NALSWD Blog

See press release for details:

The Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law and The Abilities Fund are hosting a FREE webinar on strategies and innovative programs that promote asset building and independence for individuals with disabilities. To get more information and register for the event click here.

WEBINAR: Accessible Assets, Part 2
Thursday, February 17, 2011
1:30 PM- 3:00 PM CST
Register Now: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/786745491

People with disabilities have lower employment levels, report lower levels of savings, and are more likely to experience poverty than those without disabilities. The inextricable connection between disability and poverty requires special attention to developing policies and programs to give people the ability to save, acquire assets and permanently escape poverty.

As a follow-up to the first webinar on asset building and the disability community, this FREE webinar will highlight asset building strategies for individuals with disabilities to achieve self-sufficiency and introduce new and innovative asset building programs. Slated to speak are:

• William Gorman, Executive Director, The Statewide Independent Living Council of Illinois (SILC);
• Patti Lind, Executive Director, The Abilities Fund;
• Joyce Armstrong, Project Director, Connect to Work Center, State of Connecticut Bureau of Rehabilitation Services; and
• Joyanne Cobb, Analyst/Project Officer, Office of Project Development and Research, the Social Security Administration.

These experts will assess opportunities and self-sufficiency strategies, and discuss expanding entrepreneurial opportunities and access to capital for people with disabilities through the proposed Connect-Ability program and the Social Security Administration’s Youth Transition Demonstration Projects.

MIUSA 10-Day Summer Exchange Opportunity for Young Adults with Disabilities

Mobility International USA is offering yet another great opportunity for young adults to have an experience abroad. Application materials are available by emailing (ask for the Spain Flyer and Program Application Spain). Applications are open to persons with disabilities, aged 18-25, and living in the NYC area. People from cultural minorities and low-income backgrounds are encouraged to apply!

If you would like to talk to a MIUSA program alumna, feel free to contact Kathryn Carroll at . Or, check out an article on this blog (http://www.nalswd.org/wordpress/2010/08/29/report-on-the-u-s-costa-rica-cross-cultural-disability-rights-leadership-program/) to read a post describing Kathryn’s amazing experience in Costa Rica with MIUSA last summer.

For those in the DC area, American University is hosting a 1-day Continuing Legal Education (CLE) symposium on law students with disabilities on March 1oth.  Registration is $25.  See details below on how to register.

Also, a big thank you to everyone who attended our conference in San Francisco this weekend. It was a fun, whirlwind weekend where lots of new friendships were made, old ones were renewed, and we were all inspired by the wonderful panelists and speakers. For those who could not be with us, we will be posting videos of the panels on the blog shortly. Watch this space…

American University Washington College of Law

Assisting Law Students with Disabilities in the 21^st Century

Presented by the Office of Student Affairs

March 10, 2011

8:00 am – 5:30 pm

American University Washington College of Law, Room 603

4801 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC

Please register by going to www.wcl.american.edu/secle/registration.

Registration is $25 – 6.5 CLE Credits will be applied for as requested

For further information, please contact:  Office of Special Events & Continuing Legal Education,

American University Washington College of Law.

Phone: 202.274.4075; Fax: 202.274.4079; or

If you received accommodations on the LSAT, please take the following brief survey by Professor Carrie Griffin Basas who’s trying to help improve the process.

Survey Description

Prof. Carrie Griffin Basas of the University of North Carolina School of Law is conducting a brief online survey of LSAT (Law School Admissions Test) test-takers with disabilities who received accommodations on the exam.  Anyone who has taken the LSAT—whether or not they ended up attending law school—and received an accommodation for the LSAT is eligible to participate.  Participants are asked to respond to the 5-10 minute survey before December 1, 2010.  Please forward this information widely  to your respective networks.  The results of the survey will be completely confidential and anonymous.  The data will assist Prof. Basas in understanding the potential impact of accommodated LSAT tests on law school admissions.  If you have questions or concerns about the survey, please direct them to Prof. Basas, .  The survey is available here:

http://tinyurl.com/37ehvd4

For any pre-law students out there (or any undergraduates really), this is a great opportunity to work in Washington, D.C. this summer. See the press release below. Deadline is January 24th.

January 7, 2011

Re: 2011 AAPD Internship Program

Dear AAPD affiliates:

Each summer, the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) hosts a summer internship program in Washington, DC for students with all types of disabilities.

AAPD’s Summer Internships Program offers college students, law students, and other graduate and professional students with disabilities the opportunity to work in public service for ten weeks on Capitol Hill and at federal agencies. This ten-week experience gives interns the opportunity to gain invaluable hands-on experience in government, including insight into government office operations, public policy development, law-making and research, and constituents’ roles in the legislative and administrative processes. Interns receive a stipend, travel to and from DC, and fully-accessible housing.

The 2011 AAPD Washington DC Summer Internships Program for Students with Disabilities is generously sponsored by Walmart, the Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation (MEAF) and the HSC Foundation.

Applications must be received by 5:00 PM (Eastern Standard Time) on or before Monday, January 24, 2011.

Apply Online: www.aapd.com/aapdintership Via Email: .

Please pass this information along to any eligible candidates.

For additional information on the AAPD Summer Internships Program, please contact AAPD at (800) 840-8844 (V/TTY) or by email to .

Sincerely,

Dana Fink

Program Assistant

American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD)
1629 K Street, NW, Suite 950,

Washington, DC 20006

Direct:  202-521-4306 (V/TTY)

Main: 202-457-0046 (V/TTY)
Toll-free: 800-840-8844 (V/TTY)

Stephanie Enyart, a former NALSWD President, just scored a big win in her Bar Accommodations suit against the National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE). The 9th Circuit just affirmed the district court’s issuing of a preliminary injunction requiring NCBE to allow her to take the MPRE and the Multistate Bar Exam using assistive technology software known as JAWS and ZoomText.exams, an accommodation that the NCBE had previously refused to grant.

Congratulations, Stephanie!!

For the full opinion, see http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2011/01/04/10-15286.pdf