Looking for Employment Opportunities?

The economy may be slow, but employment opportunities for people with disabilities are out there!


Thanks to President Obama’s initiative to increase the employment of people with disabilities in the Federal Workforce, USA Jobs will be holding a nationwide hiring event for people with disabilities on April 26, 2010. To participate, email your resume to hiringevent@opm.gov. If you meet employers’ hiring criteria you will be contacted for an interview. Over 30 Federal agencies will be participating in this hiring event.


Visit http://www.usajobs.gov/individualswithdisabilities.asp for more information about this hiring event and to learn additional information about opportunities for people with disabilities in the Federal Workforce.


Let Your Voice Be Heard!


You can also join the Human Services Research Institute and The Riot! in a National Conversation on Employment. This three part teleconference will collect feedback on the issues and opinions that self-advocates often have about the job opportunities that are available to them such as:

• Are they happy with the jobs they have?
• What about people who don't have jobs or are unhappy with the job they have?
• What do job experts say?
• What can be done to help more self-advocates find work?
• What about volunteering in their community or developing a special skill like being an artist or actor?
• What can self-advocates do on their own or together to change things?

Each teleconference will include a 60 minute panel discussion, followed by a 30 minute question and answer session. These teleconferences will be taking place on the following days at 3 PM Eastern Time.

· Monday, May 3, 2010
· Monday, June 7, 2010
· Monday, July 12, 2010

To register for this event visit:
http://www.hsri.org/docs/Employment_Registration_Combo.PDF

After registering, information for participating in the teleconference will be emailed to you.

To learn more information about this teleconference series and The Riot! visit: http://www.theriotrocks.org/.





Good luck in your job search!

The Spring 2010 Issue of EMPOWERED is Here!

A new season is about to begin and the weather isn’t the only thing that is changing! The new and improved Spring 2010 issue of EMPOWERED is finally here! This issue continues to have your favorites such as the Finance section, answers to Frequently Asked Questions and personal stories from families. The new issue also includes new sections that include topics on Autism and resources for military families. Along with new content comes a whole new design for EMPOWERED. The new design is fun and colorful, just like spring time!

Send your EMPOWERED subscription request online by visiting the Team Daniel Foundation website.

If you are already reading EMPOWERED, the Team Daniel Foundation would love to hear your feedback. Give us just a few minutes of your time and take our EMPOWERED survey by clicking the link below.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/V9CHHDX

Now it is time to get started on our Summer 2010 issue of EMPOWERED!

Are You Going to the Forum?

Currently, the only local management entity (LME) in the state of North Carolina that operates under the “managed care” waiver is Piedmont Behavioral Health (Cabarrus, Davidson, Rowan, Stanly and Union counties), but that soon could be changing. The state of North Carolina is pushing for all LMEs in the state to switch to the same type of “managed care” waiver program which could mean drastic changes for all of those with disabilities and their caregivers. The following are noted by The Arc of North Carolina as significant changes that could occur:

• Flexibility of LME to determine rates and service definitions
• Ability to ration service dollars to most critical services
• Ability to limit provider network and other managed care benefits
• Reduction in provider choice
• Some protections associated with the Medicaid program could be reduced
• The local nature of the service system could be lost
• It is anticipated that the larger expansion of this model (statewide) will be accomplished by combining LMEs, not necessarily geographically connected

The Arc of North Carolina has announced that they will be holding a series of public forums to discuss “managed care” waivers and the impact they could have on all of us. These forums will address questions such as “What are managed care waivers?” and “How do they work?” so that all who will be affected will have a better understanding of the intention of “managed care” waivers. The following are the list of dates that these forums will take place on along with the location.

• March 3- Forsyth County- The Enrichment Center
• March 4- Union County- The Arc of Union County
• March 13- Wake County - The Arc of Wake County
• March 16- Haywood County- The Arc of Haywood County
• March 18- Guilford County-The Arcs of High Point
• March 22- Durham County- The Arc of Durham County
• March 30- Rowan County-The Arc of Rowan County
• April 15- Mecklenburg County-The Arc of Mecklenburg County
• April 29- Craven County-The Arc of Craven County

For more information on these forums and “managed care” waivers visit The Arc of North Carolina’s website at www.arcnc.org.