The following page is a layout with a header that contains skip to content, increase and decrease font size feature, and the search AT Network function. Page sections are identified with headers. The footer contains About Us, CFILC, DOR, Site Map, and contact information.
Location: Orange County Department of Education 200 Kalmus Drive, Costa Mesa, CA 92628
What is ATI?
The Assistive Technology Institute (ATI) conference provides an opportunity to learn about assistive technology and interact with professionals and vendors in this specialized field.
The Full Day Conference will have a variety of AT speaker sessions, vendor fair and keynote speaker, Rick Hohn! The Pre-Conference, “Update Your AAC Toolbox: Assessment, Current Devices, iPad Apps, and More!” will be providing the latest information on assessment, implementation strategies, and devices.
Both days have attendance limits, please be sure to pre-register!
Who Should Attend?
Special and Regular Education Teachers, Technology and Resource Specialists, Administrators, Parents, AT Users, Anyone who wants to learn more about AT. To Register: http://2012aticonference.eventbrite.com/ For more information please visit: http://ati.atec-oc.org or call (714) 361-6200
On October 7, 2011, the Commission released a Report and Order adopting rules to implement part of the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010 (CVAA) to ensure that advanced communications services and equipment are accessible to people with disabilities.
The Commission also released a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) seeking comment on several related issues, including:
On December 30, 2011, the Report and Order and FNPRM were published in the Federal Register. On January 4, 2012, the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau and the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau issued a Public Notice announcing the due dates and providing instructions for submitting comments and reply comments.
Comment Date: February 13, 2012
Reply Comment Date: March 14, 2012
Public Notice
Word: http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2012/db0103/DA-12-1A1.doc
PDF: http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2012/db0103/DA-12-1A1.pdf
Text: http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2012/db0103/DA-12-1A1.txt
Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
Word: http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2011/db1007/FCC-11-151A1.doc
PDF: http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2011/db1007/FCC-11-151A1.pdf
Text: http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2011/db1007/FCC-11-151A1.txt
The California Foundation for Independent Living Centers, Inc. (CFILC) seeks a qualified Marketing and Development Consultant to assist in identifying and acquiring revenue to support the California Assistive Technology Re-use Coalition (CATRC).
ORGANIZATIONAL OVERVIEW:
The California Foundation for Independent Living Centers, Inc. (CFILC) is a non-profit membership organization representing 25 of California’s community-based, peer-operated Independent Living Centers. CFILC and its members advocate and act to remove barriers to independence for Californians with disabilities.
CFILC operates the AT Network program under contract with the California Department of Rehabilitation. The AT Network exists to connect Californians with disabilities to the assistive technology (AT) they need. AT Network programs and services include:
ABOUT THE CALIFORNIA AT RE-USE COALITION (CATRC)
The CATRC represents several diverse organizations that collectively focus on promoting the re-use of assistive technology (AT) and durable medical equipment (DME) within California. AT / DME are devices, technologies, and products which assist people with disabilities – either permanent or temporary – to lead more engaged, active, and healthy lives. The Coalition has a broad charter to educate and engage various constituents in the numerous benefits of AT / DME re-use. Some of the numerous benefits of AT/DME re-use include financial benefits for individuals, significant positive impact to healthcare costs, and the availability of much needed AT / DME to a broader range of consumers, and significant positive impact to the environment.
SCOPE OF WORK
The Marketing and Development Consultant will work closely with the leadership of CATRC to research and identify funding sources supporting the agenda of CATRC. Sources of funding may include grants, sponsorships, fee for service, donations, contracts, in-kind gifts, et al.
The Consultant will work with the Re-use Coalition to initiate contacts with potential funding sources and support the efforts of the Coalition by providing feedback and leads for potential funders. The Marketing and Development Consultant will work in collaboration with the Capacity Development Committee, and will provide monthly reports regarding contract deliverables and invoices to CFILC.
Within one month of contracting for services, the selected Consultant will present:
From month two through the end of the contract period, consultant will research and write proposals. All potential proposal ideas will be pre-approved by the Capacity Development Committee before proposal work begins. All completed proposals will be approved by the Committee at least one week before the submission deadline.
PROPOSAL CONTENT
In three pages, briefly provide:
SELECTION PROCESS
This RFP is not a commitment to contract for services. CFILC reserves the right to reject any and all responses without cause. A contractor will be considered based on review of the information within proposals, quality of samples provided, contacts with references, costs, and other budgetary and time considerations.
