Ensuring that all children, youth, and adults with disabilities, and those receiving educational supports, are valued by and contribute to their communities of choice. |
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The New Frontline Initiative: Supported Employment
As more organizations move away from providing sub-minimum wage jobs in sheltered workshops, direct support professionals (DSPs) are grappling with new demands for supporting people with disabilities to find and succeed in competitive jobs in the community. The new issue of Frontline Initiative delves into the history, challenges, and opportunities in supported employment.
“DSPs play an important role in creating positive expectations and in consistently supporting people to find a job that really fits them,” Chet Tschetter, co-editor of FI, said in a video announcing the new issue.
As of 2020, more than 140,000 people are receiving integrated employment services, and most states have now adopted employment-first policies, notes author John Butterworth, a researcher at the Institute for Community Inclusion at the University of Massachusetts Boston.
In another article, Christelle Auger, a DSP and job coach, talks about working with Ryan to identify his interest in the culinary field and then using an organizational networking relationship with Amos House in Providence, Rhode Island, to support him through an eight-week culinary and food-safety course there. The experience, Auger writes, gave Ryan the tools to make an informed choice about his career and it also deepened her own professional skills.
“Coming out of the pandemic, we wanted to hear what was going on for people,” said co-editor Julie Kramme. “Many people with disabilities experience barriers to getting the job that they want, and this can be so discouraging, but there are success stories,” Kramme said.
Read more about the new Frontline Initiative. |
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New Web Application to Provide Easy-to-use Tools to Improve Direct Support Workforce Recruitment and Retention Practices
Elevance Health is partnering with the University of Minnesota’s Institute on Community Integration to develop a web application that allows organizations supporting individuals with disabilities and older adults to track and assess key elements of their workforce, enabling them to more effectively recruit and retain staff who will support individuals to create lives of their own choosing.
The direct support workforce has been in a persistent and growing crisis for years. Increasing demand for services and high staff turnover and vacancy rates have created severe staff shortages that threaten the quality and availability of essential services for individuals with disabilities, people who are aging, and their families. This is also extremely costly to the human services system.
Elevance Health supports health at every life stage, offering health plans and clinical, behavioral, pharmacy, and complex-care solutions that promote whole health. Direct Support Workforce Solutions, a national consulting group within the Institute on Community Integration, is addressing the workforce needs of organizations providing community-based supports for individuals with disabilities.
A key element of the web app is a robust data portal that allows organizations to enter select workforce data and track their progress, with access to state and national benchmarks where available. Through a highly visual dashboard, they can generate current and period-over-period reports; calculate the rate and cost of turnover; export data for reporting purposes; calculate average tenure, vacancy rates, benefits utilization, and wages by job classification; and compare their progress with other organizations.
The data portal will help organizations identify who is staying on the job, for how long, and why, helping them recruit candidates with the best chance of performing well and supporting people with disabilities to live their best lives.
“What’s unique about this product is that it’s grounded at the organizational level,” said ICI Director Amy Hewitt. “This service will allow organizations to access their data, not just state-level data. And it will connect them to data-informed interventions that can help address some of their greatest workforce challenges.”
Read more about the new app. |
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Tennessee Tackles Workforce Challenges
A multi-year collaboration between Tennessee’s managed Medicaid agency and the Institute on Community Integration is helping address dire shortages in professionals supporting people with disabilities. ICI’s partnership with TennCare, begun in 2018, created four annual workforce surveys and analytics, a workforce toolkit, realistic job previews employers can share with candidates, marketing materials, public service announcements, and training.
“We’re really proud that we didn’t start this work in 2021 in response to the pandemic, but proactively started surveying our workforce in 2018,” said Shannon Nehus, program director, intellectual and developmental disabilities, within TennCare’s Long-Term Services & Supports (LTSS) division. Tennessee Community Organizations (TNCO), a service provider association, also collaborated on the work. “We now have a workforce community of practice in Tennessee that, even through the public health emergency, has made changes that will result in higher staff satisfaction levels. Ultimately, that means people with disabilities will have more stable and higher quality services,” Nehus said.
While no one action will fix the shortage of direct support professionals (DSPs), coming together with service providers throughout the state to share information and create the tools designed through the partnership will produce long-lasting results going forward, said Anna Lea Cothron, TennCare’s LTSS system transformation director. In just one example, Cothron shared the story of a provider who previously would only consider hiring full-time DSPs. After multiple data-driven conversations, the provider agreed to hire part-time professionals.
