Volume 4, Issue 5, November 30, 2007

Family Support 360 Upcoming Events and Reminders

Save the Date: 2008 TA Institute—July 23-25, 2008
The 2008 TA Institute will be convened at the Westin Washington, DC City Center Hotel, from July 23 to 25, 2008. Each project may bring up to three people to the Institute, and ADD has requested that at least one of the attendees from each state be a Navigator, as there will be a Navigator track.

Call for Presentations: 2008 TA Institute
The Call for Presentations was compiled with input from the Institute Planning Committee. Abstracts are due to BETAH by January 31, 2008. In addition, a call to discuss the document will be convened with the Planning Committee the week of December 10 or 17. Please send any questions you may have about the document to Sharon by December 7, 2007.

Job Accommodation Network Webcasts
The Office of Disability Employment Policy’s Job Accommodation Network and U.S. Business Leadership Network have teamed up for the 2007/2008 series of educational Webcasts on a range of employment topics and with a variety of speakers, including, in December, Equal Employment Opportunity Commissioner Christine Griffin. Webcasts are held the second Tuesday of the month at 2 pm Eastern. For topic schedule and registration, visit the Events section of our Web site.

• Family Support 360 Presentation at AUCD Conference
• New Report from United Cerebral Palsy Portrays a Troubling Snapshot of the Status of Disability in America
• Disability is Natural E-Newsletter
• The Sarah Jane Brain Foundation
• TRACE Snapshot - Pediatricans Appraisals of a Universal Checklist for Making Early Intervention Referrals
• Promising and Featured Practices for Vocational Rehabilitation Agencies
• The Rural Assistance Center Website
• The Navigator Call Series: Case and Time Management PowerPoint and Call Summary

New Resources on the Family Support 360 Web Site

Family Support 360 Sustainability Presentation at AUCD Conference

Five Family Support 360 grantees presented at the AUCD conference in Washington , DC on November 12, 2007 . This is the PowerPoint from that presentation, which focuses on three potential strategies for sustainability: assimilation, natural/informal support, and new funding. The PowerPoint can be found in the new Sustainability section of the Public Resource Library.

New Report From United Cerebral Palsy Portrays a Troubling Snapshot of the Status of Disability in America

United Cerebral Palsy has released a new report: State of Disability in America, an evaluation of the disability experience in America. The 65-page document examines existing research on the overall state of affairs for individuals with disabilities in America in the areas of disability rights, healthcare, education, employment, housing, and organizing for change. While tremendous strides have been made, especially with the Americans with Disabilities Act, things are still not right, the report says. To access the report, go to the Accessibility and Civil Rights category of the Public Resource Library.

The Disability is Natural E-Newsletter

Review the new Disability is Natural E-newsletter in the Parent/Advocacy section of our Public Resource Library. Each e-newsletter includes a feature article, information about new products, a listing of new (at the time) articles on the Revolutionary Common Sense page, and other information by Kathie Snow.

The Sarah Jane Brain Foundation

The Sarah Jane Brain Foundation has launched the first phase of The Sarah Jane Brain Project through the web portal. The site uses the principles of Open Source with a person's medical records for the first time in history and aims to bring parents and professionals dealing with children suffering from Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury (PTBI) together in an open and free forum. The first phase displays Sarah Jane Donohue as the model for Open Source Medicine by freely and completely disseminating all of Sarah Jane's medical records and videos of therapy treatments. This first phase will recruit additional children suffering from PTBI from around the world to be part of the Project and recruit parents and professionals from around the world to be part of the different Advisory Boards being established. For more information, visit the Parent/Advocacy section of our Public Resource Library.

TRACE Snapshot - Pediatricians Appraisals of a Universal Checklist for Making Early Intervention Referrals

The Tracking, Referral and Assessment Center for Excellence (TRACE) has released a new snapshot entitled Pediatricians Appraisals of a Universal Checklist for Making Early Intervention Referrals by Carl J. Dunst, Carol M. Trivette, Anne Gramiak, and Glinda Hill. This snapshot presents the results from a survey of pediatricians’ assessments of the usability and applicability of a universal checklist for identifying infants and toddlers who may be eligible for early intervention. You can find the checklist in the Assessments and Surveys section of the Public Resource Library.

Promising and Featured Practices For Vocational Rehabilitation Agencies

The Rehabilitation Services Administration, as part its monitoring of State employment and independent living programs funded under the Rehabilitation Act, together with state vocational rehabilitation agencies and their stakeholders, have identified promising practices in a number of topic areas including 1) the transition of youth with disabilities from school to employment; 2) independent living programs; and 3) Vocational Rehabilitation Programs. Brief descriptions of these practices are available at the Employment and Labor Information section of the Public Resource Library.

The Rural Assistance Center Website

This Website provides health and human services information to assist rural Americans. They also operate a call center to provide customized assistance to organizations or individuals seeking to maintain and improve health and human services delivery in rural areas. Please visit the Rural Communities section of the Public Resource Library for more information.

Check out all of new opportunities, grants, and scholarships posted on the Public Resource Library. Ten new resources have been posted in this section since the last e-newsletter!

Using Faith, Resources to Bond Parishioners from City, Suburbia

Minnesota's Star Tribune newspaper profiled a new collaboration involving Jordan New Life Community Church, the site of our Minnesota Family Support 360, and suburban Lutheran churches in the Minneapolis region. For the full article, visit the News section of the Web site.

*You must be a Family Support 360 Grantee to access the Grantee Web Site. If the link provided does not take you directly to the Private Resource Library, please log in to the Grantees' Web Site, click 'Private Resource Library' from the menu on the left, then click on the section heading indicated. If you are unable to log in, or if you have never logged in to the private side of the Web site, please contact Sharon Ungrady for assistance.