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FYI Newsletter

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FYI Newsletter September 12, 2011

Quick Scan:

• ADA-Indiana Audio Conference
• New Online Course Focuses on Ex-Offenders
• Paraprofessional Focused Training for Students Across the Autism Spectrum
• South Central ArtsWORK Meeting
• 2011 Conference on Ministry with the Aging
• Indiana Institute Retirements
• Project SEARCH – An Update
• IPAS Seeking Public Input
• Library Corner

Upcoming



ADA-Indiana Audio Conference: Are you interested in finding out more about how mobile computing is expanding opportunities for people with disabilities? Plan to join the ADA National Network for a free webinar for an introduction to the topic. The session will feature Jonathan Spalter from Mobile Future.


The presenter will discuss popular devices, such as iPads, smart phones, and Netbooks, and look at some of the most important features in the mobile space for accessibility. The session will include case studies and practical examples.



New Online Course Focuses on Ex-Offenders: In the final training of its online summer mental health series, the Vocational Rehabilitation Leadership Academy will present Working with Ex-offenders, September 19-30. The deadline for registration is Monday, September 12. Training participants will learn about how to help individuals with felonies and misdemeanors find employment and about registration laws, expungement, and work incentives.

The Leadership Academy, an initiative of the Institute’s Center on Community Living and Careers (CCLC) and Indiana Vocational Rehabilitation Services, provides training to the state’s Vocational Rehabilitation counselors as well as to other professionals in the field of disability services. Personnel from Indiana’s correctional facilities and probation departments are also welcome to participate in this training.

Ex-offenders, is self-paced and self-directed, allowing participants to access online materials at any time during the two weeks the training is open. Brianne Lott, Project Coordinator at CCLC, will moderate an interactive Discussion Forum for participants who have questions or comments about materials, resources, or issues relating to the content. Prior to joining CCLC, Ms. Lott worked as an employment consultant at a community mental health center that also served people who had felony or misdemeanor convictions. She has presented trainings on this topic across Indiana.

Indiana Vocational Rehabilitation Services personnel registering for training are sponsored through the Leadership Academy. Community rehabilitation providers, mental health providers, behavioral support center staff, workforce development employees, correctional facility personnel, and other non-VR professionals can also register for Working with Ex-offenders for $55.00 through the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community’s e-store. CRCs, CEUs, and Certificates of Completion will be available.



Paraprofessional Focused Training for Students Across the Autism Spectrum: The Institute’s Indiana Resource Center for Autism will host a series of regional workshops geared for paraprofessionals who work with individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders in early childhood settings or general and special education classrooms.

Paraprofessionals/instructional assistants play a critical role in educational programming for students across the autism spectrum. Realizing this important role, the goal of this one day workshop is to address a range of topics and provide a deeper understanding of autism, behaviors, and strategies for teaching. The goal is to provide paraprofessionals with tools they can instantly implement.

Workshop dates and locations include:

• September 20, 2011 – New Albany, IN
• September 28, 2011 – Greencastle, IN
• October 7, 2011 – Carmel, IN
• November 1, 2011- Michigan City, IN
• November 15, 2011 – Evansville, IN
• November 29, 2011 – Huntington, IN

The workshops are scheduled from 8:30 - 3:30 p.m. (all local times) with registration beginning at 8:00 a.m. The registration fee is $60. All registrations include a subscription to the Indiana Resource Center for Autism Reporter E-Newsletter and are done online through Indiana University (IU) Conferences.

Registration questions should be directed to IU Conferences at 800-933-9330, Melissa at iuconfs@indiana.edu or Ginger at gscott@indiana.edu. If you have questions about the workshop content, please contact Cathy Pratt (prattc@indiana.edu) or at 812.855.6508. All other questions should be directed to Donna Beasley (dbeasley@indiana.edu) or at 812.855. 6508.



South Central ArtsWORK Meeting: The next meeting of South Central ArtsWORK Indiana is scheduled for Tuesday, September 27, 2011 from 5:30-7:00 p.m. at Bloomington City Hall, 401 North Morton Street. This month’s meeting will feature a presentation by Noel Niehause of the Gayle and Bill Cook Center for Entrepreneurship. Niehause will speak about starting an arts-related business and discuss how the Cook Center works with artist entrepreneurs.

ArtsWORK Indiana facilitates access to careers in the arts for people with disabilities through awareness, education, and encouragement. Collaborating partners include the Indiana Arts Commission, VSA Indiana, and the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community. The program is sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Arts and Disability Center at the University of California in Los Angeles. For more information, contact Artist-Facilitator Nadine Pinede at npinede@post.harvard.edu.

