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Wisconsin Disability Program Navigator Newsletter

Issue 8, Vol 2, June 2008

This newsletter highlights navigator news and happenings as well as offering tools, information and resources on navigating employment programs and services for people with disabilities. Contact Theresa Kulow at kulow@eri-wi.org with your ideas, articles, comments or suggestions. Or Join Our Mailing List.


2008 DPN Calendar:


Thanks for Attending: 2008 Navapaloosa!

Link to Navapaloosa 2008

Our annual Navigator exchange called Navapaloosa occurred on June 3 and 4 in Prairie Du Chien. The event provided opportunities to share products, services, events that have proven successful among Navigator peers.

This year featured a Blues Brothers theme and a special retirement party, so grab your hat, sunglasses and jacket and check out what happened at this year's Navapaloosa!

Glenn's Update: Brain Droppings from the Overlord...Musings, Thoughts and Notes of Interest

Dice"Without order nothing can exist - without chaos nothing can evolve." As we enter into the sixth year of the Disability Program Navigator, folks must be thinking they are on top of the food chain with all of the chaos! The state is consolidating staff into 12 comprehensive skill centers Services will still be provided at the local level outside of the comprehensive centers area. The question still remains How will that be achieved? It will be very important for navigators to ensure all services being offered are universally accessible.

As a result of dwindling funds it was made necessary to cut the number of Navigators. While it is sad to see them go, we are working on alternative funding to try to keep the positions.

Speaking of chaos, the weather in Iowa and Wisconsin has led to several disaster areas. People with disabilities are heavily impacted by these events. In a flood they can lose hearing aides, canes, wheel chairs and other adaptive equipment. A person with a disability may be placed into a shelter apart from their caregiver. Early reports indicate that lessons were learned from Gulf Coast disaster and people with disabilities are receiving services. If you plan to assist in one of the impacted area work closely with the local disaster and shelter coordinators. I learned the Independent Living Center in Waterloo was wiped out and did not have insurance. I will be contacting the State IL Director to see if there is anything we can offer as a state. In the meantime, it's a good time to review your local emergency and disaster recovery plan ... we've included some resources on this topic in this issue.

This issue also contains information on homeless coordinators and Correctional Institution contacts. I remind folks that offenders are re-entering the community in record numbers and One Stop staff are serving them...this topic is our focus this month.

I have been around the block more than once, but this year at Navapalooza (Navigator Exchange) I had a first. I attended a retirement party for a dog. Ripley the guide dog from Western Wisconsin was our guest of honor at the event. I learned guide dogs follow a somewhat human path. They get to be puppies, go on to school, get a job, and then allowed time for retirement to chase squirrels, catch a Frisbee, or be a couch potato and watch Animal Planet. In this case Steve is keeping Ripley; however, there is a program for adopting a retired guide dog for more information go to http://www.guidedogsofamerica.org/retiring.html. For more information on the opening day of Navapalooza go to: http://www.onestoptoolkit.org/resourceoftheweek.cfm and visit our Navapalooza Recap and Resources page.

It doesn't work to leap a twenty-foot chasm in two ten-foot jumps. American Proverb

Focus: Prisoner Re-Entry Initiatives


Wisconsin Developing Efforts to Reduce Prison Re-Entry

As the American prison population continues to rise, Wisconsin's inmate count is keeping pace at about the same rate. The latest statistics from the U-S Justice Department show the prison and jail population topped out at 2-point-3 million. That's a three percent rise over 2006. As of June last year, Wisconsin's prisons held 23 thousand inmates. That's two-thousand more than the year before. But prison reform advocates and corrections officials have their eye on a different number. More than 700 thousand people were released from prison in 2006, an 18 percent increase since the beginning of the decade. Mark Mauer of the National Sentencing Project says most states have launched ambitious programs to keep those returning inmates from going back to prison.

A quick look at prison release numbers compared to prison admissions in Wisconsin is a good illustration of the proverbial "revolving door" that keeps recidivism rates high. In 2006, 87-hundred inmates left Wisconsin prisons, while an equal number were admitted. But Mary Kay Kollat who heads the Department of Corrections re-entry effort says the state has a five-year plan to make sure more of those who leave prison don't come back. To pay for those programs, Wisconsin, like other states, is waiting for Congress to release some of the 360 million dollars approved for re-entry programs this year.

At a recent quarterly meeting, Ron Konkol, Social Security Administration, spoke about their efforts in being a part of the re-entry team. Some of the components/entities involved in the re-entry process include:

Pre-Release Steps:

Pre-Release / Post-Release Resources:

Wisconsin's Fidelity Bonding Program:

Wisconsin is a large participant in the fidelity bonding program. This program is offered to all job seekers with barriers to employment and provides insurance for the employer to ensure honesty. This service is offered to your agency, the job seeker and the employer at no cost. Glenn Olsen has taken back the role as the state bonding coordinator, feel free to contact him for more information or go to http://dwd.wisconsin.gov/bonding/. Following are three pieces Glenn contributed from the Wisconsin offender training:

Working with Homeless Populations — Ron Konkol, Social Security Administration:

Emergency and Disaster Planning

Navigators are in a unique position within their communities to be a resource in how to assess the needs of individuals with disabilities before, during, and after a disaster. Navigators should be at the forefront of identifying community resources; connecting individuals with disabilities and their families with pre-disaster planning resources and information; and educating one-stop staff, local employers, and others in the community about disaster planning considerations around individuals with disabilities. Following are some resources focused on including individuals with disabilities in disaster planning.

