This is a very interesting article posted on the National Low Income Housing Coalition website about the history of The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and other Acts that have been passed since to help people with disabilities. It's interesting to read about the different revisions that have been made over the years.

40 Years Ago: The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 Passed

The Rehabilitation Act, introduced as H.R. 8070 by Representative John Brandemas (D-IN) and S. 1875 by Senator Randolph Jennings (D-WV), was signed by President Richard Nixon on September 26, 1973. The Rehabilitation Act provides protections and services for people with disabilities.

The Rehabilitation Act extended civil rights to people with disabilities through its Section 504:

no otherwise qualified individual with a disability in the U.S. shall solely by reason of her or his disability be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subject to discrimination under any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.

Section 504 applies to all federal agencies, federally funded projects, schools from kindergarten through the 12thgrade, state colleges, universities, and vocational training programs.

The Act established the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) within the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (later the Department of Health and Human Services). Today, the Department of Education administers the Act. RSA oversees the Title I formula grant program that provides funds to state vocational rehabilitation agencies that in turn provide employment-related services to individuals with physical and mental disabilities

The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 attempted to address some of the societal barriers encountered by people with disabilities. For example, people with disabilities were often isolated from society by placement in institutions. People with disabilities contended with limited access to buildings and facilities due to physical barriers. In addition, schools were allowed to refuse to enroll disabled students who local administrators deemed uneducable, or disabled students were segregated within the education system, ostensibly to receive individualized attention.

Principal sections of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 include:

• Section 501focuses on the federal government's hiring practices.
• Section 502created the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (ATBCB) to enforce standards set by the Architectural Barriers Act of 1968.
• Section 503 prohibits discrimination in employment on the basis of physical or mental disability by businesses with federal contracts or their subcontractors.
• Section 504prohibits discrimination on the basis of physical or mental disability in programs receiving federal funds. This section also established the Client Assistance Demonstration Projects (CAPs) to inform and advise people with disabilities about all available benefits under theRehabilitation Act. Amendments in 1984 extended CAPs to each state. This section also established, by statute, the Rehabilitation Services Administration.
• Section 508addresses issues related to access to communication and computer technology.

The Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1978 provided:

• Title VII comprehensive services for independent living, such as information and referral, counseling, job placement, health, education, recreation, and social services.
• Centers for Independent Living, which are community-based, cross-disability, non-residential, private nonprofit agencies designed and operated by people with disabilities providing an array of independent living services.
• Independent Living Services for Older Blind Individuals.
• Protection and Advocacy of Individual Rights, a system in each state designed to protect the legal and human rights of individuals with disabilities.
• Vocation rehabilitation service grants to Native American tribes.

The Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1986 defined and established supportive employment as an acceptable goal. Supportive employment is competitive employment in an integrated setting, or employment in integrated work settings in which individuals are working toward competitive employment with ongoing support services for those with the most significant disabilities. The amendment provided grants for special projects and demonstrations in supportive employment, established a program to assist state agencies to develop and implement supportive employment services, and added rehabilitation engineering as a vocational rehabilitation service.

The Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1992 emphasized employment as the primary goal of rehabilitation. The amendment assumed that applicants were employable unless proven otherwise. The amendment also ensured that individuals must be provided choice and control in establishing their vocational rehabilitation goals and objectives.

Source: http://nlihc.org/article/40-years-ago-rehabilitation-act-1973-passed

An inspirational article on LifeNews.com written by Sarah Zagorski about a man who proved doctors wrong. His self-determination led him to achieve things others thought impossible!

She Was Told Her Son Would Be a Vegetable, Now Hes Graduating From College

By: Sarah Zagorski

In 1975, Frankie MacQueen was born withcerebral palsy. Cerebral palsy is a neurological disorder that causes impairment of motor function due to brain injury or abnormal development of the brain. Most cases of cerebral palsy are diagnosed before the age of one; andonly two percent of all cases are believed to be due to a genetic cause.

