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Highlights

July 2011 
In This Issue of Highlights
PROJECT WIDE NEWS
STATEWIDE AT PROGRAMS
PAAT PROGRAMS
ALTERNATIVE FINANCING AND TELEWORK LOAN PROGRAMS
OTHER RESOURCES

 

 

PROJECT WIDE NEWS 

 

Upcoming Events

Transition to the Community Work Group Call- Wednesday, September 14, 2011-3:00-4:00 p.m. Eastern - PLEASE NOTE DATE

The September quarterly call of the Transition Work Group will feature John E. V. Sorensen, from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Mr. Sorenson will talk about the Money Follows the Person program and Medicaid as a resource for people who need AT while living in facilities and transitioning from them. To connect to the call, dial 1-800-351-6810, pass code 46172076#.  

 

Transcripts and MP3 files from previous calls are available at the Transition Wiki Site at: http://attransition.wikispaces.com/.

 

AT for Employment Work Group Call - Thursday, September 15, 2011 3:00 - 4:00 p.m. Eastern

The Work Group has agreed to meet every other month, most likely on the second or third Thursday. The next call will be Thursday, September 15, 3:00 - 4:00 p.m. Eastern. The call in number is 800/351-6810, pass code 46172076 #. This September call will highlight practices that AT Act Programs have found to be most effective to increase the use of AT in the workplace. If you have a model/strategy that is working in your state, be prepared to share it with the group on the 15th.

 

Check out the new "hub" web page devoted to AT and Employment at www.resnaprojects.org and click on the Employment hub. If you have resources that you wish to share on this page, please send them to Paul Galonsky at pgalonsky@resna.org.

 

To access call notes and the MP3 recording from the July 21, AT and Employment Work Group call, go to www.resnaprojects.org and click on the Employment hub.  From there, click on to AT and Employment Work Group.   

 

Two WEBED Webinars Upcoming in September

WEBED-GMU04: Data Collection (Overview) - Thursday, September 15, 2011: 12:30 - 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time

WEBED-ATIA05: Data Collection - Products and Services from ATIA Members - Wednesday, September 21, 2011: 2:00 - 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time

For more information about these webinars, go to http://www.resnaprojects.org/statewide/webed.html.

To register for either of these webinars - go to www.atia.org/webedregistration.

For any of the WEBED- Webinar archived events, go to

http://www.resnaprojects.org/statewide/webedarchive.html.

 

 

 

STATEWIDE AT PROGRAMS

 

Upcoming Event 

How to Liquidate Formula Funds Teleconference - Thursday, August 18, 2011- 3:00 - 4:00 p.m. Eastern

RSA will be instituting a new process for obligating and liquidating your formula grant funds.  Especially affected is the procedure for late liquidations.  Join us for a walk through what is required and how to make sure you get the full use of your funds.  Rob Groenendaal and Brian Bard from RSA will be the presenters on this call.  To connect to this call, dial 1-800-351-6810, pass code 46172076 #. 

 

Statewide AT Program Subgroup of Catalyst Steering Committee Conference Call - Tuesday, August 16, 2011- 1:00 -2:00 p.m. Eastern

This planning group will meet to discuss the recent program evaluation report and upcoming events and plans for technical assistance for the new fiscal year.

 

Performance Based Contracts Teleconference- Thursday, September 22, 2011-3:00-4:00 p.m. Eastern

Sonke Dornblut, Project Coordinator with Assistive Technology in New Hampshire, will discuss the Program's use of Performance Based Contracts (PBC). Sonke will talk about how to achieve statewideness through PBC, determining PBC project goals, data reporting, contractor professional development, and what is funded through PBC. To connect to this call, dial 1-800-351-6810, pass code 46172076 #.  

 

Recent Events

Webinar: Title II and III of the ADA - July 14, 2011- 3:00-4:00 p.m. Eastern

Wendy Wilkinson, Project Director with the DBTAC-Southwest ADA Center and Andy Winnegar, consultant with the DBTAC-Southwest ADA Center, presented strategies for providing "effective communication" for public and private entities covered by Title II and III of the Americans with Disabilities Act. This webinar was is in collaboration with the RESNA Catalyst Project and the DBTAC Southwest ADA Center, a program of ILRU (Independent Living Research Utilization), at TIRR Memorial Hermann in Houston, Texas.  To access the archive of this Webinar: http://www.ilru.org.

