The Great Lakes Vine features information from various entities and organizations that partner with the Great Lakes ADA Center to foster voluntary compliance with the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
The Illinois ADA Project will provide free disability rights workshops during the month of May:
These workshops will be held at the Chicago Office of Equip for Equality located at 20 North Michigan Suite 300. Registration is required to participate in the workshops and can be done by contacting The Training Institute at Equip for Equality 800-537-2632 (V), 800-610-2779 (TTY), or contactus@equipforequality.org.
During March and April, ADA-Indiana supported several organizations by providing ADA materials at resource tables and for general dissemination at their annual conferences. The conferences were the Self Advocates of Indiana's Annual Conference, ATTAIN's (Indiana's statewide assistive technology program) Empowerment through Employment Conference, and the Indiana Association of Rehabilitation Facilities (INARF) Annual Conference. Frank Epperson of ADA-Indiana participated in a town meeting on employment issues for people with disabilities at Empowerment through Employment Conference.
ADA-Indiana is providing support for the three-part Great Lakes Reasonable Accommodation audio conference series in six communities in the state: Bloomington, Evansville, Indianapolis (2 locations), Richmond, and Westville. These training opportunities have been attended by more than 80 participants so far, with one more to go.
Statewide Survey: Are Indiana communities "MAKING THE GRADE" in complying with the ADA? ADA-Indiana, in conjunction with the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community and the Indiana Governor's Council for People with Disabilities, are surveying Indiana citizens to find out the answer to this question! The results of the survey will be announced this summer on July 26th, the 15th Anniversary of the Signing of the ADA. People with disabilities, family members, advocates, providers, and other interested community members from Indiana are welcome to complete the survey! To request the survey in an alternative format, or for additional information, contact Vicki Pappas by phone at 1-800-825-4733 (V - Indiana Only), 812-855-9396 (TTY) or e-mail adainfo@indiana.edu.
The Michigan ADA Steering Committee continues to provide support in making the 2005 Michigan Rehabilitation Conference the most accessible conference possible. Recently, Steering Committee members met with high-level state officials to discuss a plan to address programmatic and physical accessibility for conference presenters, exhibitors and attendees. In addition to creating a cross-disability site survey team, The Steering Committee will be hosting trainings for presenters to discuss tips for making their presentations accessible to diverse audiences. For more information on being a presenter at the 2005 Michigan Rehabilitation Conference November 8-10 in Grand Rapids, MI visit the MARO 2005 Conference and Seminar Website. to download forms in Word or PDF format. Proposals are due May 13, 2005.
Mark your Calendars! ADA Minnesota has partnered with local disability organizations to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. . "ADA 15 Years Strong: Then, Now and Beyond," is a free celebration that will be held at the Earle Brown Heritage Center in Brooklyn Center from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., on Tuesday, July 26. The celebration features presentations by Peabody and Emmy-award winning NBC Dateline correspondent John Hockenberry, and Barry Taylor, Legal Advocacy Director at Equip for Equality, Inc., the Illinois Protection and Advocacy organization. Six educational group sessions will take place throughout the day. These sessions will address, aging and disability, mental health issues in the workplace, reasonable accommodations at work, accessible web design, understanding social security and emergency preparedness for people with disabilities.
The celebration is open to the public. For more information about the event, contact ADA Minnesota at 651-603-2015 (V/TTY).
ADA-OHIO is one of the collaborators with the lead agency, DNOS (Disability Network of Ohio - SOLIDARITY), in presenting SOLIDARITY 2005. SOLIDARITY is Ohio's largest and oldest conference for and by people with disabilities. SOLIDARITY 2005 will offer 35 workshops on topics including education, employment, occupational rehabilitation services, independent living, voting, transportation, and housing. There will also be a special ADA tract featuring training on all five titles of the ADA, presented by ADA-OHIO. These trainings include:
Utilizing the ADA: Guidance for the Employer and the Employee
This training will provide information on the employment aspects of Title I of the ADA. Presenters will emphasize elements of a successful job interview and discuss ways to avoid common interview mistakes.
Making Your Government and Public Transportation Work for You Under the ADA
Participants in this training will be presented with information about Title II of the ADA and the requirements that local and state governments must meet. There will also be a discussion of one's rights to accessible transportation, including buses, rail, and para-transit systems.
Accessing the Community: What ADA Means to You
This training will focus on information about the requirements of Title III of the ADA to assure access to public accommodations that are operated by private entities such as restaurants, doctors' offices, and recreational facilities. Information concerning Title IV (Telecommunications), and Title V (the relationship of the ADA to other laws), will also be discussed.
Presenters for the trainings are David Cameron, ADA Coordinator for Ohio Rehabilitation Services Commission; Shawn Dunaway, Technical Specialist for ADA-OHIO; Scott Lissner, ADA Coordinator for The Ohio State University; Cindy Stankiewicz, Program Analyst for the Cleveland Regional Office of EEOC.
Additionally, in response to requests from previous conference participants, an expanded, in-depth workshop will be presented on just the issue of para-transit. The presenter will be Ken Campbell, a member of the ADA-OHIO Board of Trustees, who is also Director of Project Mainstream in Columbus, OH, and ADA Coordinator for the City of Columbus. More information about SOLIDARITY 2005 can be found at their web site or call 800-863-0344 (V), or for registration call 800- 877-6079(V).
The ADA Wisconsin Partnership has recently unveiled a new logo and website. The Partnership has also begun planning for two one-day conferences that will address basic provisions of the ADA. "The ABC's of the ADA" will be held in Wausau, Wisconsin on August 10, 2005 and in Madison on August 11. The morning portion will be directed to small business owners and offer introductory information on Title III facility accessibility and an overview of the Title I employment provisions of the ADA. The afternoon will be geared to government agencies and municipalities and will cover access to programs and services covered by Title II of the ADA and also provide information on employment issues applicable to government agencies. Attendees will have the option to register for the full day, morning or afternoon sessions only.