2022 Michael Lechner Advocacy Award Request for Nominations

Nominations are now being accepted for the 2022 Michael Lechner Award. The application form is attached. Deadline for applications is September 30, 2022.

The Michael Lechner Award is given annually to a Kansan with a disability or a Kansas organization who has effectively advocated for changes in his or her community to improve the lives of people with disabilities. Examples of such changes include improved physical or program access, expansion or enhancement of employment opportunities for people with disabilities, wider inclusion into the community, accessible parking, improved provision of alternative forms of communication, increased access to adequate health care services, and especially powerful legislative advocacy.

The award is named for Michael Lechner, Executive Director of Kansas Commission on Disability Concerns (KCDC) from 1982 through 1990. His advocacy activities had far-reaching results in improving independent living opportunities for Kansans with disabilities.

Applications may be for an individual or an organization. The nomination must include a description of what the individual or organization has advocated for and what the outcome was for that advocacy. Please submit some documentation of that advocacy. It can be an article in the newspaper, organization newsletter, a link to a news spot, pictures or a supporting letter from a person or an organization affected by the advocacy.

The application form is attached below.  Submit applications to Martha Gabehart, Kansas Commission on Disability Concerns, 900 SW Jackson, Suite 100, Topeka KS 66612 or email to [email protected].

Job Vacancy Announcements

Blue Cross/Blue Shield posted the following positions, open to external candidates:

Database Administrator, Application Deadline: 9/6/22

Manager Enterprise Architecture, Application Deadline: 9/30/22

IAM Infrastructure Analyst, Application Deadline: 9/6/22

Accounting Receipt Analyst, R2022463

To view the job description and apply on-line, please go to www.bcbsks.com/careers.

The Intrust Bank job vacancy listing is attached below for your use. Please feel free to share with others.

U.S. Access Board Seeks Accessibility Specialist

The U.S. Access Board seeks an Accessibility Specialist to serve in its Office of Technical and Information Services. This Accessibility Specialist will be responsible for providing technical assistance, training, and guidance to the public on design requirements for accessible buildings and facilities and medical diagnostic equipment. They will also participate in Board rulemaking to update or supplement these requirements. Although not required, fluency in Spanish is highly desirable for this position.

Current or former federal employees who qualify as status candidates, candidates eligible under the Veterans Employment Opportunity Act, the Career Transition Assistance Plan, or the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan, and candidates eligible for special hiring authorities (e.g., Schedule A appointment for persons with disabilities) or who are eligible for Veterans' Recruitment Appointment, should respond to Vacancy Announcement #22-AB-7-MP. Candidates who are U.S Citizens or U.S. Nationals with no prior federal experience should respond to Vacancy Announcement #22-AB-8-P.

Applications are due September 12, 2022.

For further information, contact the Applicant Call Center at 1-304-480-7300 or by email at [email protected].

The One-Care Newsletter is attached below. Please feel free to share with others. 

Only a few in-person spots left for the Living the Good Life: Supported Decision-making - a FREE hybrid event happening in Wichita!

REGISTER NOW

Don’t miss the chance to:
• Find out more about alternatives to guardianship, Supported Decision Making, and tools that help individuals and families plan for a good life.
• Learn from people with lived experience navigating moving from high school to "adulting."
• Hear from and share with an internationally-recognized expert in alternatives to guardianship from the American Bar Association with lived experience as a family member of a person with disability.
• Talk with a Kansas Guardianship representative and advocates from Families Together to learn more about your options to preserve CHOICE across the lifespan.

REGISTER NOW

KCDD is honored to co-host this event with Kansas Maternal Child Health and the Kansas Department of Health & Environment in partnership with the Wichita State University Community Engagement Institute

View this email in your browser

Our mailing address is:
Kansas Council on Developmental Disabilities
900 SW Jackson, Ste. 569
Topeka, Ks 66612

Office of Disability Employment Policy News Brief
August 19, 2022

Blending, Braiding and Sequencing Federal Joint Communication and FAQs

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy and Employment and Training Administration joined seven other federal agencies in issuing “Resource Leveraging & Service Coordination to Increase Competitive Integrated Employment for Individuals with Disabilities.” This federal joint communication, along with an accompanying frequently asked questions document, encourages state and local partners to proactively implement resource blending, braiding and sequencing across systems to improve Competitive Integrated Employment outcomes for youth and adults with disabilities.

• Read the joint communication
• Read the FAQs document

Now Open: “Advancing the National Apprenticeship System” Online Dialogue

Now until September 6, 2022 the ePolicyWorks initiative is collecting feedback in the “Advancing the National Apprenticeship System” online dialogue. Through the dialogue, the department will seek to identify how to evolve and optimize the nation’s apprenticeship model to benefit everyone. Join the conversation to identify policies, practices, strategies and approaches that will further the reach and availability of inclusive apprenticeships and address any barriers to their success.

