June 30, 2007 Newsletter

The Missouri Planning Council for Developmental Disabilities is proud to present Missouri's 5th Statewide Family-To-Family Conference. We invite families of children of any age with developmental disabilities, individuals with developmental disabilities (self-advocates) and professionals in the disability field.

A limited number of stipends are available and will be distributed on a lottery basis. The stipend allowance will assist with registration and hotel costs. To request that your family participate in the stipend lottery, please call Steiner and Associates at (573) 442-2963 by July 6th. Leave a message at this number with your name, phone number where your family can be contacted, and the number of family members (up to four family members) for whom you are requesting stipends. (Families will be notified regarding receipt of stipend.)

For more information about on-site child care, workshops for brothers and sisters, and lodging download the flyer and registration form.

How to Contact Your Legislators

Ever wonder how you can contact your state and federal congressman/woman and representatives are? This website is one of the easiest ways imaginable. You simply fill in your Zip+4 code. Don't know your Zip+4 code? This site also has a link to the US Postal Service website.

http://www.senate.mo.gov/llookup/leg_lookup.aspx

State Performance Plan and OSEP's Evaluation of MO Part B Plan

As explained in a SELS on June 11, 2007, http://dese.mo.gov/divspeced/Listserv_Archives.html (click on SELS Archive), Missouri has been awaiting notification of its evaluation.

Missouri received notification on June 18, 2007, that the U.S.

Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) has completed its evaluation of Missouri's performance and has identified Missouri in the determination category of "Needs Assistance." Go to the following websites to view:

OSEP fact sheet -

http://www.ed.gov/policy/speced/guid/idea/monitor/factsheet.doc

Determination letter to Missouri -

http://dese.mo.gov/divspeced/Administration/AdvisoryPanel/MOLtr.pdf

Response Table -

http://dese.mo.gov/divspeced/Administration/AdvisoryPanel/MOTbl.pdf

Explanation of Determination -

http://dese.mo.gov/divspeced/Administration/AdvisoryPanel/MOExpl.doc

Missouri's State Performance Plan (SPP), required by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), provided measurable and rigorous targets for Missouri in the area of 20 required indicators identified by OSEP. On February 1, 2007, Missouri filed our Annual Performance Report

(APR) with OSEP; this reported the state's performance on the indicators and targets. Go to our website to view:

SPP - http://dese.mo.gov/divspeced/DataCoord/PDF/MOPrtBSPP2107.pdf

APR - http://dese.mo.gov/divspeced/DataCoord/PDF/MOPartBAPR0506.pdf

I encourage you to be familiar with these documents as the SPP drives our monitoring focus and reflects the connection between compliance and performance.

The APR of each state underwent an evaluation process by OSEP these last few months. This evaluation involved a review of Missouri's performance on all of the indicators, as well as, a review of the state's ability to provide valid, reliable, and timely data for each of the indicators.

Missouri is one of 41 states receiving this specific determination.

Other determination options included "Meets the Requirements" (9 states received this determination), "Needs Intervention in Implementing the Requirements of Part B" (10 states received this determination), or "Needs Substantial Intervention" (no state in this category).

We will be analyzing our report over the next few weeks to determine the necessary actions the state will take to improve our next APR due February 1, 2008.

The U. S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy

Tunnels and Cliffs: A Guide for Workforce Development Practitioners and Policymakers serving Youth with Mental Health Needs was developed as part of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy’s (ODEP’s) work to help workforce development practitioners, administrators, and policymakers increase their understanding of youth with mental health needs and the supports necessary to help them transition into the workforce successfully.

Youth with mental health needs (MHN) often face unemployment, underemployment, and discrimination when they enter the workforce. Employment data show that individuals with serious mental illness have the lowest level of employment of any group of people with disabilities. As a result, large numbers of youth with both diagnosed and undiagnosed mental health needs who are transitioning into young adulthood, to the world of work, and to postsecondary education are likely to experience significant difficulties.

This guide provides practical information and resources for youth service practitioners. In addition, it provides policymakers, from the program to the state level, with information to help them address system and policy obstacles in order to improve service delivery systems for youth with mental health needs.

