Juntos Center for Advancing Latina Health is working with Dr. Perales at KU Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center on the implementation of an National Institute on Health (NIH)-funded behavioral intervention to support caregivers of Latino individuals with dementia and would like to explore ways to increase our reach within the state. The flyer of the study is attached below. 

The intervention is six months long and available in English and Spanish. Caregiver participants receive automated educational and motivational text messages and get access to a trained coach to help them with specific resources (e.g., making a medical appointment, enrolling in a meal program).

Our pilot study demonstrated very positive efficacy results: decreased depression and stress and increased knowledge and sense of competence, and strong acceptability: participants expressed high satisfaction with the program and felt accompanied during the program. We are hoping the current study will confirm the pilot results and demonstrate it can be implemented at a larger scale.

We are recruiting 100 caregivers of Latino individuals with dementia anywhere in the U.S. and are at 40% enrollment. I would appreciate exploring ways to partner with KCDC inform its network about the study. Also, if there is anything that JUNTOS can do for KCDC, please let me know.

Thanks for your consideration,

Mariana Ramírez, LCSW (she, her, hers) | Director
JUNTOS Center for Advancing Latino Health
Department of Population Health | University of Kansas Medical Center
p 913-945-7872 f 913-945-7852
4125 Rainbow Blvd. Mail Stop 1076 Kansas City, KS 66160
[email protected]
http://juntosks.org/

I was requested to share this information by Joe Scarlett. 

Transformation to Competitive Integrated Employment Act

Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) allows employers to apply for special certificates from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to pay individuals with disabilities less than the federal minimum wage. There is no minimum floor for the hourly wage that an employer can pay an individual with a disability under 14(c) certificates. The average wage paid is generally unknown, but according to a 2020 U.S. Commission on Civil Rights report, between 2017 and 2018, the average wage of a person with a disability working under a 14(c) certificate was $3.34 per hour. An estimated 141,081 people were paid under 14(c) certificates in 2018 according to the National Council on Disability.

Fully integrating workers with disabilities into the general workforce will support the core goals of the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Paying workers with disabilities the full federal minimum wage supports the core goals of the ADA: Equal opportunity, full participation, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency. When individuals with disabilities transition to competitive employment, they are better able to achieve financial independence and are more likely to spend time engaging in their community.

States and cities have already demonstrated the value of phasing out the subminimum wage for workers with disabilities. Alaska, Maine, Maryland, New Hampshire, Oregon, Washington, Hawaii, Colorado, California, Delaware, Tennessee, South Carolina and Rhode Island have eliminated the use of 14(c) by statute. Additionally, Minnesota passed a budget bill calling for a plan to phase out 14(c). Texas and Illinois have eliminated the use of 14(c) employment in state contracts. Moreover, Alabama, the District of Columbia, Vermont, and Wyoming have no active or pending 14(c) certificates. Several major cities, including Seattle, Reno, Chicago, and Denver have stopped allowing the use of 14(c) certificates.

All people deserve the right to earn the minimum wage. Individuals with disabilities can currently be paid a subminimum wage based solely on their disability status. Every working person should be paid the full federal minimum wage. In 2020, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights called for the phase out of 14(c), finding that it has “limited people with disabilities participating in the program from realizing their full potential while allowing providers and associated businesses to profit from their labor.”

Transformation to Competitive Integrated Employment Act phases out the payment of subminimum wages under Section 14(c) of the FLSA over a five-year period. This legislation provides States, service providers, subminimum wage certificate holders, and other agencies with the resources they need to create competitive integrated employment service delivery models and the inclusive wraparound services that some individuals with disabilities will need when subminimum wages phase out. This legislation will align the treatment of workers with disabilities with existing federal policies.

To reach the goal of improving and expanding the service delivery system to support individuals with disabilities in work settings, this legislation will:
• Create a competitive state grant program to assist states to transition all 14(c) certificate holders to models that support competitive, integrated employment for individuals with disabilities and to ensure the availability of wraparound services needed to support individuals as they move into competitive integrated employment. States will be able to apply for these transformation grants and must establish an advisory committee that includes key stakeholders (including employers, organizations specializing in employment for individuals with disabilities, Medicaid agencies, AbilityOne contractors, individuals with disabilities and their families, and vocational rehabilitation agencies. States that successfully complete a grant will be eligible to receive a 25 percent increase in the allotment for supported employment for individuals with the most significant disabilities.