• Join the “Advancing the National Apprenticeship” online dialogue.

Disability Employment Highlighted by National Black Caucus of State Legislators

The National Black Caucus of State Legislators, a partner of ODEP’s State Exchange on Employment & Disability, recently published an op-ed by Georgia State Rep. Kim Schofield highlighting the 32nd anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act and her collaboration with SEED to advance inclusive workforce policies in her state. The op-ed, “Inclusive Intersections: Why Disability Rights are Civil Rights,” discusses Rep. Schofield’s recent resolution recognizing National Disability Employment Awareness Month and the ADA, as well as telework as an inclusive workforce strategy.

• Read the op-ed
• View the resolution (Attached below)

If You Have a Federal Student Loan, You May Be Able to Benefit from the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF)

PSLF forgives the remaining balance on your Direct Loans after you have made 120 qualifying monthly payments under a qualifying repayment plan while working full-time for a qualifying employer. The new temporary Limited PSLF Waiver gives borrowers credit for past periods of repayment on Federal student loans — even loans that would otherwise not qualify for PSLF if the borrower consolidates into a Federal Direct Loan. Past periods of repayment will now count. There is no specific application for the limited waiver — you just need to submit a PSLF application by the October 31, 2022 deadline, and you will be automatically opted in. If you previously applied for PSLF and were denied because of your loan type, we encourage you to try again.

• The PSLF program is a way to honor public servants, as DOL’s Deputy Secretary Julie Su writes in her blog post.
• If you have more questions, review the PSLF FAQ page

New EARN Talent Case Studies Highlight Women in Tech

The ODEP-funded Employer Assistance and Resource Network on Disability Inclusion has developed two new talent case studies. They highlight the career paths of women with disabilities in the cyber security field. Both subjects participated in Disability:IN’s NextGen Leader Initiatives, which helped jump start their success. Rachel Velasco is a Threat Emulation and Offensive Security Analyst at Ally Financial. While Zarin Hamida is a Cyber Security Analyst for a bank in Pennsylvania.

• Read Rachel’s Case Study
• Read Zarin’s Case Study

U.S. Department of Labor
Office of Disability Employment Policy
DRIVING CHANGE • CREATING OPPORTUNITY

View this newsletter on our website

This post was requested by Joe Scarlett. 

Independence
By Michelle Niedens, Parent & Staff Liaison - The Mission Project

Many words in the English language are diverted and assaulted regularly, either benignly or malignantly, and none more so than the word "independence." In its most garish form, one conjures up images of John Wayne riding into town, returning to a family he long ago abandoned or reluctantly assuming some task that can only be accomplished by someone disconnected and alone with "nothing to lose." Some contorted interpretations get translated in a way that inhibits asking or accepting help combined with an unwavering self reliance despite physical and emotional limitations or consequences. The word sometimes is used to artificially exaggerate the value of one person over another and give rise to projected disability and the fallacious outcome of pity. The reality is that independence and dependence live side by side.

In the worst part of Covid, the occasional awareness of our need for each other became strikingly clear. Most of us do not grow all our own food, provide our own healthcare, build our own vehicles, or possess our own fire fighting equipment. In one way or another, we need each other. In one way or another, we are all dependent. That said, we cannot diminish the value attached to independence. It gives rise to a special set of feelings and an abiding appreciation for the ambiguous values that are rooted there. It deserves to be appropriately honored. Independence doesn’t mean control. It doesn’t mean separateness. It doesn’t preclude receiving help. It doesn’t define a person. But it does have something to do with freedom. It has something to do with participation. It has something to do with choice.

Most my friends who have an intellectual or developmental disability would agree with me. They tell me that independence means having a pathway to learn and grow in ways that strengthen their participation in their own lives – choice, action, and capacity. They want to be able to do the everyday things others do. They want to be able to work towards a goal they determine. They want to be viewed as someone who can accomplish goals, no different than anyone else.

On August 27th, I’ll be walking in The Mission Project’s Independence Walk. I’ll be walking knowing I’m supporting choice and goals and all the steps to get there. Independence does not mean we are in this life thing alone. It means we believe in each other.

Competitive Integrated Employment Promotes Independence Sheltered Employment Suppresses Independence 

michael-lechner-application-form 2022.pdf

Resolution for NDEAM 2022.pdf

Job Openings for INTRUST Bank.pdf

OneCare Kansas Newsletter-August 2022 Accessible Version.pdf