At AbilityMaine we are developing a special page for events, committee meetings, board meetings, etc. that are of interest to people with disabilities. The calendar link will still be on our site, but this special page will be specifically for disability related meetings and events. If you have items to add to this page, if you are a committee member who can provide dates for your meetings,or if you are planning an event, send items to Mainefun40@hotmail.com with CALENDAR in the subject line.

We're always looking for news and information at Abilitymaine. If you have items you think we can use, send them to Mainefun40@hotmail.com with NEWS in the subject line.

NewsBriefs
October 4, 2006

In this edition, there’s information for youth, parents, law scholars, and probably something interesting for you!

Bipartisan Legislation Introduced in the US House;
Restoring Americans with Disabilities Act Protections

WASHINGTON, D.C. - House Judiciary Committee Chairman F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr. (R-WI) and House Minority Whip Steny H. Hoyer (D-MD) today introduced bipartisan legislation that would restore protections for disabled Americans under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). H.R. 6258 is titled the "Americans with Disabilities Act Restoration Act of 2006."

Chairman Sensenbrenner stated, "The landmark American with Disabilities Act has helped ensure American citizens no longer live in isolation but live as independent, self sufficient members of our communities. In recent years, however, the Supreme Court has slowly chipped away at the broad protections of the ADA and has created a new set of barriers for disabled Americans. This bipartisan legislation will enable disabled Americans utilizing the ADA to focus on the discrimination that they have experienced rather than having to first prove that they fall within the scope of the ADA's protection. With this bill, the ADA's 'clear and comprehensive national mandate for the elimination of discrimination on the basis of disability' will be properly restored and the ADA can rightfully reclaim its place among our Nation's civil rights laws."

Congressman Hoyer said: "As the lead Democratic sponsor of the ADA in the House, I harbored no illusions that this legislation would topple centuries of prejudice overnight - nor that we could legislate that prejudice out of existence. Over the last 16 years, this landmark law has ushered in significant change. However, the promise of the ADA remains unfulfilled. The Supreme Court's interpretations of this historic law have been largely inconsistent with the original intent of Congress and President George H.W. Bush in enacting the ADA…."
For the full news release (a PDF file) visit
http://judiciary.house.gov/media/pdfs/ADAbillintro92906.pdf

Youth: Advocating for Disability Awareness: Tools for You!!!
A teleconference

Are you a youth interested in learning how you can get awareness about the history of the disability movement taught to friends, family members, and professionals? Have you ever thought about trying to write a policy that would make it important for all individuals to learn about the struggles and achievements that many people with and without disabilities experienced to make things a little better for you, as a person with a disability? Join this teleconference from the National Youth Leadership Network Tuesday, October 10, 2006, 7:30pm
http://nyln.org/

An ADA Guide for Local Governments: Making Community Emergency Preparedness and Response Programs Accessible to People with Disabilities.
From the Department of Justice. Share this with your local government:
http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/emergencyprep.htm

Wrightslaw has an online Tool for IEP-writing assistance
The "Wrightslaw Game Plan: Smart IEPs" provides a compendium of tutorials and checklists to help parents and teachers write effective Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) with measurable goals and objectives. Offering a walk-through of IEP writing, this tool provides help in areas such as identifying a child's unique needs, and constructing specific, relevant, achievement-based goals.
http://www.wrightslaw.com/info/iep.goals.plan.htm

MAIN 2006 Conference- Saturday, October 14th

Help choose MAIN legislative goals & MAIN leaders!

10:00 am - 4:00 pm.
Kennebec Valley Community College, Fairfield

At the MAIN Conference you will:

Help choose MAIN's legislative goals!
* Learn about legislation that we know we will have to work on in 2007 and 2008.
* Hear about other possible opportunities.
* Tell us about problem areas in social service programs we might be able improve through legislation.
* Tell us how programs and legislation affect your lives. For example: "I'm having trouble getting my medicines because the "prior approval" process is too complicated." OR "I need more help with keeping my car on the road in order to do ASPIRE." OR "I can't find affordable housing."
* Vote on what you think MAIN's legislative priorities should be:

Help choose MAIN leaders!

At the Conference, we will be doing something new for MAIN- voting for officers. Active MAIN members should consider filling a leadership position. If you choose to accept leadership responsibilities, you will be expected to do your best but as always in MAIN, we all work together and learn as we lead.

To Get More information about the conference and Register right on-line!Visit
http://www.mejp.org/Update/10-3/conference.htm

The Women's Law and Public Policy Fellowship Program is inviting applications from law school graduates and law students graduating in 2007 who have a strong interest in women's rights.
In particular, we would like to highlight the possibility of one or more new fellowships addressing issues surrounding women's rights and HIV/AIDS, in addition to our other fellowship opportunities.
Women's Law Fellows work for one year in Washington, D.C. with a public interest organization or governmental agency on legal and policy issues affecting the status of women. Applications must be postmarked by October 16, 2006, and early applications are encouraged.
The Fellowships will begin in September 2007. Additional information, including the application form, can be found on our
website at http://www.wlppfp.org
Contact
Julia L. Ernst
Executive Director
Women's Law & Public Policy Fellowship Program
Georgetown University Law Center
600 New Jersey Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20001
Phone: (202) 662-9644
Fax: (202) 662-9539
E-mail: jle24@law.georgetown.edu

New report: Fewer Youth Ages 8 to 18 Express Understanding of Mental Illness Than of Physical Illness Such as Asthma

FULL PRESS RELEASE from Harris Interactive:
http://www.harrisinteractive.com/news/

LONGER REPORT:
http://www.harrisinteractive.com/news/newsletters
/k12news/HI_Trends&TudesNews2006_v5_iss08.pdf

October is Disability Employment Awareness Month

The National Disability Rights Network has a variety of resources for celebrating:
http://www.ndrn.org/.
So does Diversity World.
http://www.diversityworld.com/Disability/index.htm.