 

Needs Assessment

The Catalyst Project will be conducting a technical assistance needs assessment of statewide AT programs to plan activities for the New Year. You will be able to complete the assessment either online or via paper copy. Be on the lookout for an email with more information during the week of August 1.

 

 

PAAT PROGRAMS

 

Registration Now Open!

15th Annual "Bridges to Better Advocacy" Conference

Three-day conference focusing on AT funding and advocacy strategies on November 1-3, 2011, Hilton Garden Inn, Austin, TX.

To register, visit: www.nls.org/Conference%20Flyer%202011.pdf . Sign up by July 29th for Super Early Bird rate, or sign up by August 23rd to avoid an additional increase in rates. Agenda, and are speakers now final.

  • November 1st Preconference (full day): "Medicaid, AT and Litigation" (focus on state and federal court) (Speakers: Jane Perkins, National Health Law Program, Jennifer Giesen, Minnesota P&A, Lew Golinker, AT Law Center, Jim Sheldon and Diana Straube, National AT Advocacy Project).
  • Two-Day Conference Highlights: "Medicaid Challenges for 2012," "Americans with Disabilities Act and Employment: Recent Case Law," "Mobility Equipment: A Physical Therapist's Perspective," "Confronting Challenges of Dual Eligibility in Medicaid DME Cases," and "Enforcing the Fair Housing Act to Obtain AT."

 

 Did You Know? Series

These very short postings will not cover every possible issue on a topic; rather, the intent is make the reader aware of key information to support your AT advocacy. To date we have done 15 postings, all available at http://www.nls.org/did%20you%20know.htm. Our most recent four postings:

 

Coming Soon:

  • "Special Medicaid Eligibility Rules for Persons with Disabilities"
  • "Funding AT Through the Foster Care System"

 

 The "AT Advocate" Newsletter

This longstanding publication of the National AT Advocacy Project is published a minimum of three times per year. Our most recent newsletters and lead articles:

  • Coming Up: "Special Medicaid Eligibility Rules for Persons with Disabilities" (Spring-Summer 2011)
  • Fall 2010, "Consumer Rights in the Medicaid Process: Understanding and Protecting those Rights Should Ensure More Access to Assistive Technology," available at http://www.nls.org/av/fall%2010.pdf
  • Spring-Summer 2010, "Practical Ethics for the Disability Attorney: When Can You Interview the Employees of Your Adversary?"; available at http://www.nls.org/av/summer%2010.pdf.

 

Training Highlights from National Disability Rights Network Conference:

Jim Sheldon presented or co-presented several times during the June 6-9, 2011 conference: "Ensuring Effective Transition to Integrated Employment" (all day institute) (covers special education, vocational rehabilitation (VR), Social Security/SSI/Medicare/Medicaid work incentives, myriad of employment related issues, with funding of AT devices and services discussed repeatedly); "Non-Traditional Funding of AT" (strategies to establish eligibility for traditional funding sources and use of other funding sources/funding strategies to fund AT); "Doing PAAT Work in the 21st Century" (lunch round table, informal discussion); "Medicaid and AT: Turning a 'No' Into a 'Yes.'" (how to overcome the most common reasons Medicaid says no to DME requests). Handouts are available for these training sessions.

 

 

ALTERNATIVE FINANCING AND TELEWORK LOAN PROGRAMS

 

Announcement!

Best Practices Workgroup

The Best Practices Workgroup is expanding! Monthly conference calls are held with members of this group, with the focus on development of Loan Program Quality Indicators. Come join us in the creation of these statements and shaping the future of loan programs! If interested please contact Jason Luciano at jluciano@resna.org.

 

New Additions to the Catalyst Website

Telework Data Center
Created with the guidance of the Telework Steering Committee, the RESNA Catalyst project has created a web page of commonly-request Telework Data items, including a separate data report website containing Telework Loan Program data from FY 2010. It can be found at http://resnaprojects.org/afp/telework/loans/index.html.

