Florida BLN Steering Committee
CHAIR
Sharlyn Lauby, SPHR
ITM Group, Inc.
VICE CHAIR
Sue Moore
Walt Disney World Co.
PAST CHAIR
Rita Barreto Craig
The Craig Group
VR LIAISON
Eladio Amores
Division of Vocational Rehabilitation
BIG BEND BLN CHAIR
Sarah Butters
Holland & Knight
BREVARD BLN CHAIR
Douglas Barclay
Mercedes Homes, Inc.
BROWARD BLN CHAIR
Steven McCarty
Enterprise Rent-A-Car
FIRST COAST BLN CHAIR
Ira Wittenstein
Merrill
Lynch
MIAMI-DADE BLN CHAIR
Bob Bromberg
Bromberg & Associates
PANHANDLE BLN CO-CHAIRS
Lara Burnside
The Studer Group
Jennifer Grove
Gulf Power
POLK COUNTY BLN CO-CHAIRS
Julie Hansen
Holland & Knight
Vivian Campbell-Williams
Polk Works
NASA
Steve Eisenhardt
Walt Disney World Co.
Christi Sutherland
Walt Disney World Co.
About the Florida BLN
The Florida Business Leadership Network is a peer-to-peer membership group of
employers seeking resources to recruit, hire and market to persons with disabilities.
Members include small and large businesses who recognize that success in the 21st
century hinges on a diverse workforce that includes employees with disabilities.
To suggest an article or upcoming event to be included in this newsletter, e-mail
the editor at kristen@abletrust.org.
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Message from the Chair
This
month's issue of Connections provides another array of information and resources about how to improve your disability hiring activities. Read
more about several upcoming events, including local chapter meetings, a regional conference on emergency preparedness for people with disabilities or
the Florida BLN's EmployAbility
Symposium. If you can't attend an event in person, you can read more about accommodating employees with brain injuries, take part
in JAN's web-based training or take advantage of the resources we've shared with you this month, including the Workforce Recruitment Program and
disabilty employment training videos that are now available.
This month's issue also gives you an opportunity to give back by supporting The Able Trust's Florida Youth Leadership Forum. The event provides leadership and career development
training to high school students with disabilities, and your support can help make the event a success!
In the meantime, please remember to check the website regularly for all your disability employment-related tips, as
well as updates on state and local chapter activities, at www.floridabln.org/.
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Help Support
Young Adults with Disabilities -
Donations Needed for The Able Trust's Youth Leadership
Forum
The Able Trust would like to
invite your organization to support the Florida Youth Leadership Forun (YLF) for high school students with disabilities. This year's YLF will take
place July 20-23, 2006, in Tallahassee. The Forum will bring over 100 students and adults with disabilities together from across the state to discuss
career options, academic and community resources, and personal leadership development.
The Able Trust is putting together goody bags for the
delegates and volunteers and would like to invite your company to donate 100 items to be included in these bags. The students truly appreciate any
type of fun trinket. Items that generates excitement last year included water bottles, koozies, sunscreen, single-use cameras, pens/pencils and
notepads.
All supporters will recieve a recognition in YLF student and
volunteer promotional materials, as well as on-site during forum activities. Donating is an easy way to promote your company while assiting the YLF
and supporting the development of tomorrow's future leaders with disabilities.
Job Accommodations for People with Brain Injuries
Injuries to the brain can result in a diversity of affects.
These can range from mild to severe damage in functional areas of the brain including communication, memory, concentration,
reasoning, and motor functions. The type of injury and its affects determine what types of accommodations work best for individuals. As
with every disability, the employee should be involved in deciding which accommodations will be most
helpful. Brain injuries that result in decreased concentration and memory can lead
to difficulty organizing, problem solving and working for long periods of time. Useful accommodations for concentration include reducing
clutter and increasing lighting. Breaking larger tasks into smaller steps with checklists, to-do lists and reminder emails are also
effective. Color coding, written as well as verbal instructions, and goal setting help employees with memory impairment stay organized and manage
stress effectively. Open communication with management, weekly meetings and mentoring are great accommodations for employees will all types of
disabilities so employers should consider this in their disability employment
strategies.
Be sure to evaluate the effectiveness of these and all accommodations on a regular
basis with the employee. For more information on accommodations for employees with brain injuries or other types of disablities visit floridabln.org.
Database of College and University Job Candidates
The Workforce Recruitment Program (WRP) is a joint initiative between the Department of Defense and the US Department of Labor.
Every year, the WRP releases its database of college students seeking summer jobs and internships. The database consists of profiles of 1,900 prescreened and qualified
college students and recent graduates with disabilities. These profiles represent students from over 45 states and territories ranging in disciplines
from computer science and business, to communications, engineering, office administration. While the program is designed for federal jobs, private and
state and local governments have access to this pool of screened job candidates by contacting the Employer Assistance & Recruiting Network (EARN) at
1-866-327-6669 or earn@earnworks.com. Visit their website at http://www.earnworks.com.
Employment Training Video Now Available
Open Futures: Employees with Disabilities profiles several people with significant
disabilities in key jobs in a variety of sectors. Diversity World describes it as a short (9 minute), fast-paced and compelling portrayal of the
competency of employees with disabilities in today's workplaces. Target audiences include Human Resources Managers, Diversity Managers or Employment
Specialists. For more information, visit http://www.diversityshop.com/.