Other News and Happenings


Wisconsin’s Top Navigator Calls It Quits

By Steve Johnson, Western Wisconsin Navigator

Photo of Navigator Steve Johnson with Ripley, Black Labrador Leader Dog guide dog.

With over 9 years of dedicated service, 5 of which were with the Disability Navigator project administered through the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, Wisconsin’s top Navigator will retire on June 27.  Although this amount of time does not seem to be eye-brow raising, he is now in his mid-70’s; well, kind of. 

You see, Wisconsin’s top Navigator, who received the distinguished title during a 3-day training in Wisconsin Dells in 2005, really showed everyone his navigational skills that far-surpassed a room full of Navigators, Job Service professionals, Vocational Rehabilitation professionals, and key One-Stop Partner professionals who were attending an intense training on Cultivating True Livelihoods.  The complex was daunting to all in attendance as the maze seemed to catch everyone at the dead-end points, all except one Navigator. 

Our Navigator friend and colleague will be dearly missed as will his moaning and groaning during presentations by high profile officials at local, State, and even Federal levels.  His extreme quiet approach to his professional work was made even more interesting by his off-work socialization and his extreme suaveness and handsomeness that seemed to catch everyone’s eye.  The Wisconsin Disability Program Navigators, friends and colleagues at both his offices at the One-Stop Job Center and the Independent Living Center in Western Wisconsin would like to wish him a relaxing and enjoyable retirement. 

Thank you Ripley, the Black Labrador Leader Dog guide dog for all of the support, service, dedication, and commitment to change that you have given us over the years.  You will be missed, but not forgotten our friend!

In upcoming editions of this newsletter, we will follow Steve on his quest to choose a new Leader Dog Guide Dog. Steve will also share some of his experiences, explain more about how the process works, share some guide dog etiquette, and keep us informed on how Ripley is enjoying his retirement!

U.S. Census Bureau Updates Disability Facts

It's that time a year again when the U.S. Census Bureau updates their Facts for Features on the anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which is July 26th. This issue includes some great facts that you can include in flyers, brochures, factoids, marketing materials…Your work is making a difference because of your efforts more people with disabilities are finding more effective and meaningful employment opportunities, but there is still more work to be done. According to this issue:

On the Job

11.8 million
Number of 16- to 64-year-olds who reported a medical condition that makes it difficult to find a job or remain employed. They comprise 6 percent of the population this age.

56%
Percentage of people 21 to 64 having some type of disability who were employed in the past year. The rate ranged from 82 percent of those with a nonsevere disability to 43 percent with a severe disability. For those without a disability, the employment rate is 88 percent for the same period.

44%
Percentage of people with a nonsevere disability who work full time, year-round. This compares with 53 percent without a disability and 13 percent with a severe disability.

Read more under "Resources of Interest" and access the issue at:

New Law Makes AmeriCorps More Accessible to SSI Recipients

On Tuesday, June 17, President Bush signed into law H.R. 6081, the Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief Tax Act of 2008 ("the HEART Act"), making AmeriCorps more accessible to people with disabilities.

The HEART Act contains a provision we have been seeking that excludes AmeriCorps benefits from being counted as income for purposes of eligibility for Supplemental Security Income (SSI). This extends the long-time AmeriCorps VISTA income disregard for SSI to all AmeriCorps positions. An SSI recipient who enrolls in AmeriCorps will no longer risk the loss of SSI benefits or eligibility as a result of participating in AmeriCorps. While the law does not extend to Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), it removes a significant barrier to participation for SSI recipients.

We are working with the Social Security Administration on implementation of the new law. We will post information and resources on the Corporation's website at http://www.nationalservice.gov/home/site_information/accessibility.asp.

House Judiciary Committee Unanimously Passes ADA Restoration Act

The House Judiciary Committee unanimously passed HR 3195, the ADA Restoration Act, introduced by former Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis), and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD). Additionally, the House Education and Labor Committee also marked-up the bill, where it passed overwhelmingly by a vote of 43 to 1. The following statement was made by Congressman Sensenbrenner at the Judiciary Committee mark-up:

"One of our finest moments occurred eighteen years ago when President George H.W. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act into law. It was with that stroke of a pen that this country took a significant step forward in eliminating the barriers that for far too long kept disabled Americans from fully participating in the American dream. Prior to the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, disabled Americans faced not only physical barriers in almost all aspects of society but also attitudinal barriers, which relegated them to a form of second class citizenship. Moreover, because federal and state laws were ill-equipped to protect disabled Americans at the time, the false stereotypes and discriminatory treatment employed by others created a vicious cycle." More Information.

