January 2013 Highlights
PROJECT WIDE NEWS
Announcements
RSA
Submission FY 2013 State Plan for AT Due
Rob
Groenendaal and Brian Bard with RSA announced earlier this week that
FY 2013 State Plans for AT (RSA-664) are due to be completed and
submitted in the MIS by
C.O.B. Friday, March 1, 2013.
An email detailing specific
instructions was sent along with the above announcement.
If you did
not receive information and instructions on submitting the RSA-664 in
the MIS, please contact Brian Bard
(brian.bard@ed.gov)
or
(robert.groenendaal@ed.gov)
for
additional information.
RESNA
Catalyst Project’s Employment Summit and Two Project Directors
Meetings - Bethesda, Maryland May 6-9, 2013
We
have already received a great registration response for the three
meetings that are planned for the spring of 2013 for AT Act Entities!
The Catalyst Project will host an Employment
Summit May 8-9, 2013
for all AT Act Entities at the Bethesda, Maryland Hyatt Regency.
Two
Project Director Meetings will be conducted in conjunction with the
Summit.
ATAP and the Catalyst Project will co-host a Statewide
AT Program Directors May 6-7, 2013.
In addition, there will be a Financial
Loan Best Practices Institute May 7, 2013
for AFP/Telework/Title 1 loan program staff.
All three meetings are
open to all AT Act Entities!
RESNA
Meeting Registration and or Hotel Booking.
If
you have not already registered for the RESNA Meeting, or need the
registration form for any of the meetings, please contact Paul
Galonsky, pgalonsky@resna.org
to receive via email.
If you need to book your
hotel room or the meeting, visit
https://resweb.passkey.com/Resweb.domode=welcome_ei_new&eventID;=9696971&utm;_source=14877&utm;_medium=email&utm;_campaign=21505414
to book online.
Register soon and see you this May!
CEUs
for RESNA Catalyst Project Webinars
Back
by popular demand, the RESNA Catalyst Project will be offering CEUs
for most live and archived webinar sessions. The RESNA Catalyst
Project is an approved authorized provider for CEU credits by the
International
Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET).
You can receive 0.1 CEUs for a sixty minute webinar. To apply for
CEUs for a specific webinar, just download the form, complete it, and
send it to RESNA as the directions indicate. There is a $16 fee to
receive credits for each webinar.
To learn more about CEUs or to
apply for CEUs from an archived webinar, contact Paul Galonsky,
pgalonsky@resna.org.
AT
for Business/Employer Portal Update
- New
Portal Marketing Materials.
In
the next few weeks, a couple of press releases will be available for
distribution to businesses, employers, and those who work to get
people with disability employed.
The first press release is a
general release that the RESNA Catalyst Project and AT Connects will
distribute widely.
The second press release is a “Swiss
Cheese” press release, which will allow individual AT Act
programs to customize and tailor the release to constituents.
Look
for these press releases soon!
- Upcoming
Portal Partner’s Meeting.
The RESNA Catalyst Project and AT Connects will host an AT for
Business/Employer Portal Partners Meeting on Monday, February 4, 2013
via webinar.
This meeting is designed to tour the Portal as well as
to talk with the Portal Partners about website updates, content
suggestions, and marketing strategies.
We
are grateful to the partners who have contributed to the development
of the Portal including AT Act Programs, the United States Business
Leadership Network, Job Accommodation Network, the
Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation,
Southeast TACE, and the U.S.
Department of Education’s Rehabilitation Services
Administration.
Visit the Portal today at www.atconnects.com/employers.
AT
Program News Winter 2013 Edition
AT
Program News serves the
Statewide AT Act Programs, Alternative Financing Programs, and
their community partners.
The
2013 Winter Edition features articles on Cognitive Assistive
Technology.
Access AT Program News online at
http://us6.campaign-archive2.com/u=e96897714b9d9d83d03182247&id;=31ffce05da&e;=.
Upcoming Events
AT
for Employment Work Group Call, February 21, 2013 3-4:00 p.m. Eastern
Time
The AT for Employment Work Group call
provides opportunities for
participants to get briefed on national updates related to AT for
Employment, as well as opportunities to share what is happening in
your state.
To join this call, dial: 800-351-6810 Pass code:
46172076#.
Reminders and call agenda to follow as we get closer to
this call.
Recent
Events
Three
RESNA Catalyst Project Archived Webinars
Webinar: Assistive
Devices for D/deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Populations-
January
9
The
RESNA Catalyst Project hosted a webinar featuring Valeria
Stafford-Mallis, from Alternative Communication Services.
Ms.
Stafford-Mallis provided
training on hearing
impairment devices, costs, new innovations, and resources.
An
archive of this webinar can be found at
http://www.resnaprojects.org/statewide/webedarchive.html.
Note: CEUs available for this webinar.
Webinar:
Introducing the Assistive
Technology for Employer and Business Web Portal- January
22
Sönke Dornblut and Anne Long with AT Connects
along with RESNA
Catalyst Project Staff Paul Galonsky provided a webinar tour of the
Assistive Technology for Business/Employer Web Portal
(www.atconnects.com/employers).
This webinar formerly introduced attendees to the Portal
and discussed how to take advantage of the information it contains.
An
archive of this webinar can be found at
http://www.resnaprojects.org/statewide/webedarchive.html.
Webinar:
Assistive
Technology and the Interactive Process of Employee
Accommodations-January
23
The
RESNA Catalyst Project, Southwest ADA Center, and ADA National
Network presented a webinar on how AT demonstrations, equipment
loans, and support and technical assistance from the ADA National
Network that may enhance an interactive employee accommodation
process.
