IN THIS ISSUE:
- How WISE are you about the Ticket to Work program?
- DADS wants you to help plan 2010 waiver conference.
- Here’s your chance to advise HHSC through important advisory councils.
- Give voice to disability concerns for affordable housing and community development.
- Texas welcomes 3 new independent living centers.
How WISE are you about the Ticket to Work program?
The Social Security Administration (SSA) is partnering with community organizations throughout the nation to put on free Work Incentive Seminar Events (WISE). WISE is a chance for people with disabilities and interested others to find out about the services, supports and work incentives available through the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act (TWWIIA).
TWWIIA’s main goal is to help people who get Social Security disability benefits to get and keep jobs. The Ticket to Work program aims to help people be more self-sufficient and independent—and less reliant on disability benefits.
There are 9 WISE gatherings planned throughout Texas between Oct. 14 and Nov. 12. The details, including how to register and contact information for each event, are on the Ticket to Work 
website. (Note: You need to select your state and the event you are interested in to get the full details.)
What’s on your mind?
DADS wants you to help plan 2010 waiver conference.
The Department of Aging and Disability Services (DADS) is planning for next year’s 1915(c) Waiver Conference and wants to know what you want to know! The agency has posted an online survey to give you a chance to say what conference topics would be most useful. Important: The survey ends Oct. 12.
Send e-mail to Mary Valente for more information.
Here’s your chance to advise HHSC through important advisory councils.
The Health and Human Services Commission is seeking members for 3 of its advisory councils. After weeks of taking nominations, the application periods for all of them come to a close soon. The councils and deadlines are listed below. Go to the HHSC home page to get more detail about each council, as well as contact information and links to applications to download.
Council on Children and Families
Deadline: Oct. 15
Helps improve coordination of state services for children. Applications are being accepted from parents of children who have received services from HHSC and young adults or adolescents who have received services from HHSC. (Note: Public members may be reimbursed for travel costs.)
Task Force for Children with Special Needs
Deadline: Oct. 15
Works to improve the coordination, quality and efficiency of services for children with special needs. Applications are being accepted from parents and consumer advocates for children with chronic illness, intellectual or other developmental disability or serious mental illness. (Note: Public members may be reimbursed for travel costs.)
Home and Community-Based Services Workforce Advisory Council
Deadline: Oct. 22
Identifies, studies and reports on direct care workforce issues, including wages and benefits, turnover, recruitment, training and skill development, and retention of personal attendants. Travel expense reimbursement. (Note: HHSC can’t pay any expenses for members of this council.)
Give voice to disability concerns for affordable housing and community development.
You have until Oct. 26 to offer comments to the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) on a variety of housing issues that are important to people with disabilities. The campaign for public comment started in mid-September. All the documents, public hearing schedules, contact information and more are available on the TDHCA home page . For more information, send e-mail to Elizabeth Yevich.
Texas welcomes 3 new independent living centers.
With contracts in place since Sept. 1, it’s just a matter of time before 3 new Texas impendent living centers are open for business. As you probably know, ILCs offer a range of services to help people with disabilities live as independently as possible in the community. Services include skills training, peer counseling, information and referral, and individual and systems advocacy.
- The 3 new centers and counties served are:
- REACH—Collin County
- Mounting Horizons, Inc.—Galveston County
- Lifetime Independence for Everyone, Inc. (LIFE)—Tom Green County
A list of all Texas centers for independent living, including contact information, is on the DARS website .
About the Disability Policy Consortium
The DPC is made up of a diverse assortment of disability advocacy groups that have joined forces to advance the rights, inclusion and independence of Texans with disabilities. Each member organization contributes its unique perspective and resources to the collective effort to promote effective public policy for a variety of issues important to people with disabilities and their families.
Let your friends know about the Texas Action Center:
Tell-a-friend!
