CURRENT COUNCIL PROJECTS

• Employment

Project ASSET 2002 (Advancing Supported Self-Employment Techniques)
This project started in FY02 when the Council entered into a partnership with the DRV to jointly develop a demonstration project to promote self-employment for individuals with developmental disabilities. The project had two goals. The first goal was developing expertise among DRV personnel, service providers, small business enterprises, etc. The second goal was to assist 20 individuals own their own business. As of this date 18 teams have been formed and are in varying stages of business development. Two businesses have been in active operation since June, 03. A lot has been learned and systems have been changed as a result of this project. For example, DRV has incorporated what has been learned in small business ownership into the services they offer their clients. We are pleased that as a result of our efforts, business opportunities are being designed that fit the unique circumstances of each person.

 

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• Education
  

  Inclusive Education Initiative Project
  The purpose of this project is to include 40 students with developmental disabilities into general education settings with appropriate supports which lead to improved student performance, including improved scores on the State Educational Assessment. This project has exceeded our expectation in that they are working with 81 students in seventeen schools and 67 of these are included up to 75% of their day. Several components of the project have led to its success and long-term systems change. For example, a special education and general education teacher become a team and work together to determine how a student with significant disabilities can access grade level curriculum content with appropriate supports and materials. Also, principles and school administrators are involved in a systematic review of their particular school in which they identify changes that need to occur to allow inclusion and are educated about inclusion and how to make it work in their school. This project has gained national attention and an article about its success was in nationally published professional teachers’ journal.

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• Child Care
  

  Project EQuIP
  This is a new project that has just gotten underway that will train early education teachers how to integrate children into early childhood or day care programs. The model for our Project comes from The Vanderbilt Project-which is a Project of National Significance and it’s being modified to suit the particular needs of KY. The staff is developing a detailed training plan. The training plan includes objectives, content, method, materials, etc. that has been demonstrated to be effective in training adults to appropriately include children with developmental disabilities in childcare programs. Once completed, this training plan will be of sufficient detail that others will be able to implement the training. Also, the training will be incorporated into UK ’s curriculum for early education teachers.

   

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• Quality Assurance

  Hispanic Outreach : Hispanic Outreach is a collaborative project between the Council and The Department of Protection and Advocacy. We provide a phone translation service for Spanish speaking people to obtain information on disability related issues through the P&A office.

  Public Policy : The Council currently has a contract with the Martin School of Public Policy at the University of Kentucky to provide technical research for our legislative initiatives. The Martin School also provides tracking and status reports to the Council so that we can plan our legislative objectives.

  Kentucky Self Advocates for Freedom (KSAF) : Is a non-profit self-advocacy organization created from Council funds. There are currently nine local chapters across the state with twelve representatives that address statewide issues.

  Community Impact Project : The Council contracted with KSAF to address this target. Local Chapters of the Self-Advocacy Organization will identify, plan, and implement initiatives to enhance and improve their communities.

  Consumer Involvement Fund : This is a mechanism the Council created for People with Disabilities and their families to attend educational training, conferences, and events that relate to disability issues. The Council pays up to $500.00 to qualified applicants to attend the training of their choice. Qualified applicants may access this fund one time per year.

 

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• Health
  
  Preservice Health Training Project –This project is intended to improve health care by incorporating training modules into the existing curriculum of Medical, Nursing, Physician Assistant and Dental school students at the University of Kentucky , Eastern Kentucky University , and Spalding University .

  The modules are of virtual patients in a web-based format. In addition to the modules the teachers at the universities will receive manuals, etc. that they can use in the classroom. All of the virtual patient modules have been developed, except for dental students, and are in the final editing process. Piloting of the modules to students is scheduled to begin in the Spring 2005 semester. This project has drawn national attention and several presentations have been made. As a result of these presentations, at least seven universities outside of the state of Kentucky have expressed an interest in using the Preservice Health Training Modules.

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• Transportation

The Council’s transportation target focuses on modifying existing legislation or initiating new legislation to create public policies that improve transportation resources for individuals with disabilities in Kentucky. The Council has contracted with the Martin School of Public Policy and Administration at the University of Kentucky to provide an ongoing analysis of transportation-related issues and options. For example, the Martin School submitted a report that reviews the pros and cons of utilizing public school buses to provide transportation to individuals with disabilities. This type of vital background information will guide the Council as more detailed proposals for statutory and administrative action are developed.

 

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