Message from the Director, Emeka Nwokeji
"Change"
I am highly delighted to acknowledge change.
The seasons change from Winter to Spring. Sometimes, it is Spring, but it feels like Summer. Often at night it feels like Spring or Winter without the snow. Seasonal changes are expected, but it is all about change.
Lately, I heard about the new shortened vocabulary, "carbs" or "low carb." You don't have to spell the whole word, or even pronounce the whole word! We are in a hurry, so you better get with it!
During the National Basketball Association (NBA) finals, the TV Title was "Hang Time," it is not "Prime Time" anymore. That was from the old days, my son told me.
In this issue I have chosen to write about " Change."
In February 2001, President George W. Bush announced his New Freedom Initiative to promote increased access to educational and employment opportunities for people with disabilities.
Most importantly the initiative also promotes "change"; changes that promote choice in accessing assistive and universally designed technologies and full access to community life.
The Supreme Court's "Olmstead v L.C. decision affirmed the right to live in community settings. These things are happening because we have long advocated for and now we are being acknowledged, for change.
In an effort to keep people in their communities, the Bush Administration has launched several initiatives including the New Freedom and Independence Plus initiatives that are aimed at helping individuals with disabilities live with greater personal control and freedom outside institutions.
I definitely agree with our advocates who are telling us we are no longer "advisors", instead, we are the "monitors" and the "implementers", in partnership with the paradigm of system change grants.
In the Commonwealth it is all about change, hosted by The Real Choice Consumer Planning and Implementation Group. This group worked diligently for about 9 months and gave birth to a new "Collaborative Team." Folks! Now is the time to get on the train and be part of this change!
If you are not in tune with the changes, "The New Freedom Initiatives" were announced in March 2000, as a national agenda to remove barriers to community living for people of all ages with disabilities and chronic illnesses.
The Real Choice and Independence Plus are two System Change grants funded by the Centers for Medical and Medicaid Services (CMS). In the Commonwealth, this grant is administered by UMASS-Medical School Center for Health Policy and Research in partnership with EOHHS and consumer advocates.
In addition to these further changes, is the Community Personal Assistance Services and Supports (C-Pass); the new Disability and Community Services Cluster, along with the Department of Mental Retardation is the grant recipient. The C-Pass is a seven year federally-funded interagency cross-disability collaboration project. This funding is driven by demographic changes in our society and encourage people with disabilities and elders to live in integrated communities. Change is good! Don't you agree?
This edition of the Consumer Voice highlights change. Enjoy it! Let's hear from you about changes. Remember Charles Carr's Slogan, "Nothing for us, without us!" Change!!!"
THE ART OF NETWORKING
By Hang Lee
Many veteran, successful job seekers will tell you that networking works. Finding work in today's economic environment is hard, but it can be done. For people with disabilities, sometimes it is just knowing the right people who are sensitive and willing to "take a chance." However, getting to that point of employment requires meetings after meetings.
A person with a disability could develop numerous professional contacts that could lead to employment in a matter of months or under one year, depending on the job seeker's time and life circumstances.
The possibility starts with one contact, but you want to expand it, perhaps by going on some informational interviews. In an informational interview, learn what the interviewer is doing and how the person obtained the current position. Ask the person whether he/she knows of anyone in the field who is hiring or doing something similar. You then have either a list of contacts, or perhaps one contact, to research further for possible job leads.
Networking can be tedious, but can net many benefits if you are well organized. After all, keeping up with over fifty or more potential contacts is hard let alone going to thirty different interviews, and ending up with no job offers can be disconcerting. However, streamlining your job search is a solution.
Try to decide the kind of job or career you want to pursue, and examine your contacts more carefully. Eliminate those that are the least relevant, and start networking with the revised list.
Volunteering is another great way to develop another interest, gain experience, and get your name out to a potential employer, even if you are currently employed full-time or part time.
WORKING TOGETHER
By Nancy Wentworth
MRC, South District
I feel very fortunate to be able to work on Cape Cod and for the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission (MRC).
