Here is today's KCDC Disability News message. I hope you have a wonderful day. 

Martha

*Martha K. Gabehart* | "Executive Director
"Kansas Commission on Disability Concerns (KCDC)
*Kansas Governor Laura Kelly
*900 SW Jackson, Suite 100 | Topeka, Kansas 66612
(785) 296-6525 (direct) | (785) 260-4027 (cell)

[email protected] | www.kcdcinfo.ks.gov [ [link removed] ]

Job Vacancy Announcements

Blue Cross/Blue Shield has posted more job vacancies on their website [ [link removed] ]. Please feel free to share.

 

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The OneCare Kansas newsletter is now available on their website [ [link removed] ].

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Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) News Brief

Driving Change - Creating Opportunity

March 17, 2023

Persons with a Disability – Labor Force Characteristics 2022

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) recently published a summary of labor force, employment and unemployment data for people with disabilities during 2022. Based on the monthly Current Population Survey, Persons with a Disability – Labor Force Characteristics 2022, reveals that last year 21.3 percent of persons with a disability were employed, up from 19.1 percent in 2021, and that the unemployment rate for persons with a disability declined in 2022 but was still about double the rate for persons without a disability. The U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) sponsors the collection of disability data in the CPS.

Read the BLS news release (also attached below)

New Podcast: Strengths-Based Practices to Support Neurodiversity at Work

To honor Neurodiversity Celebration Week, March 13 – 19, the latest episode of the Partnership on Inclusive Apprenticeship’s (PIA) “Apprenticeship for All” podcast features ODEP’s Senior Policy Advisor Scott Michael Robertson, Ph.D. In this episode, Robertson shares tips and advice for taking a strengths-based approach to supporting neurodiversity in the workplace.

Listen to the PIA podcast [ [link removed] ]

Equal Pay Day 2023

In celebration of Equal Pay Day, March 14, The White House released a blog, “The Biden-⁠Harris Administration advances equal pay and promotes gender equity through President Biden’s Invest in America Agenda [ [link removed] ].” Also, DOL’s Women’s Bureau published a blog highlighting the gender wage gap and features “5 Fast Facts” to help educate readers about equal pay in the United States.

Read the DOL blog [ [link removed] ]

Reminder: Federal Employees - Register for the Upcoming WRP Webinar

The Workforce Recruitment Program (WRP) is hosting a spring webinar for federal employees interested in learning more about accessing and searching the WRP database to find summer interns and recent graduates to hire. This database supports diverse recruiting efforts by providing a talent pool of more than 2,300 college students, graduate students and recent graduates with disabilities who are seeking federal internships or permanent jobs and are eligible for the Schedule A hiring authority, which is an expedited hiring process.

All federal employees can access the database anytime through the WRP website [ [link removed] ] and can also register for a WRP federal webinar [ [link removed] ] on Wednesday, March 22 at 1 PM ET.

Federal Employees: Register for the webinar [ [link removed] ]

Mental Health Matters National Online Dialogue Series

Now through April 3, the U.S. Department of Labor is hosting a series of four national online dialogues to gather public input on how public policy can more effectively support workers’ mental health. Insight gleaned from the dialogues will help inform discussion at the next meeting of the Mental Health Matters: National Task Force on Workforce Mental Health Policy being convened by ODEP’s State Exchange on Employment and Disability [ [link removed] ] initiative April 29 – 30. The dialogues [ [link removed] ] are the latest in a series of such crowdsourcing events managed by the department’s ePolicyWorks initiative.

Read the DOL news release [ [link removed] ]

U.S. Department of Labor Office of Disability Employment Policy
DRIVING CHANGE • CREATING OPPORTUNITY

View this newsletter on our website [ [link removed] ].

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If this issue is important to you, use the link below to find your legislators and contact them.  

View as a webpage [ [link removed] ] 

A SPECIAL NEWSLETTER AIMED TOWARD
"AXING YOUR TAXES" IN KANSAS

SHOW YOUR SUPPORT. TAKE ACTION.

Call your legislator today and urge them to pass Governor Kelly's "Axing Your Taxes" three-part plan. Passing this legislation would save Kansans more than $500 million over the next three years. Let them know how this would impact you and your family directly. It's time to push this bill over the finish line once and for all.

Find your legislator here [ [link removed]? ]

In Case You Missed It (ICYMI)

Let’s tackle food insecurity together [ [link removed] ]
Paige Olson, Iola Register
March 3, 2023

KEY QUOTE: “With just a month left in this year’s legislative session, Kansans must join together and fight for tax policies that would benefit all of us. Fortunately, there are plenty of bills to fight for.”
• Sales tax relief helps every single Kansan, but it will particularly help those in need the most, like those in poverty or facing food insecurity.
• By the end of June 2024 we’ll have a projected $3.2 billion in surplus cash in our state’s treasury.
• With that good news comes a lot of ideas on how to spend it. And the phrase that is first to come up in those discussions? Tax cuts.
• Even bills that have already been signed into law to help all Kansans, like last year’s “Axe the Food Tax,” are under attack this year, with threats to repeal them in favor of a more burdensome sales tax policy.
• The legislature must do what is right and come together in support of a tax plan that will put money back in our pockets, address food insecurity, and ease the financial burden that so many families are facing.

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Kansas Association of the Deaf is hosting this Town Hall as posted on their Facebook:
Town Hall hosted by KAD on Severe Weather Warning Systems in Johnson County - May 3, 2023 [ [link removed] ]

Hopefully, this link does work as distributed through this new email subscription service. PDF copy is also attached on this email in case if the link does not work. Thank you.
-KCDHH
• Weather-KAD Town Hall May 3 2023.pdf

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Join Us!
Fair Housing Compliance Trainings

April is Fair Housing Month!

This year, KHRC will be hosting two FREE virtual Fair Housing Trainings presented by Gary Kirkman, Director of Compliance Training for U.S. Housing Consultants.

Fair Housing Basics
Compliance Training (Protected Classes and Prohibited Acts):

April 5 | 10:00 a.m.

Overview of the seven federally protected classes and the prohibited acts.
REGISTER NOW [ [link removed] ]

 

Fair Housing Basics
Compliance Training (Tenant Selection Plan and Marketing):

April 11 | 2:00 p.m.

Overview of fair housing as it pertains to tenant selection and marketing.

REGISTER NOW [ [link removed] ]

*Attendees will be able to register up until 24 hours prior to the training event.

Questions? Contact [email protected].

Wondering how else you can promote Fair Housing Month? Start by downloading a fair housing virtual background, compatible with Teams and Zoom, from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)'s website [ [link removed] ].

Stay tuned for more ideas about how to promote Fair Housing this April!

Kansas Housing Resources Corporation
611 S Kansas Ave., Suite 300 | Topeka, KS 66603


* disabl 2022 Labor Force Characteristics.pdf [ [link removed] ]
* Weather-KAD Town Hall May 3 2023.pdf [ [link removed] ]

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