Sherlock Center's 5-Year Plan
The Sherlock Center on Disabilities is writing its next five (5) year plan. They invite you to attend a forum on January 9, 2012 to discuss this plan and to tell them what you think is important to Rhode Islanders. Click here for more information.
Tax Season is Coming Up...
People with Disabilities, Family Members, and Staff at Community Agencies May Be Eligible for Tax Refunds! Click here for the flyer for an informational meeting about tax credits.
Zach Anner: Top Choice of Oprah Winfrey From Viral Video Star to Host of His 'OWN' Show
Zach Anner relies on a wheelchair to get around, but that’s not stopping the 27-year-old with cerebral palsy. On his new travel show debuting Monday, December 19, 2011 on Oprah Winfrey’s cable network OWN, Anner tries everything from surfing to rock climbing.
Read more:
http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/12/12/zach-anner-from-viral-video-star-to-host-of-his-own-show/
http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2011/12/12/oprah-pick-debut/14621/
Circle of Hope
PROVIDENCE -- People with disabilities, advocates, family members and service providers encircled the Rhode Island State House during a candlelight vigil at dusk Tuesday.
They are protesting what they said is $24 million in funding cuts to services for the developmentally disabled..
Protestors included people with autism, cerebral palsy and other disabilities. They were joined by their family, friends and caregivers.
State lawmakers, trying to close a nearly $300 million deficit in the $7.7-billion state budget, reduced state reimbursements for transportation-related costs by about $4.5 million. They also cut millions by reducing reimbursements to service providers..
What People Are Saying About Employment
“People with disabilities want good paying jobs in areas
we choose, not what someone else has chosen for us! We want
the SAME opportunities as anyone else.”
Christina Battista, Co-Coordinator, Cross Disability Coalition
“I am an Artist and a Teacher! I LOVE doing this but I need help with marketing my work. Alton Stuckey
“I have been working in a sheltered workshop at the SAME job for over 20 years! I don’t want to do this anymore. Would YOU? I want a REAL JOB! Can anyone help me find a better job?” Steve Porcelli
“I want to be able to make money to pay my bills and not depend on anyone else. I want a JOB that can pay me so that I do not have to be on SSI all my life. I just want a good life!” Tanja Blicker-Ucran, Co-Coordinator, Cross Disability Coalition
“I want to start MY OWN BUSINESS. Really! I love music and I think I would make a great D-J so that is what I want to do.” Katie Lowe
Council recently presented its new Five Year Plan.
The Rhode Island Developmntal Disabilities Council's Five
Year State Plan, effective from Federal Fiscal Year
2012 through Federal Fiscal Year 2016. The State Plan
contains goals and objectives for current areas of emphasis.
Research that was used in the development of the plan
is incuded in this
document.
Transition guide published
This 50-page guide is aimed at providing families with the information they need to effectively prepare for and participate in periods of transition in their children's lives.
Individuals may order one free copy of the guide. Additional print copies are available for $10. A discount is available for bulk orders. Click
here to order guides.
U.S. Senate Committee Hearing on Improving Employment Opportunities for People with Intellectual Disabilities
Click
here to view the testimony provided before the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions on March 2, 2011 about improving employment opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities. Witnesses included Lynnae Ruttledge, Commissioner, Rehabilitative Services Administration; U.S. Department of Education and Sharon Lewis, Commissioner, Administration on Developmental Disabilities U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; William Kiernan, Director, Institute for Community Inclusion, MA.
Inclusive Schools
Twenty teenage leaders from across the country came together at Imagination Stage in Bethesda, Maryland last January for a National Youth Inclusion Summit. Before coming to the Summit, each teen held an Including
Samuel viewing party and discussion in their community. The goal of the summit was to develop an advocacy campaign for the full social and educational inclusion of people with disabilities.