I enjoy the consumers with whom I work, but they are often not as fortunate, because of the difficulties they experience in accessing services from local vendors. There has been a void in services for Deaf people who use ASL. Betty Lynch and I are trying to change that. We are trying to make changes by working together, as a team.
Betty is a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor for the Deaf covering the Cape, Islands and New Bedford areas. I am the staff interpreter for the South District. Together, Betty and I have started to work with the vendors who provide job coaching, job placement, and vocational evaluations to people with disabilities on the Cape. Up until now, vendors have shied away from providing these services to Deaf people, basically because of the cost of hiring interpreters.
Betty and I have started to work with these vendors to educate them on deafness, and working with interpreters. We are making presentations to the vendors so they can understand deafness, why they need to use interpreters, and how to use interpreters. There is fear, but there is also excitement. The excitement stems from the notion that the staff will be working with a whole new population. They are excited to face new challenges, but they are also afraid. This is a whole new world to them that they haven't experienced before!
When Betty and I do our presentations, an interpreter is hired so we can both participate. Betty does "Deaf 101," and I do "Interpreter 101." We are working as a team, and it is so exciting for me, as a staff interpreter, to be able to contribute more than just my interpreting skills. I can share my experience and knowledge. We are working for change for the betterment of our mutual consumers, and that is what it's all about in our world!
$250,000 SETTLEMENT WITH CVS FOR VIOLATIONS OF DISABILITY RIGHTS LAWS
Provided by Paul Spooner
MetroWest Center For Independent Living (MWCIL)
The largest pharmacy chain in Massachusetts (CVS) will pay up to $250,000 in penalties, make changes to its display and stocking practices, and alter its personnel policies under terms of a consent judgment, filed to settle its alleged violations of federal and state disability rights laws, Attorney General Tom Reilly announced.
The judgment, filed in Suffolk Superior Court, settled allegations that CVS repeatedly failed to keep aisles clear for customers with disabilities, in direct violation of a 2001 Agreement, filed previously by A. G. Reilly.
A. G. Reilly said "These accessibility problems most directly impact the independence of our disabled residents, but also effect many of our seniors who need walkers, or other assistance, to move about the stores."
Among the violations, cited by A. G. Reilly's investigators, included placement of displays and deliveries in aisles to reduce aisle width and turning radius clearances, below the thirty-six inches required by law. In addition to the accessibility violations, CVS failed to conduct all self-audits of aisle and turning radius clearances at its stores, and did not re-train all managers of stores it found to be out of compliance.
Under the Americans with Disabilities Act and State Access Requirements, stores like CVS are required to maintain three-foot wide aisles, as well as turning radiuses. Aisles with less than thirty-six inches do not adequately accommodate customers who use wheelchairs or have other mobility impairments.
Under the consent judgment, which will be in effect three years and can be extended up to five years, CVS will pay $200,000 up front, and up to $50,000 in additional fines for every future violation identified by A. G. Reilly's Office.
In addition to paying fines, some of the requirement that CVS must also meet in Massachusetts include: 1) Maintain aisles and turning radiuses with a thirty-six inch clearance, effective immediately; 2) Designate an ADA Coordinator responsible for taking complaints from customers; 3) Establish Customer Complaint Policies and Procedures; 4) Post notices to customers at all Massachusetts stores, telling them how they can make a complaint; 5) Train all employees about CVS' obligations to maintain minimum thirty-six inch aisle clearances and turning radius.
In conjunction with this settlement, A.G. Reilly issued a letter to CEOs of the Commonwealth's major retail stores, reiterating the accessibility requirements under the law. (A complete copy of the letter is available upon request.)
Consumers who believe a particular retail store is not in compliance with the law should contact the Massachusetts Office of Disability at (617) 727-5770.
COURT UPHOLDS RIGHT TO ECONOMIC ACCOMMODATIONS
By John Thomas
Deputy Director, ARC
Web Site: www.arcmass.org
E-mail: Thomas@arcmass.org
After nearly seven years of legal wrangling, a California man with HIV/AIDS has won the right to live in an apartment complex near his mother. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled September 2003 that housing providers must make reasonable accommodations to income requirements, if such accommodations would allow a disabled person to exercise their right to fair housing choice.