2011 Conference on Ministry with the Aging: Mark your calendars and plan to attend the 2011 Conference on Ministry with the Aging: Tell me Your Story, scheduled for Thursday, September 29, 2011 at the Four Seasons, Columbus, Indiana.

The conference is held annually to provide education and inspiration for clergy, chaplains, lay persons, health care and retirement professionals, social workers, family caregivers, and all other interested persons involved in some other form of ministry with older adults.

The Institute’s own Phil Stafford will be a featured speaker. Phil’s session entitled Creating Communities for a Lifetime, will examine the potential for better integration of long-term care communities with the broader community. A new approach to aging in place shifts the focus from services to comprehensive community development for livable communities. Tools to foster positive community change will be introduced.

Registration fee is $30.00 per person. Contact Phyllis Hawkins at Phawkins@fourseasonsretirement.com for questions or call 812.378.3034.

Across the Courtyard

Indiana Institute Retirements: Kay Moore, Program Secretary, for the Institute’s Center on Education and Lifelong Learning and Larry JJ Schaaf, Research Associate, for the Center on Community Living and Careers, have retired.


Kay has been a part of the Indiana Institute for over (1988) 18 years. Her talents and expertise were vital to the smooth operation of the Center. Kay served as Administrative Secretarial Support for over 15 federal and state-wide initiatives including the Indiana Least Restrictive Environment Initiative, the Indiana Employment Initiative, the Indiana Transition Initiative, the School to Work grant, the Peer Education Project and the Schools Initiative Grant. Kay provided daily support to all Center Staff, including conference planning, coordination and management of schedules, technical and clerical support, and product development.



Larry, a Research Associate/Project Coordinator for the Center since March of 1994, was certified in 2009 as a Social Security Community Work Incentives Coordinator and Benefits Information Network Specialist. He specialized in “Transitions to Adult Life” for young adults and is a 1996 Governor’s Council Partner in Policy Making graduate

Larry Schaaf is the husband of Linda (married 40 years), father of Kimberly (The Ohio State University MBA graduate and mother of our grandson), Shannon (Purdue graduate and married 2009) and Christopher (Social Security beneficiary and Monroe County Unified Special Olympian).

The faculty and staff of the Institute extend our thanks to Kay and Larry for their work and dedication to the mission/vision of the Indiana Institute and we wish them well in retirement.



Project SEARCH – An Update: Project SEARCH Indiana provides transition-age youth with internship experiences in preparation for employment. The Center, in relationship with Project SEARCH National, partners with Vocational Rehabilitation Services to establish collaborative teams of adult employment providers, school systems, and local businesses in the development of Project SEARCH Indiana sites. Nine Project SEARCH Indiana high school transition sites are training student interns. Job experiences include clerical, materials management, customer service, patient and facility services, and data entry.

What People are Saying…



“The best part about being a Project SEARCH intern was having support, and people helping me find a job. Project SEARCH really helped me to get a job and learn skills. I learned a lot about working hard in Project SEARCH.”

Matthew McCaslin, 2009 Project SEARCH Graduate – Pitney Bowes, Indianapolis

A tenth site provides academic and internship experiences to young adults no longer affiliated with a school system. To date, 42 students have been hired. On average, these employees work 28 hours a week and are paid $8.55 per hour. This year, 100 students are preparing for new internships and expansion plans include three additional sites next year.

In Indiana



IPAS Seeking Public Input! Indiana Protection and Advocacy Services (IPAS) is seeking input from Hoosiers with disabilities, family members and professionals. Your comments will help identify the major disability rights barriers which people with disabilities face that may interfere with achieving full community integration and independence in Indiana. If you have already completed the survey, we ask you to help us spread the word across Indiana by sharing this information with others in your network.

Information provided will help IPAS make decisions about how resources and manpower are used to address these barriers during the coming year. The goal is to obtain input from all 92 Indiana counties. The IPAS Critical Barriers survey takes only a few minutes to complete.

To request the poll in an alternative format, or for additional information about the survey, contact Jeffrey Chait by phone at 1.800.825.4733 or e-mail cwlab@indiana.edu. The Critical Barriers survey is being conducted by the Center for Planning and Policy Studies at the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community.

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.

Eller, J. F., & Eller, S. A. (2011). Working with difficult & resistant staff. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press. (Call Number: 38 .E4)

Emerson, E., & Einfeld, S. L. (2011). Challenging behaviour. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. (Call Number: 20.2 .E6)

Tutt, R., & National Association of Head Teachers (Great Britain). (2011). Partnership working to support special educational needs and disabilities. London: SAGE. (Call Number: 30 .T8)

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