The result of their efforts is a new national campaign: I
am Norm! that is working to:
· Raise awareness about inclusion through a viral video campaign and website
· Provide opportunities for youth and adults to share their ideas about inclusion
· Promote inclusive practices in schools and community organizations
Who is Norm? Learn more about the campaign as it unfolds as part of Inclusive
Schools Week (ISW) highlights the progress schools have made in providing a supportive and quality education to students of diverse backgrounds and abilities. It provides an opportunity for educators, students, and families to ensure that schools continue to improve their ability to successfully educate all children.
Envisioning the future
The federal Administration on Developmental Disabilities is committed to making schools, communities, workplaces and neighborhoods more welcoming and inclusive for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. It is currently in the process of developing a five year plan that will spell out approaches that shape attitudes by raising expectations, change outdated or broken systems, engender respect for all people and empower individuals with disabilities to pursue the lives they imagine for themselves.
The agency is currently collecting public input for the strategic plan. You can submit your ideas on line at envision2010.net.
A Little History
In the early 1970s, Congress decided that it was in the national interest to offer people with developmental disabilities the opportunity to live in typical homes and communities, and to exercise their full rights and responsibilities. It passed the Developmental Disabilities Act which among other things established Councils in each State to help plan services and to advocate for the civil and human rights of people with developmental disabilities and their families.
Who we are, what we do
The Governor appoints the 24 Rhode
Islanders serving on the Council. Most are people with developmental
disabilities and their family members. Others are representatives
of agencies and groups that work for people with disabilities.
Council members are men and women who have an exceptional insight into the obstacles that confront people with disabilities throughout their lives. Indeed people with disabilities face a long list of problems and issues when it comes to education, employment, transportation, housing, recreation, and health care. Working as Council we continue to discover and promote creative ways that families, service agencies and federal, state and local governments can work together so that people can live more independent, fulfilling lives.
The Earned Income Tax Credit or EITC is
a credit for people who do not earn high incomes. EITC
can reduce your taxes and result in a tax refund. In
simple terms, you can keep more of what you have earned.
If
you are one of the many low-income workers (including
some people with disabilities, family members and employees
who work for community agencies) who will not file this
year because you do not owe any taxes, you may want to
think again. Or you may not have filed for the tax credit
on your tax forms. The IRS may owe you some money!!!!!
Click here to view a list of locations where you can find out if you qualify for the EITC and get free help with filing your 2009 tax return. The Council is working with the IRS and others to help make sure that people with disabilities take full advantage of the EITC and other tax benefits. This effort is supported by grants the Council recently received.
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Here is what the IRS recommends you bring bring
with you if you want your tax return prepared:
- Proof of identification
- Social Security Cards for you, your spouse and dependents and/or a Social Security Number verification letter issued by the Social Security Administration
- Birth dates for you, your spouse and dependents on the tax return
- Current year's tax package if you received one
- Wage and earning statement(s) Form W-2, W-2G, 1099-R,
- Interest and dividend statements from banks (Forms 1099)
- A copy of last year's federal and state returns if available
- Bank routing numbers and account numbers for Direct Deposit
- Total paid for day care provider and the day care provider's tax identifying number (the provider's Social Security Number or the provider's business Employer Identification Number)
Promoting the ideas that will enhance the lives of people with developmental disabilities is one of the Council's missions. Under our federal enabling legislation we must stay abreast of and share information about new programs and services and important issues, trends and ideas that are of concern to people with developmental disabilities, families, service agencies, business and community leaders, legislators and policy makers. In this sense our web site connects people with the information they need to make positive changes in their lives or to develop a frame of reference for decision making.
The Council's Summer Guide pages list a broad range of recreation, arts and entertainment and education programs and services for people who have a disability.
Council members and meeting schedules are listed here.
Our office is in the Warwick Medical Building in the Warwick Mall in Warwick Rhode Island. The address is 400 Bald Hill Road, Suite 515, Warwick, RI 02886. For more information about us, contact Mary Okero, Executive Director, (401) 737-1238 or email us.
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