| | | | NJCDD's Eye on Advocacy weekly e-newsletter published every Tuesday focused on important news and events for the intellectual and or developmental disabilities community. You are welcome to submit news items and feedback to njcdd@njcdd.org. | |
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| | | | | Caregiver Action Network (the National Family Caregivers Association) began promoting national recognition of family caregivers in 1994. President Clinton signed the first NFC Month Presidential Proclamation in 1997 and every president since has followed suit by issuing an annual proclamation recognizing and honoring family caregivers each November.
Family caregiving is stressful, but the more you know, the more confident and capable you will be when providing care. Remember – knowledge is power!
As you know, for your loved one with an intellectual and developmental disability most care occurs in the home by an unpaid family member. In fact, two out of every five adults are family caregivers. | |
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| | However, the first rule of taking care of others is to take care of yourself first. Caregiving can be a rewarding experience, but it is also physically and emotionally demanding. The stress of dealing with caregiving responsibilities leads to a higher risk of health issues among the Nation’s 90 million family caregivers. So as a family caregiver, remember to pay attention to your own physical and mental wellness, and to get proper rest and nutrition. Only by taking care of yourself can you be strong enough to take care of your loved one. You really do need to “take care to give care!”
To build awareness around the important role family caregivers play in the lives of their loved ones with intellectual or developmental disabilities, | |
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| | | | | | Tell Us About Your Experience with Transportation Safety on School BusesNJCDD and Regional Family Support Planning Councils co-hosted the School Bus Transportation Safety Listening Session to obtain family testimonies. We continue collecting family voices through our online survey. | |
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| | | | | Regional Family Support Planning Council #1 (Morris, Sussex and Warren) cordially invites parents and families of children (age under 21) with Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities (I/DD) to their special regional meeting.
The focus is applying for "Developmental Disabilities (DD) services" under the Division of Children's System of Care, Department of Children and Families. Multi-lingual closed captioning is available for this meeting. |
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Solicitar elegibilidad con PerformCare para niños con discapacidades del desarrollo El Consejo Regional de Planificación de Apoyo Familiar #1 (Morris, Sussex y Warren) invita cordialmente a los padres y familias de niños (menores de 21 años) con discapacidades intelectuales/del desarrollo (I/DD) a su reunión regional especial.
El enfoque es solicitar "servicios para Discapacidades del Desarrollo (DD)" bajo la División del Sistema de Atención Infantil, Departamento de Niños y Familias.
Hay subtítulos multilingües disponibles para esta reunión. |
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| | | | NJ DDD Hosts Information Sessions on DDD Self-Directed Employee Models, Nov. 27 and 29, 2023 The New Jersey Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD) offers two Self-Directed Employee (SDE) models that individuals electing to self-direct their services can choose: - The Vendor/Fiscal Agent Model administered by Public Partnerships, LLC
- The Agency with Choice Model administered by Easterseals NJ
In response to continued interest in these models, DDD has shared two informational webinars, one offered by each SDE model administrator. | |
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| | | | | The New Jersey Council on Developmental Disabilities, in conjunction with the NJ Division of Developmental Disabilities, and the NJ Division of Aging Services invite you to learn about how New Jersey is improving access to aging services for individuals with intellectual/developmental disabilities (I/DD) and their aging families/caregivers.
Meet the NJ State Alliance Team members and learn about available resources.
This work has been made possible by grant funding awarded through the Administration for Community Living. | |
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| | | | | | | Special education has been underfunded nationwide BOISE — Idaho’s schools have a $66.5 million problem — and it’s impacting the state’s most vulnerable students. Since its inception, special education has been underfunded nationwide.
Public schools are required to provide special services to fulfill the needs of students of all abilities — but they often aren’t given the money to do so, at least not all of it. The federal government’s promise to fund 40% of states’ special ed costs has never been fulfilled, and state governments often don’t make up the difference.
“For as long as I’ve been teaching and I’ve been in education, there has been a discrepancy between what a district spends to educate the students requiring special education services and what they’re actually reimbursed,” said Ryan Cantrell, a longtime educator and current chief deputy superintendent at the State Department of Education. | |
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| | In Idaho, school districts and charters are left to fill that gap — and it’s nearing $67 million. That hole causes local education agencies (a term that refers to public school districts and charters) to pinch pennies, shift around money, dip into discretionary funds and turn to local taxpayers to foot the bill. It contributes to high turnover rates among special education teachers and paraprofessionals, and ultimately can impact the level of resources and attention that students receive.
Education leaders know there’s a problem. But with an antiquated funding formula, which hasn’t been rewritten since 1994, and little movement from the federal government, solutions are hard to come by.
“It leaves districts to look at their own district budgets, and ask themselves: How are we going to cover the gap between what we receive from the federal government and what we receive from the State of Idaho, compared to the actual costs for our students to receive a special education?” said Cantrell. | |
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| | | | | The NJCDD is proud to support NJ DB101, a free, user-friendly, all-in-one place, resource guide for employment and benefit questions/information. Find out how working impacts benefits like SSI, SSDI, Medicaid, and more! Resources are in plain language and available in both English and Spanish. | |
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| | | Transportation Resources for Individuals Living with Disabilities NJCDD Resource Page has been updated and we are proud to present the New Jersey Transportation Resources for Individuals Living with Disabilities Infographic, available in English and Spanish. | |
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| | | | | | The purpose of this expanded version of the Toolkit is to empower individuals with disabilities and their family and professional caregivers by providing information to more effectively advocate for persons with complex severe behavioral health conditions (which we formerly referred to as “dual diagnosis”) for treatments, supports, services and the conditions that promote mental wellness. |
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El propósito de esta versión ampliada del kit de herramientas es facilitarles a las personas que tienen discapacidades y a sus cuidadores familiares y profesionales herramientas que los empoderen, al proveer información que permita abogar de una forma más efectiva por las personas que tienen condiciones graves y complejas de salud conductual (a las que antes se denominaban con “diagnóstico dual”) para conseguir los tratamientos, apoyos, servicios y las condiciones que fomentan el bienestar mental. |
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NJCDD Disclaimer: New Jersey Council on Developmental Disabilities does not endorse or recommend any programs, providers, or organizations. This is for information-sharing purposes only. |
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