The Court of Appeals ruled that, because John Giebler's income was directly related to his disability, and because Giebler's mother had offered to co-sign the lease for him, the Defendant Housing Provider should have allowed him to move in. The Court found the refusal was an illegal denial of a reasonable accommodation.
A federal district court in California ruled against Giebler, but with the help of Civil Rights Attorney, Elizabeth Brancart, Giebler's appeal to the Ninth Circuit was successful, completely reversing the lower court's decision.
Giebler appealed the case to the Ninth Circuit Court. The court held that housing providers must make reasonable accommodations in income requirements by individually assessing the risk of nonpayment, rather than inflexibly applying a rental policy, forbidding co-signers.
An opinion statement by Judge Marsha Berzon, a Ninth Circuit Panel Judge, stated, "Giebler's request that he be permitted to reside in an apartment rented by his financially qualified mother is a request for an accommodation that he was entitled to receive, if it was reasonable and necessary to afford him an equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling."
REACHING STATUS 26: A novel
By Dwight Woodworth
Introduction
In 1973 when I started formally studying for a degree in social rehabilitation at Assumption College, we were required to read the novel, The Monday Voices. This book by Joanne Greenberg, was published in 1965. It tells the story of Ralph Oakland, a counselor with a state vocational rehabilitation agency. Throughout the book the reader meets several of Oakland's clients and shares in his successes and failures.
I now assistant-teach under a rather unique arrangement, but more on that later. The book is out of print. Nevertheless, the professor has permission to photocopy the novel and occasionally still uses it in his class. It's fiction, granted, and has its merits, but over the past 38 years we've come a long way, baby. Rehabilitation now is a lot different than it was then.
In the novel, you could tell the helpees from the helpers. They were the ones with the disabilities. Enter the disability rights movement. Now there's a mix of trained counselors and TABs, those who are temporarily able-bodied. Vocational rehabilitation agencies finally realized that if they expected companies to hire the handicapped, or rather, people who are handicapped by their disabilities, they had better start practicing what they were preaching.
The state-federal vocational rehabilitation program started serving wounded war veterans in 1917. By 1920 it was expanded to include civilian job-seekers with disabilities. But prior to the 1970's it was a numbers game. Counselors strived to see how many clients they could get through the system and have their cases closed as status 26, rehabilitated and successfully placed in employment.
To achieve the maximum number of status 26 closures counselors focused on clients with mild to moderate disabilities. These were "easy rehabs". They were tested and evaluated, and received advice, support and guidance, but paying for college or other post-graduate training was generally the extent of services offered. Most of Oakland's clients, a juvenile delinquent, an ex-convict, a lower-limb double amputee, a young girl with mild retardation and others, would today be considered as having mild to moderate disabilities.
Occasionally someone with a severe disability would break into the system, if he or she had strong support and a lot of spunk, but usually they were judged as being too disabled to benefit from services. Besides, those with severe disabilities require daily personal care. In Oakland's day, when parents or family members were unable or unwilling to care for the loved one, the only other option was a nursing home. Why waste too many resources on them?
Ed Roberts, severely disabled from childhood polio, rejected this way of thinking. He and a small band of "rebel crips" started the independent living movement, a movement which has spread from California to every state and territory in the nation.
The independent living movement revolutionized vocational rehabilitation. Persons with severe disabilities were moving into their own apartments with the help of personal care attendants. In addition, wonderful advances in assistive technology have unlocked many doors for this population to live and work in the community. In recent years the Rehabilitation Services Administration has mandated that all state agencies give priority to those with significant disabilities.
Clearly, many changes have occurred in the field of rehabilitation, as the following will reveal. One thing that hasn't changed, however, is the commitment of those in the field to develop human potential. As my professor put it, the mission of vocational rehabilitation is "to make taxpayers out of tax eaters".
Most novels, though fiction, are based on fact and reflect a certain time period. Greenberg looks at vocational rehabilitation in the first half of the 20th century, I'm carrying it through the 21st century. Oh yes, I mentioned above about my unique teaching situation. Let's see. In 1977 I received my Master's degree in rehabilitation counseling from Assumption and then. . .