PROPOSAL SUBMITTAL AND TIMELINE
CFILC will accept emailed responses to the Request for Proposal until January 16th, 2012. Responses received after that time and date will not be considered. The expected contract award date is February 15, 2012. Final award of the contract is based on the availability of funds.
Please email proposals to: rfp@cfilc.org with the subject line: AT Network RFP Response Marketing and Development Consultant. Questions about this RFP are encouraged and should be addressed to Kim Cantrell, Director of Programs, CFILC at 916-325-190 ext. 315 or kim@cfilc.org. All inquiries will be answered within three business days and should be submitted no later than January 9th, 2012.
BERKELEY, CA -- December 6, 2011. Through the Looking Glass and its National Center for Parents with Disabilities was awarded a five-year 2.5 million dollar federal grant to conduct research, training and provide consultations and materials regarding families in which an infant, child, parent or grandparent has a disability. In the United States, it is estimated that 28.9% of families (20.9 million families) have at least one member with a disability: 3.9 % of families have at least one child with a disability and 6.1% of families with children have one or both parents with a disability.
This new national project titled “Families with Disabilities through the Life Cycle: Disability Culture Perspectives” is funded by the National Institute on Disability Rehabilitation and Research, U.S. Department of Education. Over the next five years, project activities will focus on critical issues that impact families with disabilities across the lifespan: from those disabled and nondisabled parents who are at the initial stages of having an infant with a disability through children with disabilities growing up to parents and grandparents with disabilities. In keeping with Through the Looking Glass’ 30 years of groundbreaking research, training and clinical intervention work, project activities will address family members with diverse disabilities and draw from the experiences and perspectives of the Disability and Deaf communities. Among the innovative activities planned are:
Google has announced a survey for users who are blind or vision impaired to better understand computer usage and assistive technology patterns in the blind community.
The survey, developed with the American Council of the Blind, takes approximately 20 minutes to complete and can be accessed online on your computer or mobile device, or by telephone.
Google encourages all people who are blind or vision impaired who use assistive technology to access the web to participate in the survey. The responses will help it to understand the needs of the community and further develop the accessibility of its products.
Google has been working towards improving accessibility features of its products. For example, the latest version of Google Chrome (Beta) now has voice-to-text capabilities, a feature that will ultimately enable users to input text by speaking into the computer’s microphone rather than using a keyboard. Also, the next version of Google Chrome Operating System (OS), an operating system targeted at netbooks, will include an in built screen reader.
The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights has issued guidance to elementary and secondary schools and institutions of higher education on the legal obligation to provide students with disabilities an equal opportunity to enjoy the benefits of technology. The guidance provides information to schools about their responsibilities under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act. For more information visit https://www.disability.gov/education/news_%26_events.
National Federation of the Blind Expresses Outrage, Demands Swift Action
Baltimore, Maryland (May 19, 2011): A study that has just been published online in the journal Government <http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/0740624X> Information Quarterly has found that of one-hundred Web sites operated by federal government agencies, over 90 percent do not comply with government accessibility guidelines and likely cannot be used by people who are blind or have other perceptual or motor disabilities. The study, entitled "Accessibility of U.S. federal government home pages: Section 508 compliance and site accessibility statements" and coauthored by Doctoral Student Abiodun Olalere and Professor Jonathan Lazar of Towson University, found that the home pages of over 90 percent of the Web sites they evaluated contained violations of the government's own guidelines for compliance with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. That law requires that government electronic and information technology be accessible to people with disabilities.
Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind, said: "Blind Americans are outraged that the government is failing to comply with its own guidelines to make government information and services available to citizens with disabilities. Given the clear legal requirements of Section 508 and the fact that use of the Internet is critical to education, employment, access to government benefits and services, and all other aspects of modern life, there is no excuse for failure to follow and rigorously enforce these guidelines. We demand that officials in all branches of government take immediate steps to bring all federal Web sites into compliance with the law, and we pledge to continue to hold the federal government accountable if it continues to treat the blind and others with disabilities as second-class citizens."
The study evaluated the home pages of one-hundred government Web sites across all three branches of the federal government, including executive agencies, independent agencies, government corporations (e.g. Amtrak), the United States Congress, the United States Supreme Court, United States federal courts, and "open government" Web sites like www.usajobs.gov and www.ready.gov. The authors utilized both automated-software tools and human-expert inspections on each home page, and determined that over 90 percent of the home pages were not in compliance with the Section 508 regulations.