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Florida BLN EmployAbility Symposium
The Able Trust will host the first Florida BLN EmployAbility Symposium on Friday, August 18, 2006, in Tampa. Human resource
and diversity managers, as well as service providers for persons with disabilities are encouraged to attend. In addition to employer and service
provider tracks with top notch speakers, the Symposium will feature The Able Trust's 10th annual Ability Awards luncheon. The Ability
Awards recognizes employers, service providers, media professionals, entrepreneurs and young adults with disabilities who have promoted employment
opportunities for Floridians with disabilities. To nominate someone for the Ability Awards, email Kristen@abletrust.org.
The
symposium will feature presentations by representatives from Walt Disney World Co., SunTrust Bank, and Hyatt Corporation who will
share strategies about the success their companies have found in hiring people with disabilities. Workshop topics will adress
marketing to consumers with disabilities, successful accommodation strategies, tax incentives, and other topics. Service providers in attendance will
find out more about funding opportunities, workforce safefy and employer relations. Thanks to the support of HR Florida, the event has been
submitted for approval of recertification credits for PHR and SPHR through the Human Resource Certificate Institute.
Registration information for the symposium is now available on the Florida BLN website at http://www.abletrust.org/bln/bln_events.shtml. For more information on
the Able Trust Ability Awards or to recieve a nomination form, email Kristen@abletrust.org.
BLN Chapter News
Broward BLN Kickoff Event
The Broward BLN will host a Kickoff Breakfast on Tuesday, June 13,
2006 from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. at Nova Southeastern University's Alvin Sherman Library Research Information Technology Center. The Broward
BLN will provide employers with information on networking with companies and connections to community resources available to help with recruiting
and hiring people with disabilities. For more information, contact Delores Gilmore at dgilmore@wf1broward.com.
Miami Dade BLN Chapter Meeting
The next meeting of the Miami Dade BLN is scheduled for Tuesday, June 13,
2006. The meeting is sponsored by Holland and Knight LLP and will be held at the Holland and Knight office at 701 Brickell Avenue,
Suite 3000, from 8:30 to 10:00am. For more information contact Debbie Courtney by email debbiec@wilres.com .
Orange County BLN Chapter Meeting
The first meeting of the Orange County BLN will be held at Disney on Friday, June 16, 2006 from 8:30 to 10:00 am.
For more information on this meeting, email Leslie Wilson at lesliew@wilres.com.
Polk County BLN Chapter Meeting
The next meeting of the Polk County BLN will be held on June 21, 2006 at 8:30
a.m. It will be hosted by Michael Holley Chevrolet. For more information contact Debbie Courtney by email: debbiec@wilres.com.
First Coast BLN Chapter Meeting
The next meeting of the First Coast BLN is scheduled for June 23, 2006 from 8:30am to 10:00am. The
meeting is hosted by the Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce. The purpose of the meeting is to organize the First Coast BLN Kick-off. For more
information please contact Debbie Courtney by email at debbiec@wilres.com.
Upcoming Events
Regional
Conference Addresses Emergency Preparedness for People with Disabilities
The Florida Disability Task
Force is sponsoring a regional conference in Pensacola, Florida, on June 6, 2006 for people with disabilities, agencies,
employers and others to inform and create awareness on how to respond in the event of an emergency. The conference will be held at the Pensacola
Civic Center from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Session topics will include:
"All Hazards Overview," "Personal and Public Health Preparedness" "Hospital Response," Pre-Hospital/EMS," "Transportation
Disadvantaged" and other topics. A luncheon will include speakers.
The registration fee is
$25; some scholarships are available. To register and for more information, please contact: NW Big Bend Health Council, Panama City (850) 319-7757;
healthcouncil@nwbbhc.org.
Accommodation and Compliance Audio/Web Training Series
The Job Accomodation Network (JAN) has created an Accommodation and Compliance Audio/Web Training Series. This series
provides a convenient opportunity for professionals to discover ways to enhance an organization's ability to accommodate and employ people with
disabilities.
Currently scheduled events include:
For more information on the Accommodation and Compliance Audio/Web Training Series, visit training@jan.wvu.edu or call 800-526-7234 (V/TTY).
J.A.N. Conference 2006
Register today for the Job Accommodation Network's September 18 -19, 2006 conference at Hilton Boston Logan Airport. The
conference provides information for employers on how to build an inclusive workforce. It provides employwers a chance to acquire knowledge and skills
to accommodate employees with disabilities, comply with the ADA, and develop innovative employment practices.
USBLN Conference Scheduled for October
The Minnesota Business Leadership Network has been selected by the USBLN to host the
2006 USBLN annual conference. The conference will be held October 4-6, 2006 at the Minneapolis Marriott City Center in Minneapolis.
Information is available at the USBLN's website at http://www.usbln.com/.
Get Recognized
Nominations Open for the 2006 New Freedom Initiative Award
Established in 2002 by
Secretary of Labor, this award recognizes businesses, organizations and individuals who have demonstrated exemplary and innovative efforts in
furthering the employment of people with disabilities. The nomination period closes May 31, 2006. To make a nomination, or for more information,
visit http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/odep/odep20060330.htm
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