News
WISCONSIN DISABILITY VOTE COALITION: We Need to Hear from You: Take the Voter Experience Survey
By SD Network, 2023-04-11
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The League of Women Voters of Wisconsin and partners are conducting a survey to learn about voters' experience during the April 4th election. Please take the survey! |
| It will help the League and the Disability Vote Coalition learn about your voting experience, any challenges you had, and what worked well. Your input will help us to make Wisconsin elections accessible! |
- Link to the survey: https://my.lwv.org/wisconsin/article/april-2023-voter-experience-survey
WISCONSIN DISABILITY VOTE COALITION: Celebrate Municipal Clerks Week: Nominate a Great Clerk
By SD Network, 2023-04-11
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The 54th Annual Municipal Clerks Week is April 30th – May 6th 2023. Join the Disability Vote Coalition to recognize the important work of Wisconsin Municipal Clerks in administering our elections. |
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Municipal clerks are in charge of elections for your city, town, or village. Clerks handle voter registrations and absentee ballots. They have an important role in making voting accessible and welcoming. |
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We invite you to submit a nomination to recognize the work of your Municipal Clerk. Your nomination can highlight best practices, such as supporting the use of accessible voting machines, curbside voting, or assistance with absentee voting and early voting. You can look up your Clerk’s name and contact information here on My Vote Wisconsin: https://myvote.wi.gov/en-us/My-Municipal-Clerk |
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Nominate a clerk today! Nominations will be shared with clerks and posted on our website! Submit your nomination as soon as possible so we can recognize your clerk. |
| Complete this form to nominate your clerk: |
WISCNEWS: Why some Wisconsin residents with mental disabilities lose voting rights — and how they can restore them
By SD Network, 2023-04-11
Thousands of people in Wisconsin have been labeled " adjudicated incompetent" to vote under state laws. In Wisconsin, a court may determine someone is incompetent to vote. However, the state lacks a defined system to track people who receive this label.
U.S. ACCESS BOARD: Administration for Community Living Issues Grant Opportunity on Universal Access to Information and Communication Technology
By SD Network, 2023-04-11
Administration for Community Living (ACL) has published a grants notice to fund a Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center (RERC) that addresses the universal accessibility and usability of information and communication technology (ICT) for people with disabilities. The purpose of this RERC is to conduct research and development that ensure accessibility standards are met or exceeded for ICT, promote availability and usability of individualized ICT configurations for people with disabilities, and identify barriers to sustainable innovations that provide universal access to ICT. The grant will have a 60-month project period, requiring five 12-month budget periods.
Grant applications are due June 05, 2023 via electronic submission. Eligible applicants, details about the grant, and other information can be found on Grants.gov.
The RERC program is part of ACL's National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR), the federal government’s primary disability research organization. NIDILRR’s mission is to generate new knowledge and to promote its effective use to improve the abilities of individuals with disabilities to perform activities of their choice in the community, and to expand society’s capacity to provide full opportunities and accommodations for its citizens with disabilities.
In support of this mission, NIDILRR sponsors RERCs to address the barriers confronted by people with disabilities and improve the effectiveness of services authorized under the Rehabilitation Act. RERCs also demonstrate and evaluate technologies, facilitate service delivery system changes, stimulate the production and distribution of new technologies and equipment in the private sector, and provide training opportunities.
What's your story? Tell us a little bit about yourself.
Emily turned 30 years old on St. Patrick's Day. She has a boyfriend named Mitchell, and they have been dating for eight years. “We like to sing karaoke, go to parties and dances, and bowl together,” she says. She lives in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin now, but she’s from Illinois. She sings in a choir and also does lots of activities with Champions of Fond du Lac which is a group for people with disabilities. She enjoys taking an online cooking class every week and she also bowls.
What does Self-Determination mean to you? Why is it important?
Emily explains that she likes to make her own decisions and vote. She wants to spend time with people she likes, and she wants to work to make money. “I want to do things for myself like shopping, deciding what I want to eat and where I want to live, and planning my activities,” she says. Her iPad is important to her, so she can do online classes, Facebook, and Facetime with her friends.
Tell us some good news - what's the most exciting thing happening for you (or in Wisconsin) in terms of self-determination?
Emily tells us that at a recent People First meeting they talked about voting rights. She was happy to learn that she can get help filling out her ballot.
What tip or resource would you like to share with people who want to be more self-determined?
Emily encourages people not to be afraid to say what you want and to ask for help. Try new things and be safe online. She encourages people to join People First and go to state meetings like the Self-Determination Conference.
What are some of your hobbies?
Emily is looking forward to getting outside more when the weather is nice. She loves to bowl and play bocce. She also likes to do chores around the house like laundry, take out the trash, get the mail, keep her room clean. she likes to travel. She tells us that they are going to Arizona in a few weeks, and in July, they are taking a train across the country to San Francisco.
***We love hearing the views and opinions of Network members. We need to mention that the views and opinions expressed on this site are those of the person who is sharing them. They do not necessarily reflect InControl Wisconsin or any of our supporters and funders.
NEXT AVENUE: Could Professionalizing the Caregiving Workforce Have Impact?
By SD Network, 2023-04-02
The caregiver shortage has only gotten worse. The problem will only worsen if the jobs don't improve, advocates say. The solution? Better pay, more training and options for career advancement. Since immigrants make up a large portion of the direct-care workforce, immigration policy also needs to be addressed, some say.
THE GUARDIAN: ‘An inherent indignity’: the fight to get workers with disability a living wage
By SD Network, 2023-04-02
Advocates are highlighting a system of state tax credits across the US that allow employers to pay employees as low as $3 an hour. Disability advocates have made progress in recent years. Thirteen states have passed laws banning the subminimum wage exemptions for people with disabilities.
THE GUARDIAN: Wisconsin’s disabled voters face barriers amid ‘massive confusion’
By SD Network, 2023-03-29
Going into the April 4th supreme court election, Wisconsin voters are still confused about ballot assistance and ballot return assistance. This is due to the February 2022 ruling that said voters must return their own ballot, making no exception for people with disabilities. A federal judge did later clarify that voters with disabilities can have assistance returning their ballot, but many people are still confused. People are being told wrong information by municipal clerks and poll workers. All of this is leading to mass confusion for the April election.