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The
ADA National
Network
Launches New
Informational
Website
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The ADA
National
Network has
launched a
new,
user-friendly
national
website at adata.org. The
ADA National
Network
provides
information,
guidance and
training on
the Americans
with
Disabilities
Act (ADA),
tailored to
meet the needs
of business,
government and
individuals at
local,
regional and
national
levels.
The
new website
allows
visitors to
explore
resources
about the ADA
by audience
and topic, to
learn about
the services
offered by the
ADA National
Network, and
to locate
their regional
ADA Center.
Visit
the new
website at
adata.org!
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Seeking
Youth with
Disabilities
(16-25) from
New England
for a Youth
Advisory Board
(YAB)
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The New
England ADA
Center wants
to help young
people
understand
their rights
under the
Americans with
Disabilities
Act (ADA) as
they apply to
college or to
their first
job!
When students
leave high
school, they
become
responsible
for
identifying
and securing
the assistance
they need to
succeed.
However, much
of the time,
students with
disabilities
are not taught
about their
rights,
advocating for
their needs,
or requesting
accommodations.
Let's
talk about
rights and
ways to teach
them to
others!!!
WHEN:
Saturday,
March 22, 2014
@ 12:30PM
-3:30PM
WHERE:
Institute for
Human Centered
Design
200
Portland St.
Boston MA
Register:
https://www.regonline.com/NEYAB
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City
of Boston Now
Accepting
Applications
for the
Mayor's
Commission for
Persons with
Disabilities
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The City is
currently
seeking
applications
from people
with
disabilities
that reflect
the diverse
needs of
Boston's
neighborhoods
and
communities.
Members will
be appointed
by the Mayor
and serve in a
volunteer
capacity for a
term of three
years.
Applicants
must be
residents of
the City of
Boston.
Letters
of interest
are due by Apri
1, 2014,
and should be
sent to the
attention of:
Commissioner
Kristen
McCosh,
Mayor's
Commission for
Persons with
Disabilities.
Any questions
can be
directed to
Kristen McCosh
at kristen.mccosh@boston.gov
or by phone at
617-635-3682.
For
more
information,
visit: www.cityofboston.gov/disability/commission.asp.
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New
England ADA
Ceneter
Participates
in Seminar
about
Accessibility
and Historic
Buildings in
Vermont
Building Codes
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On
January 15
Kathy Gips,
Director of
Training for
the New
England ADA
Center,
presented at a
workshop on
the ADA and
historic
preservation.
The workshop
covered how
the ADA
intersects
with historic
preservation
(there is no
grandfathering),
what's new in
the current
ADA Standards
and issues
specific to
the Vermont
Access Code.
The afternoon
focused on six
real life
complex design
plans for
integrating
accessibility
into existing
facilities.
The event was
sponsored by
Build Safe
Vermont.
Photo:
Kathy Gips.
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Samsung
and The
Carroll Center
for the Blind
Team Up to
Test
Television
Accessibility
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The Carroll
Center for the
Blind, a
Newton,
Massachusetts
rehabilitation
training
facility that
in 1984
offered the
country's
first computer
classes for
individuals
who are blind,
is now helping
businesses,
government
agencies and
educational
institutions
improve the
accessibility
of their
websites and
products for
persons with
disabilities.
Samsung
contracted
with The
Carroll Center
to perform
important
usability
testing for a
new product
still in
development.
The Carroll
Center
thoroughly
tested the
products and
provided
feedback about
the
accessibility
features
Samsung plans
to incorporate
into some
television and
remote models
for 2014 and
2015.
Read
the full story.
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Harvard
Business
Review: Why I
Hired an
Executive with
a Mental
Illness
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Rob
Lachenauer,
CEO and a
co-founder of
Banyan Family
Business
Advisors,
writes about
why he hired a
job candidate
who disclosed
a mental
illness.
"Businesses
don't have a
great track
record with
the mentally
ill. Today,
according to
the National
Alliance on
Mental
Illness, some
60% to 80% of
people with
mental illness
are
unemployed. In
part, this is
the crippling
nature of the
disease. But a
large part of
the problem
that we have
in hiring
people who
have some
mental
disorder is
that we lack
the
sophisticated
vocabulary to
talk and act
regarding
these
illnesses."