Training & Education Events


Save the Date: Wisconsin Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC) ADRC Conference 2008

October 13 to 15, at the Paper Valley in Appleton.

Conference Objectives:

Participants: Those involved in planning new resource centers such as county and tribal officials, local aging and human service agency staff, Independent Living Centers, Area Agencies on Aging, aging unit directors, advocates and consumers; Those involved in overseeing and providing ADRC services, including, ADRC directors, staff and board members, AIRS exam takers, and benefit specialists.

Hayward, July 10: The Employer's Guide to Employment and Disability

WorkSource Wisconsin "The Employer's Guide to Employment and Disability" is offering a no cost employer training seminar on July 10th, 2008 at the Hayward Ramada from 8:00 – 1:30. This training program offers professional training in Employment Law, ADA & Job Accommodations, Mental Health in the Workplace, and Deaf and Hard of Hearing Employees to employers, front line supervisors, managers, human resources, and business executives.

You may register for this training by emailing Jennifer Gunderlach Klatt at gunderlachj@uwstout.edu or on the web at www.WorkSourceWI.com by clicking on the 'register' tab on the home page under training programs. Please make special accommodation requests 10 days prior to training date to allow WorkSource Wisconsin staff time to honor your accommodations.

Superior, August 7: WISE Event

A Work Incentives Seminar Event will be held at the Superior Public Library on Thursday, August 7th from 9:30 – 12:30 and will include presentations by Social Security staff, Work Incentives Benefits Counselors, the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation and the Disability Program Navigator on the incentives available to Social Security beneficiaries who are earning an income. To register for this event or make accommodation requests, please call 1.877.743.8237 v/tty or online at www.socialsecurity.gov/work/wise.html.

More on SSA WISE Seminars

WISE seminars are community level, small group informational seminars that will promote opportunities for beneficiaries to meet directly with benefits specials with the Work Incentives Planning and Assistance (WIPA) programs called Community Work Incentives Coordinators (CWIC)s, local Employment Networks, SSA field office representatives, Disability Program Navigators and other public and private community-based groups. The seminars provide a customer friendly environment for learning about work incentives and demystifying fears related to return to work for beneficiaries, as well as connecting to employment supports and services in the community.

Learn when and where these seminars will take place in your state. Learn how you can participate, as well as connect Social Security disability beneficiaries and gain an opportunity to see the range of options for someone interested in exploring work.

Save the Date: From Darkness to Light: Crisis to Recovery

Crisis Intervention Conference
September 25-26 in Wisconsin Dells.

Save the Date: Recovery: Promoting Dreams Through Evidence–Based Practice

Fourth Annual Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services Training Conference
October 22-23 in Wisconsin Dells.

New Internet Video Course: Ready, Willing, & Able Assisting People with Disabilities during Disasters

Ready, Willing & Able is now available as a free, professional, 2 hour, introductory, online training course offered for independent study and for continuing education. It is designed for public health and hospital staff, health professionals, disaster preparedness managers, emergency response workers, and personnel working with people with disabilities.

Specific training covers disability etiquette, terminology, communications and assistance techniques during disasters for assisting people with disabilities. Course participants become familiar with various disaster assistance needs of persons with sight, mobility, hearing, and cognitive disabilities. Instruction is given in the video by professional educators, and one of the educators is a person with a disability.

To get on board the TRAIN, for persons living outside of Kansas, first create an account at www.train.org and for those in Kansas go to http://ks.train.org. The course name Ready, Willing, & Able and course number 1010882 are necessary to get to the course to register. A certificate of completion is offered once the pre-and post tests and course evaluation have been completed by individual course participants.

For more information regarding the course contact: Cathy "Cat" Rooney, Research and Training Center on Independent Living, University of Kansas, mailto: catr@ku.edu>catr@ku.edu, (785) 864-4095 (phone).

2008 Legal Issues Webinar: Employment and the ADA

DBTAC Great Lakes A D A Center This webinar series will use an accessible online conferencing tool. The Online Conferencing System is a fully accessible integrated data and voice medium that enables users to conduct workshops over the internet from just about any computer with a network connection and web browser. Participation is enhanced with use of a personal microphone. Visit the ADA Legal Issues Webinar schedule page to learn more.

Upcoming Webinars:
– July 22,2008: ADA Coverage Beyond Actual Disability: Regarded As, Record OF and Association Disability
– September 23rd, 2008: Direct Threat/Safety in the Workplace

2008 ADA Audio Series

The ADA Audio Conference Series provides in-depth information on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Accessible Information Technology and other related topics. This program is designed as a springboard to enhance an individual's existing knowledge base or facilitate continued learning regarding regulations and trends under the ADA. Visit the ADA Audio Series Schedule page to learn more.

Upcoming Audio Conferences:
– July 15th, 2008: ADA Update: 18 Years Later
– August 19th, 2008: Serving Customers with Disabilities: Implications for the Hospitality Industry
– September 16th, 2008: Latino Immigrants with Disabilities: Challenges in Employment


Ongoing Training:



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