When Frankie was a baby, his mother, Neila MacQueen was told her son wouldnt live past the age of ten and that he wouldnt amount to anything. She was toldhe wouldjust be a vegetable. However, at the age of 39, Frankie is graduating from Cape Breton University with a Bachelors of Arts andCommunity Studies degree. During his high school and college career, hes only been able to use one finger to type; but that hasnt stopped him from reaching his goals. And even though its taken his eight years to get his degree, his mother couldnt be happier.

Neilatold the Cape Breton Post, I never thought I would see this day. I didnt even think Frankie would go to school or be in a regular class, and university was totally out of the question. He went ahead and accomplished all of this really and I followed him. It was his decision; his choice, whatever, and I just followed him. Its a pleasure for Frankie to be my son.

His tutor, Shirley Gardiner, also commented on his success and said his biggest asset is his ability to remember things.She said, Thats probably one of the reasons why Frankie has been able to succeed as well, and of course, the technology thats available today, to be able to use a laptop and computer on his own.

When Frankie graduated high school he received a standing ovation, but he doesnt want any kind of special treatment when he receives his bachelors degree. He said, I dont like being the center of attention because I get nervous.

Now, Frankie wants to continue moving forward and receive a diploma in Information Technology from theNSCC Marconi Campus. His goal is to open his own business so that he can help people with disabilities. He said, I want to teach others with disabilities about technology. Frankie wants people with disabilities to know that they too can have a life.

Source:http://www.lifenews.com/2014/10/24/she-was-told-her-son-would-be-a-vegetable-now-hes-graduating-from-college/

An article inDisability Scoopwritten by Shaun Heasley about how Supplemental Security will go up beginning December 31st.

Connect|Share|Learn|http://sdnetworkwi.org/

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The Self-Determination Network has many different ways to get involved. Check out ourConnect and Sharepage to learn about the ways you can take advantage of this website. We have developed a simpleAdvertising Policyfor those of you who may be interested in promoting relevant products/services on this website. We encourage you to take a look at both pages and get involved on this network!

It Only Takes "Five"

Take five minutes to check out what's happening on the SD Network:

• Learn: This blog post has some great tips on how to be a good self-advocate. What other tips can you think of?

• Read: Read this great article about disability awareness. Mike makes several great points about disability perceptions.

• Check out the results: An interesting report done on the best and worst cities for people with disabilities. Find out how two major cities in Wisconsin rank.

• Stay Tuned: This article explains how more and more TV shows are including characters with disabilities. Find out which shows!

• Share:Share your story about self-determination. Have you advocated for yourself or others to gain independence? Have you defied odds or proven naysayers wrong? Our stories provide opportunities to inspire and learn from each other. Share your story with us.

• Be Inspired: Read this inspiring article about a Rhode Island couple who, thanks to integrated supports, are living the American dream.

• Call to Action: Across the Lifespan Bringing the Best Together is seeking exhibitors for this years conference. Find out how to register today! The deadline is November 3^rd.

• Watch: Watch this video done by the Disability Vote Coalition of Wisconsin about the different voting resources and accommodations for people with disabilities.

• Early Bird Special: Take advantage of the early bird registration special for the Wisconsin Transition Conference. Early bird registration endsDecember 12th!

• Post news or start a discussion: It's easy to do and a great way to share information and network with others!

We are in the process of reevaluating and possibly revamping how Coffee Breaks are done. Were hoping to start them up again soon. If you have thoughts or ideas regarding Coffee Breaks, please contactStacy Ellingen. We certainly welcome any input.

New Members

Stop by to welcomeournewest members

Do you know someone who should join the Self-Determination Network? Spread the word and invite friends, families and other interested folks! Click hereto send an invite.

