http://www.ctcdd.org/ The Council on Developmental Disabilities is a Governor-appointed body of people with disabilities, family members and professionals who work together to promote the full inclusion of people with disabilities in community life. en Copyright 2009 Thu, 18 Jun 2009 15:50:22 -0500 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss The CT Council on Developmental Disabilities is seeking comment on its 2010 amendments to its 5 year state plan. Prior to making any decisions on specific 2009 initiatives to continue in 2010, or new 2010 initiatives, the CT Council has identified the following categories as priorities for funding: Education Employment Housing and Independent Living Inclusive Communities Transportation The CT Council may identify specific initiatives following its September 22, 2009 meeting. The period for comments will conclude on August 3, 2009. Comments may be returned to the CT Council on Developmental Disabilities, 460 Capitol Avenue, Hartford, CT 06106. Comments may be e-mailed to Ed Preneta at Ed.Preneta@ct.gov. http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CTCDD/~3/7S-cJhFJ6x0/comments_requested_on_2010_ame.php http://www.ctcdd.org/2009/06/comments_requested_on_2010_ame.php Thu, 18 Jun 2009 15:50:22 -0500 http://www.ctcdd.org/2009/06/comments_requested_on_2010_ame.php Training for Direct Support Workers who Assist Children and Adults with Disabilities Residing in Diverse Settings. A Three Tier Series: Valued Social Roles as a Means of Addressing Devaluation Direct support workers play essential roles in providing support to children and adults with disabilities and expanding their community options. The ideas of bringing services to people in their homes, schools and communities and keeping people at home in their families, regardless of the severity of their disabilities or otherwise in need of support, have had a far-reaching impact on service philosophy and service provision. The CT Council on Developmental Disabilities is making training available to upgrade the skills and competencies of direct support workers with regard to the theory and principles behind the importance of enhancing the roles people with disabilities. The Series Understanding the Societal Context: What People with Impairments are Up Against 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. This workshop invites participants to explore the wounding experiences with which many people with physical and intellectual impairments live as a result of being devalued by society. The goal of addressing such devaluation, by helping devalued people to attain valued social roles, will be described. Participants will learn about the universal aspects of social devaluation and the importance of personal identification with the people they serve. Problem Solving From A Social Role Valorization Perspective 9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Based on the understanding of social devaluation and valued social roles covered in the first presentation, this workshop lays out a helpful framework for brainstorming and problem-solving based on a strategy of positive compensation for vulnerability. This strategy involves stepping into the shoes of a person served, identifying their particular vulnerabilities, and devising steps aimed at prevention, reduction, and/or compensation for those vulnerabilities. Participants are asked to come to this presentation prepared to think about particular problems they have faced in supporting someone. The Tension Between Personal Autonomy and Community Living: An Examination Of The Rights Issue 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. This workshop explores the tensions between supporting personal autonomy for disenfranchised people, and living with others in the community. The concepts of personal expression, choice and rights which are dominant in today's culture are explored from the perspective of social devaluation and Social Role Valorization. NOTE: These three presentations include lecture, lots of stories and examples, audience questions and discussion, as well as questions for participants to reflect on. Schedule of Presentations: Participants will be offered three workshops in a sequence, with the first part offered on three different dates from which the participant will choose one. The second session will be offered twice from which the participant will choose one date, and the third session will be offered once. The dates are as follows: Part One: Understanding the Societal Context: What People with Impairments are Up Against April 28, 2009 REGISTRATION CLOSED May 28, 2009 FULL. REGISTRATION CLOSED September 23, 2009 Part Two: Problem Solving from a Social Role Valorization Perspective June 10, 2009 FULL REGISTRATION CLOSED October 7, 2009 Part Three: The Tension Between Personal Autonomy and Community Living: An Examination of the “Rights” Issue November 4, 2009 Workshop Format: This workshop was developed and will be presented by Jo Massarelli and Marc Tumeinski of the Social Role Valorization Implementation Project in Worcester, Massachusetts. Both have long involvement with families and individuals who receive human service supports, as well as with individuals and services that provide these supports. The workshops consist of several lecture presentations, followed by ample time for reflection, discussion, questions, and comments. A handout package will be provided. Participants will be provided a certificate acknowledging their participation in the series. We regret that CEUs cannot be offered. This Presentation is for: Direct support workers and other representatives of support-providing services, including residential service staff and administrators, day service staff and administrators, visiting nurses, hospice workers, home health aides, respite workers, personal care assistants, family members and care-givers and individuals who currently use