ANCOR's 2009 DSP Wage Study Released

ANCOR's 2009 DSP Wage Study is now available online. To access visit www.youneedtoknowme.org or click here. Read more!

New Co-Sponsor for Direct Support Professionals Fairness and Security Act

Representative Russ Carnahan (D-MO) signed on as Co-Sponsors for H.R. 868, The Direct Support Professional Fairness and Security Act. Thank you to everyone who contacted their members encouraging them to sign on. Read more!

Two New Cosponsors Added to the Direct Support Professionals Bill

Representative Eliot Engel (D-NY) and Representative Bob Ethridge (D-NC) signed on as co-sponsors for H.R. 868, the Direct Support Professionals Fairness and Security Act of 2009. Thank you to everyone for reaching out to their members about this important legislation. Read more!

First HHS Year of Community Living Initiative Field Forum to Take Place in San Diego

The HHS Office on Disability will hold its first of 5 or 6 forums throughout the country in San Diego on February 18th. The purpose of the forums is to hear directly from state and local representatives (people with disabilities of all ages and their families, service providers, government) on barriers as well as solutions to community integration. Other forums will take place in the South, Mid-Atlantic and Northeast beginning in late March or early April. Details regarding the San Diego and other public forums will be forthcoming as soon as the Office on Disability provides them to ANCOR. Read more!

HHS Office on Disability’s Year of Community Living Initiative Includes Federal Workforce and Housing Work Groups

ANCOR staff were invited to attend a meeting Thursday held by the HHS Office on Disability (OD) Director Henry Claypool and a number of administration officials spanning many federal agencies to discuss the President Obama’s Year of Community Living Initiative. That initiative was announced June 22, 2009 on the 10th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Olmstead decision. The OD has been tapped to take the lead in forming a coordinating council spanning multiple HHS agencies, including CMS, as well as partnering with HUD, DOL, and the Department of Justice. Claypool announced that the purpose of the meeting and future meetings was to help craft an agenda for the initiative and to discuss ways to work with states on solutions. He also announced the formation of five federal working groups: services, housing, workforce, data and quality, and communications strategy. ANCOR was the first to comment on the plans announced, calling attention for the first time ever a real commitment to focus on the biggest barriers to community living—inadequate paid workforce and lack of housing. ANCOR also stressed the importance of including a focus on technology in both areas. Barbara Edwards, the new CMS Director of the Disabled and Elderly Program Group was also in attendance and ANCOR staff spent time talking with her in her new capacity. ANCOR has also spoken with federal chair of workforce group in order to further discuss our National Advocacy Campaign efforts and ideas on recruitment and retention issues.
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National Council of Disability Publishes Study on Workforce Infrastructure

The National Council of Disability released a study entitled Workforce Infrastructure in Support of People with Disabilities: Matching Human Resources to Service Needs. Read more!

New H.R. 868 Co-Sponsors

Representative Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) and Representative (D-CA) signed on as Co-Sponsors for H.R. 868, The Direct Support Professional Fairness and Security Act. Thank you to everyone who contacted their members encouraging them to sign on. Read more!

New Co-Sponsor for Direct Support Professionals Fairness and Security Act of 2009 (H.R. 868)

Rep. Donald Payne (D-NJ) signed on as a co-sponsor of the Direct Support Professionals Fairness and Security Act of 2009 (H.R. 868). Thank you to everyone who contacted their representative. Read more!

New Co-Sponsors for H.R. 868

Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD)and Rep. Tim Bishop (D-NY) signed on as co-sponsors of the Direct Support Professionals Fairness and Security Act of 2009 (H.R. 868). Thank you to everyone who contacted their representative. Read more!

New H.R. 868 Co-Sponsors

Rep. Rush Holt (D-NJ), Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA), Rep. Brian Higgins (D-NY), and Rep. Michael Arcuri (D-NY) signed on this week as co-sponsors to the Direct Support Professionals Fairness and Security Act (H.R. 868). Thank you to Barbara Merrill and the MENTOR Network for contacting Rep. Roybal-Allard's office. Thank you as well to everyone who also contacted their members urging them to sign on. Read more!

New Co-Sponsors for the Direct Support Professionals Fairness and Security Act

Rep. Christopher Smith (R-NJ), Rep. Mike Ross (D-AR), Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY), Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-NY), and Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) signed on this week as co-sponsors to the Direct Support Professionals Fairness and Security Act (H.R. 868). Thank you to all those who also contacted their members urging them to sign on. Read more!

45 H.R. 868 Co-Sponsors!!

Rep. Leonard Lance (R-NJ), Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (D-NH), and Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) signed on as co-sponsors to the Direct Support Professionals Fairness and Security Act (H.R. 868). Thank you to Lowell Arye and the Alliance for the Betterment of Citizens with Disabilities (ABCD)for working with Rep. Lance's office and Tim Sullivan with the Institute of Professional Practice Inc. for working with Rep. Shea-Porter's office. Thank you to all those who also contacted their members urging them to sign on. Read more!

New Co-Sponsors for Direct Support Professionals Fairness and Security Act

Rep. Paul Hodes(D-NH) and Rep. Tim Waltz (D-MN) signed on as co-sponsors to the Direct Support Professionals Fairness and Security Act (H.R. 868). Thank you to everyone who contacted their members urging them to sign on. Read more!

