they’re aiming for some 300 participants, including some state legislatures.
The keynote presentation, “Tell Your Story to Be a Change Agent,” is being given by BJ Stasio, a disability rights advocate from Buffalo who’s co-vice president of the Board of Directors of the Self-Advocacy Association of New York State (SANYS); and Chester Finn, a nationally recognized disability advocate who’s special assistant with OPWD who had been appointed by former U.S. President Barack Obama to serve two terms on the board of the National Council on Disability (NCD).
The goal, says Klein, is to grow and learn together.
“In the end, we hope more people will join Hear Our Voices,” says Klein. “If they’d like to join the team, we’d love to have them!”
Details
When: Thursday, May 16, 2024
Time: 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Do Microschools Work for Students with Developmental Disabilities?
Microschools, a loosely defined category of schooling — descriptors range from small learning environments to outsourced homeschooling — are having a moment. The model took off during the pandemic and now serves between 1 million and two million students, according to a rough estimate from Edchoice.org. They tend to convene in commercial or nonprofit spaces, private homes, houses of worship and other creative locations.
It’s unclear how many microschools have popped up across the country. There’s no single database, for instance, tracking those operating in New York and/or in the TriState area. (A Google search brings up a decent selection.)
There is data, however, on how many students with disabilities are being taught via this model. A recently released report finds that 63% of currently operating microschools draw students considered neurodivergent; 53% serve students with other special needs; and 53% those whose educational attainment upon arrival is two or more grades below their chronological grade level.
The study, which covers a variety of areas related to the movement, is called the American Microschools: A Sector Analysis. It was produced by the National Microschooling Center, an organization committed to the microschool movement, which surveyed 400 microschool founders in 41 states.
RELATED NEWS: Letting vouchers fund Indiana microschools could spur innovation, but also a fight for cash
The study’s results were expertly parsed by the74million.org in the article Microschools Fill Niche for Students with Disabilities, Survey Shows, which is recommended reading. It reports that some families are searching out these small programs to help children falling through the education cracks, and features one family thrilled with the advances they’re seeing in their child. But it also notes some major caveats.
“Like all private schools, microschools don’t have to accept students with disabilities or provide the same services as public schools, putting some parents who might otherwise take advantage of school choice in a tough spot,” it explains. Also, as private schools they have no legal obligation to serve children with developmental disabilities.
“Critics of ESAs and other voucher-type programs stress that students’ rights under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act aren’t guaranteed once they leave the public schools,” it adds. This means, for instance, in most cases there’s no right to due process.
RELATED NEWS: In Pandemic’s Wake, Learning Pods and Microschools Take Root
An article published last year in Youth Today, a national, nonprofit, independent news source, also points out red flags while simultaneously noting that microschools in many ways embody the ideal of the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
“You look at each child, you provide the services and support, and you deliver the education in a way that the child can access it, and that’s wonderful,” said Lauren Morando Rhim, executive director of Center for Learner Equity. “Where it becomes more complicated is when the child needs more services,” such as specialized instruction for dyslexia or speech or occupational therapies.
And while students with disabilities might have a lot to gain from the small learning programs, they also might have the most to lose, added Travis Pillow, a senior writer at the Center on Reinventing Public Education, as most are not required to follow federal laws protecting students with disabilities, don’t provide enough resources to support them and let them fall behind.
Some public school advocates also fear school choice could financially devastate public schools, cutting into the services students with disabilities need to thrive.
Stay tuned for more updates on the microschool movement. If you’ve had any experience with one, we’d love to hear about it! You can contact The Boost here.
Highlights of the American Microschools Study
- Many microschools are informal, with students identifying as homeschoolers for the purpose of state registration (and in some states students don’t even need to register as homeschoolers, they can simply homeschool). Others might operate as private schools or tutoring programs, and others might be affiliates of a charter school network.
- 55% serve children following their state’s homeschooling framework; 37 operate as licensed private schools (accredited or unaccredited); and 6% operate as public charter schools.
- 55% offer full-time weekly schedules, defined here as at least four days per week and four hours per day, while 28% offer part-time/hybrid schedules and 17% give a choice.
- 16% of microschools are accredited in their state.
- They currently serve a median average of 16 children.
- The most common annual tuition/fees is between $5,000 and $10,000 (43%).
- A third now accept education savings account funds, up from 18% in the 2023 report.
More Developmental Disability News for Week Ending April 20, 2024
The Special Olympics come to West Point, Pennsylvania works to eliminate its waitlist for disability services, the best car toys for kids with autism and more developmental disability news for the week ending April 20, 2024.
New York
West Point to host Hudson Valley Spring Special Olympics 600 athletes will compete on April 20. (timesunion.com)
Mount Pleasant fires back, sues nonprofit JCCA to keep migrant children from shelter (lohud.com)
School claims disability rights’ group unqualified for investigation Shrub Oak Int. claims that investigators from Disability Rights New York have asked “inappropriate” questions. (Timesunion.com)
Opinion: New York must do more to support formerly incarcerated individuals with a disability Cognitive disabilities affect about one-fourth of incarcerated people. (Empirereportnewyork.com)
FYI, the WIHD Community Support Network newsletter reminds us that the state’s Fiscal Year 2024 Budget included funding for OPWDD to establish an ombudsman program run by a single entity. Request for Proposals were submitted early in the year, and awards will be issued later this spring.
Outside of New York
Pennsylvania Gov. Shapiro aims to eliminate waitlist for services for adults with intellectual disabilities He’s starting by boosting the salaries of employees who work with the intellectually disabled through nonprofit service agencies.
Interview: Minnesota’s groundbreaking push for teacher training on ableism Minnesota will soon enact a first-of-its-kind law promoting teacher training on ableism and the history of the disability justice movement. (Minnpost.com)
College
InclusiveU celebrates decade of creating ‘a home’ for students with disabilities The Syracuse University initiative is part of SU’s School of Education. (The Daily Orange)
Europe
Campaigners Seek EU-Wide Ban on Forced Sterilisation of People With Disabilities (usnews.com)
Autism
Best Car Toys for Kids with Autism Road & Track has assembled a list of car-related toys specifically for kids with sensory sensitivities.
Opinion: Schools Are Killing My Son’s Autism Support Under the Veil of Equity (Newsweek)
These identical twins both grew up with autism, but took very different paths (npr.org)
Swifites
How Taylor Swift’s Music Is Teaching Social-Emotional Skills To These Pennsylvania Special Ed Students Rock on. (Disability Scoop)
Orange-Ulster BOCES 2024 Transition Fair: April 25
If you have a child with a developmental disability and are planning your child’s future, this is a great place to connect with representatives from service agencies that can provide continued support with transitioning out of high school.
Agencies can provide assistance in the following areas and more:
- Services and programs
- Employment
- Postsecondary education programs
- Legal considerations
- Financial planning
- Community resources
- Mental health services
- Family support
Details
When: Thursday, April 25, 2024
Time: 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. & 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Where: Emanuel Axelrod Education Center, Goshen, N.Y., 10924
For more information contact Veronique Dietrich at veronique.dietrich@ouboces.org or 845-291-0200, ext. 10250.