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Register Now for 2013 Benefits Information Network Training

Indiana Benefits Information Network liaisons are informed, knowledgeable networks of counselors who are helping people with disabilities learn how to access and understand their benefit and work choices and opportunities.

BIN trainings, coordinated by Indiana Institute's Center on Community Living and Careers, give liaisons — employment specialists, social workers, and other disability service professionals — a comprehensive curriculum and ensure that they have a thorough understanding of both benefits and federal and state work incentive programs. 

Basic and Advanced training components include training exercises, competency tests and field assignments. Dates are:

Basic BIN (only those certified less than two years may attend) Note: Attendance at both rounds of training is required for certification.

Round 1 – April 30 and May 1
Round 2 – May 28 and 29

Advanced BIN (must take if certified two or more years)

Online Advanced BIN training will be offered twice in 2013. Choose from: June 10-21, or September 9-20

For more information, go to the CCLC BIN Training webpage. Click to download a flier and registration information.

Summer 2013 Camps and Programs

The Institute’s Indiana Resource Center for Autism has compiled a listing of summer camps and programs in Indiana serving children and adults with disabilities. This directory is compiled and posted as a service to Indiana communities with no endorsement of any activity or organization on the list.

ACROSS THE COURTYARD

New Book Introduces Educators to a Unified Framework for Transition Services to Ready All Students for College, Careers, and Citizenship

How can high schools teach academic content and the critical skills students with and without disabilities need to navigate life beyond the classroom? Educators can find answers to this critical question and more in a newly published book by two Indiana University authors.

Teresa Grossi and Cassandra Cole, both of the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community, suggest that a unified framework for transition services in an integrated, cohesive process, will prepare all students for college, careers, and citizenship. Their book, "Teaching Transition Skills in Inclusive Schools," published by Brookes Publishing Co., provides practical tips and activities with specific examples of embedding transition skills into good classroom instruction. Six model lesson plans that are aligned with Common Core State Standards are featured.

The conceptual framework for "Teaching Transition Skills" is based on work and lessons learned over the years. Although the focus of this book is on students with mild disabilities, it can be applicable to many students. "Teaching Transition Skills" is designed to assist all classroom teachers, transition personnel, and administrators to see the possibilities within their own districts of transition services for all students.

Grossi is a faculty member in the IU’s School of Education and Director of the Indiana Institute’s Center on Community Living and Careers. Cole is also a faculty member in the School of Education and Directs the Institute’s Center on Education and Lifelong Learning.

Policy Brief: Hoosier Children will Play “Catch-up to Close Achievement Gaps” Without Action on Pre-K

A new policy brief issued by the Center for Evaluation & Education Policy (CEEP) at Indiana University with the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community (IIDC) at IU builds a strong case for Indiana to act now on providing prekindergarten programs. The brief "Is Indiana Ready for State-Funded Pre-K Programs? Revisited" is a follow-up to a 2006 CEEP and IIDC brief on the same subject also calling for action. 

"While it is encouraging the state legislature has intensified its discussion on funding high-quality prekindergarten programs in Indiana, there is still some reticence from policymakers despite the highly compelling evidence about the academic gains and potential long-term social and economic benefits of this early education program," said Terry Spradlin, Director for Education Policy and the High School Survey of Student Engagement at CEEP. "Research has clearly shown that early high-quality education opportunities in the lives of our most vulnerable children yields the greatest return on investment," said Michael Conn-Powers, Director of the Early Childhood Center at IIDC. Spradlin and Conn-Powers are co-authors of the report along with Chris Wodicka, CEEP graduate assistant.

Most estimates indicate well more than half of eligible Indiana children attend no prekindergarten. Bills currently in both chambers of the Indiana General Assembly propose to provide funding for Pre-K covering around a thousand low-income families. Nationally, the matter received more attention when President Obama called for helping states fund Pre-K programs during his State of the Union address February 12.

The policy brief is direct in assessing the need for Pre-K. Numerous studies show a strong correlation between prekindergarten and school readiness. Assessments show the resulting academic gains offset public funding by a later reduction of public expenditures on social services, costs associated with crime and incarceration, and a rise in worker productivity resulting in more tax revenue. "The research is compelling that high-quality prekindergarten programs are a sound investment that generates revenue and tax savings that far exceed the program costs," the authors write. "Hoosier children will be playing catch-up to close achievement gaps with the peers from across the nation if Indiana continues to fail to act in this area," they conclude.

The authors recommend that evidence-based, high-quality Pre-K programs for at-risk children should be a top priority. "Providing access to any child care or early education program does not guarantee success," Conn-Powers said. "Programs must have a strong educational focus and high quality teaching."

The brief also makes several recommendations for structuring the program to ensure quality:

A state accountability and funding framework focused on school readiness and high-quality early education practices is necessary to ensure an optimal return on the investment;

The program should stress high quality through national accreditation and assessment of teaching practices;

Curricula should be evidence-based, targeting important school readiness goals;

Prekindergarten should be the subject of ongoing assessments and monitoring;

To ensure clear educational goals emphasizing school readiness are met, an independent, third-party program evaluation organization should examine prekindergarten outcomes. Such an evaluation would be particularly important if the state begins funding with a limited program.

"There is no certainty the Indiana General Assembly will act this session to have Indiana become the 40th state in the nation to fund pre-k programs," Spradlin said. "It may take additional time to build full legislative support, much like the long debate on full-day kindergarten. However, there is little doubt that this is a sound policy decision for them to make to compliment the many other beneficial early education strategies that have been put into place to support student success." Click to access the full brief.

LIBRARY CORNER

New Items

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

delson, R. (2013). Staying power: Age-proof your home for comfort, safety and style. Thornhill, Ont: Sage Tree Pub.

Grove, N. (2013). Using storytelling to support children and adults with special needs: Transforming lives through telling tales. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.

Heighway, S. M., & Webster, S. K. (2008). S.T.A.R.S: A social skills training guide for teaching assertiveness, relationship skills, and sexual awareness.