supports or might in the future. About the Presenters Jo Massarelli is Director of the SRV Implementation Project, a human service training and consultation concern based in Worcester, Massachusetts (USA). She divides her time at the project between teaching Social Role Valorization based workshops, and working with families, human service staff and people with impairments to bring about positive change, one person at a time. She has taught at workshops and lectured at conferences across the United States and Canada to a variety of human service workers serving a wide range of people devalued due to mental retardation, mental disorder, physical impairment, age (elders), and poverty. Ms. Massarelli has also evaluated dozens of human service programs for children, adults and elders, including residential, day and work programs, schools, hospice, prisons, and homeless shelters. Ms. Massarelli has been a teacher closely affiliated with Dr. Wolf Wolfensberger of the Training Institute in Syracuse, New York (USA) since 1983. She is a member and Senior Trainer of the International SRV Training, Development and Safeguarding Council, which meets twice a year to further develop SRV and keep it relevant to changing human service contexts. With Dr. Wolfensberger and a group of associates, she is heavily involved in teaching workshops on two crucial topics: how to provide service that is morally coherent in a dysfunctional human service world, and how to craft a coherent protective stance in the face of serious societal threats to the lives of socially devalued people. Ms. Massarelli has a particular interest in advocacy in medical settings. She teaches a variety of workshops on protecting vulnerable people in the based on these workshops. She is also a member of the Medical Safeguards Project, which is a group of nurses and doctors in Massachusetts who are committed to safeguarding the health and lives of mentally retarded people with significant medical needs. http://medicalsafeguarding.org/ Ms. Massarelli serves as a consultant for Family Lives, a program for children with multiple impairments who require twenty-four hour nursing care. Family Lives is committed to providing the medical support necessary for the children to live at home, and Ms. Massarelli works to assist family and nurses alike to envision and realize more than the “patient” role for those served. http://www.familylivesnursing.com/ Ms. Massarelli serves as an advocate associate to the North Quabbin Citizen Advocacy project. She is involved in training Citizen Advocacy boards and advocates in how social devaluation affects human service recipients. Marc Tumeinski is the Training Coordinator for The SRV Implementation Project in Worcester, MA (USA). He helps teach workshops throughout the US and Canada primarily, all based on the work of Dr. Wolfensberger of Syracuse University (NY, USA). As a service worker, he has supported children and adults with physical and/or intellectual impairments, as well as mental disorder, at home, school and work. As part of this, Marc has evaluated a variety of services in North America. He has also helped families and services think about what might be ideal for someone receiving services, and helped plan how to move towards the ideal. He has given workshops and spoken at conferences on issues of violence in services, as well as the use of restrictive practices such as restraint, in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the Netherlands. He has an article on the topic of restraint use published in the February 2005 issue of Mental Retardation. Marc consults to a group of family members and human service workers in Ontario (CANADA) who are working to bring about an end to the use of, and training in, restraints by human services in that province (http://citizensagainstrestraint.org/). Marc is the Editor of The SRV Journal, published twice a year, containing original articles, vignettes, book and film reviews, etc. on topics related to Social Role Valorization and PASSING. (http://www.srvip.org/). He is a member of the North American SRV Training, Development and Safeguarding Council. As such, he meets with the founder of SRV, Dr. Wolfensberger, and other SRV teachers twice a year. Jo Massarelli and her husband Marc Tumeinski are part of a neighborhood effort responding to the needs of homeless people in downtown Worcester, Massachusetts, where they live. They offer freely-given hospitality to poor and homeless people in their home. Training for Direct Support Workers who Assist Children and Adults with Disabilities Residing in Diverse Settings. A Three Tier Series: Valued Social Roles as a Means of Addressing Devaluation Registration Form Please mail or fax your registration form to: Connecticut Council on Developmental Disabilities 460 Capitol Avenue Hartford, CT 06106 (860) 418-6003 (FAX) Deadline: SEPTEMBER 11, 2009 Important Note: You are registering for all 3 sessions. Participation in the session “Understanding the Societal Context: What People with Impairments are Up Against” is required to attend the second session. Participation in “Understanding the Societal Context: What People with Impairments are Up Against” AND “Problem Solving From A Social Role Valorization Perspective” are required to attend the third session. Attending only one or two sessions in the series is not permitted. Also, while this series is FREE, you or your agency will be billed $125.00 if you sign up and fail to attend a session. Name: _______________________________________________________ Organization (If Applicable): _____________________________________ Address: _____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ Phone: _____________________ E-mail: ________________________ Please check here _____ if a personal assistant will attend the program with you. Please check below to indicate which dates you plan attend: Understanding the Societal Context: