Monday Blog Round up

Self-Determination: A Fundamental Ingredient of Employment Support Institute for Community InclusionTools for Inclusion - Issue #22
Lora Brugnaro & Jaimie Ciulla Timmons

Self-determination is the process of defining one's own direction. To achieve a successful employment outcome, it is important that the job seeker actively drives and controls his or her own job search. Job seekers should participate actively in all job search activities-from determining their interests and career goals to starting a new job. Moreover, job seeker self-determination should help drive the way that employment services are offered, coordinated, and funded. This brief examines self-determination in the employment process and suggests strategies for employment professionals to apply these principles in their work.

Click here for the entire article.

Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Advisory Panel Celebrates ADA Anniversary With Release of Social Security Beneficiary Recommendations on Employment

WHEN: Thursday, July 26, 2007 at 9:30 AM Eastern Time
WHERE: 902 Hart Senate Office Building, Capitol Hill
CONTACT: Jill Houghton, 202-358-6419/202-957-3268
On July, 26, 2007, the 17th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Advisory Panel is holding a news conference to release a report, "Voices for Change: Beneficiaries Paving the Way to Work, A Roadmap to Program Improvement." The report documents recommendations it received from beneficiaries of Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and/or Supplemental Security Income (SSI). The recommendations were made at a beneficiary summit held earlier this year in Atlanta, Georgia.
The message from those beneficiaries: We want to work!
According to the United States Census Bureau, there are 13,779,000 working-age individuals with disabilities in the U.S. who are not employed, of whom 6,927,000 (or 50%) report receiving SSI and/or SSDI. Right now, these programs require people to prove they cannot work before they can receive assistance, and the rules set up an all-or-nothing scenario for some, where working at their full capacity would cause them to lose their health insurance and personal care assistance. At a time when the solvency of Social Security is in question, the recommendations focus on what steps, as seen through the eyes of beneficiaries, the nation could take to encourage people with disabilities to attempt work and to reduce their reliance on Social Security benefits.
Congress noted when it passed the 1999 Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act, "[I]f only an additional one-half of one percent of the current [SSDI] and [SSI] recipients were to cease receiving benefits as a result of employment, the savings to the Social Security Trust Funds and to the Treasury in cash assistance would total [$3.5 billion] over the work life of such individuals, far exceeding the cost of providing incentives and services needed to assist them in entering work and achieving financial independence to the best their abilities."
The summit brought together one beneficiary with a disability from each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
The news conference will be conducted with Panel members and summit attendees. There will be opportunities for photos and interviews after the event.

Employment News & Events Update: Funding to Promote Leadership for Increasing Employment and Economic Independence for Adults with Disabilities

DOL's Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) has announced the availability of up to $2.35 million to fund a cooperative agreement to establish a National Technical Assistance and Research Center to Promote Leadership for Increasing Employment and Economic Independence for Adults with Disabilities. Application deadline is August 20, 2007. The full announcement may be downloaded. Click here.
This information has recently been updated, and is now available. Click here.