US Department of Labor Announces Funding Opportunity For New Center For Employer-Focused Disability Policy and Technical Assistance
The US Department of Labor announced the availability of approximately $2 million in funds for the first year of a cooperative agreement for an employer-focused disability policy development and technical assistance center. The solicitation is a re-competition of an existing cooperative agreement. The deadline to apply is June 24, 2019. Administered by the Department’s Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP), the funding opportunity anticipates the availability of approximately $8 million in funds for a 4-year budget period (subject to the availability of federal funds at $2 million per year). Seeking to build upon the prior work of ODEP’s Employer Assistance and Resource Network on Disability Inclusion (EARN), the new center will conduct research; engage with the business community; identify effective policies and practices that support business needs; and provide resources, technical assistance, and training to help public- and private-sector employers (including federal contractors) recruit, hire, retain, and advance individuals with disabilities. “America’s workforce is stronger when all Americans participate,” said Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Office of Disability Employment Policy, Jennifer Sheehy. “Understanding effective policies and practices benefits employers as people with disabilities bring their skills and talents to the workplace.” Visit the ODEP website for more information.
Registration Still Available for the M-Enabling Summit; Discount Available for Private Sector IAAP Members
The 2019 M-Enabling Summit is being held in Washington, DC, June 17-19. The event will be hosted at the Renaissance Arlington Capital View Hotel in Arlington, Virginia.
A complete agenda for all three days of the Summit can be found on the M-Enabling Agenda webpage. There you can view all the sessions and speakers and start planning which ones you would like to attend.
At the conclusion of the conference, IAAP will also be offering the Web Accessibility Specialist (WAS) and Certified Professional in Accessibility Core Competencies (CPACC) exams on-site. The exams will start at 2:00 pm on Wednesday, June 19. Registration and application information is posted on the IAAP Certification Application page.
IAAP members in the private sector can take advantage of a $50.00 savings off the private sector registration rate using an IAAP discount code. IAAP members in the government, non-profit, and educational sectors are already eligible for special discount pricing. If you are an IAAP member, you can learn more here. Conference registration includes admission to all conference sessions, luncheons, the exhibit floor, coffee breaks, keynote presentations, and networking events, as well as the M-Enabling Summit cocktail reception on Tuesday night. Register online.
NonVisual Desktop Access Virtual Conference to be Held in August; Conference Organizers Seeking Feedback on Conference Dates
The NonVisual Desktop Access virtual conference (NVDA Con) will be held in August of 2019. NVDA Con is a virtual conference held online each year by the community of users of the NVDA screen reader. The conference presents sessions on various topics related to NVDA, offers spaces where NVDA users can network, and ends with a keynote address from the developers of NVDA. As mentioned, the conference is held virtually using audio conferencing software available on various platforms and is free to attend for all. This year, the organizers of the conference are seeking input from possible attendees on which weekend in August 2019 will allow the most attendees. To determine this, the organizers have provided a survey asking those interested to list which weekends during the month they will be available with the weekend with the most votes being chosen. If you would like to learn more about the conference and listen to sessions from past conferences, visit the NVDA Con website.
