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FYI Newsletter October 20, 2008

Quick Scan:

• ADA-Indiana Audio Conference
  
• Indiana Creative Connections
  
• 2008 Indiana Disability Poll Targets Voting and Civic Participation
  
• The Arc of Indiana to Establish COVOH Collaborative Work Lab
  
• Library Corner

 

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ADA-Indiana Audio Conference

Americans with Disabilities Case Law Update will be the focus of ADA-Indiana\'s October 21 audio conference. Guest speakers include William N. Myhill from the Burton Blatt Institute and Phoebe Ball, Esq., from the Center for Persons with Disabilities, Inc. They will outline key ADA issues currently before the courts. They will also identify trends in case law at the lower courts which will have an impact on decisions at all levels, including any future cases to be argued before the Supreme Court. A discussion of the potential impact of the ADA Amendments Act will also be included.

The audio conference will be held in seven Indiana locations on October 21 from 2:00-3:30 p.m. (EDT). 

Bloomington, IN (2:00-3:30 p.m. EDT)
Indiana Institute on Disability and Community, Building L
2853 East Tenth Street

Indianapolis, IN (2:00-3:30 p.m. EDT)
Indiana Government Center, Conference Room 1
402 West Washington Street

Richmond, IN (2:00-3:30 p.m. EDT)
IU East School of Education
2325 Chester Boulevard

Columbus, IN (2:00-3:30 p.m. EDT)
City of Columbus
123 Washington Street

Terre Haute, IN (1:00-2:30 p.m. CDT)
The WILL Center
4312 S. Seventh Street

Gary, IN (1:00-2:30 p.m. CDT)
ARC Bridges
2650 W. 35th Ave

Corydon, IN (1:00-2:30 p.m. CDT)
Blue River Services
405 North Capitol Avenue, Ste. 102

If you are unable to attend at one of ADA-Indiana\'s sponsored sites, individuals and organizations can purchase access to the audio conference by visiting http://www.ada-audio.org. The cost is $25.00 (for not-for-profits) and $40.00 (for-profit entities). For more information about this session or the 2008-2009 ADA Audio Conference Season, visit http://www.adaindiana.org or contact Matt Norris at 1-800-825-4733 or e-mail adainfo@indiana.edu. The audio conference series is sponsored by ADA-Indiana, The Governor\'s Planning Council for People with Disabilities, and the DBTAC: Great Lakes ADA Center.

 

Indiana Creative Connections

The Indiana Arts Commission has received a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Arts and Disability Center at UCLA  to do a series of six workshops throughout the state to reach out to artists and individuals with disabilities who are interested in pursuing careers in the arts. These workshops will be led by the ArtsWORK Indiana Chairperson Chris Karson, accompanied by an established artist with a disability from the region. The workshops will provide tips, tools, and resources for pursuing a career in the arts, with a focus on resources available on the new website www.artsworkindiana.org.

Sponsors include the Indiana Arts Commission, Indiana Institute on Disability and Community, VSA arts of Indiana, and local hosts. Site locations for these workshops with include Muncie, Richmond, Indianapolis, Columbus, New Albany, Valparaiso. Specific dates and locations will be formalized in November. To receive more information, contact Jane Harlan-Simmons at the Institute at (812) 855-6508 or e-mail jeharlan@indiana.edu.

 

Disability Poll on Voting and Civic Participation

2008 Indiana Disability Poll Targets Voting and Civic Participation: As the election season moves into its final weeks, a newly released 2008 Indiana Disability Poll weighs in on the voting behaviors and political activities of Hoosiers with disabilities, their family members and advocates. According to the poll\'s results, the disability community constitutes a strong, active voting bloc:

• 90 percent of people with disabilities, their family members and advocates who responded are registered to vote.
• Nearly 80 percent of the disability community voted in the last election and/or the May primary, including 8 out of 10 individuals with disabilities.
• Nearly 90 percent of the respondents have a government-issued picture ID, and very few (only 8 percent) were challenged when they went to vote.

Polling place accessibility is still a problem. While only half of the respondents encountered barriers, those who did reported the following as the most prevalent barriers: accessible entrances weren\'t marked, main entrances were not accessible, parking was not accessible and paths to voting areas had obstacles.