Well, I guess you'll just have to read this book to learn more about me.
So, I've outlined my most recent endeavor. I'm now seeking case information from 8 to 10 consumers who have either gone through, or are going through the vocational rehabilitation process. This would include independent living. Of course, all names will be fictional, and cases can be composites of material with some embellishments.
Let me pose a few questions, just to get you thinking;
- What was your situation when you got involved with vocational rehabilitation and/or independent living?
- Did you and your counselor agree on your rehabilitation plan?
- What services have you received?
- What barriers have you had to overcome?
- Where are you now in the process?
If you wish, give me your name and address. If I use your story, and the book is successful, I'll do right by you. I know there are a lot of great stories out there. My snail mail address; 27 Mt. Vernon St., Apt. 101, Worcester, Massachusetts 01605. My e-mail address doodyw101@aol.com.
LIVING, LEARNING, AND LEADING: MENTORING YOUTH WITH DISABILITIES
By Katie Zachary
The Center for Career and Lifelong Learning in Boston has a new program: "Living, Learning and Leading: Mentoring for Youth with Disabilities."
This Program connects young adults, between the ages of fourteen and twenty-two years old, who have a disability, with volunteer opportunities that match their career goals. The participant is provided with a career-support mentor, who supports them through the volunteer experience. Mentor support enables the young adult to experience the enthusiasm, knowledge, and leadership skills of someone who shares their career goals.
The goal of "Living, Learning and Leading: Mentoring for Youth with Disabilities" is to serve a bridge between youth and their community, by helping them to develop their personal career path. Participants will network, increase life skills, and gain personal satisfaction.
For more information, contact:
Katie Zachary at (617) 399-3216
E-mail: kzachay@jvs-boston.org
Center for Careers for Lifelong Learning
29 Winter Street, 3rd Floor
Boston, MA 02108
VOTING TIME
Compiled by Jeanne Boland, I.C.C.
As the General Presidential Election approaches on Tuesday, November 2, 2004, it is very important that we let our voices be heard, as people with disabilities, and important members of the electorate and society.
Qualifications to Vote in Massachusetts
A person who is: (1) A United States citizen. (2) A resident of Massachusetts. (3) Eighteen (18) years or older on or before Election Day (this year, November 2, 2004), may vote in the General Presidential Elections.
Voter Registration
There are several ways to register to vote, but you MUST be registered no later than October 13, 2004, twenty (20 days) before the Presidential Election.
Registration is possible by mail, in person, or by E-mail.
To obtain a Mail-In Registration Form: Call (617) 727-2828 or (800) 462-VOTE, and a form will be sent to you. Mail the form to the town or city hall in which you reside. You should receive a confirmation notice in two to three weeks. If you do not receive this notice, contact your local election office.
You can download a form by computer from the website: www.state.ma.us/sec/ele/eleifv/howreg.htm, and mail it in to your town or city hall. Another method to help you register to vote, more easily, is to click on the website: www.nacdd.org, on the Homepage; click on the "Register to Vote" Box, and follow the instructions.In person
Finally, you can obtain a form in person from the Registry of Motor Vehicles, Colleges, Universities, High Schools, Vocational Schools, and in person at the Local Election Office.
Be sure to keep any receipts or confirmations that show you have been registered. There is no waiting period to be eligible to vote, other than receiving the notification that you are registered.
Where do I Vote?
Call your Local Clerk or Election Commission at the Town or City Hall in which you reside, to locate your polling place. You can find the phone number in the white, blue, or business pages of your telephone book under the name of your city or town. Also, be sure to call your residential Town or City Hall to verify that you are officially registered at least three weeks or more before the election.
If I Cannot Read or Write English, Can I Vote?
Yes, if you are registered, you may ask any person of your choice to assist you or request help from the election officials at the polling place.
Voting Hours at the Polls
Polls must be open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. for State Elections; the hours vary for Local Elections. Sample ballots are posted at the polls for extra help.
How Do I Vote?
