| | | | 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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| | | | | | 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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| | | | The New Jersey Council on Developmental Disabilities (NJCDD) announces a funding opportunity of up to $225,000 (excluding required match) over 18 months for a qualified entity to develop project(s) designed to improve the capability of New Jersey’s behavioral health care system to meet and respond to the mental health and dual diagnosis needs of individuals with I/DD and their families, including those in urban and rural areas of the state.
Projects that will provide information, and develop and deliver training, for healthcare/community organizations to provide wraparound patient support and/or navigator support for children and adults with I/DD and behavioral concerns. | |
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| | | | | The New Jersey Council on Developmental Disabilities (NJCDD) announces a funding opportunity of up to $185,000 (excluding required match) over 18 months for a qualified entity to develop project(s) designed to provide education, training, technical assistance, and advocacy support to parents of Black and Hispanic Projects using best practices designed to eliminate the inappropriate use of seclusion, restraint, suspension, and expulsion for Black and Hispanic students with disabilities, in targeted areas (schools and districts with high rates of seclusion, restraint, suspension, expulsion, and/or high rates of referral to law enforcement).
NJCDD is seeking applicants to propose education, training, technical assistance, and advocacy support to help parents, guardians, and caregivers of Black and Hispanic students with disabilities engage in advocacy work at the local level to eliminate the inappropriate use of seclusion, restraint, suspension, and expulsion in school. The desired outcome of this funding initiative will lead to a reduction in the use of these procedures and an increase in parent, caregiver, and guardian engagement in local advocacy. | |
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| | | | | | For 2024, the Children's System of Care (CSOC) will be providing Summer Camp Services to eligible children, youth, and young adults under 21 years of age. These services include Financial Support toward Summer Camp Tuition and One-to-One Aide Services for Summer Camp. Out of an abundance of caution, PerformCare recommends that applications for CSOC Summer Camp Services be submitted online through the Family Portal.
The Department of Children and Families (DCF) and CSOC are offering Alternative Recreational Sessions (ARS) as an additional component of Summer Camp. ARS provides youth an opportunity to engage in a recreational activity with peers within the community, on a per session basis, rather than a full day of camp. This shorter time frame will increase camp access for youth who may benefit from a brief structured period compared to a longer traditional camp day. | |
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| | | | | | 2024 Public Meetings NJCDD members meet quarterly to discuss state and national issues impacting people with developmental disabilities and their families. During these public meetings, members hear from projects funded by NJCDD. They also discuss best practices and policies needed to be an active and effective organization. | |
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| | Date: March 14, 2024 Time: 9:30 am to 1:30 pm Location: Hilton Garden Inn Hamilton 800 US-130, Hamilton Township, NJ 08690 Register Here
Date: May 09, 2024 Time: 9:30 am to 1:30 pm Location: Hilton Garden Inn Hamilton 800 US-130, Hamilton Township, NJ 08690 Register Here
Date: August 15, 2024 Time: 9:30 am to 1:30 pm Location: Hilton Garden Inn Hamilton 800 US-130, Hamilton Township, NJ 08690 Register Here
Date: November 14, 2024 Time: 9:30 am to 1:30 pm Location: Hilton Garden Inn Hamilton 800 US-130, Hamilton Township, NJ 08690 Register Here | |
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| | | | | SPAN Resource Parent Virtual Training (SRP)Winter 2024 Self-Advocates, Parents, Caregivers and Professionals are welcome to participate. The training is free if participants agree to volunteer for 30 hours upon completion. There is a $350 fee for those who do not wish to volunteer. The course includes eight weekly sessions from 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm. starting January 10, 2024 · 6:30pm.
Participants learn about: - Laws and regulations
- Special education processes
- Strategies for working effectively with the school team
- Dynamics of systems that serve children with disabilities and special health care needs
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| | | | | The Pinelands Preservation Alliance, Pemberton Township, and NJ Fish & Wildlife have been working together to make ADA-accessible trail improvements to the Pemberton Lake Trail. The state Pinelands Commission will be holding a virtual hearing to gather public comments on a proposed Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) that would allow Pemberton Township to create this accessible trail. We need your input to share with the Pinelands Commission why this project is important to pursue. Your support can help pave the way for this and other ADA-accessible projects within the Pinelands! - Public Hearing on Proposed Pemberton Lake Trails. Wednesday, December 13; 2:00 PM. Online via Youtube
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| | | | | | New Jersey Partners in Policymaking Welcomes Class of 2023-2024 | |
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| | New Jersey Partners in Policymaking is a leadership development and advocacy education program for adults with disabilities and family members available through collaboration between the New Jersey Council on Developmental Disabilities, The Boggs Center on Developmental Disabilities, and Disability Rights New Jersey.