Upcoming Events

Here's a sample ofupcoming eventslisted on the Self-Determination Network:

• Think College Wisconsin: Expanding College Opportunities for Students with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities: October 17^th,8:30am to 4pm, Cardinal Stretch University, Milwaukee WI

• Wisconsin Self-Determination Conference: November 10^thto 12^th, Kalahari Resort, Wisconsin Dells WI

• Across The Lifespan: Bringing the Best Together: November 13^thto 14^th, Glacier Canyon Lodge and Convention Center, Wisconsin Dells WI

• Wisconsin Transition Conference: November 18^th-20^th, Kalahari Resort and Convention Center, Wisconsin Dells WI

• The Survival Coalition Disability Advocacy Day: March 17^th, Monona Terrace and Convention Center, Madison WI

Post your eventon the Self-Determination Network and it can be included in future Network News emails to members! Questions? Suggestions? Contact Stacy Ellingen aticwstacy@gmail.com.

The Self-Determination Network is powered by In Control Wisconsin and supported financially by ourmembersandSponsors. We couldn't keep this Network going with you! Find out how you can help support the Network.

Registration is now open for the 12th AnnualWisconsin Transition Pre-Conference and Conferencewhich will be held onFebruary 18-20, 2015at the Kalahari Resort and Convention Center in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin!

An inspiring article inThe New York Timeswritten by Dan Berry about a couple who met in a sheltered workshop and fell in love. Now, they are married, and, because of more integrated supports in Rhode Island, they're working in the community.

A Couple Gaining Independence, and Finding a Bond

By Dan Berry

EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. A Sunday wedding that was months away, then weeks away, then days away, is now hours away, and there is so much still to do. The bride is panicking, and the groom is trying to calm her between anxious puffs of his cigarette.

Peter and Lori are on their own.

With time running out, they visit a salon to have Loris reddish-brown hair coiled into ringlets. They pay $184 for a two-tier cake at Stop & Shop, where the checkout clerk in Lane 1 wishes them good luck. They buy 30 helium balloons, only to have Peter realize in the Party City parking lot that the bouncing bobble will never squeeze into his car.

Lori, who is feeling the time pressure, insists that she can hold the balloons out the passenger-side window. A

doubtful Peter reluctantly gives in.

Ive got them, she says. Dont worry.

Peter Maxmean, 35, and Lori Sousa, 48, met five years ago at a sheltered workshop in North Providence, where people with intellectual disabilities performed repetitive jobs for little pay, in isolation. But whena federal investigation turned that workshopupside downlast year, among those tumbling into the daylight were two people who had fallen in love within its cinder block walls.

Working with the Department of Justices civil rights division, the State of Rhode Island agreed to help the workshops clients find employment and day services in the community an agreementfollowed up this yearby a landmark consent decree that requires similar integrated opportunities for 2,000 other clients around the state, completely transforming Rhode Islands sheltered-workshop system.

The decree has put the 49 other states on notice that change is coming: that in the eyes of the federal government, sheltered workshops can no longer be default employment services for people with disabilities most of whom can, with support, thrive in the workplace.

Mr. Maxmean and Ms. Sousa are among dozens of Rhode Island residents who are seeking their place beyond the safe but stultifying island of a sheltered workshop. At the moment, though, these two are pulling away from Party City with wedding balloons bobbing out their car window.

The first balloon slips Ms. Sousas grasp as soon as Mr. Maxmean begins to drive. Then another escapes, and another, and another, floating beyond reach. By the time they pull up to their subsidized apartment building, a deflated Lori is clutching just six balloons.

That was a bad idea I had, Mr. Maxmean gently tells her, even as he quietly calculates the loss of 24 helium balloons at 90 cents apiece.

But the two have no time to fret over lost balloons. Invitations went out

weeks ago for the wedding of Lori Sousa and Peter Maxmean at the Harbor View Manor, East Providence, Rhode Island, at 5 p.m. on Sunday, the 17th of August.

Today.