Most of the accessibility problems were common ones that are easily resolved, such as unlabeled images, mislabeled forms or tables, videos without captioning, flash without any textual equivalents, and lack of keyboard equivalents for mouse-over actions. The authors noted that this is not a problem unique to one agency. Similar problems occur on multiple agency Web sites, and the core problem is the lack of consistent compliance activities and enforcement throughout the federal government.
The study makes several recommendations to increase compliance, including improved resources on complying with the guidelines; better documentation of best practices; publishing of information about which agencies are compliant and noncompliant with accessibility guidelines as part of the open government dashboard; and better enforcement and monitoring procedures within government agencies, such as the loss of Web-posting privileges for repeatedly posting inaccessible content.
The AT Network recently releases a request for proposals from organizations wishing to join the network's AT Device Lending Library program. Currently, 11 Independent Living Centers and other organizations operate AT Device Lending Libraries that allow consumers to borrow a wide range of devices for short terms needs, or to try before you buy. The AT Network plans to add a 12th library by July 1st. Proposals in response to the RFP must be submitted by May 27th. Download the Request for Posposal.
The AT Network recently concluded a competitive grant process to award funds to build reuse capacity in California. Five organizations will receive up to $30,000 for capital improvements that will enable them to reassign more AT devices to new users. Read more...
The Department of Rehabilitation (DOR) is inviting the public, particularly those who represent individuals, groups or agencies, who impact or are impacted by the Department of Rehabilitation Vocational Rehabilitation Services, including Supported Employment Services, to provide public comment on the Proposed 2012 State Plan (effective October 1, 2011 – September 30, 2012).
To facilitate comment, the DOR has scheduled three (3) public meetings throughout the State for interested parties to present comments to the DOR Directorate and staff. Meeting dates and locations are listed below.
In a follow-up email, we will be sending you the official “Notice of Public Meetings,” which will include:
If you wish to provide public comment, please let us know by responding to planningsurvey@dor.ca.gov.
Public Meeting Dates & Locations:
Note: The DOR will link the Sacramento and Fresno meetings via teleconference, and may also link them via videoconference.
Monday, April 25, 2011(9:30am – 12:30 pm)
Department of Rehabilitation Headquarters
721 Capitol Mall, Room 242
Sacramento, CA 95814
Monday, April 25, 2011 (9:30am – 12:30 pm)
Department of Rehabilitation
2550 Mariposa Mall Room 1036 (1st Floor)
Fresno, CA 93721
Wednesday, May 4, 2011 (9:30am – 12:30 pm)
Dayle McIntosh Center
13272 Garden Grove Blvd.
Garden Grove, CA 92843
Thursday, May 12, 2011(9:30am – 12:30 pm)
Ed Roberts Campus
3075 Adeline
Berkeley, CA 94703
Pew Internet, a project of the PewResearch Center, compliled an interesting and recent report data (January 21, 2011) about Internet usage amoung people with disabilities. Report shows 39% of people who do not have broadband access are people with disabilities. The lack of access to Broadband has a significant effect on usage.
Additional information can be found at http://www.pewinternet.org/~/media/Files/Reports/2011/PIP_Disability.pdf.
The AT Network is pleased to announce two new funding opportunities for organizations involved in or planning to be involved in the turnaround of donated assistive technology, including durable medical equipment (DME), for new users. The funds will help organizations build their capacity to sanitize and repair or refurbish used devices that can then be provided to low income Californians with disabilities.
Attached is a Request for Proposals for AT Reuse Capacity Building grants. The AT Network will fund a limited number of grants of up to $30,000 each that can be used for capital improvements. This one-time funding opportunity will require competitive proposals to be submitted by March 11, 2011. A diverse committee of AT professionals will select winning proposals to receive funding and technical assistance from the AT Network.
In addition to the grants, a repair fund has been established to help small organizations pay for parts and repairs to devices that have been donated to their programs. Organizations that accept donated DME and assistive devices can complete a simple online form for financial assistance to make the devices usable again. While not a competitive process like the capacity building grants, the repair fund is small and available on a first-come, first-served basis. There is a limit of one request per week for any organizations that apply. Details on the program can be found at http://atnet.org/repairfund.php.
For more information on both of these funding opportunities visit the AT Network website at http://atnet.org/membership/Resources.php.
National Call In Day for Complex Rehab Technology February 16th
Join with thousands of other concerned citizens to help assure access for people with disabilities to the Complex Rehab Technology they require.
Complex Rehab Technology (CRT) products are defined as medically necessary, individually configured devices that require evaluation, configuration, fitting, adjustment or programming. Examples of CRT include individually configured manual wheelchair systems, power wheelchair systems, adaptive seating systems, alternative positioning systems and other mobility devices. Learn more...