Read
the full story.
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Are
Medical
Marijuana
Users in Rhode
Island Risking
Their Jobs?
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Rhode Island
is one of only
a handful of
states to
extend
employment
protections to
medical
marijuana
users. But
the impact of
workplace
policies on
medical
marijuana
remains murky
for many. Are
patients
really
protected?
Read
the full story.
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2014
Advocates in
Disability
Award Program
Now Accepting
Applications -
Deadline April
11
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The Advocates
in Disability
Award (ADA)
program awards
a young adult
with a
disability
between the
ages of 14 and
26 who is
committed to
positively
affecting the
lives of
people with
disabilities
and their
families. The
recipient will
be awarded
$3,000 in
recognition of
his or her
disability
advocacy and
up to an
additional
$7,000 in
support for a
project to
benefit the
disability
community. Application
deadline is
April 11, 2014.
Learn
more about the
application
process.
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Children's
Books Lauded
For
Highlighting
Disabilities
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Alongside the
famed
Caldecott and
Newbery awards
for children's
literature,
three books
are being
honored for
focusing on
the disability
experience.
The books -
which include
stories of a
wounded
soldier, a
princess with
a deformed
foot and a
look at
medical
experimentation
by Nazi
doctors - were
named winners
of the
Schneider
Family Book
Awards.
Read
the full story.
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Nine
Broadway
Theaters Agree
To Boost
Accessibility
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Nine Broadway
theaters will
eliminate more
than 500
accessibility
barriers in
their
restrooms,
concession
counters,
waiting areas
and box
offices under
an agreement
to address
violations of
the Americans
with
Disabilities
Act.
The theaters
will also
provide a
total of 70
wheelchair-accessible
seating
locations and
offer 134
aisle seats
for
individuals
who can
transfer to a
traditional
seat. Under
the
settlement,
priority will
be given to
people with
disabilities
for tickets in
both seating
areas.
Read
the full story.
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How
Colleges Flunk
Mental Health
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Dozens of
current or
recent
students with
mental health
disabilities
at colleges
and
universities
across the
country -
large and
small, private
and public -
told Newsweek
they were
punished for
seeking help:
kicked out of
campus housing
with nowhere
else to go,
abruptly
forced to
withdraw from
school and
even
involuntarily
committed to
psychiatric
wards.
Read
the full story.
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Feds
Clarify How To
Apply For
Autism
Tracking
Devices
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After
announcing
that the federal
government
will pay
for tracking
devices for
kids with
autism,
officials are
offering more
details about
how families
can access the
technology.
Police
departments
nationwide
will be able
to make the
tracking
devices
available to
children in
their
communities
who are at
risk of
wandering
using money
available
through the
Justice
Department's
Byrne grant
program,
officials at
the federal
agency said.
Read
the full story.
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NIH
Study to Look
at New Ways to
Improve Asthma
Therapy for
African-Americans
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The National
Institutes of
Health (NIH)
researchers
will enroll
approximately
500
African-American
individuals
who have
asthma to
assess how
they react to
therapies and
find out how
genetics may
affect the
response to
various asthma
treatments.
The study will
help determine
the best
approach to
asthma
management for
African-Americans.
Learn
more about the
study.
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Minimum
Wage Executive
Order Includes
Workers
with Disabilities
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The White
House
announced the
details of the
executive
order that
will raise the
minimum wage
for federal
contractors to
$10.10/hour.
Notably, the
order will
cover
individuals
with
disabilities
that currently
work in
contracts
under 14(c)
certificates.
The
announcement
reads: "Under
current law,
workers whose
productivity
is affected
because of
their
disabilities
may be paid
less than the
wage paid to
others doing
the same job
under certain
specialized
certificate
programs.
Under this
Executive
Order, all
individuals
working under
service or
concessions
contracts with
the federal
government
will be
covered by the
same $10.10
per hour
minimum wage
protections."
Read
the White
House
announcement.
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The New England
ADA Center is a
member of the ADA
National Network
funded by US
Department of
Education through
National Institute
on Disability
Rehabilitation and
Research Grant #
H133A110028.
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Institute for Human
Centered Design / New England
ADA Center
| 200 Portland Street | Boston | MA | 02114
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