Mystery Shoppers with Disabilities

GfK NOP, LLC has recently partnered with Butler Media's Mystery Shopping Panel to create America's first national panel for individuals with disabilities. Utilizing Butler's ABILITY panelists, GfK Mystery Shopping sends a variety of disabled "undercover shoppers" into stores nationwide to assess customer service and sales personnel performance. This service provides companies the opportunity to determine how their employees communicate with shoppers with disabilities when these individuals are sent to specific store locations posing as customers. Find out how you can become a mystery shopper.
http://www.gfkamerica.com/news/MysteryShoppingAbilityPanel.htm .
Also
http://www.abilitypanel.com/shopper.html .

Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT)

The new book "Shock", by Kitty Dukakis and Larry Tye, was recently featured on the Diane Rehm show on National Public Radio. http://www.wamu.org/programs/dr/06/09/21.php#11972 . On the same subject, see the website http://www.ect.org

Interested in the performing arts?

Then this newsletter will interest you. Opening Stages: A Quarterly Newsletter for People with Disabilities Pursuing Careers in the Performing Arts Published by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
http://www.kennedy-center.org/email/live_archive/2006/
email_499_viewable.html

Co-occurring Disorders Court
Mental health court honors first graduates

http://www.bangornews.com/news/t/statewide.aspx?articleid=141230&zoneid=500

http://kennebecjournal.mainetoday.com/news/local/3182497.shtml

New York City Event on "Mad Movement" a Success!

At the New York University "Open Minds" conference this past Saturday, 23 September 2006, keynoter David Oaks, director of MindFreedom International, reflected on 30 years of human rights activism and called for unity for a "nonviolent revolution in the mental health system." You may download a PDF of prepared remarks here:
http://www.freedom-center.org/pdf/David
OaksOpenForum2006ConfTalk.pdf

Press Release

For Immediate Release
September 12, 2006

Contact:
CDC Division of Media Relations
Phone: (404) 639-3286
People with Disabilities Are Less Healthy than those without Disabilities

New Report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Health of People with Disabilities

For the first time, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has published a report of state-level data on the number of people with disabilities, and the wide range of health differences that exist between people with disabilities and those without. The new report, The Disability and Health State Chartbook, 2006 ? Profiles of Health for Adults with Disabilities, will be unveiled at CDC?s National Health Promotion Conference scheduled at the Hilton Atlanta Hotel, Atlanta, Georgia from September 12-14, 2006.

The Chartbook is composed of over 100 pages of maps and charts. The resource section has phone numbers for state health offices and national organizations that promote healthy lives for people with disabilities. The brief narrative is presented in large 14- and 16-point print with high color contrast, so it is accessible for people with vision loss. People who use a screen reader can download accessible versions from the web. Additional print copies may be ordered or downloaded from
http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd.

Information about the Safe Accountable Flexible Efficient Transportation Equity Act (SAFETEA)

The Safe Accountable Flexible Efficient Transportation Equity Act A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) includes three human service transportation programs administered by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA): The Elderly Individuals and Individuals with Disabilities Program, the Job Access Reverse Commute Program, and the New Freedom Program. These three programs provide formula funding for States and communities and are targeted to enhance transportation services for specific populations that depend on alternative transportation options for their day to day mobility. During the past year, FTA has been actively seeking input from stakeholders across the country regarding implementation strategies. As a result, FTA has developed and released Draft Circular Guidance for each of these three programs: Elderly Individuals and Individuals with Disabilities; Job Access and Reverse Commute; and New Freedom. FTA has also issued a Federal Register Notice outlining the responses to comments submitted regarding an earlier proposed notice. FTA encourages stakeholders to submit comments to http://dms.dot.gov (Docket Number: 24037). Public comments will be accepted through November 6, 2006.

This is provided to you by United We Ride. Visit us on the web at http://www.unitedweride.gov.

National Coalition of Mental Health
Contact: Lauren Spiro, 978-590-2014
Consumer/Survivor Organizations
http://www.NCMHCSO.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 6, 2006

Mental Health Consumer/Survivors Create National Coalition

WASHINGTON, D.C. Mental health consumer/survivors have formed a national coalition to ensure that they play a major role in the development and implementation of health and mental health care and social policies at the state and national levels.

The Coalition supports the efforts of the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to transform the mental health system to one that is recovery-based and consumer- and family-driven, and supports SAMHSAs consensus statement on recovery
http://www.mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/publications/allpubs/sma05-4129/ .

The Coalition, whose office is in Washington, D.C., received start-up funding from the Washington-based Public Welfare Foundation. For additional information, visit
http://www.NCMHCSO.org.