The Secretary of State's office (SOS) is seeking a qualified applicant for its Voting Accessibility Committee (VAAC). VAAC's mission and purpose is to advise, assist as well as provide recommendations to the SOS regarding the implementation of federal and state laws relating to access to the electoral process by voters with disabilities, so that every registered voter can vote independently and privately. The deadline for all applications must be received by no later than January 28, 2011. The qualified VAAC applicant will be anounced in February 2011. The application can be found at http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/ccrov/pdf/2010/december/10335do.pdf 
(.pdf 184 KB)
Are you a Californian who cares about assistive technology (AT) and/or disability issues? If so, the AT Network needs your input! Please take 10-15 minutes to complete an important survey about assistive technology and California’s AT Network project. The survey will be open through Monday, January 10. This survey is designed to be completed by Californians with an interest in assistive technology and/or disability issues. Please feel free to forward this email to others who may meet these qualifications. Click the link below to take the survey:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ATstakeholdersurvey .
Thank you very much for your time and input. Your responses will help build a stronger AT Network.
On July
23 Attorney General Eric Holder signed Title II and III amendments to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) into law. Title II prohibits state and local government agencies from discriminating on the basis of disability. The new rules address accessible design standards, service areas, wheelchairs and safeharbor. Complinace is allowed as of Spetember 15 and will be required March 15, 2010. For more information, visit ADA.gov .
Students with disabilities such as blindness and dyslexia at hundreds of colleges and universities in three states now have quicker and easier access to alternative college textbooks as the result of agreements for those states to fund access to the alternative textbooks for colleges and universities.
Separate statewide agreements for colleges and universities in Georgia and Ohio, as well as 112 community colleges in the California system, have been finalized to fund memberships in the AccessText Network, a national online database of alternative college materials. The AccessText Network makes it quicker and easier for students with disabilities such as blindness, dyslexia, or physical impairments that prevent the use of traditional hardcopy textbooks, to get the alternative electronic textbooks they need for college.
“With these statewide membership agreements in the AccessText Network, thousands of college students who used to wait weeks or even months for their alternative textbooks now have a streamlined process, allowing them to receive their course materials in just a few days,” said Tom Allen, president and chief executive officer of the Association of American Publishers, whose higher education members donated almost $1 million to launch the non-profit venture. “I congratulate the funders of these memberships in the AccessText Network. It will help level the playing field for disabled students in these states, helping them achieve their higher education goals.”
The three statewide agreements being announced for the AccessText Network:
“Textbook publishers are dedicated to helping all students succeed, and we are proud to see the AccessText Network being utilized in these states to make college education a reality for thousands of students with disabilities,” Allen said.
Christopher Lee, director of AMAC, said the new network is fulfilling orders for students in about four days on average. “In the past, the system was so slow and bureaucratic that disabled students were often still waiting for their alternative textbooks several weeks into the semester,” Lee said. “That’s an unacceptable scenario for any student striving to succeed in college.”
The AccessText Network is operated by the Alternative Media Access Center (AMAC) in Atlanta. The Network has more than 500 colleges and universities in 49 states enrolled to participate in the system. There are more than 360,000 textbook titles available through the Network.
A June 22, 2010 report finds that state public benefits agencies are relying more on their websites as a means of providing information to the public, and as a means for applicants to secure Medicaid, food stamps, and cash assistance. However, the report, by the National Center for Law and Economic Justice (NCLEJ) at http://www.nclej.org/ , shows that at least five states – California, Florida, Michigan, New York and Texas – Read More...
Senator Ellen Corbett (D. San Leandro) introduced a joint resolution to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilites Act in the California legislature yesterday. The resolution (SJR 35) would commemorate the 20th anniversary of the federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, encourage all Californians to recognize and celebrate the important historical significance of the act,and reaffirm the Legislature’s commitment to, and urge Congress to reaffirm its commitment to, the civil and constitutional rights of Americans with disabilities. Read more...
Blind users see digital divide in new generation phonesfor many in the blind and visually impaired community, the absence of physical buttons on most smartphones makes interactions with some devices virtually impossible. Read more...
The AT Network is dedicated to protecting the rights of our consumers and allowing them to remain independent in the community. If you have a question, concern, or a story to share with us then please don't hesitate to contact us:
Toll-Free: 800-390-2699
TTY: 800-900-0706
E-mail: info@atnet.org
Jim is part of a small minority of actors with disabilities who continue to challenge the discriminatory barriers found in the entertainment industry." 
