$14.8M in grants announced by US Labor Department
The U.S. Department of Labor recently announced $14,837,785 in grants to six states to improve employment opportunities for adults and youth with disabilities. The grants to California, Illinois, Kansas, Massachusetts, Minnesota and South Dakota are being awarded as part of the Disability Employment Initiative, funded by the department's Employment and Training Administration and Office of Disability Employment Policy.
These grants will help expand the capacity of local American Job Centers to improve employment outcomes for youth and adults with disabilities by increasing their participation in existing career pathway systems and programs that build on partnerships among local educational institutions, businesses and disability advocates.
This is the fifth round of funding through the Disability Employment Initiative, which now supports 37 projects in 26 states.
Grantees will use the funds to do the following.
- Hire or designate a Disability Resource Coordinator, an expert in workforce and disability issues, to achieve program goals
- Foster partnerships and collaboration at the state and local levels
- Integrate resources and services
- Ensure that local American Job Centers comply with physical, programmatic, and communications accessibility requirements
This initiative also expands the public workforce system's participation in the Social Security Administration's Ticket to Work Program by requiring participating state workforce agencies or local workforce boards to become active Employment Networks. Many Supplemental Security Income and Social Security Disability Insurance beneficiaries use the mainstream workforce system to seek employment opportunities. By serving as Employment Networks, grantees will build upon the workforce system's capacity to serve these groups.
For more information about the department's Disability Employment Initiative, visit the DEI website. Information about the Social Security Administration's Ticket to Work Program can be found at the program website.
AFB Leadership Conference 2015
Registration is now open! Register today for the joint 2015 AFB Leadership and Arizona AER Conference (AFBLC), which will take place at the Renaissance Phoenix Downtown Hotel, April 9–11.
AFBLC attendees are eligible for a special hotel rate of just $179/night. Please visit the Marriott reservations page or call 1-800-309-8138 to book your room today.
The American Foundation for the Blind's annual Leadership Conference covers the most pressing and relevant topics in the field of blindness and offers many opportunities to learn from the best and brightest minds in our field, make new connections, and reunite with old friends while earning ACVREP and CRC CEUs.
The AFBLC attracts established and emerging leaders in the blindness field. Conference attendees include technology experts, corporate representatives, university professors, teachers of students with visual impairments, orientation and mobility instructors, rehabilitation professionals, and parents. They come from diverse organizations and institutions spanning the public and private sectors, including school districts, schools for the blind, Veterans Administrations, hospitals, private agencies, and universities.
The 2014 AFBLC attracted over 440 attendees from 39 states and 8 countries.
Take the Partnership on Employment and Accessible Technology Survey
AFB's friends at the Partnership on Employment and Accessible Technology (PEAT) are conducting a survey to gain a better understanding of accessibility needs related to online job seeking. Please take a few minutes to complete its survey.
AfterShokz Establishes Accessibility Division and Appoints Rob Nevin as Global Director
AfterShokz, the only open ear bone conduction headphones brand, recently announced the establishment of an Accessibility Division, in addition to the appointment of Rob Nevin as Accessibility Director, Global. Nevin has acted as a representative and evangelist for the brand within the Blind/Deaf/Deaf-Blind channel for more than two years to date; this expanded role commissions him to lead the accessibility channel strategy. Immediate goals include global awareness, strategic partnerships and the broadening of accessibility standards within the company.
AfterShokz manufactures sport, mobile, and Bluetooth headphones, through a blend of patent-pending bone conduction technology and an open ear design. The brand's unconventional solution puts situational awareness at the forefront, allowing users to tune in to music, calls and other audio transmission without traditional sacrifices. A set of bone conduction transducers rest in front of the ears, while sound travels through the cheekbones to the inner ears via mini vibrations, bypassing the eardrums completely. The result increases accessibility, most especially for people who are blind who connect to access and mobile devices, and Deaf/Deaf-Blind persons wishing to use headphones similarly in conjunction with or without in-ear hearing aids.
Novasentis and HumanWare Join Forces to Bring Radically New Sensory Experiences to the Visually Impaired
Partnership Aims to Disrupt Assistive Technology Industry by Using Novasentis' Electro-Mechanical Polymer Actuators for Advanced Touch and Audio Feedback
Novasentis, Inc., a developer of haptics and sensory feedback technology, and HumanWare, recently revealed a groundbreaking partnership to embed miniaturized sensory feedback actuators into devices serving the millions of people who are blind or visually impaired.
By leveraging Novasentis' paper-thin and flexible Electro-Mechanical Polymer (EMP) actuator and sensor technology, HumanWare will be developing and bringing to market new products with richer tactile feedback that will make it easier for the visually impaired to experience and interact with digital content on computers and mobile devices.
This co-development effort offers Novasentis the opportunity to put its patented EMP technology to work in a brand new vertical—for the good of sight-impaired people who depend on touch and audio feedback to connect with the world. It also signifies the rapid growth and demand for advanced haptic technology in a variety of industries, including consumer electronics, automotive, healthcare and more.
"At HumanWare, we have been exploring the use of haptic feedback to enhance access to information for visually impaired people since the beginning of the 1990s. Only recently have we found Novasentis technology, which has great potential in our field," said Gilles Pepin, President & CEO of HumanWare. "There are a number of applications of the EMP technology for our future products. We will work closely with Novasentis to bring this promising technology to our market."
Technology, Culture, and Community Fair in New York City, Oct 18, 2014 — 10 AM – 4 PM
The Andrew Heiskell Braille and Talking Book Library, a branch of the New York Public Library, invites you to discover a city of accessible culture, technology, and community support. Chat with exhibitors, attend showcase sessions, try accessible technology, and meet our team of peer tech coaches. Exhibitors include: Lincoln Center, Museum of Modern Art, Guggenheim Museum, Ruben Museum, Adaptive Climbing Group, ICanConnect; Abisee, Vis-Ability, Eye-Assist, CTech, Orcam, Creative Adaptations for Learning, Independence Science, Gatewave, Healing Arts Initiative, Science, Industry and Business Library, the NYPL Oral History Project, Lighthouse Guild International, the New York State Commission for the Blind, the Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities, the Computer Center for Visually Impaired People, 3D Photo Works, and more. The fair is free and accessible. For more information, visit www.talkingbooks.nypl.org or contact Chancey Fleet, Assistive Technology Coordinator, at (212) 621-0627.