The guide’s framework is the Guideposts for Success. The Guideposts are research based and describe components that all youth need to transition successfully to adulthood as well as modifications for youth with disabilities. The Guideposts for Success for Youth with Mental Health Needs include all the elements of the original Guideposts as well as additional specific needs relating to youth with mental health needs.

Project Access

Project ACCESS, a project funded by the Division of Special Education, provides autism resource information to public schools in the form of on-site and telephone consultations, as well as support via internet.

In addition, Project ACCESS designs autism specific professional development opportunities and trains professional credentialed individuals to present these courses through Missouri's Regional Professional Development Centers (RPDCs). These trainings are offered to Missouri school district staff and educators who work with youngsters ages 0-21 years, who experience Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and related disabilities. On-site child specific consultations can be arranged through the use of Missouri Autism Consultants (MACs) and district staff can be trained to be in-district autism consultants.

For on-site consultation requests, resource training materials, and Project ACCESS professional training opportunities, email Joanie Armstrong at joanarmstrong@missouristate.edu or call toll free 1-866-481-3841.

For general information regarding questions about Project ACCESS, training opportunities, etc., please direct your questions to Ashley Wood at Ashley490@missouristate.edu or Tina Neal-Wait at Tina333@missouristate.edu or you can call toll free 1-866-481-3841.

For inquiries regarding Applied Behavior Analysts, please direct your questions to Joanie Armstrong at joanarmstrong@missouristate.edu or call toll free 1-866-481-3841.

For information on regional autism trainings, contact your Regional Professional Development Center.

News From TATRA

Resources on Disclosure for Youth with Disabilities

Three new resources on disclosure are available from ODEP:

The Why, When, What, and How of Disclosure in an Academic Setting, After High School http://www.dol.gov/odep/pubs/fact/wwwh.htm

Youth, Disclosure, and the Workplace Why, When, What, and How http://www.dol.gov/odep/pubs/fact/ydw.htm

Entering the World of Work: What Youth with Mental Health Needs Should Know about Accommodations http://www.dol.gov/odep/pubs/fact/transitioning.htm

Research Project Evaluates 20 Years of What Works for Youth with Disabilities

The What Works Transition Research Synthesis Project funded by the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) has published the first report in a series to be released. The project was established to review and synthesize the past two decades of research and advancements in the area of transition for youth with disabilities. By reviewing 50 previous studies, this first report examines how teaching life skills as an intervention affected the lives of 482 youth with varying levels of intellectual disabilities. To read the first report "A Systematic Review of the Effects of Curricular Interventions on the Acquisition of Functional Life Skills by Youth with Disabilities, What Works Transition Research Synthesis Project, 2006" go the National Secondary Transition Technical Assistance Center web site, http://www.nsttac.org/?FileName=what_works&type=1

As they become available, additional reports will be posted on the site.

Secretary of Labor Submits to Congress the Administration's WIA Reauthorization Proposal

On April 24, U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao transmitted to Congress the administration's proposed "Workforce Investment Act Amendments of 2007," a bill to reauthorize and reform Title I of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA). The proposed legislation incorporates reform principles such as integrating separate funding streams into a single funding stream and providing Career Advancement Accounts that have been put forth in previous years.

This reauthorization proposal also has provisions that relate to serving individuals with disabilities. The list of additional one-stop partners is amended to specify that other programs administered by the Social Security Administration or under the Social Security Act (such as Ticket-to-Work) and certain other programs serving individuals with disabilities may serve as one-stop partner programs. In regard to funding one-stop infrastructure costs, there is a specified limit of the contributions that may be required of the Vocational Rehabilitation program of 0.75 percent of the funds provided for such programs to the state for a fiscal year.

For legislative language and a section by section analysis, please visit http://www.workforceatm.org/articles/template.cfm?results_art_filename=wiaprop07.htm

This Newsletter can also be viewed on MPACT's website at: www.ptimpact.com/resources/newsletters/newsletters.htm

Have Questions? Email us at mpact@ptimpact.com