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] ]

This information was shared by Michael McNulty, Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE).?

Dear Colleagues and Stakeholders,

The next public meeting of the National Advisory Committee on Individuals with Disabilities and Disasters (NACIDD) will take place Thursday, April 20, 2023 (11:00am to 1:30pm ET). Advanced registration is required. To register for the meeting and for additional information, visit the NACIDD webpage. [ [link removed] ] We encourage you to share this engagement opportunity broadly across your network in advance of the meeting. American Sign Language translation and Communication Access Real-Time Translation will be provided.

Join NACIDD members to discuss, finalize, and vote on an initial set of recommendations to the HHS Secretary and ASPR regarding challenges, opportunities, and priorities for national public health and medical preparedness, response, and recovery, specific to the needs people with disabilities in disasters. Members of the public and expert stakeholders are invited to virtually participate in the meeting as observers. An agenda and other relevant meeting materials will be posted on the NACIDD public webpage at least 10 days in advance of the meeting. For additional details and meeting agenda topics, please see the NACIDD public meeting page [ [link removed] ].

In addition to the option to observe the meeting online, anyone may submit questions or comments to the board members ahead of the meeting. If time allows, the floor will open to hear as many relevant comments as possible. Requests to speak to the NACIDD during the public meeting must be sent to [email protected] by close of business on April 13, 2023. Please provide the full name of the speaker, organization, and a full explanation of the intended topic. Presentations that contain material with a commercial bias, advertising, marketing, or solicitations will not be allowed. Meeting materials will be made available to the public on the NACIDD public meeting page [ [link removed] ]. For additional information or questions about this event, please contact [email protected].

Regards,
Office of External Affairs
Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

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This information is from the Disability Employment Technical Assistance (TA) Center which is a cooperative collaboration between the Administration on Disabilities (AoD) and the Administration for Community Living (ACL)

View this email in your browser [ [link removed] ]

Utilizing Creative Strategies to Increase Employment for Hispanics with Disabilities in Texas

Good morning colleagues,

The AoD Disability Employment TA Center's National Community of Practice (CoP) webinar, "Utilizing Creative Strategies to Increase Employment for Hispanics with Disabilities in Texas [ [link removed] ]", will be hosted Tuesday, April 11 2023, from 3:00-4:00 P.M. Eastern Time.

Come join the DETAC as we showcase a local-level collaboration between Vocational Rehabilitation, a Center for Independent Living , and a Disability Chamber of Commerce in the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) region of Texas. They collaborate to increase competitive, integrated employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities. The region they serve has some of the poorest cities in the nation with a large Hispanic population. In response to this challenge, the partners work together to adopt innovative strategies to transition people with disabilities out of poverty as a central component of the partnership. The panel will highlight how they leverage each other?s resources that results in successful employment outcomes. We will also explore how these strategies include effective relationships with employers and how they work to support job seekers with disabilities in connecting to employment.

Presenters:

Vanessa Vera
Texas Workforce Commission: Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Services

Evelyin Cano
Disability Chamber of Commerce RGV

Lidia Fonseca
Valley Association for Independent Living

Registration is required. Please register for this webinar here [ [link removed] ].

We look forward to your participation!

Register for the Webinar [ [link removed] ]

An accessible PDF file is attached below.?

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This is a reminder of the upcoming Kansas Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (KCDHH) meeting on Friday, April 14, 2023 from 10 am to 2 pm via Zoom. Please RSVP to Robert Cooper <[email protected]>, so you will receive the Zoom meeting invite. Thank you.

This information is also posted on KCDHH website [ [link removed] ] as well as Kansas Public Square [ [link removed] ].

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Weatherization Assistance Program to transition service providers in eight Kansas counties

Kansas Housing Resources Corporation (KHRC) [ [link removed] ] is in the process of selecting a new weatherization service provider for the eight-county area that has been served by Community Action, Inc. (CAI) since the late 1970s. KHRC currently administers the federally funded Weatherization Assistance Program [ [link removed] ][email protected] through partnerships with four subrecipient agencies across the state. These agencies provide weatherization services including free comprehensive home energy audits, repairs, and upgrades to income-eligible Kansas households.

Beginning March 31, 2023, Community Action, Inc. will no longer provide weatherization services to the following counties: Atchison, Brown, Doniphan, Jackson, Jefferson, Nemaha, Leavenworth, and Shawnee. KHRC is in the process of identifying a new service provider for these counties.

During the transition period, residents of the affected counties seeking weatherization assistance should contact KHRC directly. Applications received from Kansans in CAI?s current service area will be kept on file in the interim and transferred to the new service provider to review and process. Previous applicants awaiting review in these counties will receive further guidance directly from CAI.

Weatherization services for qualified households provide energy-conservation upgrades that can lower home utility bills by improving heating and cooling efficiency. These may include:

? Sealing drafts and air leaks, caulking doors and windows, weather stripping
? Testing, cleaning, and repairing heating and cooling systems and water heaters
? Adding insulation to ceilings, walls, floors, and foundations
? Lighting, refrigerator, and fan upgrades

KHRC thanks CAI for their decades long partnership and looks forward to continued collaboration on other housing and community initiatives.