“You really can’t make good decisions without the right data,” Cothron said. “It is so worth the effort. We can’t prove positive outcomes without it, and ICI was a dream partner to help make it happen. Their national reputation lends credibility, but day to day, the researchers were smart and competent without being lost in theory. They understood the practical side of how providers work.”
Read more about TennCare. |
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Subscribe to Impact, ICI’s flagship publication. Published three times per year, the magazine contains strategies, research, and success stories in specific focus areas related to persons with intellectual, developmental, and other disabilities. https://ici.umn.edu/products/impact/subscribe |
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NCEO Report 437: State Requirements for Test Administrators, Proctors, and Accommodations Providers Who Administer Tests to Students with Disabilities, English Learners, and English Learners with Disabilities
Authors: Sheryl Lazarus, Marianna K Quanbeck, and Martha L Thurlow
To help ensure that assessments are properly administered, states have developed policies about who can administer or proctor assessments, and the training they must have. This report
presents the findings of our analysis of states’ 2021 policies on the qualifications and requirements for test administrators, proctors, and accommodations providers for general state summative content assessments (e.g., math, language arts, science), specifically as they relate to students with disabilities, English learners, and English learners with disabilities. The individuals who administer or proctor assessments, as well as those who provide accommodations (e.g., scribes, test readers, sign language interpreters, translators), need to be qualified and knowledgeable about how to appropriately administer assessments and how to provide accommodation. Published by ICI’s National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO). |
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Chapter Published
Johnstone, C., Ketterlin Geller, L., & Thurlow, M. (2022). Opportunities and limitations of accommodations and accessibility in higher education assessment. In R. Ajjawi, J. Tai, D. Boud, & T. Jorre de St Jorre (Eds.), Assessment for inclusion in higher education (pp. 131–141). Routledge.
https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003293101 |
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Journal Article Published
Hall, S. A., Anderson, L. L., Pettingell, S. L., Zhang, A.,
Bershadsky, J., Hewitt, A., & Smith, J. (2022). Direct support professional and frontline supervisor perspectives on work-life in a pandemic. Inclusion, 10
(4), 314–326. https://doi.org/10.1352/2326-6988-10.4.314 |
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Seeking MNLEND Fellows for 2023–24 Year
Early Admission Consideration Deadline: January 6, 2023
ICI's Minnesota Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (MNLEND) program is accepting fellowship applications for the 2023–24 year.
MNLEND is a 10-month interdisciplinary leadership training program in policy advocacy and evidence-based research and practices to develop new leaders to be skilled in systems-thinking, effective in interventions and practices, and able to improve quality-of-life outcomes for children and youth with neurodevelopmental and related disabilities. Benefits include a generous stipend, national networking opportunities, lifelong interdisciplinary connections, and interdisciplinary leadership development. The MNLEND 2023–24 cohort training runs from late August 2023 until mid-May 2024. People from underrepresented and/or underserved communities are strongly encouraged to apply. Funded by the U.S. Maternal & Child Health Bureau.
Read more about MNLEND. |
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Learning Community Event: "Customized Employment"
February 7, 2023
3 pm Central Time
This free Zoom presentation
will discuss the importance of paid employment while in college and offer information on a national study to assist staff in higher education to provide employment supports that fit the strengths and needs of college students with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The event will be presented by Jaclyn Camden from Virginia Commonwealth University and facilitated by Nicole Rabinowitz from Inclusive Networking. They will share ideas on how to help students get paid jobs while in college, explain what has worked for study participants from 75 universities across the country, as well as challenges in providing employment supports. They will also offer ideas and practical strategies on implementing customized employment in higher education. This event is from the
Minnesota Inclusive Higher Education Consortium. Everyone is welcome. Registration is open. |
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Seeking Minnesotans with IDD in Mainstream Leisure Groups for a Research Study
ICI is seeking Minnesotans with intellectual or developmental disabilities (IDD) who are at least 45 years old, have been employed, and would like to talk about their participation in a mainstream leisure group. Mainstream groups are set up for the general public, not specifically for people with disabilities. The leisure groups may include religious, hobby, arts, crafts, gardening, singing, walking, dancing, exercise, sports, games, volunteering, social, or senior groups.