This year’s program launched with an in-person weekend session held in New Brunswick on September 22nd-23rd. Over the course of the next 8 months, this year’s class will prepare to work toward meaningful change in our state through learning about best practices and important areas for advocacy from nationally-known experts. | |
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| | | | | Voc Rehab Agencies Told To Beef Up Their Offerings by Shaun Heasley | December 4, 2023
With new guidance, the U.S. Department of Education is warning state vocational rehabilitation agencies that they need to provide more than minimal services in their efforts to help people with disabilities gain employment.
In a 21-page technical assistance directive, the Education Department’s Rehabilitation Services Administration says states should make changes to promote “meaningful and sustained engagement” in the vocational rehabilitation program.
“Simply providing basic service alone is no longer enough to constitute meaningful engagement with the individual,” wrote Carol L. Dobak, deputy commissioner of the Rehabilitation Services Administration |
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| | “RSA encourages VR agencies to ensure that services not only meet but exceed the expectations and needs of individuals with disabilities because the quality of VR participants’ experiences, i.e., the perception that participants form based on their interactions with
the VR agency and the services they receive, has a direct impact on a VR agency’s potential for success with those participants,” the document states.
For too long, federal officials say that vocational rehabilitation has been considered a “best-kept secret.” The guidance outlines strategies that states can use to better promote their offerings and urges them to engage with individuals in a timely manner by simplifying the application process, expediting the determination of eligibility and other efforts to eliminate barriers.
There should also be policies to ensure a minimum level of communication with individuals with disabilities who are part of the vocational rehabilitation program to ensure that issues and challenges can be addressed as needed and that job placements are on track, the guidance notes.
Meanwhile, federal officials said it’s important that vocational rehabilitation programs recognize the successes of their personnel and participants. Mentorship programs connecting people who have seen positive outcomes from the vocational rehabilitation program with individuals with disabilities who are just starting out can also be helpful, they said. |
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| | | | | SSI Recipients: You'll Get a COLA Increase in December. Here's Why We'll explain why your cost of living adjustment increase is coming in 2023 instead of 2024 if you receive Supplemental Security Income. Katie Teague | Dec. 3, 2023
If you're a Supplemental Security Income beneficiary, you're getting a cost of living adjustment this month. Due to high levels of inflation, the Social Security Administration has increased the COLA for |
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| | 2024 by 3.2%. But unlike other Social Security recipients, you can expect to see your first COLA increase in December 2023 instead of January 2024. We'll explain why below.
Early this month, you should be able to check your My Social Security account message center for a notice about your new benefit amount (you can opt out of the mailed COLA notice if you'd rather receive it online). Note that the deadline for creating an account was Nov. 14 so if you missed it, you'll need to keep an eye out for a letter in the mail with all the details about your increase.
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| | | | | | Four virtual sessions were offered through the Series, a community and continuing education program for professionals, policymakers, people with disabilities and families. The Fall Series featured the following presentations: - Psychiatric Assessment and Treatment in Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities - Allison Cowan, MD, DFAPA
- Toward an Authentically Person-Centered System - Alixe Bonardi, OTR, MHA, FAAIDD & Kate Brady, PhD, ABD
- Person-Centered Supervision - Gina Brelesky, MPA
- National Core Indicators-Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (NCI-IDD): Using Data for Quality Improvement and System Change - Dorothy Hiersteiner, MPP, Stephanie Giordano, PhD & Laura Vegas, MP
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| | | | | NJ Community Vendor Lists are released by Public Partners PPL, and Financial Management Services (Easterseals). The lists are extensive but not exhaustive. Any vendor can become a Goods and Services provider if they meet the DDD’s provider qualifications. | |
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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 held a meeting to share with stakeholders how New Jersey is improving access to aging services for individuals with intellectual/developmental disabilities (I/DD) and their aging families/caregivers. Listen to the New Jersey State Alliance Team members describe their services and resources. This work has been made possible by grant funding awarded through the Administration for Community Living. | |
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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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