Bring your receipts and confirmation notices with you that confirm you are a registered voter if you have just enrolled. When you arrive at the voting location, give your address and name to the election official at the check-in table. If your name is not on the Voters' List, ask the election officer, in charge of the polling place, to check your registration, by looking at the Inactive Voters' List, and calling City/Town Hall or the Election Office. Ask the Election Official in charge of the Polling Place to help you cast your ballot, and verify your registration.
Every vote counts for your candidate!
I Can't Get to the Polls on Election Day. Can I Vote?
You can vote by ABSENTEE BALLOT if you: (1) Will be absent from your city or town on Election Day and/or (2) Have a physical disability that prevents your voting at the polling place, and/or (3) Cannot vote at the polls due to religious beliefs.
How Can I Apply for an Absentee Ballot?
You must Apply In Writing to your residential City or Town Clerk or Election Commission, and include: Name, Address As Registered, Ward and Precinct (if you know them), Address for Delivery of Absentee Ballot, In a Primary, ask for the Party Ballot you want (Democrat, Republican, etc.), Your Signature.
You can obtain an application by mail, in person at your local election office, or download the form by computer at website: www.state.ma.us/sec/ele/eleifv/howabs.htm.
A family member or a person qualified to vote by Absentee Ballot may apply for you.
When Do I Submit My Absentee Ballot?
If you desire to vote by Absentee for more than one election in a calendar year, you may make one application, and request that ballots for all elections during that year are sent to you. If you vote by mail, be certain the application arrives at your local election office early. The ballot has to be mailed back to you after the application is processed, and then you have to return it to the election office by mail, or hand-deliver it before the close of the polls on Election Day (8:00 p.m. for State Elections, Local Elections vary).
The Absentee Ballots should be available in the election office about three weeks before the election. Call to make certain the Absentee Ballots are available, and that the election office received your Absentee Application, once you have sent it to them. You can complete the Absentee Application and Ballot, within the three-week time frame, before the election, if you go in person to the Town or City Hall or Election Office.
Are Polling Places Accessible to Elders, and Persons with Disabilities?
Yes. Federal Law required polling places to be accessible by 1986.
If I Am Permanently Home with a Disability, May I Vote at Home?
Yes. You MUST apply to your local election office. File a letter from your doctor with the Town or City Clerk or Election Commission. The doctor must state that you are permanently unable to cast your ballot at the polling place due to a physical disability.
The local election official will automatically mail you an Application for an Absentee Ballot for all elections in a calendar year. Sign the application, and return it to your election official.
Call your local election official for information about how to register to vote at home, or to request that a Mail-In Registration Form be sent to you.
If I Am in a Nursing Home, Can I Vote?
Yes, as long as you are not under a court ordered guardianship, which specifically prohibits voting. Any nursing home resident must be registered to cast an Absentee Ballot, and must complete the application. There are certain specific rules that apply to people in Nursing Homes. Call your local Election Official to obtain more details. The November 2004 Election is critical for people with disabilities. You cannot make a difference if you don't vote!
For further information, contact:
Secretary of the Commonwealth Elections Division
McCormack Building, Room 1705
One Ashburton Place
Boston, MA 02108
Voice: (617) 727-2828 or Voice: (800) 462-VOTE or Fax: (617) 742-3238
E-mail: elections@sec.state.ma.us
Website: http://www.sec.state.ma.us/
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Kennedy Foundation Public Policy Fellowships 2005
By Jill M. Fosse, Grants Manager
The 2005 Kennedy Fellowships include The Parent Public Policy Fellowship, and The Professional Fellowship. The deadline for applications this year is September 1, 2004.
Summaries:
The Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. Foundation Parent Public Policy Fellowship Program 2005 is offered to parents or close family members of a child with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (Mental Retardation). Applications can be submitted for a One-Year Fellowship in Washington, D.C. The successful candidates will learn how legislation is initiated, developed, and passed by Congress, and how programs are administered, and regulations promulgated by Federal Agencies. Salaried experience in the field is NOT a requirement.
The Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. Foundation Professional Fellowship Program 2005 is offered to mid-career professionals in the field of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (Mental Retardation). Applications can be submitted for a One-Year Fellowship in Washington, DC. The successful candidates will observe and participate in federal public policy development through work as Staff of a Congressional Committee or Federal Agency.
The Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation
1010 Wayne Avenue, Suite 650
Silver Spring, MD 20910
Voice: (301) 565-5476 or Fax: (301) 608-3444
VSA ARTS - Call for Entries - Driving Force - A National Juried Exhibit for Young Artists with Disabilities, Ages 16-25 Years of Age - 15 Finalists - $30,000 in Awards
This VSA Arts Exhibit is open to young artists, aged 16 to 25 years old, living in the United States, who have a physical, cognitive, or mental disability. A disability is defined as an impairment that substantially limits a major life activity. Postmarked deadline is Friday, August 6, 2004. For more information, visit the Website: www.vsarts.org.
Section 8 Restored
From HUD's Press Release
The Section 8 Funds, previously deferred by Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Housing Government Agency, have been fully restored. There is no longer a threat that people will have vouchers removed, based upon current Fiscal Year Federal Budget interpretation by HUD.
Thanks to the vast amount of advocacy from citizens, and efforts by the Massachusetts Congressional Delegation and Governor Mitt Romney the crisis has been averted for now! Massachusetts was instrumental in convincing HUD to account for annualized inflation, which provided relief, not only for the Commonwealth, but also for states across the Nation.
Thanks to John Lafferty, Lisa Sloane, and many others for their support in keeping our community informed throughout this crisis.
Seeking Peer Reviews
By Brenda Bercegeay, RSA/IL
Branch Program Manager
The Rehabilitation Services Administration's Independent Living Branch (RSA/IL) is seeking qualified individuals as potential Peer Reviewers to assist with the review process of Discretionary Grant Applications. We believe this process is most effective with the participation of committed, qualified reviewers that are representative of an extensive range of experience and from diverse backgrounds.
The characteristics we seek include:
- Extensive knowledge of the Disability Subject Area
- Critical thinking skills: The ability to write concise, evaluative comments
- The capacity to work as a member of a team
- The experience and knowledge of Independent Living Skills, Special Education, Disability Issues, Training, Rehabilitation, Rehabilitation Research and Evaluation.
Based on the above characteristics, Program Staff will review resumes for acceptability. If acceptable, resumes will be maintained in the Peer Reviewer System Database to serve as Possible Peer Reviewers for future RSA/IL Discretionary Grant Competitions.
Based on qualifications, applicants may also be considered for future Discretionary Grant Competitions for other programs within the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services.
No resumes will be returned.
If, and when, your area of expertise is needed, either Program Staff or a Logistical Contractor will contact applicants regarding availability to serve as Peer Reviewers.
RSA/IL Discretionary Grant Competitions are held each fiscal year and, whether or not applicants are elected to serve, will depend on a number of factors (e.g., program priority, experience, knowledge).
Currently, three Selected Reviewers and a Panel Manager compose a panel that review applications for Discretionary Grants. Reviewers examine applications individually, using published criteria. Reviewers independently score the Grant Application, and make individual recommendations. The panel then meets to discuss individual findings and evaluations. The panel evaluations are provided to Program Officials for review and funding recommendations.
Compensation for Reviewers' services, accommodations, and travel expenses is provided.
To apply to serve as Peer Reviewers, please submit an electronic copy of the most recent resume, or vitae, to OSERSPRS@ed.gov.
Resumes should include:
Regular identification information, including address, various phone numbers, e-mail addresses current and past employment (last ten years) and education areas of expertise recent appropriate publications (i.e., abstracts, conference presentations/papers)
The Peer Review Process is critical to the efforts to achieve full integration and participation in a society of people with disabilities.
Please contact Brenda Bercegeay, RSA/IL, Branch Program Manager, at 202-245-7585, with any questions concerning this notice or the competition process.
The Shriver Center Unveils a New Web Site for Consumers and Families Affected by Asperger's Syndrome
The Shriver Center at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center is pleased to announce a new, interactive website: The Aspergers Connection.
This interactive website is intended to facilitate discussion among consumers, family members, professionals, and legislators/policymakers interested in, and concerned with, issues that individuals with Asperger's Syndrome and High Functioning Autism face on a day to day basis.