New Co-Sponsor for Direct Support Professionals Fairness and Security Act

Rep. Steven Rothman (D-NJ) signed on as a co-sponsor to the Direct Support Professionals Fairness and Security Act (H.R. 868). Thank you to everyone who contacted their members urging them to sign on. Read more!

President Obama Announces New Initiatives During National Disability Employment Awareness Month

President Obama announced the Administration is taking steps to ensure that there is fair and equal access to employment for all Americans, particularly the 54 million people in this country living with disabilities.

The following are some of the steps the Obama Administration will take:

•The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) will collaborate to sponsor and organize a day long Federal Government-wide job fair for people with disabilities. The Fair will take place in early spring 2010. In addition to the Job Fair, OPM, ODEP, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Department of Defense's office on Computer and Electronic Accommodations Program (CAP) will provide workshops throughout the day on a variety of topics including the Schedule A hiring waiver and the right to the provision of reasonable accommodations including information on assistive and communications technology
•OPM will develop training on Schedule A for federal Human Resources specialists, hiring managers and selective placement coordinators that will be easily accessible and includes on line training.
•EEOC and the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division will hold four Town Hall meetings throughout the nation to share information about the ADA Amendments Act proposed regulations and to gather comments on them. All Town Hall meetings will consist of two sessions - one for disability advocates and one for the employer community. These sessions will be completed by November 20th. The four locations are Philadelphia, Chicago, San Francisco, and New Orleans.
•The Department of Justice will release a video that will identify and respond to a number of common myths held by employers about workers with disabilities.
•OPM will create and lead a task force comprised of representatives from key Federal Departments and Agencies that have developed and implemented model practices for recruiting, retaining and advancing employees with disabilities. The task force will report on the innovative practices agencies use to encourage the employment of individuals with disabilities. The report will identify and promote successful practices for conducting outreach, recruiting, hiring qualified candidates, successful accommodations, and providing opportunities for career advancement at all levels.

This year’s theme for National Disability Employment Month is Expectation + Opportunity = Full Participation. This annual October celebration as designated by Congress is an opportunity to highlight the contributions and skills of Americans with disabilities to the workforce. For more information, see last week’s WICs Live article and the Department of Labor’s Office on Disability and Employment Policy web page on NDEM.

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New Co-Sponsors for the Direct Support Professionals Fairness and Security Act

Eleven Representatives signed on as co-sponsors to the Direct Support Professionals Fairness and Securitye Act (H.R. 868). Those members are Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN), Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX), Rep. Albio Sires (D-NJ), Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-PA), Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-NV), Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY), Rep. John Yarmuth (D-KY), Rep. David Loebsack (D-IA), Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-ME), Rep. Ben Chandler (D-KY), and Rep. James Langevin (D-RI). Thank you to everyone who contact these members urging them to sign on Read more!

New H.R. 868 Co-sponsors

Congressman Dennis Moore (D-KS), Congressman Brett Guthrie (R-KY), and Congressman Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) have signed on as co-sponsors to H.R. 868. Thank you to everyone who sent messages and visited their offices during the Governmental Activities Seminar. Read more!

New Co-Sponsor for H.R. 868

Congresswoman DeGette (D-CO) recently signed onto H.R. 868 as a co-sponsor. We thank Sharon Walters from Mosaic who spent a great deal of time communicating with Congresswoman DeGette's office. Read more!

Deadline Extended to September 11, 2009 - Encourage Your DSPs to Participate TODAY!

ANCOR, through the National Advocacy Campaign, is gathering information on the proficiency and use of certain technologies by the direct support workforce both personally and in their work. This information is being collected by ANCOR to study and consider ways in which certain technologies may:

1. Mitigate the anticipated impact of the growing direct support workforce crisis on our industry and ability to deliver quality supports;

2. Improve the efficiency of supports provided by DSPs;

3. Provide cost saving opportunities for providers.

This survey is intended for response by DSPs only. This survey is anonymous and poses questions related to proficiency, usage and opinions of Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) related to technology, in general.

ANCOR will use the results of this survey to recommend practices and policies for better use of technology, resulting in more efficient delivery of supports provided by the direct support workforce to people with disabilities.

We encourage agencies to share this survey with their DSPs and solicit their participation.

We also encourage DSPs that are interested in participating in this survey to notify their agency and/or immediate supervisor of their interest prior to completing the form.

The survey is active now through September 11, 2009.

Click here to access the survey.

We appreciate your involvement as we work to develop sound policies and practices that strengthen the ability of providers and DSPs to efficiently deliver quality supports to their clients.

Thank you in advance for your participation. Please contact Jeff Britt at jbritt@mwcllc.com should you have any questions.
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Please Send a Thank You Letter to Your Senators for National Direct Support Professionals Week!

In a show of bipartisan support, the U.S. Senate unanimously approved Senate Resolution 228 designating the week beginning September 14 as "National Direct Support Professionals Recognition Week." Sponsored by Senator Ben Nelson (D-NE), the resolution recognizes the invaluable supports Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) provide and the difference this workforce makes in the lives of Americans with disabilities.

Please use ANCOR’s Action Center to send a note thanking your Senators for National DSP Week. If one of your Senators was one of the original co-sponsors be sure to give them special recognition. Sponsoring any National DSP Week activity is a great opportunity to thank your Senators by mentioning them during your activities. If you sponsor any National DSP Week activities or media outreach, please let ANCOR know by contacting Mary Pauline Jones. Read more!