For further inquiries about the Weatherization Assistance Program, please email Tyler Wilson at [email protected] or call 785-217-2001.

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Kansas Housing Resources Corporation (KHRC) [ [link removed] ] is a self-supporting, nonprofit, public corporation committed to helping Kansans access the safe, affordable housing they need and the dignity they deserve.

Visit our Weatherization Assistance page [ [link removed] ] for a detailed map of regional providers.

For further inquiries about the Weatherization Assistance Program, please email Tyler Wilson at [email protected] or call 785-217-2001.

Kansas Housing Resources Corporation
611 S Kansas Ave., Suite 300 | Topeka, KS 66603
[email protected]

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Registration is open
2023 Midwest Ability Summit [link removed]

Date: Saturday, August 19, 2023
Time: 10:00-4:00
Where: Overland Park Convention Center

Cost:
Non-profits $100
Businesses $350
Artists with Disabilities $25 (space is limited)

Sponsorship opportunities (see below)

Please add our email address to your contact to avoid emails going into spam. [email protected]

Important deadlines:
June 2, 2023 - Sponsors at Silver level or higher must have completed their online registration (payment is not required by this deadline) by to have your company logo on the event flyer/poster. Sponsors can sign up after this date, but will not be guaranteed inclusion on the flyer/poster for the event.

June 16, 2023 -Sponsors at Silver level or higher who would like to present CEUs, must notify the organizer by date. Time slots are limited and on a first come first serve basis.

**Remember, payment is not due when you sign up so don?t delay!

We are looking to another great year!!

Please let me know if you have any questions!
Erin Brown
913-909-8092
[email protected]

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The Intrust Bank job vacancy listing is attached below for your use. Please feel free to share.?

Blue Cross/Blue Shield posted new job vacancies on their website [ [link removed] ].?

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Joe Scarlett requested I share this information.?

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 20, 2023

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) SCORES SUMMARY JUDGMENT WIN AGAINST UPS IN DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION CASE
Court Agrees With EEOC That UPS Failed to Accommodate and Terminated Employee With Diabetes, Violating Federal Law

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. ? A federal judge has ruled as a matter of law that United Parcel Service, ?Inc. (UPS) violated federal law by failing to accommodate and then firing an employee because of his disability, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced today.

According to the EEOC?s suit, an employee who suffers from diabetes asked a UPS human resources supervisor at a Jacksonville warehouse location for the accommodation of an occasional short break to check his blood sugar and eat or drink something if necessary. The human resources supervisor referred to the employee with a disability as a ?liability,? claiming that he could not do his job because of his diabetes. After the employee?s second shift ended, the UPS human resources supervisor left the employee a voicemail message advising him it was his last day of work.

Failing to provide a reasonable accommodation to a disabled employee and terminating an employee because of his disability violate the Americans with Disability Act (ADA). The EEOC filed suit (EEOC v. United Parcel Service, Inc., Case No. 3:21-cv-00656-BJD-JRK) in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida after exhausting its conciliation efforts to reach a voluntary pre-litigation settlement.

The federal judge ruled in EEOC?s favor that UPS failed to accommodate the employee?s disability, noting that it was undisputed that the UPS human resources supervisor and the employee?s full-time supervisor viewed the employee?s request for accommodations as a problem. ?Instead of working with [the employee] or trying to accommodate him, UPS classified him as a liability, berated him, and remarked that [the employee] placed himself and UPS?s equipment in danger,? the judge said.

In addition, the judge found that UPS terminated the employee in violation of the ADA, explaining that the UPS supervisor?s remarks about the employee?s disability constituted direct evidence of UPS?s intent to discriminate and ?. . . the only reasonable conclusion a juror could reach is that [the UPS human resources supervisor?s] message notified [the employee] that he was fired from UPS.?

The amount of monetary damages owed to the employee by UPS will be determined in further proceedings.

?The court?s ruling made it clear that UPS?s attempts to circumvent the protections of the ADA will not be tolerated,? said EEOC trial attorney Carmen Manrara Cartaya. ?The EEOC will continue to fight for disabled employees to ensure they get a fair opportunity to work and earn a living.?

Evangeline Hawthorne, the EEOC?s district director in Miami, added, ?Congress passed the ADA to remove barriers that prevent individuals with disabilities from finding and keeping their jobs. This decision should serve as a reminder to employers of the importance of educating supervisors about the protections afforded by the ADA ? and the readiness of the EEOC to enforce that law.?

Robert Weisberg, the EEOC?s regional attorney in Miami, said, ?Over 34 million people in the United States have diabetes. Employers should take note that they are required to provide reasonable accommodations unless doing so would create an undue hardship.?

For more information on disability discrimination, please visit [link removed]. [ [link removed] ]

The EEOC Miami District Office?s jurisdiction includes Florida, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
131 M St. NE, Washington, D.C. 20507
www.eeoc.gov [ [link removed] ] | [email protected]

800-669-4000 | 844-234-5122 (ASL Videophone)

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* 2023_April_11_DETAC_Webinar_flyer.docx_updated.01.pdf [ [link removed] ]
* Job Openings for INTRUST Bank 3.21.2023.pdf [ [link removed] ]

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