Bridges to Employment Webinar Series

A free monthly webinar series from the Colorado Cross-Disability Coalition designed to assist people with disabilities to obtain and keep gainful employment

Hosted by The Colorado Cross-Disability Coalition and Brenda Mosby, owner of Mosby Business Services.

This month, CCDC launches the first of a five-part series designed to help individuals with disabilities overcome the misperception that working and benefits don’t go hand in hand.

Each month we will explore a different, employment-related topic chosen to offer new skills and knowledge in the employment field. Webinars are about an hour-long, require separate registrations, and are completely FREE.

Coming Up Next:

• March 22nd, Part 3A: Work Incentives – Join us to talk with a specialist about what other incentives and supports you may qualify for as a working individual with a disability. Register Here
• April 26th, Part 3B: Work Incentives cont.– Join us to talk with a specialist about what other incentives and supports you may qualify for as a working individual with a disability. Register Here
• May 24th, Part 4: Personal Empowerment through Emotional Intelligence – Brenda Mosby shares her expertise in understanding and using emotions in positive ways to build relationships and succeed at work. Register Here
• June 21st, Part 5: Transportation and Employment – CCDC transportation advocate, Jaime Lewis, will share transit options for people with disabilities, ensuring you can get to and from your new job. Register Here

Previous Sessions Available by Recording

Click here to access the archived recordings and documents.

Part 1: Medicaid Buy-In for Working Adults with Disabilities (Buy-In) High-level overview with Brenda Mosby and CCDC Appeals & Eligibility Director, Donna Sablan. Click here to access the archived recordings and documents.

Part 2: Applying for Buy-In – A step-by-step application walkthrough with CCDC Appeals & Eligibility Director Donna Sablan

Contact Angela Nevin at anevin@ccdconline.org for questions or accommodation questions. (All accommodation requests must be received a minimum of three days before each event.)

Ed Department Offers More Special Education Guidance Amid COVID-19

Disability Scoop The Premier Source for Developmental Disability News
by Michelle Diament | March 18, 2020

The U.S. Department of Education is giving schools more information about administering special education during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As schools across the nation shutter in response to coronavirus, federal officials are giving educators additional insight on how to handle the needs of students with disabilities.

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights issued a webinar and fact sheet this week for education leaders aimed at ensuring that students’ civil rights are upheld while schools are closed due to COVID-19.

The webinar reminds school officials that distance learning must be accessible unless “equally effective alternate access is provided.”

Online learning tools should be compatible with any assistive technology that students use and schools must regularly test their online offerings for accessibility, the Education Department said.

“OCR’s accessibility webinar is intended to remind school leaders at the elementary, secondary and postsecondary levels of their legal obligations to ensure that all students, including students with disabilities, can access online and virtual learning programs,” said Kenneth L. Marcus, the Education Department’s assistant secretary for civil rights. “Students with disabilities must have access to educational technology utilized by schools, and OCR will continue to work to ensure that no student is excluded from utilizing these important tools.”

If a student with a disability is absent from school for an extended period because of coronavirus, but the school remains open, the student has a right to continue to receive a free appropriate public education, or FAPE, the Education Department’s fact sheet states. But if schools close and no educational services are being provided, then the school does not have to serve students with disabilities, the agency said.

In addition, the fact sheet explains that individualized education program teams are not required to conduct in-person meetings while schools are closed. And, any evaluation of a student with a disability that must be done face to face should be postponed until the school reopens.

Evaluations that do not need to be done in person may proceed so long as the child’s parent or guardian consents, the Education Department indicated.

At least 74,000 schools serving 38.8 million students across the country have announced plans to close because of coronavirus, according to Education Week.

The latest information from the Education Department expands on guidance issued last week on how to address the needs of students with disabilities during the pandemic.

Advocates with the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, which represents special education attorneys, have criticized the Education Department’s approach, arguing that the right to FAPE under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act remains intact even when schools close.

The Road to Work and Independence

By Michelle McHenry-Edrington, Non-Attorney Advocacy Coordinator

So you have a disability, and you want to remain or become as independent as you can. Maybe you want to go to school and get a job that turns into a career.

First of all, I can imagine that most people in your life have taken away or diminished your hopes and dreams regarding work and independence. Your dreams of living how you choose and being the best you can be are still yours to hope for and dream. Continue reading “The Road to Work and Independence”

Action Needed! SB 20-033: Allow Medicaid Buy-in Program After Age 65

SB 20-033: Allow Medicaid Buy-in Program After Age 65

By Julie Reiskin, Executive Director, CCDC

WILL ALLOW PEOPLE WITH SIGNIFICANT DISABILITIES WHO WORK USING THE MEDICAID BUY-IN TO CONTINUE WORKING AFTER AGE 65

Program: The Medicaid Buy-In for Working Adults with Disabilities (Buy-In) has been a path out of poverty for people with disabilities since 2014. By allowing people who have a disability and a job to buy into Medicaid and, if needed, long-term services and supports, individuals can earn up to 450% of the Federal Poverty Level while only counting 50% of their earned income. Best of all, there is no asset test. ALL OTHER paths into Medicaid carry a $2000 asset limit and strict earnings limits.  Continue reading “Action Needed! SB 20-033: Allow Medicaid Buy-in Program After Age 65”

The New Year Brings with it Reflections on the Past Year by Julie Reiskin

The New Year brings with it reflections on the past year, hopes for the year to come, resolutions to do better at something or perhaps a resolution to stop making empty promises to oneself.  Why do we celebrate the New Year?  Have we not had enough time off from work, enough to eat and drink, and enough time with family by now?   The reason we celebrate is the passage of time is something to celebrate –as a culture that is a blend of many different cultures, we celebrate survival. Continue reading “The New Year Brings with it Reflections on the Past Year by Julie Reiskin”