This research will inform how older adults with IDD join and participate in socially inclusive leisure groups. Information from this research study can help other individuals, families, providers, and policymakers understand what helps people with IDD participate and make friends in mainstream groups. Older adults with IDD will be interviewed about their leisure group and a researcher will observe them at their group.
Interested? Please contact ICI’s Roger Stancliffe or Sarah Hall. They will work with you to make sure you meet the study requirements and talk about the study process. Read more about the study. |
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Muna Khalif. On October 31, Khalif interviewed founding APBS board member Robert Horner in Episode 9 of the APBS Podcast. Khalif co-hosts the podcast. |
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Sherri Larson and Jon Neidorf. On November 7, Larson
(pictured) was part of a panel presentation on ”What non-government agencies are doing to get data on prevalence and health of people with ID/DD” at the Administration on Community Living's ID/DD Counts Summit. Using data from ICI’s Residential Information Systems Project (RISP), Larson and Neidorf presented ”Equity in access to long-term supports and services” with Regina Sisneros of NASDDDS and Peter Berns of The Arc of the United States at the AUCD Conference in Washington DC, November 13–16. |
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ICI Staff at AUCD Conference. On November 13–16, Jennifer Hall-Lande and
Libby Hallas (pictured) were among the ICI staff who presented at the AUCD 2022 Conference in Washington, DC. Hall-Lande presented, “Partnering to engage communities and promote equitable early identification: LEND, Act Early, and Autism Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) network.” Hall-Lande and Libby Hallas co-presented, “Autism spectrum disorder prevalence in Minnesota.” Hall-Lande and Hallas were also among the co-presenters of “The sustainability of self-directed supports across the lifespan.” Hall-Lande, Hallas, and
Sarah Hall
were among the co-presenters of “Experiences with self-directing supports during the COVID-19 pandemic.” Hall-Lande was also among the co-presenters of “Equitable access to Part C Early Intervention Services and Supports: Data trends and recommendations from Minnesota,” “Promoting health equity with familiar messengers: COVID-19 vaccine confidence and local outreach with developmental disability stakeholders,” “Equitably supporting children of the opioid epidemic: Breaking down barriers by training the ‘Whole’ Nation,” ”Evaluating efforts to improve early identification,” and “’Learn the Signs. Act Early’: Program updates, family engagement, and health equity.” Hall-Lande,
Quinn Oteman, Uma Oswald, and Lynda Lahti Anderson
were among the co-presenters of the poster, “AIR-P poster session: Aging and autism: Experiences with loneliness and social isolation in transition age youth and older adults.” Renáta Tichá presented, “A community-based, collaborative transition model for Minnesota youth with IDD.”
On November 14, Rebecca Dosch Brown co-ran the Great Lakes LEND Consortium’s annual AUCD conference networking event for the Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, and Minnesota LENDs. Over 45 trainees and faculty shared and networked around their specific LEND program curricular designs, activities, and experiences on the conference theme of ”Health Equity for All.” Hall-Lande, Macdonald Metzger, Andrew Barnes, and
Amy Hewitt also participated, as did MNLEND fellows Mary Troullier and Ellen Wiederhoeft.
Concurrent with the AUCD conference were the virtual Hill Visits by 22 MNLEND fellows. The fellows met online with their federal legislators or their legislators’ staffers. Among the 13 fellows who shared their stories and policy “asks” with legislators and/or their staffers were: Jennie Clare, Jeannie Clark, Agnes Cole, Shelby Flanagan, Isabelle Morris, Uma Oswald, Adam Ruff, Anvita Singh, Erik Skoe, Sophie Strzok, Der Thao, Mary Troullier, and Ellen Wiederhoeft. The fellows met with U.S. Senator Tina Smith and U.S. Representatives Brad Finstad and Pete Stauber. The fellows also met with staffers from the offices of U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar and U.S. Representatives Tom Emmer, Michelle Fischbach, Betty McCollum, Ilhan Omar, and Dean Phillips. The virtual Hill Visits were arranged by Macdonald Metzger and the fellows’ preparation and service was also supported by MNLEND staff/faculty members Jennifer Hall-Lande, Andrew Barnes, Rebecca
Dosch Brown, and Erika Lamboglia. |
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Jean Hauff. On November 16, Jean Hauff
(right foreground) co-presented the WINGS MN webinar, “Supported decision-making and guardianship: Which one is right for me?” The webinar was sponsored by WINGS (Working Interdisciplinary Networks of Guardianship Stakeholders Minnesota), Minnesota Judicial Branch, and Volunteers of America (Center for Excellence in Supported Decision Making). |
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Roger Stancliffe. On November 16, Stancliffe
co-presented a webinar on "End of life for people with intellectual disability: Key roles for nurses" for the Developmental Disabilities Nurses Association (DDNA) in Denton, Texas. On December 2, he co-presented the webinar, “End of life for people with intellectual disability: We can help or harm,” for Western Sydney University in Australia. |
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Barb Kleist and Amy Hewitt. On November 21, Kleist (pictured) and
Hewitt attended the partners meeting launching the Direct Care Workforce Initiative in Washington, D.C. This initiative is led by the National Council on Aging and includes partners from the National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities, PHI, AdVancing States, the National Alliance for Caregiving, Housing Innovations, the Green House Project, and Lincoln University. On December 2, Kleist presented on, “Challenges faced by direct support professionals during COVID-19,” at the TASH conference in Phoenix, Arizona. |
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Ann Thompson and Ann Romine. On November 30–December 1, Thompson and
Romine attended the PaPBS Implementers’ Forum in Hershey, Pennsylvania. This is an annual event providing professional development to schools and programs implementing positive behavior interventions and supports. They conducted a conference session featuring a live demonstration of the Check & Connect App. Romine also co-presented with a Pennsylvania Training & Technical Assistance Network state lead. That presentation focused on leveraging the Check & Connect framework and other practices to help create support systems that are multiculturally- and linguistically-responsive. |
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National Center on Educational Outcomes Center. On December 1–3, five staff members from ICI’s National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) presented at the TASH conference in Phoenix, Arizona.
Yi-Chen Wu (pictured) presented, “Trends in educational placements for students with IDD,” and co-presented, “What we know about students who take alternate assessments,” with Sheryl Lazarus.
Terri Vandercook presented, “Mythbusting about inclusionary practices: All Means All in Washington State,” and co-presented, “If the adults are separate, then the kids are separate,” with Jennifer Sommerness. Lazarus and
Virginia Ressa co-presented, “What do students prefer? Considering student perceptions and preferences when selecting accommodations.” |
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Baker Wins School Board Seat
Kim Baker (MNLEND 2019–20) was elected to the Lakeville (Minn.) Area School Board in November. Her four-year term begins January 1, 2023.
Baker is a special education supervisor for Owatonna Public Schools and is a parent of three children in the Lakeville district. She was a Minnesota Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (MNLEND) fellow following completion of Partners in Policymaking, a program of the Minnesota Governor’s Council on Developmental Disabilities.
“Kim will be a strong advocate for students with disabilities,” said Rebecca Dosch Brown, interdisciplinary education director for the Institute on Community Integration, which coordinates the interdisciplinary program that reaches across several University of Minnesota colleges, centers, and departments. “As a MNLEND fellow, she proved herself to be both a passionate teacher advocate and parent advocate for children with neurodevelopmental disabilities. We are thrilled Kim’s voice will be heard on her local school board to ensure children’s rights are protected.”
As a parent of three students with disabilities, Baker’s passion for advocacy was already well stoked by the time she completed the fellowship, but she said the experience helped her frame disability in a larger context, which will serve her well as she serves on the board for the entire district.
“You have to get beyond just trying to draw people to a cause,” she said. “There is passion and empathy and emotion and all of that is great, but at a point you have to advocate from beyond your own front door. I can advocate all day long, but it’s not going to do anything unless I’m bringing more people in and bringing awareness to some of the issues.”
Read more about Baker. |
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The University of Minnesota stands on Miní Sóta Makhóčhe, the rightful homelands of the Dakhóta Oyáte. ICI recognizes that the U.S. did not uphold its end of these land treaties. It is the current and continued displacement of the Dakhóta Oyáte
that allows the University to remain today. At ICI, we affirm our commitment to address systemic racism, ableism and all other inequalities and forms of oppression to ensure inclusive communities. |
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