Uncategorized

Free Screening of No Small Matter

No Small Matter is the first feature documentary to explore the most overlooked, underestimated, and powerful force for good in American today: early childhood education. Through poignant stories and surprising humor, No Small Matter lays out the overwhelming evidence for the importance of the first five years. The film reveals how failure to act on that evidence has resulted inan everyday crisis for American families, and a slow-motion catastrophe for the country. A moderated panel discussion with early childhood education and business leaders will follow the screening including HDC’s Maria Blanco.

Tuesday, October 24

Delgado Community College City Park Campus

Student Life and Success Center- 2nd Floor

Lac Maraupes Room

5:30pm-8:00pm

Light refreshments provided

Tickets at Eventbrite: http://bit.ly/TrainingGroundsNoSmallMatterMovie

Autism CARES Signed into Law

On September 30, 2019, Autism CARES was signed into law.

AUCD applauds the signing of the Autism Cares Act of 2019 into law by President Trump. This bipartisan law will expand research and coordination, increase public awareness and surveillance, and expand interdisciplinary health professional training to identify and support individuals with autism and their families.

What to know about the new law:

• Authorizes programs at the National Institutes of Health (NIH); the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) through Fiscal Year 2024, and reauthorizes and expands the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC);
• Adds new members of IACC from the Departments of Labor, Justice, Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development;
• Increases from two to three IACC members who are self-advocates, parents or legal guardians and represent advocacy/service organizations;
• Directs the Health and Human Services Secretary to prioritize grants to “rural and underserved areas;”
• Requires a comprehensive report to Congress on the demographic factors associated with the health and well-being of individuals with ASD, recommendations on establishing best practices to ensure interdisciplinary coordination, improvements for health outcomes, community-based behavioral support and interventions, nutrition and recreational and social activities, and personal safety.

Read the official press release here. Note that if you are viewing this from the mailing list, the link will have been replaced. If the link does not work, then copy and paste the following URL in your address bar:

https://www.aucd.org/template/news.cfm?news_id=14209&parent=505&parent_title=Archived%20News&url=/template/page.cfm?id%3D505

FHF Exceptional Times Magazine Features PAY Check Student

Families Helping Families of Greater New Orleans features Victor Castillo on the front page of the September 2019 issue of its monthly magazine Exceptional Times. Victor is currently in HDC’s PAY Check program and recently completed a two week immersion class in American Sign Language at Gallaudet University. To see the September issue of Exceptional Times, click here: https://pub.lucidpress.com/FHFofGNOSept2019ET/#s22NvLjNIUj6

Join the ODEP’s Section 14 (c) National Online Dialogue on Employment of People with Disabilities

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP), through its ePolicyWorks initiative, is hosting the Section 14(c) National Online Dialogue to gather perspectives on Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act. We invite you to share your ideas, individual stories, and personal experiences illustrating the impact of Section 14(c) on the employment of people with disabilities.

Since 1938, Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act has authorized employers to pay wages that are less than the federal minimum wage to workers who have disabilities for the work being performed, after receiving a special wage certificate from Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division. The purpose of this National Online Dialogue is to capture perspectives about Section 14(c) based on individual input from those “on the ground,” including a wide range of stakeholders. The information gathered during this important online dialogue will provide the U.S. Department of Labor with an opportunity to better understand the current landscape, as well as the potential future of Section 14(c).

To participate, visit 14cDialogue.IdeaScale.com and register to share your experiences and ideas, and to comment on ideas submitted by others.

Kelly Davillier and Zaida Salame, two HDC LEND Trainees, with their poster “Screening and Assessment Protocols for Patients Referred to the ASDID Clinic: a Quality Improvement Project” at LSU Pediatric Research Day

Employment First Training Fall Schedule 2019

HDC in collaboration with Louisiana APSE has upcoming training classes on Employment First for the 40-Hour Core & 5-Hour Continuing Education Credits for LRS and Medicaid Employment Providers. (There is a reduced fee for LA APSE members.)

See the LSU HDC Employment Initiatives Website for more information and to register

40 Hour Employment Core Training Certificate for LRS and Medicaid Employment Providers

• Baton Rouge – September 10-12, 2019
• New Orleans – October 22-24, 2019
• Alexandria – December 10-12, 2019
• Additional 5.0-hour classes available, see website for dates and topics

HDC’s LEND Trainees Can Fulfill Clinical Hours in PAY Check Program

HDC’s PAYCheck program is being offered as one option for LEND trainees to fulfill their clinical hours. LEND trainees will be able to support the PAYCheck students by helping them figure out their schedule with transportation and classes, providing emotional and social support, assisting them is studying for their courses, etc.. For more details on this training activity, read the write-up on the Training Toolbox at the Interdisciplinary Technical Assistance Center on Autism and Developmental Disabilities (ITAC) website.

ITAC website link: https://www.aucd.org/itac/template/strategy.cfm?id=173

PAYCheck website link: https://www.hdc.lsuhsc.edu/PayCheck/default.aspx

DD Waiver Provider and Support Coordination Rates Restored

The rates for DD waiver providers and support coordination were restored to 2008 levels effective 4/1/2019 using money from the New Opportunities Waiver (NOW) Fund.  You all will recall the Council approved the use of the NOW Fund for this rate restoration at the October 2018 Council meeting and we had hoped the rates would be restored in January 2019.  However, OCDD did not receive the needed approval from the legislature and administration to use the funding to restore the rates at that time.

The rate restoration that went into effect today is through the end of this fiscal year.  Funding will have to be appropriated by the legislature to continue it beyond June 30^th.

Please see attached letter from Julie Foster Hagan that was disseminated to providers and others this morning.

Letter about Restoration of Waiver Fees

AUCD “Celebrating Leadership in Civil Rights”

For AUCD centers and programs across the country, the core civil rights vision of the ADA and other disability rights laws informs the approach we take to improving the lives of children and adults with disabilities and their families.

AUCD highlighted HDC in their “Celebrating Leadership in Civil Rights” Article found here: https://www.aucd.org/template/page.cfm?id=1095

HDC’s example includes expanding their ‘diverse by design’ model of service delivery by intentionally developing policies to promote socioeconomic and racial integration in early childhood settings and inclusion of children with disabilities (e.g., increased quality, mixed funding and effective inclusion). Additional information on HDC’s efforts can be found here: https://www.aucd.org/template/page.cfm?id=1095#LA

Employment First Trainings Available

HDC in collaboration with Louisiana APSE has upcoming training classes on Employment First for the 40-Hour Core & 5-Hour Continuing Education Credits for LRS and Medicaid Employment Providers. (There is a reduced fee for LA APSE members.)

See the LSU HDC Employment Initiatives Website for more information and to register

40 Hour Employment Core Training Certificate for LRS and Medicaid Employment Providers

• Baton Rouge – March 26-28, 2019
• New Orleans – April 16-18, 2019
• Lafayette- May 21-23, 2019
• Additional 5.0-hour classes available, see website for dates and topics