Thats My Soul Mate

With an hour to go, Ms. Sousa fusses into the white gown purchased for a good price at Gown Town in Warwick. But her white high heels, bought for $15.99, already hurt; she wonders about wearing socks.

Soon she is sitting with eyes closed on the couch in the couples one-bedroom apartment, two Special Olympics medals displayed on the wall behind her, as a family friend with a cosmetics bag enhances and conceals.

Youre looking gorgeous, the friend coos, as cellphones ring, people shout and Buddy the cat hides. But in this moment, Ms. Sousa seems to have achieved inner calm.

My day, she says to herself.

Four floors below, Mr. Maxmean is setting up in the community room, where the wedding and reception are to be held. With his sleeveless T-shirt revealing the Lori tattoo on his left biceps, he is a wedding-day whirligig, pushing aside the bingo machine, testing the half-frozen lasagna in the oven, unboxing the tilted wedding cake and, most important, double-checking the D.J.s playlist. It is vital that when Ms. Sousa makes her entrance, a particular song by Journey is playing: Dont Stop Believing.

Ms. Sousa remembers when this new guy at the workshop, tall, brown-haired and with glasses, joined the repackaging of remote-control devices for a contract with Cox Communications. She was removing the batteries, he was testing the remotes, and something just clicked.

I said, Im gonna marry that guy, she says. Thats my soul mate.

Ms. Sousa was a workshop veteran by then. Born in Portugal and raised in Providence, she had spent the 25 years after high school commuting to the Training Thru Placement workshop, a squat, ugly building hidden away in a residential neighborhood.

She and the other clients would work at their own pace to fulfill various contracts: packaging heating pads; recycling television remotes; jarring Italian specialty foods. The pay averaged about $1.57 an hour.

Federal law allows authorized agencies to pay subminimum wages to people with disabilities, based on their performance when compared with that of a nondisabled worker. But the Department of Labor later

revoked the workshops authorization after finding what it called willful violations of the law, including the failure to record and pay employees for all the hours they worked.

Also problematic was the general absence of encouragement to improve ones skills; to see oneself moving up, and on.

Id be, like, I want to go out, Ms. Sousa says. I want to be trained for a job. Put me out there! I can do it!

At one point the workshop did help her find a job at an Italian restaurant in Cranston. But she clashed with co-workers, stopped going to work and back she went to that hidden-away building, packing, wrapping, answering the telephone.

Then Mr. Maxmean appeared one day, and he was different. For one thing, he listened to her.

Mr. Maxmean was raised from the age of 3 by a nurse at the Rhode Island Veterans Home who fostered several children. Although he attended a special needs school in Bristol, his true education came from the many trips and cruises taken with his foster mother. He has been to every state but Hawaii, which remains in his sights.

But Mr. Maxmean had what he calls behavioral problems, among other issues. After spending time in and out

of various hospitals and institutions, he wound up in a heavily supervised group home in Smithfield, where a van took him every morning to the workshop, and to Ms. Sousa.

Shes beautiful, shes smart, Mr. Maxmean says. Of all the women that I used to date, which were not getting into, I finally found the right one.

A Bit of Panic

An anxious Mr. Maxmean is talking to the silvery door of a rising elevator. Open up, open up, open up, he says, sounding very much like a man getting married in a half-hour.

The door finally obeys. He sprints toward the apartment he moved into four years ago, only to stop short when his cellphone rings. The guest who has the soda for the reception is lost in Providence, and she is shouting, Oh, my God! over and over.

Its O.K., its O.K., he says, pacing now. Youre gonna go under the bridge and take a left ...

Mr. Maxmean resumes his run to the small apartment, chaotic with children, relatives and a bride-to-be still being powdered and beautified.

She looks different, a young nephew says.

Wheres your veil? someone asks.

Here you go, Mr. Maxmean says, veil in hand.

Dressed in a white tuxedo with a royal blue vest, Mr. Maxmean does a quick dance in his rented white shoes before hurrying to the bathroom to shave. By now, the family friend is packing up her cosmetics.

