On Monday, the Kansas Senate Ways & Means Committee conducted a hearing on a new electronic verification system implemented by the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services. The program, described as being “fraught with administrative errors and false starts”, was intended to track the working hours of those providing in-home services to the disabled and frail elderly. On Tuesday Deputy Attorney General Loren Snell, who appeared before the House Social Services Budget Committee, expressed doubt that the new system will do much to deter fraud. Organizations like the SKIL Resource Center serve as fiscal agents and provide payroll services for Personal Care Attendants. According to CEO of the Parsons-based organization Shari Coatney, the incidence of fraud is less than 1 percent.

New Resource for People with a disability

ABOUT US:

Our Mission – We Connect Now is dedicated to uniting people interested in rights and issues affecting people with disabilities, with particular emphasis on college students and access to higher education and employment issues.

One of the goals of this site is to help college students with disabilities to succeed in their studies by getting the information and support they need, both through resources, links, blogs latest news, studying existing laws and regulation and through personal contacts. Through this website people can also share and read other people’s stories as a source of support and comfort. We also want people using our web page to take action by writing blogs, hosting an event or becoming involved in politics by knowing about upcoming legislation.  Also, every month our web page will focus on a particular disability or condition to bring our visitors more information and support related to our focus of the month. Through our jobssection, we also hope to help empower people with disabilities find employment through job posting and job searching tips, and  if people have any questions we encourage them to contact us. The goal of this site is that people leave it having gained knowledge, a support system and having taken action. We were founded in 2008 as a blueprint project for Young People For. Web site link is  http://weconnectnow.wordpress.com/

Job Accommodation Network, called JAN for short, is a free service of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy.

As the name indicates, they specialize in providing information about all aspects of job accommodations. They also provide information on the employment provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act, or ADA for short, and self-employment for people with disabilities. All of the information and services they provide are available free of charge.

LAUGH WORKOUT (Jogging on the Inside)

On New Year’s Eve, A man drank too much at a party. As he was getting into a taxi at 3 a.m., the driver asked, "Where are you going?"

He said, "To a lecture."

The cab driver asked, "Who in their right mind would give a lecture at this hour on New Year's Eve?"

He replied, "My wife will."

Linda Diediker invites everyone to learn more about the illness and get the support you need to be a survivor. Monthly meetings are the Last Tuesday of each month. Meetings are in the Parsons SKIL office Conference room at 2:00 p.m..

And the advocacy group meets the following  the next day every last Wednesday of the month at 11:00. Lunch is provided at the advocacy meeting.

Embed Embed this video on your site Richard Raygor works as a systems consultant. In a previous discussion Bill Cochran and Richard discussed "Time-Banking". This is a process that allows people to be involved in an economy which is not driven by money but by the exchange of hours of labor.

Richard expanded on the idea, " You do an hour of work for me at something you are good at and I will provide an hour of work for you at something I am good at."

The question for this discussion is "why". Why would people see this a viable economic option.    

Application deadline extended to February 10, 2012 

The Kansas Youth Empowerment Academy (KYEA) is announcing that the delegate application deadline for the 2012 Kansas Youth Leadership Forum has been extended to February 10, 2012.  This extension is being made in order to provide more youth the opportunity to apply due to a late start with recruitment efforts this year.  So, do you know of a high school junior or senior with a disability who has leadership potential or interest?  Then they still have time to apply for this year's KSYLF!

The 2012 Kansas Youth Leadership Forum (KSYLF) for Students with Disabilities will be held June 18 - 23, 2012 at Washburn University in Topeka. The KSYLF is an annual conference that is heading into its twelfth year serving students with disabilities across the state. During the forum, delegates enjoy a week full of learning, fun, friends, and, most of all, a new sense of empowerment! They participate in a variety of sessions and activities, including large sessions with community speakers, small breakout sessions with their peers, as well as activities like a trip to the Capitol, mentor luncheon, recreation session, real life fair, barbecue, talent show, and a dance!

Contestants and Nominations Still Needed for 2012 Event

The Ms. Wheelchair Kansas Steering Committee has made the announcement that we will be extending our contestant application deadline to FEBRUARY 10, 2012. We have made this extension in an effort to generate more contestants for our 2012 event.

Ms. Wheelchair Kansas is continuing to search for women of achievement, who are wheelchair mobile, to serve as contestants in the Eighth Annual Ms. Wheelchair Kansas event. Contestants can be nominated by a person or group or can choose to participate in the program. Organizations and companies are being encouraged to nominate women who are passionate, dynamic, articulate, and who have a message to share throughout the state.