19th Annual Conference on Serving Adults with Disabilities 4/28/11

The Capital Region Education Council's Annual Conference on Serving Adults with Disabilities will be held on April 28, 2011 at the Farmington Marriott.

The program is packed with all sorts of excellence on multiple tracks, see below for the brief version.

Find more info at the CREC site or see the conference brochure at

Location: Hartford Marriott Farmington15 Farm Springs Road, Farmington, CT.
Cost: $119.

8:30 - 10:15 a.m. – Welcome and Keynote: Ron Glodoski on "Second Chances: Tips and Techniques for Educating Adults"

2A Triage and Referral: Helping Students and Consumers with Multiple and Urgent Needs, Laura DiGalbo

2B Overview of Tools and Resources Available to Job Seekers with Disabilities and Employers to Create an Inclusive Workforce, Kerri Fradette

2C Returning Soldiers: What is Needed to Get On With Life?, Laurie Harkness + Anne Klee

2D Keeping Up With Your Students: Introduction to Google Applications, Chuck Martucci

2E Preparing Adults for the Global Workplace: The Importance of Attaining Cultural Competence Skills, William Howe + Kim Traverso

2F Teaching All Students to Read: Effective Reading Interventions for Older Students, Melody Wnuk

3A Building Independence in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders, James Loomis

3B STEM (Science Technology Engineering Mathematics) and Disabilities: Breaking Into the 21st Century Workforce, Debra R. Vazquez

3C Technology Evaluation: More Than Assigning Products, Michelle Laramie

3D The Effects of Working Memory on Writing and Reading Disorders in Adults, Nicholas Montano

3E Universal Design for the Web Universe, Diane J. Goldsmith + Kevin Corcoran

3F Identifying Individuals With Learning Disabilities: Impact on the Transition to Adult Accommodations, Patricia Anderson

2/17 ADA Update: Revised Regulations for Disability Accommodations for the Public

* Has your library recently added ebooks, podcasts, or other new electronic resources?
* Are you planning a renovation? Just finished one?
* Working to redesign your library website?
* Is that marmoset really a legally designated service animal?

This one-hour webinar will be of interest to library staff involved with accessibility issues, involved in building renovation projects, or working with special needs library users.

Some of the newly revised American with Disabilities Act (ADA) regulations take effect on March 14, 2011, and more are in the works. Libraries face new challenges and requirements for meeting both the spirit and letter of the law.

At the end of this webinar, attendees will understand the new ADA:

* accommodation requirements for libraries for users with disabilities
* federal regulations that redefine "service animals"
* standards for electronic resources, including websites
* accessible building design
* grievance procedures

An overview of the ADA Best Practices Tool Kit for State and Local Government will also be presented.

Webinar: Thursday, February 17, 2011
Time: 3PM-4PM
Speaker: Mary Minow
Click for the webinar, no preregistration required.

Hartford Public Library presents free 'Best Practices' Workshops for Nonprofits

Three upcoming sessions at the Hartford Public Library. All programs held at the Hartford Public Library, 500 Main Street, Hartford, CT 06103 in the Program room on the 3rd floor.

Affordable Technology Solutions for Nonprofits
Wednesday, February 23, 10:00 am - noon
Presenter: Jana Callahan, ADNET Technologies, LLC.
Nonprofits are forced to do more with less every day. Operational efficiency is not a luxury, but a requirement and technology plays a pivotal role. Learn how technology solutions can be easily managed taking the financial guesswork out of IT and also about best practices and hosted solutions that provide complete control while taking the risks out of your hands.

Building and Sustaining Your Nonprofit
Wednesday, March 9, 9:00 am - noon
Presenter: Martey Rhine, Management Solutions & Resources.
No matter how worthy your mission is to serve others, you will be more successful if you are operating from a solid foundation. If you are a small nonprofit organization and you want to enhance your knowledge of what it takes to build that solid foundation, this workshop is for you. We will cover the basics of building a board, budgeting, operational planning, marketing, and fundraising - all the building blocks your nonprofit organization needs. At the conclusion of this workshop you will have tools, templates, and references for taking the action steps to effectively structure your nonprofit organization and enhance your ability to achieve the mission. This workshop is offered in partnership with the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving.

Cultural competencies for service providers (2 Parts)
Part 1 Wednesday, March 23, 10:00 am - noon
Part 2 Wednesday, March 30, 10:00 am - noon
(Participants must attend both sessions)
Presenter: Dr. William A. Howe, State Title IX Coordinator/Civil Rights Compliance/Multicultural Education, CT State Department of Education.