What People with Impairments are Up Against (Check only one) q April 28, 2009 CLOSED q May 28, 2009 FULL. REGISTRATON CLOSED q September 23, 2009 Problem Solving from a Social Role Valorization Perspective (Check only one) q June 10, 2009 FULL REGISTRATION CLOSED q October 7, 2009 The Tension Between Personal Autonomy and Community Living: An Examination of the “Rights” Issue November 4, 2009 Meals Examples of the types of sandwiches are: assorted 6” hard roll and wraps; turkey, ham, roast beef, veggie and tuna; American cheese, lettuce, tomato, mayo and mustard packets; bag of chips and cookies; assorted cans of cold soda and bottled water. If you need to request an alternate menu, please indicate your dietary request below: Accommodations Please check here _____ to request a American Sign Language (ASL) Interpreter, or contact the Council’s office by phone, TTY or e-mail. Please use the space below to request additional accommodations to make the series accessible to you. For additional information, please contact: Connecticut Council on Developmental Disabilities 460 Capitol Avenue Hartford, CT 06106 (860) 418-6160 (voice), 418-6172 (TTY) 1-800-653-1134 (toll-free in CT) e-mail: Ed.Preneta@ct.gov http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CTCDD/~3/H3zY1pHug5Y/training_for_direct_support_wo.php http://www.ctcdd.org/2009/02/training_for_direct_support_wo.php Wed, 25 Feb 2009 10:28:26 -0500 http://www.ctcdd.org/2009/02/training_for_direct_support_wo.php Please tell us your personal stories on the use of physical restraints and seclusion on your student in special education so that we can strengthen state law next year. While it would be great if you could name your school and town, we understand that some of you may wish to remain anonymous. New state law regulates the use of physical restraints and seclusion on students receiving special education in schools beginning October 1, 2007. The legislation requires schools to (1) notify parents of each incident, (2) keep records on each instance, (3) compile annual reports and (4) report serious injury to the State Board of Education. The State Board of Education must notify the Office of Protection and Advocacy and the Child Advocate about these reports. The Office of Protection and Advocacy and the Child Advocate are authorized to investigate incidents involving serious injury. While this is better than it was, schools are not required to report all instances of the use of physical restraints and seclusion and the State Board of Edcuation is not required to review each school's annual report. Also, the State Board of Educaiton is not required to issue a yearly summary on the use of physical restraint and seclusion. Since the use of physical restraint or seclusion on your special education student may not be reported to the State Board of Edcuation, and the State Board of Eduation may not review your school's report or report on the use of physical restraints and seclusion by schools, we thought our blog would be a good place to collect your stories so that we can use them in a report to strengthen the legislation in 2008. Thank you in advance. http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CTCDD/~3/KjHdVm5_w1E/restraints_and_seculsion_in_sc.php http://www.ctcdd.org/2007/06/restraints_and_seculsion_in_sc.php Mon, 11 Jun 2007 12:15:24 -0500 http://www.ctcdd.org/2007/06/restraints_and_seculsion_in_sc.php The CT Council is exploring the effectiveness of its advocacy, capacity building and systemic change activities such as: 1. outreach 2. training, leadership development and learning forums 3. technical assistance to policymakers and legislative committees 4. supporting and educating communities and community development 5. interagency collaboration, coordination and convening stakeholders 6. coordination with related councils, committees, programs and partnerships with government 7. barrier elimination, systems design and redesign 8. coalition development and citizen participation 9. informing policymakers and the media 10. demonstrations of new approaches to services and supports and model programs 11. influencing public opinion 12. nonpartisan analysis and research 13. supporting advocacy 14. influencing administrative policy We want to know: What does the Council do well? What could the Council do better? Please give us your opinion as to whether you Agree or Disgree with any of the following: IMPACT – Council activities have improved the ability of individuals with developmental disabilities and family members to: 1. make choices and exert control over the services and supports they use 2. participate in community life SATISFACTION – Council activities promote self-determination and community participation for individuals with developmental disabilities To submit comments, click on Comments below, fill in the boxes and Post. Thank you very much. http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CTCDD/~3/dMY60eMbEZE/stakeholders_survey_2007.php http://www.ctcdd.org/2007/02/stakeholders_survey_2007.php Fri, 09 Feb 2007 09:42:40 -0500 http://www.ctcdd.org/2007/02/stakeholders_survey_2007.php State of Connecticut website. The purpose for this blog is to collect comments on issues of concern to people with developmental, and other, disabilities. Your comments will be used by the Council to inform its work on influencing public policy and public opinion. We've suggested some global and specific areas of interest but you are free to comment on issues that are important to you and what we should work on in the future. Thank you for taking the time to participate on this Weblog. Your opinion counts!]]> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CTCDD/~3/772dOGtRaTo/welcome_to_the_connecticut_cou.php http://www.ctcdd.org/2006/02/welcome_to_the_connecticut_cou.php Sat, 11 Feb 2006 13:17:14 -0500 http://www.ctcdd.org/2006/02/welcome_to_the_connecticut_cou.php