Does she look beautiful or what? she says. Im going downstairs to have a smoke.

But Ms. Sousas gauzy white veil cannot mask her look of panic. Sit down for a minute, honey, Mr. Maxmean says. Sit down.

Ms. Sousa regains her composure and rises to leave, but those shoes are just killing her. Then someone points out that the wedding is already 15 minutes behind schedule.

Mr. Maxmean just shrugs, and says something about life not always being on time.

Disruption, Then Placement

One morning early last year, as Ms. Sousa sat at Training Thru Placements reception desk, armed federal law enforcement agents came through the front door. A Justice Department investigation into civil rights abuses was underway.

Everything changed. Some staff members disappeared, the piecework ended, and a nonprofit organization calledFedcapwas hired to help find rewarding employment outside the building for as many of the 88 clients as possible.

But many parents pushed back. They argued that the workshops established routine had provided their children with a safe place to be, among friends.How will you protect my son from being bullied again? How will you make sure that my daughter isnt ridiculed again?

The abrupt redirection infuriated a mother named Lori DiDonato. After many disappointments, she and her husband had finally found a place that their young adult son, Louis, enjoyed, and now some outsiders were taking that place apart. Her central question: Who the hell are you?

But Christine McMahon, Fedcaps president, challenged Ms. DiDonato with a question: How would she feel if she did the same job, with the same people, at the same place, for the same inadequate pay and with no advancement, for her entire career?

In that moment, Ms. DiDonato says, she began to understand the governments motivation. But when Ms. McMahon promised to find Mr. DiDonato a rewarding job in six months, she says, I laughed in her face.

Within six months, Louis DiDonato III, 23, was putting on a tie and driving himself to his clerical job, recalls Ms. DiDonato. And I became a believer.

Mr. DiDonato was among the rock stars, as Serena Powell, the senior vice president for Fedcaps New England offices, puts it: the first 20 or so clients who easily found enjoyable, fulfilling jobs. The next 20 also did well, she says, although they needed more hand-holding. Finding jobs for the rest will be challenging but doable, she says.

Mr. Maxmean, who is considered a rock star, quickly got a $15-an-hour custodial job at the state psychiatric hospital in Cranston. Although he has had some difficulty adapting to the requirements of a full-time job, he is a hard, focused worker. Kellie Capobianco, the hospitals acting administrator of environmental care, has not forgotten the day she saw her new employee cleaningunderthe loading dock.

Hes doing well, Ms. Capobianco says.

Mr. Maxmean initially took a 10-mile bus ride to his job, adding hours to his workday and uncertainty to his weekends, when buses run sporadically. On some weekends, though, Jim Manni, a Training Thru Placement job coach, would drive 25 miles, on his own time, to deliver Mr. Maxmean to work, all the while imparting advice about expectations beyond the workshop.

Youve worked too hard to get where you are. ... One of the things that is NOT a disability is laziness. ...Winners never quit and youre becoming a winner.

Then Mr. Maxmean passed his drivers test. He put $800 down and drove off in a $5,000 Sonata with nine years and 156,000 miles on it. The thought of shopping for food without having to lug bags onto a bus was so exciting that when he and Ms. Sousa loaded groceries into the car trunk for the first time, they took photographs.

Now, if he has the gas money, Mr. Maxmean drives anywhere he wants: to his job, to the store, to the grave of his foster mother, who died two years ago. If I had met you a couple of years ago and you said, Someday youll have a car, Id say you were nuts, he says. Its a blessing.

Mr. Maxmean often drove Ms. Sousa to her $8-an-hour job at the Hampton Inn in Warwick, which followed a brief employment at a Panera Bread. But she struggled with the expectation of cleaning a room in less than 30 minutes. After skipping two successive Sunday shifts, she was told not to come back.

This isnt unexpected, Ms. Powell says. Some people just take longer to find their niche.

