January 2012 Highlights
PROJECT WIDE NEWS
Announcements
Seeking Members for Work Group and Planning Committee
The
Catalyst Project is currently seeking members for two groups:
- Work Group to design an AT for Employers Web Portal.
- Planning Committee to help plan an AT & Employment Summit (currently slated for spring 2013).
If interested in becoming a member of either of these groups, contact Paul Galonsky at pgalonsky@resna.org.
Upcoming Events
WebEd Webinar 2012 - SW
ADA 01– Enhancing Student
Services to Provide Accessibility in Post- Secondary Settings – Wednesday
February 29, 2012 from
2:00 to 3:30p.m. Eastern
Institutions of higher education must comply with
the Section 504 of the Rehab Act and the ADA to provide academic adjustments,
including auxiliary aids such as AT. The Southwest and Great Lakes ADA Centers will present information on their project to
develop quality indicators on AT for post-secondary accessibility and report on
the data collected from this effort. Presenters will also provide
information on processes that disability services offices can institute to
ensure that students with disabilities receive appropriate accommodations.
Webinar Access information will be provided closer to the date of the
webinar. This is a free webinar open to
all. For a list of WebEd webinars
planned for this year, go to http://www.resnaprojects.org/statewide/webed.html
AT for Employment Work Group Call -January 19, 2012
The Work Group talked about ways that AT Act
programs collaborate with their state Vocational Rehabilitation agency. Brian Bard and Rob Groenendaal will be
moderating a panel at the April meeting of CSAVR and would like to highlight
some of these collaborations. MP3 and
call notes from this call can be found on the Employment Hub at http://www.resnaprojects.org/crossprograms/employment/index.html. If you have resources that you wish to share on this page, please
send them to Paul Galonsky at pgalonsky@resna.org.
AT Act Programs
Exhibit at ATIA Conference in Orlando
RESNA Catalyst Project hosted a booth for all AT
Act Entities at ATIA’s January Conference in Orlando. Thanks to
the volunteers who staffed the booth:
Shannon Cole, Jamie Prioli, and Sharon Alderman.
STATEWIDE AT PROGRAMS
Upcoming Events
Statewide AT Program New Directors Call-Thursday, February 2, at 3:00 p.m.
Eastern
The New Directors call takes place every other month. This upcoming call will feature information
about data collection and reporting, as well as allow new directors to discuss
issues they are currently facing. Diane
Cordry Golden, Project Coordinator with
the Center
for Assistive Technology Act Data Assistance (CATADA), will be joining the group to help answer data
questions. To join the call, dial 800-351-6810, and use pass code: 46172076.
Developing State Plans Teleconference-Thursday, January 12, 2012
Rob Groenendaal and Brian Bard from RSA discussed State Plan requirements and
timelines. Project Directors Sachin
Pavithran (UT) and Alan Knue (WA) talked about how each of their Projects
approach developing the State Plan. The
transcript, call recording and handouts are available at the following:
Transcript
(word) MP3
OSATP
State Plan Template (word)
State AT Grant Programs Purchasing Work Group
The Statewide AT Program's
Purchasing Work Group met via conference call on Monday, January 30th to
discuss the structure of a the Purchasing web-based discussion forum. The forum will be devoted to sharing
discounts and deals on AT devices.
PAAT PROGRAMS
Upcoming Event
Save the Date!
16th Annual “Bridges to Better Advocacy” Conference, October 23-25, 2012
The Annual “Bridges to Better Advocacy” Conference
will once again be held at the Hilton Garden Inn in Austin, TX. As
planning for the Conference begins, please share your thoughts on potential
conference sessions. Contact either
Diana (dstraube@nls.org) or Jim (jsheldon@nls.org).
Seventeen postings are now available at http://www.nls.org/did%20you%20know.htm. Coming Soon: “Remembering EPSDT in the Wake of Medicaid Cuts”.
New Distance
Learning Initiative for 2012
In an effort to maximize resources and bring
quality training to the PAATs, P&A Network, and Statewide AT Programs, there
will be a series of four distance learning sessions. The plan is for each session to last a
minimum of 90 minutes with 1.5 hours of continuing legal education (CLE)
credits available. All sessions start at
2:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
The first session is scheduled for March 8, 2012 on Funding AT through Special Education Programs
presented by Ron Hager, National Disability Rights Network.
ALTERNATIVE FINANCING AND TELEWORK LOAN PROGRAMS
Upcoming Events
Teleconference Series
The Catalyst Project will
be sponsoring a series of teleconferences in 2012. One of these will focus on Application Red
Flags, and the other will focus on Asset Development for People with
Disabilities. Teleconferences will begin
in March, 2012. Keep an eye out for
teleconference notifications!
Best Practices Teleconference Call
The Best Practices Work
Group is proud to present a Quality Indicators document for AFP and Telework
Loan programs. A conference call based
on this document will be held in March, and will focus on how to best utilize
this guide of Best Practices into your own program. Specific date and time information will be
coming in the February Highlights.
Two New Publications: AFP and Telework Data Reports
The RESNA Catalyst Project
has developed two reports on loan program data from 2009 & 2010 data
years. One report will focus on AFP
data, the second report will highlight Telework data. These two reports will provide updated data
reports and program profile information, and will be a great tool for programs
to use to market their programs. The
reports will be posted on the Catalyst website and print copies will be mailed
to each AFP and Telework Program
New Publications:
Quality Indicators for AFPs and Telework Loan Programs
The RESNA Catalyst
project, with direction from the Best Practices Work Group, has created a
Quality Indicators document for all AFPs and Telework Loan Programs. Upon receiving final comments and edits, this
will be distributed to loan programs as well as posted on the Catalyst website
(www.resnaprojects.org).
OTHER RESOURCES
New AT Radio & Podcasts in Indiana
INDATA
has officially launched an internet radio station. AssistiveTechnologyRadio.com
broadcasts 24/7 and includes a wide variety of AT programs. Programs
include INDATA’s two podcasts as well as various AT trainings conducted. To view and listen to the
growing list of episodes, visit: http://www.eastersealstech.com/content.aspxpId=492.
INDATA
will include audio content from other AT projects. To submit radio content or to learn
more about INDATA's AT radio and podcasts contact Wade Wingler at wwingler@eastersealscrossroads.org.
Webinar Series on iDevices
The
Maryland Assistive Technology Network and Johns Hopkins University are
jointly hosting a webinar series on iDevices:
Supports for Individuals with and without Special Needs. The series
includes iDevices- the newest technology on the block (Feb 23); Apps for This
and That (March 15); and Sliding, Gliding, and Tapping (April 5). All of
the webinars are at 3:00 -4:00 eastern time. For more
information, go to http://matnonline.com.