• Create a competitive grant program for current 14(c) certificate holders, which are located in states that do not apply for the state grant, to transition their business models to support individuals with disabilities in competitive, integrated employment.

• Immediately freeze the issuance of any new 14(c) certificates by the DOL and phase out the use of existing 14(c) certificates over 5 years until employees are paid at least the federal minimum wage.

• Establish a technical assistance (TA) center to support all entities, even those not receiving the transformation grants, to transition to competitive integrated employment. The TA center, which will be funded by DOL, is tasked with disseminating information about best practices, lessons learned, and models for transition to all entities transitioning to competitive, integrated employment.

• Require reporting and evaluation on the progress of creating and expanding the service delivery structure to support workers with disabilities in competitive integrated settings and the inclusive wraparound services they receive when not working. States and 14(c) certificate holders will also be required to report on their grant activities, evaluate changes in employment for individuals with disabilities, report average wage information, and evaluate employer actions taken to comply with the phase out of 14(c) and transformation grants.

• Authorize $300 million to provide grants to states and individual 14(c) certificate holders and to provide for a Technical Assistance Center to assist in the transition.

• Provide for a 25 percent increase in the supported employment budget for states that successfully complete a grant, which will improve the available infrastructure for employment of people with disabilities in competitive integrated employment in these states.

Those interested in joining APSE and/or becoming a Certified Employment Supports Professional (CESP) go to APSE.org.

Registration is officially OPEN!!!
We are happy to announce 2023 Mid-West Ability Summit registration is OPEN!!

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)

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

We are looking for a another great year!!

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

Registration

Copyright (C) 2023 Mid-West Ability Summit. All rights reserved.
You are receiving this email because you have been an exhibitor or sponsor or could be an exhibitor or sponsor for the Mid-West Ability Summit.

Our mailing address is:
Mid-West Ability Summit
PO Box 8826
KC, MO 64114

Mission of Mercy (KMOM) 2023 Topeka

Free Dental Services March 24-25 

Stormont-Vail Events Center, 1 ExpoCentre Drive, Topeka

Please see attached flyer for more information. 

Job Vacancy Announcements

Oracle has posted new job vacancy announcements on their website. Please feel free to share. 

Joe Scarlett requested I forward this information from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). 

EEOC SUES INNOVATIVE SERVICES NW FOR DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION

Disability Services Organization Refused to Accommodate Employee with Disability, Federal Agency Charges

VANCOUVER, Wash. — Innovative Services NW (ISNW), a nonprofit providing programs for people with disabilities and others to build self-reliance through educational, therapeutic, and employment services, violated federal law when it refused to accommodate an employee with a degenerative hip impairment and instead fired her, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) alleged in a lawsuit filed today.

According to the EEOC’s suit, Carly Romero had worked as a janitor for ISNW’s Janitorial Services Program in Vancouver, Wash. for seven years, earning praise as a valued employee and strong performer by high level managers. In November 2019, Romero attempted to return to work with a doctor’s release allowing her to resume janitorial activities, except for wearing a backpack vacuum. As a reasonable accommodation, Romero asked to use an upright vacuum instead. The EEOC’s investigation found that even though ISNW had permitted other janitors to use upright vacuums at some customer sites, the company refused Romero’s repeated requests to return to work. Claiming “there would be too much risk to return [Romero] to work without a 100% release,” ISNW placed Romero on unpaid leave, then fired her on January 21, 2020.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits employers from refusing to provide reasonable accommodations to employees or applicants with a disability unless doing so would constitute an undue hardship. After first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process, the EEOC filed its lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington (EEOC v. Innovative Services NW, Civil Number 2:23-CV-00295). The agency seeks back pay, compensatory and punitive damages, and injunctive relief designed to prevent such discrimination in the future.

“Ms. Romero simply asked to return to work using an upright vacuum, equipment already used by other employees. Instead, ISNW chose to fire her,” said Elizabeth Cannon, director of EEOC’s Seattle Field Office. “Under the ADA, an employer cannot deny an employee with a disability the opportunity to work when there is a readily available accommodation that would allow her to perform her job.”

EEOC Trial Attorney Annabel Pollioni said, “Congress passed the ADA to remove barriers that prevent individuals with disabilities from finding and keeping their jobs. Ms. Romero was a loyal and motivated worker who needed a basic accommodation in order to return to work.”

The EEOC’s Seattle Field Office has jurisdiction over Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington.

For more information on disability discrimination, please visit our website. 

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

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

• KMOM March2023.pdf