Ms. Sousa is back in the job market, looking for something in food services. But right now her most pressing appointment is with a justice of the peace.

Getting It Together

Mr. Maxmean suddenly realizes that the marriage license is in his car and his car keys are in the apartment he has just left. Back up, back down and out the door he goes, a white-tuxedoed blur.

With the wedding nearly a half-hour late, and the hum of anticipation emanating from the common room, Mr. Maxmean presents the license to Dennis Revens, the black-robed justice of the peace, who says: My fee. I need that. The payment before we start.

Before you start, Mr. Maxmean repeats.

Sure, Mr. Revens says. Otherwise, things get busy.

At this moment, Mr. Maxmean does not have that $200. Even though he has greatly modified his once-grand wedding plans, canceling the church-hall rental and the catered meal, he is still learning to budget. The wedding dress, the tuxedo rental, the cake and the shoes, among other expenses, have left him short.

Ive spent everything else on the wedding, he mutters, while a few neighbors in the lobby sit, listen and watch.

Mr. Maxmean asks a friend to check a white gift box, on prominent display in the reception hall, but theres no cash in it yet. So a couple of relatives cover the $200, including Mr. Maxmeans birth mother, who tells him not to forget that he owes her $95.

The justice of the peace counts out the $20 bills like a winner at the track. Its all there.

Ladies and gentlemen, intones the disc jockey, and guests rise to their feet in a room normally reserved for card games and bingo nights. Here are relatives, and co-workers, and people from the workshop, including Mr. Maxmeans job coach, a smiling Mr. Manni.

Mr. Maxmean walks slowly down the white-paper runner he unrolled hours earlier. He hits his mark and turns to see Ms. Sousa, resplendent in white and smiling through the pain of those shoes.

Later, Mr. Maxmean will hear the $200 justice of the peace flub the vows by referring to Lori as Lisa. Later, he will call in an order for four pizzas to supplement the lasagna. Later, he and his bride will retire to their honeymoon suite upstairs.

But right now, the eyes of the man in the white tuxedo are wet, as the makeshift reception hall fills with a stringed version of that song by Journey.

Source:http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/05/us/a-couple-gaining-independence-and-finding-a-bond.html?_r=0

An article inDisability Scoopby Shaun Heasley talks about how more network TV shows are including characters with disabilities. It's interesting that Fox has seven characters with disabilities appearing in shows.

TV Networks Featuring More Characters With Disabilities

By Shaun Heasley

The number of characters with disabilities appearing on broadcast television is on the rise, according to a new analysis.

Eleven characters with disabilities are expected to be featured regularly on scripted prime-time programs on ABC, CBS, The CW, Fox and NBC this season, up from eight last year.

The findings come from areportreleased Wednesday on diversity in television thats conducted annually by GLAAD, a media advocacy organization for the gay and lesbian community. The review looks at the number of characters representing various minority groups including people with disabilities during the 2014-2015 television season, which just began.

For the first time, the analysis indicates that every broadcast network will feature at least one character with a disability regularly this year. Fox leads the pack with seven characters across its lineup.

Nonetheless, disability representation remains relatively small, accounting for just 1.4 percent of the 813 regular characters expected to appear on network prime-time programs, the analysis found.

Were basically seeing more appearances of series regulars and recurring roles with disabilities, but still very few actual performers with disabilities in those roles, which reduces the accuracy and authenticity of the characters and the stories, said Anita Hollander, chair of SAG-AFTRAs National Performers with Disabilities Committee, in the report. Were seeing a trend of many more people and performers with disabilities in reality TV and commercials/advertising than we are seeing reflected on scripted shows.

For the report, characters were considered to have a disability if they would be covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Characters with disabilities are expected to appear on Fox in Red Band Society, Empire and Glee as well as ABCs Greys Anatomy, CBSs CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, NBCs Parenthood and The Flash on The CW.

Source: http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2014/10/02/tv-characters-disabilities/19726/