 

AFP Information Center

The AFP website has its own data center as well! Data for Fiscal Years 2009 and 2010 are available, as well as a listing of commonly-used loan program terms, and the most recent RSA Report to Congress. It is located at http://resnaprojects.org/afp/infocenter/index.html.

 

Upcoming Events

New AFP Program Directors Conference Call Series - Fourth call - Wednesday, August 24, 1:00pm Eastern

This conference call, continuing the series for new AFP directors and others interested in Lending Basics, will center on marketing strategies for loan programs. A discussion of different program's marketing plans and approaches will be included. To access the call, dial: 1-800-351-6810, pass code 80573760#.

 

REGISTER NOW! AFP/Telework Best Practice Institute - September 7-9, 2011

The Best Practice Institute for Financial Loan Programs will be conducted September 7-9, 2011 at the Ed Roberts Campus Building in Berkeley, California, hosted by the RESNA Catalyst Project.  The hotel deadline has passed, but if you still want to attend and have not yet registered, the Catalyst project may be able to help. The first two days will be designed for all loan programs.  A Telework Workshop will be conducted September 9.  To see the meeting invitation, registration form and draft agenda, go to http://www.resnaprojects.org/news/index.html.

 

Recent Events

Keys to Success: A Business Planning Course for Entrepreneurs (Telework Webinar). Tuesday July 19, 2:00p. Eastern

Designed as a follow up to the April webinar by Kathy Gilman, this presentation focused on the keys to success of budding entrepreneurs. Discussion included what it takes to build a successful business, and how a telework program may help that process. A transcript of the presentation is available at http://resnaprojects.org/afp/telework/teleconf/index.html.

 

New AFP Program Directors Conference Call Series:-Third call-Wednesday, June 22, 1:00pm Eastern

This conference call focused on the Application Review Process.  The discussion centered on tracing an application through a program's process, and the positives and "red flag" issues for which program personnel should watch.  A recording of this call is available at http://resnaprojects.org/afp/teleconf/index.html.

 

Needs Assessment

The Catalyst Project will be conducting a technical assistance needs assessment of AFPs to plan activities for the New Year. You will be able to complete the assessment either online or via paper copy. Be on the lookout for an email with more information during the week of August 1.

 

 

OTHER RESOURCES

 

RESNA Catalyst Project External Evaluation Report - October 1, 2010 to April 30, 2011
 Thanks to all who completed a survey about the technical assistance you received from the Catalyst Project this past year. To see the results of the surveys and phone interviews, access the Year 1 Evaluation Report through the Grantees Only section of the project website at http://www.resnaprojects.org/grantees/index.html.

 

World Report on Disability
 The first ever World Report on Disability, produced jointly by the World Health Organization (WHO), and the World Bank, suggests that more than a billion people in the world today experience disability. The report discusses how access to assistive technology can increase independence, improve participation, and reduce support costs. To download a copy of this report, visit: http://www.who.int/disabilities/world_report/2011/report/en/index.html.

 

AT Podcasts in Indiana

INDATA has weekly AT podcasts. To view and listen to the growing list of episodes, visit:http://www.eastersealstech.com/content.aspx?pId=492.

To learn more about INDATA's AT podcasts, contact Wade Wingler at wwingler@eastersealscrossroads.org.

 

Having trouble viewing Highlights in HTML, or would you prefer to view in Text form only? 

 

If so, send Paul Galonsky an email at pgalonsky@resna.org, and your next month's Highlights will be emailed to you in Text form. 

The RESNA Catalyst Project is a project funded by the U.S. Department of Education, Rehabilitation Services Administration under the Assistive Technology Act of 1998, as amended.  The project is operated by RESNA. The information contained herein does not necessarily reflect the position or policy of RSA/ED or RESNA and no official endorsement of the materials should be inferred.

 

RESNA is the Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America whose purpose is to promote the health and well being of individuals with disabilities through the use of assistive technology.  RESNA is the grantee funded to provide technical assistance and training to those programs funded under the AT Act and to others.  

 

Contact Information:  RESNA Catalyst Project, 1700 North Moore Street, Suite 1540, Arlington, VA  22209-1903; (703) 524-6686 (voice), (866) 342-6572 (voice), (703) 524-6630 (FAX), (703) 524-6639 (TTY).  Email:  catalyst@resna.org; Website:  http://www.resnaprojects.org.