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The Florida Grantor, Fall 2003

FGA Update

The Able Trust Seeks Nominations for 2004 Ability Awards
The Able Trust is accepting nominations for the 2004 Ability Awards, which recognize individuals and organizations that have instituted and promoted best practices toward the employment, independence and service to Florida citizens with disabilities. Specifically, they seek to recognize those that have not only met the legal compliances of the ADA, but have demonstrated a clear and conscious effort to be 'disability-friendly'.

Nominations are being accepted for the following awards: Beverly Chapman Award for Outstanding Employment Placement Program, which recognizes a nonprofit organization that has developed an outstanding job placement program for people with disabilities; The Able Trust Award for Outstanding Entrepreneur, which recognizes an individual with a disability who has shown proven advancements in his or her self-owned business; Employer of the Year, which recognizes small, medium and large-sized businesses showing outstanding leadership in the employment of people with disabilities; Media Award, which recognizes an individual or an organization for its innovative promotion of the employment of people with disabilities through the use of print, radio, television or electronic media in Florida; and Youth Leader Award, which recognizes a young adult (age 15-21) with a documented disability who has shown outstanding leadership, community service or advocacy to help advance the efforts or raise positive awareness about Florida's disability community. This person should serve as a model leader for other young adults with disabilities.

Visit The Able Trust website at www.abletrust.org for a nomination packet or call toll-free 888.838.2253. The deadline to submit nominations is 5:00 p.m. on Friday, December 19th, 2003.

Award winners will be recognized at The Able Trust's Ability Awards at the Wyndham Bonaventure Resort in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, on Monday, February 9th, 2004. The event will be held in conjunction with the Emerging Workforce Conference, which takes place from February 8th-10th, 2004.

The Able Trust Awarded Federal Grant for HS/HT
The Able Trust kicked off its celebration of October as National Disability Employment Awareness Month with the award of a federal grant award of $990,000 from the US Department of Labor that will support President George W. Bush's New Freedom Initiative's goal of integrating Americans with disabilities into the workforce.

The Able Trust was awarded the grant from the department's Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP). Funds will be used over a five-year period to expand The Able Trust's Florida High School/High Tech program, which provides training for high school students with disabilities with an interest in careers in science, technology, engineering and math. ODEP awarded forty-two (42) grants totaling approximately $15.3 million.

The Able Trust's Florida High School/High Tech (HS/HT) is a career development program that prepares high school students with disabilities for post-secondary opportunities and careers in technical fields. In Florida, thirteen projects provide over 300 students with disabilities with activities such as field trips, educational workshops on resume building and career exploration, and paid summer internships.

HS/HT is part of a national initiative of the Office of Disability Employment Policy and is conducted in 24 states. Florida is the only program with a statewide sponsor, The Able Trust, which helps provide funding and staff support to the thirteen projects.

Applications for Youth Leadership Forum Available
The Able Trust is currently accepting applications for the Florida Youth Leadership Forum (YLF), a unique leadership program that will take place July 22 - 25, 2004, in Tallahassee. Fifty rising high school juniors and seniors who have disabilities will be selected as delegates for the forum. The YLF, which is co-sponsored by The Able Trust and the Florida Developmental Disabilities Council, is designed to bring together young people with disabilities with leadership potential and help prepare them for the future.

The YLF will include educational programs that cover topics such as the history of the disability movement, personal leadership plans, career opportunities, and academic and community resources. Delegates will learn leadership by example through meetings with disability community leaders, business professionals and government dignitaries. In addition, social and recreational opportunities will enable delegates to network and learn from each other.

Student delegates will reflect a diverse mix of disabilities, gender, geographic location, and ethnicity. Applicants should demonstrate leadership skills, participation in extracurricular activities, community involvement, and academic achievement. Applicants should have the ability to interact effectively with other students, adapt to new surroundings, follow an intense schedule of forum activities, and demonstrate a willingness to participate in small and large group discussions. Selected student delegates must show proof of health insurance (private insurance, KidsCare, Medicaid acceptable).

Delegates will be housed at Southgate, a private dormitory between Florida State University and Florida A & M University. There is no fee for delegates to attend the YLF. The Able Trust will pay all travel and living/meal expenses through corporate sponsorships and donations.

The deadline to submit an application is December 12, 2003. For a copy of the YLF 2004 application, call toll-free 888.838.2253 or visit www.abletrust.org.

New Disability Policy Site on Web
"Disability Policy Resources," is a new disability policy website containing training materials, policy papers and policy briefs prepared by Robert "Bobby" Silverstein. Bobby is the director for The Center for the Study and Advancement of Disability Policy (CSADP) in Washington, DC.

CSADP provides public education, leadership development and training, technical assistance and information dissemination, and conducts action-research and analysis of public policy issues affecting individuals with disabilities and their families.

For more information visit www.disabilitypolicycenter.org

DOE Updates Websites
The US Department of Education has recently updated several program websites aimed at providing support for people with disabilities.

The National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, which provides leadership and support for a comprehensive program of research related to the rehabilitation of individuals with disabilities, has an improved website aimed at improving the lives of people with disabilities from birth through adulthood. Visit it at www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/osers/nidrr/.

The Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation also has a new site at www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/osers/. OSERS provides a wide array of supports to parents, individuals, school districts, and states in three main areas: special education, vocational rehabilitation and research.

Disability Mentoring Day a Success in Florida
On October 15, students with disabilities had the opportunity to explore their career interests through one-on-one mentoring as part of National Disability Mentoring Day.

Across the State of Florida, more than seven hundred students shadowed career professionals at businesses and government agencies that matched their career interests. The job shadowing experience provided students with the opportunity to see the connection between school and work as well as understand the skills necessary for full-time employment in a particular career field.

Fifteen sites partnered with The Able Trust to serve as local coordinators in their area. They included the Center for Independent Living of North Central Florida, Space Coast Center for Independent Living, Palm Bay High School, Center for Independent Living of Broward, Independent Living Resource Center of Northeast Florida, Hillsborough County Technical and Career Education, Goodwill Industries of Southwest Florida, Ability 1st (formerly CIL of North Florida), Madison County Schools, Children's Haven & Adult Community Services, Orange County Schools, Suncoast Center for Independent Living, and Florida School for the Deaf and Blind.

More than three hundred employers participated in Disability Mentoring Day, giving them the opportunity to recruit interns, tap a pool of potential future employees and learn more about the skills people with disabilities have to contribute to the workforce.

Disability Mentoring Day is a national initiative of the American Association of People with Disabilities and the US Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP). It is sponsored in Florida by The Able Trust, Florida's official liaison to ODEP. Additional Florida sponsors included the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, Clear Channel Radio and Merrill Lynch.

For information about participating in Disability Mentoring Day 2004, call 888.838.2253 or email kristen@abletrust.org.