In an ever-growing global economy and a vastly increasing diverse population it is imperative that nonprofit service personnel maintain high quality knowledge, skills and dispositions in cultural competence. This workshop will focus on theoretical and practical applications required for personnel who work with people from a variety of diversities, including, but not limited to - race, ethnicity, social class, language, gender, sexual orientation, and abilities. This workshop is offered in partnership with the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving.

NEH Digital Humanities Start-Up Grants

The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is accepting applications to their Digital Humanities Start-Up Grants program.

This program is designed to encourage innovations in the digital humanities. By awarding relatively small grants to support the planning stages, NEH aims to encourage the development of innovative projects that promise to benefit the humanities.

Due date is February 23, 2011.

ACRL/NEC professional development scholarships

The Association of College and Research Libraries New England Chapter (ACRL/NEC) offers professional development scholarships and an award for New England library science students and recent graduates, library staff and librarians.

• ACRL National Conference Scholarship to enable a member of ACRL/NEC who has never attended an ACRL National Conference to attend the 2011 ACRL National Conference in Philadelphia, PA. Up to $1,000 registration/travel stipend to attend the ACRL National Conference and complimentary registration/travel stipend to attend the ACRL/NEC Annual Conference. Deadline: January 31, 2011

• Best Paper Award for an ACRL/NEC member with the best scholarly library/information science paper. $250/year and complimentary registration/travel stipend to attend the ACRL/NEC Annual Conference. Deadline: February 14, 2011

• Continuing Education Scholarship to enable a member of ACRL/NEC to pursue continuing education or professional development opportunities related to librarianship. Up to $500/year and complimentary registration/travel stipend to attend the ACRL/NEC Annual Conference. Deadline: February 14, 2011

• ACRL/NEC Annual Conference Scholarships for Librarians and Library Staff to enable up to 6 librarians or library staff who have never attended the Chapter’s Annual Conference to attend it. Covers registration/travel stipend to attend the ACRL/NEC Annual Conference. Deadline: February 14, 2011

• ACRL/NEC Annual Conference Scholarships for Library School Students to enable up to 6 library school students, or December 2010/January 2011 library school graduates, to attend the ACRL/NEC Annual Conference. Covers registration/travel stipend to the ACRL/NEC Annual Conference. Deadline: February 14, 2011

For Q’s & more info email scholarships@acrlnec.org.

3 USCIS grants

The federal U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services agency (USCIS) is making availalbe three competitive grant funding opportunities designed to help prepare lawful permanent residents (LPRs) for citizenship and promote immigrant integration in the United States.

USCIS will offer approximately $8.5 million for citizenship preparation programs in communities across the country. Applications are due by April 1, 2011. For a more detailed listing of the grants, go to http://tinyurl.com/ybac9jv.

For information and updates on the Fiscal Year (FY) 2011 Citizenship and Integration Grant Program, visit www.uscis.gov/grants or contact the USCIS Office of Citizenship by phone at 202-272-1280 or by e-mail at citizenshipgrantprogram@dhs.gov.

Further, the Office of Citizenship and Office of Public Engagement invite any interested individuals to participate in a meeting on Thursday, February 3, 2011 from 1:00 to 3:00pm (EST) regarding the FY 2011 Citizenship and Integration Grant Program. The purpose of this meeting is to collect questions and make clarifications, where possible, regarding the grant program application requirements and application process.

To Participate in this session -

Individuals may participate in this session by phone or in person. If you plan to participate, please email the Office of Public Engagement no later than Wednesday, February 2, 2011. Emails can be sent to public.engagement@dhs.gov. Please reference the following in the subject line of your email:

* If you plan to attend in person, please reference "Grants – In Person"

* If you plan to attend by phone, please reference "Grants -Phone"

Please also include your full name and the organization you represent in the body of the email.

Applications are due by April 1, 2011. USCIS strongly encourages applicants to visit the website well in advance of the deadline in order to obtain registration information needed to complete the application process.

Global Health & Innovation Conference, Yale University

Presented by Unite For Sight, the 8th AnnualGlobal Health & Innovation conference will be held at Yale University in New Haven from Saturday, April 16 to Sunday, April 17, 2011.

Conference registration is now open.

Unite For Sight’s conference convenes leaders, changemakers, and participants from all fields of global health, international development, and social entrepreneurship; 2,200 people from all 50 states and from 50 countries.

The conference features 'social innovation' sessions by leaders of Ashoka, Acumen Fund, Endeavor, City Light Capital, IDEO, Water.org, Save The Children, and others.

Some of the blah blah: "Collaborate on designs and strategies to identify global problems, engage in social entrepreneurship, and create effective solutions. Network with leading innovators, organizations, companies, universities, and other change-makers."