An
archive of this webinar can be found at
http://www.adaconferences.org/RESNA/Archives/.
Note: CEUs available for this webinar.
STATEWIDE
AT PROGRAMS
Upcoming Events
Statewide
AT Project Director’s Meeting Planning Call- February 18, 2013
3:00p.m. Eastern Time
The
Planning Committee
will
continue to work through recent draft agendas for the 2013 Statewide
AT Project Directors Meeting.
Committee Members may call
800-211-4163 and pass code 0521244# the day of the meeting to join
the call.
Recent
Events
Statewide
AT Program New Directors Call-January 10
A
recording of the January 10th
call is now available. You can access the MP3 at:
http://www.resnaprojects.org/statewide/newdirectors/index.html.
The next Statewide New Director’s Cal is scheduled for
Thursday,
March 14, 2013,
3p.m. Eastern Time.
PAAT
PROGRAMS
Announcements
AT
Advocate Newsletter
The
Fall
2012 issue of AT Advocate Newsletter – Medicaid,
Assistive Technology and the Courts,
is now available at
http://www.nls.org/files/AT%20Advocate%20Newsletters/AdvocateFall2012_.pdf.
This electronic only newsletter updates and replaces an earlier
version with the same title.
It was used for a session delivered at
our October 2012 “Bridges to Better Advocacy” conference.
However, due to some start-up delays with our revised website going
live, this was not posted until very late December.
Updated
Publication: Work, Assistive Technology, and State Vocational
Rehabilitation Agencies- The VR Agency’s Obligation to Fund AT
to Support Employment Preparation
This new publication will be available in February, 2013.
This
publication
will fully update and replace a similar one done by Ron
Hager in 1999, when he worked with Neighborhood Legal Service (Ron
continues to work with us through the National Disability Rights
Network and is responsible for this update).
This is part of our
Funding of AT manual series (for more information, visit
www.nls.org/Disability/NationalAssistiveTechnologyProject/FundingofATManualSeries).
ALTERNATIVE
FINANCING AND TELEWORK LOAN PROGRAMS
Announcement
SAVE
THE DATE – May 7th
2013
The
RESNA Catalyst Project is sponsoring a one day AFP Director Meeting
in Bethesda, MD.
This will be the day before the RESNA Catalyst
Project Employment Summit for AT Act funded programs.
For more
information, scroll to the top of this page.
Teleconference
Series Schedule for 2013
You’ve
spoken – and we’ve listened!
Based on the AFP needs
assessment and feedback you’ve given us at the RESNA Catalyst
Project, we have created a draft teleconference schedule for 2013.
More details to follow (Note-Schedule subject to change).
February
19th
2pm – New
Project Staff Orientation
March
19th
2pm - Financial
Literacy Part I
April
16th
2pm – Sustainability
for AFPs
June
18th
2pm – Preparing
for RSA Review
July
16th
2pm – Collaborating
with other AT Act Programs
August
21st
2pm – Needs
Assessment
for
2014
Upcoming
Events
Teleconference
Series: New Project Staff Orientation – February 19th
2013, 2:00p.m. Eastern
Robert
Groenendaal and Brian Bard from RSA, and Joey Wallace and Jason
Luciano from RESNA will present on the history of the AT Act funded
projects, and the roles each of them have in the interplay of
providing continuity of services.
This teleconference is intended to
assist new staff persons in understanding the interconnectedness and
collaborations amongst various AT Act funded activities.
To join
this call, please dial 800-351-6810
with pass code is 80573760#.
This call will be recorded and archived
on the RESNA Catalyst Project website.
Data
Work Group Call – Monday, February 4th
2013, 11:00a.m. Eastern
The
Loan Program Data Collection Work Group will have a conference call
on February 4th.
Members will continue to develop recommendations
for the next changes to the MIS 662, with the hope that it will
closely align with other data collection instruments.
The progress
of this Work Group will be reported during the AFP Director’s
Meeting in May.
OTHER
RESOURCES
NIDRR
AbleData Contract
The
National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR)
issued a request for capability statement for the new AbleData
contract for 2013 -2018, (which closed for consideration on 1/28).
Be on the lookout for more information on who will oversee the
AbleData contract in the future.
NCART/NRRTS
Conference
The
National Coalition for Assistive and Rehab Technology (NCART) and the
National Registry of Rehabilitation Technology Suppliers (NRRTS) will
host the National CRT Leadership and Advocacy Conference on April
9-11, 2013 at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City in Arlington, Virginia.
The
goal of the conference is to allow CRT stakeholders to come together
in one place for high value education, networking, and
advocacy. Program details and registration information are
available at www.nrrts.org
or www.ncart.us.
For additional information, contact Don Clayback, NCART Executive
Director, at 716-839-9728 or dclayback@ncart.us
or contact Simon Margolis, NRRTS Executive Director, at 763-494-6774
or smargolis@nrrts.org.
Intern
Creates Website to House Historical Records of Disability Law
St.
Louis Post-Dispatch:
Sierra Gregg, an intern with the Office of Presidential Libraries in
Washington, D.C., has created a website offering digital, accessible
copies of historic documents related to individuals with
disabilities. Gregg -- who is visually impaired -- created the
project to highlight the 22nd anniversary of the signing of the
Americans with Disabilities Act. The site features 56 documents,
including letters Helen Keller wrote to President Herbert Hoover.
Visit http://www.archives.gov/research/americans-with-disabilities/
to access the archives.
New
AT Radio & Podcasts in Indiana
INDATA
has 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
training sessions.
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.