Recent Links
President
Barack
Obama's
Agenda to
Empower
Individuals
with
Disabilities
President
Obama and
Vice
President
Biden have a
comprehensive
agenda to
empower
individuals
with
disabilities
in order to
equalize
opportunities
for all
Americans in
employment,
education
and many
other areas
of their
lives. The
plan also
supports
becoming a
signatory to
the UN
Convention
on the
Rights of
Persons with
Disabilities,
and
promoting
independent,
community-based
living for
Americans
with
disabilities,
giving them
the choice
of living in
their
community
rather than
in a nursing
home or
other
institution.
The
president is
also
committed to
helping
Americans
with Autism
Spectrum
Disorders (ASDs)
and their
families and
communities
through
increased
funding for
autism
research,
treatment,
screenings,
public
awareness
and support
services.
Social
Security
Expands
Fast-Track
Disability
Claims
Processing
The Social
Security
Administration
(SSA) has
announced
that
improvements
to the
agency's
computer
modeling
system have
increased
the number
of claimants
receiving
expedited
approvals
for
disability
benefits.
"In
practical
terms, this
means that
this year
100,000 to
125,000
disabled
Americans -
those with
the most
severe
disabilities
- will be
approved for
benefits in
about 10
days instead
of waiting
the three to
four months
it typically
takes for an
initial
decision,"
SSA
Commissioner
Astrue said.
Project
Civic
Access:
Cities and
Counties -
First Steps
Toward
Solving
Common ADA
Problems
The U.S.
Department
of Justice's
Project
Civic Access
initiative
has worked
with more
than 100
state and
local
governments
to achieve
compliance
with the
Americans
with
Disabilities
Act and, in
the process,
observed
several
common
problems.
This project
describes
how those
problems
affect
people with
disabilities
and offers
suggestions
for state
and local
governments
on how to
solve them.
New
Resources
for Wounded
Warriors,
Veterans &
Their
Families
The U.S.
Department
of Labor has
joined with
the U.S.
Departments
of Defense
and Veterans
Affairs to
launch a
Web-based
directory to
help wounded
warriors
find
resources to
assist them
transition
back to
civilian
life. The
National
Resource
Directory
contains
more than
10,000
services and
resources at
the national
and local
level
relating to
health care,
support for
caregivers,
counseling
services,
emergency
financial
help and
much more.
President
Obama's
Veterans
Committment
In his
Veterans
agenda,
President
Obama states
his strong
commitment
to improving
the quality
of health
care for all
veterans and
returning
service
members,
including
those living
with
Traumatic
Brain Injury
(TBI) and
Post-Traumatic
Stress
Disorder (PTSD).
Veterans
Resources at
DisabilityInfo.gov
More
resources
for veterans
and service
members can
be found in
the
Employment,
Education,
Housing,
Health and
Benefits
sections of
DisabilityInfo.gov.
Specific
information
about
employment
success
strategies
for
returning
service
members with
TBI and PTSD
can be found
on the
America's
Heroes at
Work Web
site.
Compared
Nursing Home
Ratings
The Centers
for Medicare
& Medicaid
Services
(CMS) has
released
quality
ratings for
each of the
nation's
15,800
nursing
homes that
participate
in Medicare
or Medicaid.
Facilities
are assigned
star ratings
from a low
of one star
to a high of
five stars
based on
health
inspection
surveys,
staffing
information
and quality
of care
measures.
Learn about
alternatives
to nursing
home care
and other
long-term
care
choices.
Survey of
Employer
Perspectives
on the
Employment
of People
with
Disabilities
The recently
released
Survey of
Employer
Perspectives
on the
Employment
of People
with
Disabilities
is the first
of its
magnitude,
with
responses
representing
more than
2.4 million
companies
nationwide.
The survey's
results
reveal that
a majority
of large
businesses
hiring
people with
disabilities
are
discovering
that costs
for
accommodations
differ very
little from
those of the
general
employee
population.
They also
show that
once an
employer
hires
someone with
a
disability,
they are
much more
likely to
hire other
people with
disabilities.
The complete
report is
available in
Word format.
The U.S.
Department
of Labor's
Office of
Disability
Employment
Policy
(ODEP) has
just
released a
new fact
sheet on the
subject of
accommodations.
Making
Workplace
Accommodations:
Reasonable
Cost, Big
Benefits is
available in
PDF and Word
format.
Learn What
Businesses
Have to Say
About The
Value of
Employees
with
Disabilities
The recently
revised
Business
Case for
Hiring
People with
Disabilities,
including
veterans
with
disabilities,
features
video clips,
research and
other
information
from
businesses
and industry
leaders on
how hiring
people with
disabilities
improves an
organization's
bottom line
across six
themes:
Return on
Investment,
Human
Capital,
Innovation,
Marketing,
Diversity
and Social
Responsibility.
Accomodation
Fact Sheet
The U.S.
Department
of Labor's
Office of
Disability
Employment
Policy
(ODEP) has
just
released a
new fact
sheet on the
subject of
accommodations.
Making
Workplace
Accommodations:
Reasonable
Cost, Big
Benefits is
available in
PDF and Word
format.