News at a Glance
Volunteer sought for citizen
advisory
board
The Hennepin County Board
of Commissioners is seeking applicants from the community to fill
vacancies on the Hennepin County Adult Mental Health Advisory Council
advisor board. The 32-member council advises the County Board and
monitors, studies and comments on mental health issues at federal,
state and local levels. Members serve three-year terms and meet monthly
on the third Thursday of the month from 2 -4:30 p.m. at Plymouth
Congregational Church in downtown Minneapolis. There is one vacancy
in the category of consumer. For more information about this open
appointment or to receive an application or information booklet,
contact Yolanda McCrary by phone at 612-348-3257 or get an application
via the Internet at www.hennepin.us under the Web page title, “Your
county government/ Commissioners/Advisory boards.” ![]()
Source:
Hennepin County News
Deaf access at Library of Congress
The Library of Congress
has become one of the first federal agencies to implement an agency-wide “videophone” system
that enables its deaf staff members who use American Sign Language
(ASL) to communicate with both hearing and deaf individuals.
Using the videophones, deaf staff members can place Video Relay
Service (VRS) calls, which are “relayed” through
an ASL interpreter at a call center, to hearing individuals.
Likewise, using the videophones, deaf individuals can place point-to-point
calls with other deaf people who use ASL. Video relay calls are
placed over a high-speed Internet connection through a videophone
connected to a television or computer monitor with RCA inputs.
The deaf user connects to an ASL interpreter and, over the videophone
and visual display, signs to the interpreter, who then contacts
the hearing user via a standard phone line and relays the conversation
in ASL and English between the two parties.
Doug Meick, program
manager in Information Technology Services for the Library’s Assistive Technology Demonstration Center,
said, “This technology greatly improves the ability of our
deaf colleagues to conduct their daily business and underscores
the Library of Congress’ commitment to the provisions of
the Americans with Disabilities Act. We hope other agencies will
see our partnership with private industry, follow our example
and take advantage of this federally funded service.” ![]()
Source:
Library of Congress
Wanted: Direct support professional input for survey
Direct support professionals
(DSPs) working in Minnesota are invited to participate in a survey
being conducted by Direct Support Professional Association of
Minnesota (DSPAM). DSPs include personal care
assistants, personal care providers, individual service staff,
home health aides, residential assistants, community living specialists,
habilitation training specialists, certified/registered nursing
assistants, and others providing support services for consumers
experiencing effects of disability. DSPAM’s recently appointed
board of directors is conducting the survey to gather input from
DSPs to help set the direction and purpose of the organization.
For example, the survey provides an opportunity for DSPs across
the state to discuss the type of work they perform, training
they received, wages and benefits offered, characteristics of
the job they enjoy, concerns or frustrations they may have, and
more. DSPAM hopes to take the results and begin working to improve
training, compensation, and perception of the profession. Your
participation is crucial! Surveys must be returned no later than
April 1, 2008. Please visit www.nadsp.org/dspam for an electronic
copy of the survey. For hardcopy or alternate versions of the
survey or for more information, please contact Bridget at 612-272-0281
or Kelly at 507-696-8442. ![]()
Source: DSPAM
Youth
with disabilities
fall through foster care cracks
The National Council
on Disability (NCD) recently released a report on the unique challenges
older youth with disabilities face as they negotiate the foster care
system.
NCD Chairperson John R. Vaughn notes that “foster care is … both
a child welfare issue and a disability issue. This is due to the
alarmingly high numbers of foster youth with mental, developmental,
emotional, learning, and physical disabilities.” He hopes
the report sheds light on “the prevalence of disability among
foster youth,” and the question of “who should be held
accountable for this uniquely challenged and often underserved
population,” ![]()
Source: National Council on Disability,
2008 Foster Care System Report
More judges for SS Disability
cases
Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, recently announced
that the agency has begun making offers to 144 of the 175 new
Administrative Law Judges (ALJs) it will hire this fiscal year.
Due to litigation and budget cuts, the agency has about 10% fewer
ALJs than it did a decade ago. During that same time, the number
of cases waiting for a hearing decision has more than doubled.
“The hiring of these new ALJs is a critical step in our
plan to reduce the backlog of disability cases,” Commissioner
Astrue said. “They represent one of the largest investments
in ALJs this agency has ever made. When these ALJs are fully-trained,
and combined with the other steps we are taking, we will be able
for the first time in this decade to reduce the number of cases
waiting for a disability hearing. I can hardly wait
for them to start.”
Hiring of additional ALJs is only one component of the plan the
agency has put in place to reduce the backlog of disability cases.
The agency is also claiming to make progress in many other areas,
including opening the National Hearing Center, completing the nationwide
roll-out of the Quick Disability Determination process, attempting
to implement compassionate allowances and eliminating aged cases. ![]()
Source: Social Security
Administration, www.socialsecurity.gov/disability under the heading
What’s New.
