Building Bridges Between Tribal Vocational Rehabilitation Projects and State Assistive Technology Act Programs 

American Indian Vocational Rehabilitation Training and Technical Assistance Center (AIVRTTAC) logo

By: American Indian Vocational Rehabilitation Training and Technical Assistance Center (AIVRTTAC) and Assistive Technology Training and Technical Assistance (AT3) Center

The American Indian Vocational Rehabilitation Training and Technical Assistance Center (AIVRTTAC) recently started collaborating with the Assistive Technology Training and Technical Assistance (AT3) Center to build bridges between tribal vocational rehabilitation projects and state Assistive Technology (AT) Act programs.

AIVRTTAC helps improve the capacity of American Indian Vocational Rehabilitation Services (AIVRS) projects to provide culturally appropriate vocational rehabilitation services to all eligible tribal participants. AIVRTTAC is funded by the Rehabilitation Services Administration in the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.

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Registered Apprenticeships for Additional Career Pathways for Individuals with Disabilities

 

National Apprenticeship Week 2023

 

The Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) celebrated the 9th annual National Apprenticeship Week, Nov. 13-19.

National Apprenticeship Week spotlights the value of registered apprenticeship, an “industry-driven, high-quality career pathway where employers can develop and prepare their future workforce, and individuals can obtain paid work experience, receive progressive wage increases, classroom instruction, and a portable, nationally-recognized credential,” according to Apprenticeship.gov.

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New RSA 2023 Discretionary Grant Awards

In 2023, OSERS Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) provided nearly $200 million to fund programs that help to assist state and other agencies in providing vocational rehabilitation (VR) and other services to individuals with disabilities to maximize their employment, independence and integration into the community and the competitive labor market.

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Student-Led Decision-Making in Schools

This is the second blog in a series of blog posts on secondary transition from the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS).

Successful Transitions for All Blog Series - Post 2 - Student-Led Decision-Making in Schools

Expect, Engage, Empower: Successful Transitions for All!

Blog Post #2

Educators, vocational rehabilitation professionals and families must engage students with disabilities in secondary transition services.

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Protactile Language: Creating Equity for DeafBlind Individuals

NOTE: October is Blind Awareness Month

Protactile Language Interpreting icon. National Education Program

By: Heather Holmes, Protactile Language Interpreting National Program co-director; CM Hall, Protactile Language Interpreting National Program co-director; and Kristen Rhinehart-Fernandez, Rehabilitation Services Administration project officer

The Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) is working to advance diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility and systems change through its Training of Interpreters for Individuals Who are Hard of Hearing and Individuals Who are DeafBlind program.

In October 2021, RSA funded seven projects to provide training to working interpreters in specialty areas to develop a new skill area or enhance an existing skill area to effectively meet the communication needs of individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing and individuals who are DeafBlind receiving vocational rehabilitation services and/or services from other programs, such as independent living services, under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended.

One of the project’s funded is Western Oregon University’s Protactile Language Interpreting (PLI) National Education Program. The program trains sign language interpreters working with DeafBlind consumers who are using a new language, Protactile, in a variety of settings such as vocational rehabilitation, post-secondary education, professional and business-related events, and medical settings.

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New OSEP 2023 Discretionary Grant Awards

In fiscal year 2023, OSERS’ Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) provided over $110,454,616 under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to fund new programs that help educate children and youth with disabilities to assist states and local districts to improve results for infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities ages birth through 21.

Please read about these programs below ( ALN# | Title ). Please note that all amounts are rounded to the nearest dollar.

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Making a Difference: Leading with LD as a Special Education Teacher

Erin Crosby in front of the U.S. Capital Building

Note: October is Learning Disabilities / Dyslexia / Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Awareness Month. 

By: Erin Crosby

The Young Adult Leadership Council, a community of young adults aged 18–30 with learning disabilities and attention issues, unite their experiences and voices to advocate for the learning rights community.

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Paths into the Profession: Current Scholars in Orientation and Mobility Preparation Programs

This is the third of three posts in a White Cane Safety Day 2023 series.
View all the posts in the series. 

Paths into the Profession: Current Scholars in Orientation and Mobility Preparation Programs

Every year on Oct. 15, we celebrate White Cane Safety Day. Have you ever wondered how someone who travels with a white cane learns techniques and strategies to know where they are, where they want to go, and how to get there safely?

Orientation and mobility (O&M) is a high-demand professional practice focused on instruction and support for learners who are blind/visually impaired in early childhood settings, schools, and beyond! According to the Academy for Certification of Vision Rehabilitation and Education Professionals, a Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist (COMS) is an “expert who specializes in working with individuals who are blind, low vision or who have functional visual limitations, and empowers them to achieve their life goals for education, employment, avocation and independence.” O&M specialists prepare learners with visual impairments to move, engage, and travel in a range of environments with safety, confidence, and independence.

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Paths into the Profession: Current Orientation and Mobility Specialists and a Cane User

This is the second of three posts in a White Cane Safety Day 2023 series.
View all the posts in the series. 

Current Orientation and Mobility Specialists and a Cane User

While we are celebrating Oct. 15, White Cane Safety Day, and bringing more focus to the field of orientation and mobility, we asked two orientation and mobility (O&M) instructors about the highlights of the profession. Meredith Grace and Joe (who is also a cane user) provide their personal insights into what it is like to be an orientation and mobility instructor and why it is such a unique and wonderful job.

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