The annual Disability Poll, which is a joint project of the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community at Indiana University, the Indiana Governor\'s Council for People with Disabilities, and Indiana Protection and Advocacy Services, highlights voting behaviors and participation in civic and political activities of 367 people with disabilities, their family members and their advocates, as provided between November 2007 and July 2008. Responses came from 63 of Indiana\'s 92 counties.

With regard to civic participation, the disability community strongly participates in public policy and political activities - less than 10 percent do nothing at all. The most frequent activities include voting, signing petitions, writing to government officials, sending letters to the editor and attending political and town meetings. The respondents did identify barriers to community participation, including:

• Work schedules
  
• Lack of transportation, especially for people at lower income levels
  
• Physical barriers
  
• Not feeling welcome to participate
  
• Not knowing how to begin, especially people at lower income levels

Survey results also showed that the disability community is divided over how much they feel government officials at all levels care about disability issues - 40 percent feel they do care and 35 percent feel they do not. Similarly, there was a 50-50 split of opinions about trusting their state or local governments to do what\'s right for people with disabilities. However, overwhelmingly, members of the disability community feel it is important to get involved in politics and believe that they can make their communities better places to live.

"What\'s especially significant about these results is the potential of the disability community to be active participants in policymaking processes," said Vicki Pappas, director of the Center for Planning and Policy Studies at the Indiana Institute. "They vote, they participate in public policy and political activities, and overwhelmingly, they believe they can have a positive impact on making their communities better places for everyone."

"Voting is fundamental to preserving our way of life as a democratic society," said Suellen Jackson-Boner, executive director of the Governor\'s Council. "This poll sheds light on a significant voting bloc in our population that elected officials must consider when making public policy decisions."

For copies of the full survey results visit http://www.iidc.indiana.edu. For alternative formats, contact Vicki Pappas at the Indiana Institute at (812) 855-6508 or e-mail cpps@indiana.edu.

 

Across Indiana

The Arc of Indiana to Establish COVOH Collaborative Work Lab

Thanks to a generous donation from COVOH, Council of Volunteers and Organizations for Hoosiers with Disabilities, The Arc of Indiana, in partnership with the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community (IIDC), will open a Collaborative Work Lab in the spring of 2008. The lab will be named in honor of COVOH leaders Amy Cook Lurvey, Muriel Lee, and Henry Schroeder. 

The Indiana Institute currently operates a Collaborative Work lab through its Center for Planning and Policy Studies at Indiana University in Bloomington. The lab provides a state-of-the-art computer-supported meeting.  In the lab, each person\'s computer is linked to the others for information exchange, and a facilitator guides the groups through a series of activities designed to maximize the contributions of each member and reach group goals. 

The Arc of Indiana plans to open the lab when we move to new offices on the 8th floor of our current building in the spring. The lab facility will not only be made available to local chapters of The Arc, but also other organizations and businesses. You can learn more about the Collaborative Work Lab by visiting http://www.iidc.indiana.edu/cpps/cwlab.html.

Also, The Arc of Indiana has adopted a new logo and message, %u2018Empowering People. Inspiring Change\' designed to drive The Arc\'s purpose and mission:

• Empowering families with information and resources to assist them in their journey of raising a child with a disability to lead a full and meaningful life.
• Empowering people with intellectual and other development disabilities to be self- sufficient and independent to the greatest extent possible.
• Inspiring positive change in public policy and public attitudes.

Visit the Arc at http://www.arcind.org/.

 

Library Corner

New Items: The following new materials may be borrowed by Indiana residents from the Center for Disability Information and Referral at the Institute. To check out materials, contact the library at 1-800-437-7924, send e-mail to cedir@indiana.edu, or visit us at 2853 East Tenth Street in Bloomington.

Allsopp, D., Kyger, M. M., & Lovin, L. H. (2007). Teaching mathematics meaningfully: Solutions for reaching struggling learners. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Pub.

Keating-Velasco, J. (2008). In his shoes: A short journey through autism. Shawnee Mission, KS: Austim Asperger Publication Co.

Mann, L. (2008). More than little professors: Children with Asperger syndrome in their own words. Shawnee Mission, KS: Autism, Asperger Pub. Co.

Taylor, B. (2007). ADHD and me: What I learned from lighting fires at the dinner table. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications.

 

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