The Illinois ADA Project's next Steering Committee Meeting will be held on February 1st. The ADA Project has invited Karen McCulloh, Executive Director of Chicago's disabilityworks initiative, to join the Steering Committee as employment has been a focus of the Project. The ADA Project has been working with disabilityworks to increase ADA Awareness in the employment community and help employers recognize the benefits of ADA compliance and employing people with disabilities.
Recently, the Project met with the Chicago Jobs Council to discuss information regarding reasonable accommodations at trainings that they provide. Further collaborations were also discussed. In addition, the ADA Project is part of a recently formed Employment Leadership Group that is dedicated to taking action to improve the employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities. At the January meeting, Project representatives discussed the need for ADA training for job developers, employers, service providers, and interested individuals as part of this process, and this was recognized by the individuals at the meeting.
In collaboration with fiscal agent, Equip for Equality, the ADA Project is preparing a Fact Sheet on Personality Testing based on a recent case from the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, Karraker V. Rent-A-Center. In Karraker, the Court held that the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) was a "medical examination" and therefore could not be given to job applicants prior to extending a job offer. An article about this decision will appear soon in the Chicago Chamber of Commerce Newsletter.
Employment and the ADA Audio Conference Series in Indiana
ADA-Indiana is sponsoring the four-part Employment and the ADA Audio Conference Series in six Indiana communities in January, February, March, and April. The first session in the series was attended by 43 participants across the six sites. The site locations sponsored by ADA-Indiana are free and open to the public and no pre-registration is required. The site locations and times are available on the ADA-Indiana website (www.adaindiana.org).
Upcoming Video Conference on Title I and Reasonable Accommodation
This spring, ADA-Indiana and Great Lakes are collaborating with East Central Opportunities, a workforce development organization, in Muncie, Indiana to provide training on Title I of the ADA. The training will utilize video conferencing technology to connect the trainers and participants in five counties in East Central Indiana. It will be promoted to employers, human resource professionals, and other employment specialists in the area.
Member Spotlight: Ric Edwards, Indiana Department of Natural Resources
Ric Edwards has been with ADA-Indiana since the organization began in 1991. He works as the ADA Compliance Director for the Indiana Department of Natural Resources and is involved in advocacy work in his hometown of Indianapolis as well.
This past December, Ric shared his knowledge and years of experience in implementing the ADA with the 2005-2006 Indiana Partners in Policymaking participants (a program sponsored by the Indiana Governor's Council for People with Disabilities). The training for the Partners was conducted during Indiana's Annual Disability Conference and focused on a general overview of the ADA and advocacy skills. Ric has performed this training for the Partners now for several years.
Visit the ADA-Indiana website at www.adaindiana.org for updates on projects and events.
The Michigan ADA Steering Committee will be providing half-day training about how to perform accessibility site surveys at The Disability Network in Flint, MI on Wednesday, February 1, 2006 from 10AM - 2AM. The training is FREE and lunch will be provided. Michigan ADA Steering Committee members will be discussing the basics of surveying sites, sample forms, measuring tools, advocacy strategies and programmatic accessibility. For more information, please contact Gary Kidd at 810-742-1800 ext. 315.
Mark your calendars for the next audio conference session on Tuesday, February 21st from 2-3:30 PM Eastern. The topic will be: Hot Topics in Employment: Pre-employment Testing and Leave as an Accommodation. The speaker is Adele Rapport, Attorney at the U.S. EEOC.
Audio conference host sites are available in the following cities in Michigan: Battle Creek, Flint, Kalamazoo, Marquette, Muskegon and Livonia. Participation in the ADA Audio Conference series is available free of charge at the listed host sites.
The audio conference schedule can be found at: www.ada-audio.org
For more information on how to participate in this valuable learning opportunity or about becoming a host site, please contact Collene Dabish of the Michigan ADA Steering Committee at: 800-414-3956 or via email: cdabish@mpas.org
ADA Minnesota will again be awarding grants from $500 - $2000 per project that meet the mini-grant criteria. They have recently increased the number of grants to be awarded and encourage interested non-profit organizations to review the RFP and contact them with any questions.
The goals of these mini-grants are to increase partnerships between diverse communities, disability-related organizations, businesses, government and not-for-profit organizations across Minnesota by funding multi-organizational projects that increase and encourage involvement of individuals with disabilities.
They should also provide opportunities to create collaborative partnerships and increase public knowledge, understanding of Title I (employment), Title II (public services) and Title III (public accommodations of the ADA).
Proposal information can be viewed at: www.adaminnesota.org or by contacting cindyt@mcil-mn.org. Please note that all proposals must be submitted by February 15, 2006
ADA-Ohio is participating in the annual Multiple Perspective Conference being held April 17-18, 2006, at the Pfahl Executive Education and Conference Center on the campus of The Ohio State University.
The organizing theme for the sixth annual Conference is "Personal Perspectives & Social Impact: The Stories We Tell." The goal is to encourage presenters and participants to reflect on how personal experiences create and transform social, cultural, and legal realities - a look into what the psychologist Theodore Sarbin referred to as "the storied nature of human conduct."
Presenters will address such topics as:
During the Conference, the annual ADA Award will be presented by ADA-Ohio to David Cameron.
For more information regarding the Conference, please go to web site http://ada.osu.edu/conferences/location.htm, or contact Scott Lissner, ADA Coordinator, The Ohio State University, Phone 614-292-6207 (Voice), 614-688-8605 (TTY), 614-688-3665 (Fax); Email ada-osu@osu.edu
The Wisconsin ADA Partnership and the Great Lakes ADA and Accessible Information Technology Center were pleased to sponsor a Professional Development Series (PDS) Seminar for Rehabilitation For Wisconsin, Inc. which took place on Tuesday, January 17 at the Howard Johnson East in Madison. Nearly 60 professionals from the field of rehabilitation participated in "Creating Access Step by Step: What Direct Service Staff Should Know", which focused on:
Peter Berg from the Great Lakes ADA Center presented and acted as facilitator for the day. ADA WI Partnership members Jenny Neugart and Joy Combs participated as speakers along with Bette Mentz-Powell of the Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services to discuss etiquette and communication issues. Ken Hagmann of Opportunities, Inc. ended the day with an informative look at high and low tech assistive technology.
Partnership LINK: The ADA Wisconsin Partnership is set to launch the second edition of our new electronic newsletter, the Partnership LINK. The focus of this LINK is on access to transportation, offering federal, state and local resources. If you would like to be added to the newsletter recipient list please contact tkulow@rfw.org.