Author: Vergean, Bethanne

The World mourns the passing of Judy Heumann

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The World mourns the passing of Judy Heumann, Disability Rights Activists

Judith “Judy” Heumann—widely regarded as “the mother” of the disability rights movement—passed away in Washington, D.C. on the afternoon of March 4, 2023. Judy was at the forefront of major disability rights demonstrations, helped spearhead the passage of disability rights legislation, founded national and international disability advocacy organizations, held senior federal government positions, co-authored her memoir, Being Heumann, and its Young Adult version, Rolling Warrior, and was featured in the Oscar-nominated documentary film, Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution.

National Early Childhood Intervention Personnel Development Equity Center Awarded to UConn

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‘At UConn inclusion and belonging is woven into everything we do’

UConn School of Medicine’s Mary Beth Bruder, Ph.D. has been awarded a $10 million federal grant by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education, to provide technical assistance to increase equity in the delivery of early childhood intervention services to infants and young children from diverse backgrounds who have disabilities or developmental delays.

The new Early Childhood Intervention Personnel Development Equity Center is national in scope, and will be working with state systems of early childhood intervention, and institutions of higher education (IHE) who prepare the workforce to provide these services.

$10 Million for National Early Childhood Intervention Personnel Development Equity Center Awarded to UConn

 

Disability Rights Connecticut: Free Education Rights Clinic

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Disability Rights Connecticut is pleased to announce our Education Rights Clinic. The clinic will be open to students and families of students with disabilities, including students with special education needs or students who have or may need 504 plans.

Clinic appointments will provide an opportunity for callers to talk with advocates, law students, and attorneys. In a one-hour virtual meeting, clinic attendees will receive counsel and advice and short-term service related to their child’s special education needs free of charge.

To learn more Link 

Building a Great Life – Voting Rights

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This session will focus on voting rights for people with disabilities.

Speakers: Gretchen Knauff & Chris Blake

Gretchen Knauff is the Director of the Office of Services for Persons with Disabilities for the City of New Haven and is the CT Coordinator of REV UP: Register, Educate, Vote, Use Your Power! She has extensive experience and knowledge regarding voting rights for persons with disabilities.

Chris Blake is an advocate on disability rights issues in the state, and is very active in Wallingford town politics, where he lives.

If you require a sign language interpreter or other accommodations, please contact Molly Cole at molly@ctsilc.org by August 1, 2022.

A Zoom link will be sent to you upon registration.

Sponsored by: The University of Connecticut Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities and the CT Council on Developmental Disabilities

To register

SAVE THE DATE 2022 Candidates’ Forum on Disability Issues

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A non-partisan forum with candidates (or their surrogates) running for Governor, Lt. Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of the State, and United States Congress. Candidates will answer questions from Diane Smith on disability topics that include employment, transportation, housing, health care and other related issues.

Wednesday, October 12, 2022
In Person or on Zoom
3:00-7:00 PM
Reception from 7:00-8:00 PM

 

Mental Health: The Work of the Children’s Mental Health Champions

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Supporting Mental Health in Childhood | CDC

Supporting the mental health needs of children starts early in childhood and can have lifelong impacts on overall health and wellbeing. Learn what CDC’s Children’s Mental Health Connecticut Champion is doing to create partnerships, identify concerns, intervene early, and promote children’s mental health by working with prevention programs in different settings.

 

New IEP/CT-SEDS

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The Connecticut State Department of Education, Bureau of Special Education (BSE), is planning to implement a new Individualized Education Program (IEP) document and the Special Education Data System (CT-SEDS) in the 2022-23 school year.   This webpage will provide up-to-date information, documents and tools to assist in the roll-out of the new IEP.