The website also offers short, online courses such as: "A Life Apart: Parent Perspective on Living with a Child with Asperger's" and "Asperger's Syndrome: Emotional and Social Implications."
The site provides an opportunity to ask questions of various experts, such as an Educational Consultant, Clinical Social Worker, Parent, and an Occupational Therapist about education, vocational issues, diagnosis, treatment interventions, sensory integration, social issues, and other subjects.
For more information on The Asperger's Connection, visit the website: www.ddleadership.org/aspergers.
Please direct any questions to Dr. Ruth Smith, Director of The Asperger's Connection. Dr. Smith can be reached at Ruth.Smith@umassmed.edu.
Few Businesses Take Advantage of Tax Incentives to Employ Persons with Disabilities
A recent study released by the General Accounting Office (GAO) reports that very few businesses reported using the two tax credits that are available to encourage hiring persons with disabilities.
The report provides data on: (1) The extent to which the tax credits have been used, and what those credits include; (2) How the tax incentives can encourage businesses to hire, retain, and accommodate workers with disabilities; (3) Suggestions to enhance the awareness of these tax incentives.
For further information, read: "Business Tax Incentives: Incentives to Employ Workers with Disabilities Receive Limited Use and Have an Uncertain Impact." Also Visit: www.gao.gov/new.items/d0339.pdf
The next State Rehabilitation Council Meeting is:
Date: Thursday, July 29, 2004
Time: 10 am to 4:00 p m
Place: Mitchell Memorial Club
29 Elm Street
Middleboro, MA 02346- 2139
For more information contact Emeka Nwokeji at 617-204-3851
2004 Independent Living conference of Massachusetts sponsored by the Statewide Independent Living Center (SILC)
Date: September 21-23, 2004
Place: Best western Royal Plaza Hotel
181 Boston Post Road West
Marlborough, MA 01752
The Massachusetts Statewide Independent Living Council will also have its Annual Meeting on September 23rd following the end of the conference
For more information contact
Joe Bellil at 508-620-7452
Taunton Advisory Council Meeting scheduled for Monday, July 12th, 2004 has been cancelled. The next meeting is now scheduled for Monday
Date: October 4, 2004
Time: 4:00 P.M.-6:00 P.M.
Place: MRC office 2nd floor
21 Spring Street
Taunton, MA 02780
For more information contact: Emeka Nwokeji at 617-204-3851
Our meeting in October will begin with a presentation from our guest, Jamie Robinson. Jamie is employed as the Disability Navigator at the Attleboro, Fall River, and Taunton Career Centers. Jamie will be reviewing her new role and how she is helping individuals with disabilities access Career Center services.
Transportation Task Force
Date: August 18, 2004
Time: 1:00 P.M.-3:00 P.M.
Place: MRC office Suite 206
40 Industrial Park Rd.
Plymouth, MA 02360
For more information contact: Emeka Nwokeji at 617-204-3851
SAVE THE DATE!!
MRC 24th ANNUAL CONSUMER CONFERENCE 2004
WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 1, 2004
WORCESTER CENTRUM
40 Foster Street
WORCESTER, MA
¡POR FAVOR CONSERVE LA FECHA!
24ta. CONFERENCIA ANNUAL DEL CONSUMIDOR DE MRC 2004
MIÉRCOLES, 1 DE DICIEMBRE DE 2004
"PROMOVIENDO EL LIDERAZGO A TRAVÉS DE LA INDEPENDENCIA, El EMPLEO Y LA VIDA COMUNITARIA"
Para información adicional, escriba al correo electrónico: consumer.involvement@mrc.state.ma.us
(617) 204-3851 voz, (617) 204-3868 TTY
The Consumer's Voice A quarterly publication of the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission Consumer Involvement Program Editors: Jeanne Boland (ICC) and Leslie Wish (ICC) This Newsletter is an independent publication sponsored by the MRC State Rehabilitation Council. The opinions expressed in this Newsletter do not necessarily reflect the policy and practices of the MRC. They are solely the opinions of consumers of MRC programs and services. |
This information is provided by the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission.