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Turning workers' challenges into workplace assets

Jodi Hausen

September 02, 2021 |

Boulder Weekly |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Colorado

Colorado legislation now bans wages that are even lower than the minimum wage for employees with intellectual or developmental disabilities (IDD). The antiquated law was initially enacted as an incentive for business owners but has been abolished by several states. The new law also provides access to job coaching, which disability advocates are thrilled about.

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Giving Voice: Service Transforms Life for Hearing Impaired

Myagmarsuren Battur

August 17, 2021 |

Global Press Journal |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: Mongolia, Darkhan, Darkhan-UUL Province

The Mongolian Association of Sign Language Interpreters launched a free social media service that provides interpreters for people with hearing impairments. Using Facebook Messenger, the service allows clients to use video calls to talk with a sign language interpreter, who then reaches out to an institution or an individual on the client’s behalf. The initiative has six sign language interpreters and has fielded 3,543 calls. Interpreters help people get information and resolve problems, with most clients seeking assistance communicating with medical professionals and government welfare offices.

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Expanded Silver Alert system helps those with developmental disabilities

Gianluca D'Elia

August 05, 2021 |

Cronkite News - Arizona PBS |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Arizona

Three years after Arizona added people with intellectual or developmental disabilities to the list of people who can trigger a public alert when they go missing, advocates say the state enjoys better coordination from one community to the next. While the numbers aren't tracked, advocates say many people on the autism spectrum or with other disabilities have been quickly found and returned to safety. The state expanded its Silver Alert program, originally for missing seniors, and other states are starting to follow suit. An alert can result in notifications by phone, news and social media, and highway signs.

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Fulfilling Your Dreams Despite Disabilities Can Be Easy; This Nonprofit Shows How

Richard Abam

July 06, 2021 |

Prime Progress |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: Nigeria, Lagos

The Network for Inclusion of People with Special Needs (NIPSN) provides empowerment-based counseling, needs-specific rehabilitation, assistive equipment, and vocational training to people with disabilities. Residents live in a dormitory for up to 18 months while they receive services, including training to use assistive technologies. NIPSN also provides vocational training, like making vases, beads, and soap, which can provide a sustainable livelihood. NIPSN helps children finish school and provides free raw materials, equipment, and a small stipend to help residents start producing goods independently.

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Special clinics aim to get COVID vaccine to developmentally disabled

Dave Altimari

July 06, 2021 |

The Connecticut Mirror |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Vernon, Connecticut

Grassroots volunteer groups are helping people across the country make COVID-19 vaccine appointments. Get Out the Shot: Los Angeles has 100 vetted volunteers who have booked 300 appointments through the group’s system and thousands more on their own. Residents leave a message or fill out a Google form with their information and a volunteer picks up their case, books an appointment, and calls them to confirm. These volunteer organizations fill important assistance gaps in local government services that are stretched thin. Some groups focus on getting appointments for people from underserved communities.

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A way forward for employing people with disabilities in Lithuania

Giedrė Čiužaitė

June 01, 2021 |

Lithuanian Radio and Television (LRT) |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Lithuania

Employment intermediaries from VšĮ SOPA act as workforce development counselors and recruiters for both employers and people with disabilities. By preparing people for jobs that fit their abilities, and then aiding in a job search, the intermediaries are able to place about half of their 100-plus clients in appropriate jobs. Common in Western Europe, where government funding enables such services, the service in Lithuania relies on private funding, which can be less stable. Jobs for people with disabilities provide self-confidence and independence.

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Recipes For A Revolution: Albergo Etico and the empowerment of those with disabilities

Laura Saracino

May 18, 2021 |

Roar News |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: Italy

Albergo Etico prepares people with disabilities for work in the hotel industry, using training based on the Montessori method. The "download" method helps people learn job skills at their own pace, translating lessons for people with various cognitive abilities. Training begins with their families, doing household chores in their own home. Trainees now work in eight Italian cities, plus three other countries. The investment pays off both economically and socially, as trainees gain autonomy and self-sufficiency.

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Michigan caregivers got a $2 hourly boost in COVID. Should it be permanent?

Robin Erb

March 22, 2021 |

Bridge Michigan |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Michigan

The Michigan state legislature temporarily boosted the pay of direct caregivers working with seniors and people that have disabilities by $2 an hour in recognition of their essential and sometimes risky services during the coronavirus pandemic. With about half of direct caregivers living at or near poverty, the pay bump was temporarily renewed at the slightly higher rate of $2.25 an hour, but it is set to expire again in September 2021. The governor has proposed making permanent a pay raise of $2 an hour, which helps the caregivers meet their own basic needs a little better.

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NYC's free pandemic child care program promised to prioritize students with disabilities. Why were so many turned away?

Alex Zimmerman

February 25, 2021 |

Chalkbeat |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, New York, New York

When the coronavirus pandemic shut down school buildings and led to many people working from home in New York City, a city child care program was launched to give children a place to go while they were learning from home. However, the program failed to accommodate children with disabilities who required the assistance of a paraprofessional. After realizing the gap in care, the city is now working to increase access.

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They Made a Revolutionary System to Protect People With Developmental Disabilities. Now It's Falling Apart.

Amy Silverman

December 12, 2020 |

ProPublica |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Arizona

In Arizona, state officials recruited individuals for volunteer committees to have oversight of the state Division of Developmental Disabilities that was responsible for caring for those with developmental disabilities. Although the program was initially successful and "helped Arizona earn its reputation as one of the best states in the country for the care of people with developmental and intellectual disabilities," in recent years, a series of resignations and increased workload have left some of the panels "barely functioning."

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