Region VI CRP-RCEP eNewsletter



The Region VI CRP-RCEP e-News Bulletin is published monthly through a grant awarded by the Rehabilitation Services Administration to the Department of Rehabilitation, Social Work & Addictions at the University of North Texas. Editorial Staff Editor Martha Garber Project Director Contributing Authors Margaret J. Cortez Marcy Haag Jim Humes Yvonne Raffini Zach Sneed Principal Investigator Linda Holloway Any comments about the content or design of this e-Newsletter should be directed to Martha Garber Click here to go to our Subscription Page where you can add or remove your name from our email list.	From the desk of: Martha Garber Within the 5.8 million veterans the VA medical care anticipates serving in 2008 are nearly 263,000 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. The disabilities most prevalent among our recent veterans are post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain injury (TBI), blindness, spinal cord injuries, amputations, depression and substance abuse. As the wars continue, the number of wounded warriors will most certainly continue to grow. By all accounts, the numbers of veterans that need service and the complexity of services they need are overwhelming. And, while the media is focused on our current wars, we have veterans from prior wars who still need assistance. Our government provides services; however, due to the sheer number of folks needing service, the delivery of those services will increasingly come from community providers. We must prepare ourselves to help our veterans with disabilities reintegrate into our communities and employment. In this edition, we will explore some of the anticipated challenges and opportunities. Resources for Vets We all know that a key to rehabilitation success is serving one person at a time and focusing on their unique strengths and characteristics. While each veteran is an individual, some threads of commonality are present. Each veteran will have acquired the disability; the onset of the disability will have occurred as an adult; and, each person will have a military experience unique to their particular service to our country. As a result, adjustment services are likely to play a large role in the rehabilitation process for veterans. Fortunately there are many resources available to assess veterans with reintegration and adjustment services. In addition to being useful to the veteran, these resources may be helpful to further educate ourselves and better position our services to collaborate with those already available: http://www.va.gov http://www.vetcenter.va.gov/ http://www.dol.gov/vets/ http://www.military.com/benefits/veteran-benefits/vocational-rehabilitation-and-employment http://govbenefits.gov http://www.pva.org http://www.dav.org Skills Translator: Military to Civilian Translating skills learned in the infantry into words that will mean something to a civilian employer may not be as difficult as you think. The military understands this problem and has resources available to help veterans convert military skills into civilian language. Here are two websites that address this issue: http://www.hirevetsfirst.gov/militaryskills.asp http://www.vetsuccess.gov/resources/milskills/ State Support for Vets Benefits counseling is as important to a veteran with disabilities as it is to any other individual. Without full information about the costs and benefits of working, an individual cannot make an informed decision. Each state has a veterans agency that provides information and assistance to veterans on a number of issues. Links to these agencies are provided below: Arkansas: http://www.veterans.arkansas.gov/ Louisiana: http://www.vetaffairs.com/index.asp New Mexico: http://www.dvs.state.nm.us/about-dvs.html Oklahoma: http://www.ok.gov/ODVA/War_Veterans_Commission/ Texas: http://www.tvc.state.tx.us/ CRP Brief for January 2008! Look at our CRP Brief on the Continuum of Care Model for Blind and Visually Impaired Veterans. The VA is forging partnerships with community rehabilitation programs who provide blind services. The continuum of care model for blind and visually impaired veterans includes adjustment to blindness counseling, patient and family education, benefits analysis, and other services needed to help individual veterans manage their disability.	Training Schedule January 10, 2008: Workforce Re-entry & the Ex-offender, New Orleans, Louisiana January 15, 2008: Job Coaching, Austin, Texas January 29-31, 2008: Certificate in Employment Services (Session II: Feb 26-28), Houston, Texas Feb 8, 15, 22, 2008: Social Security Disability Benefits & Impact of Work, Online Webinar February 12-13, 2008: Supported Employment: Basic Skills Clinic, San Antonio, Texas February 26-27, 2008: Supported Employment: Basic Skills Clinic, Hot Springs, Arkansas March 1, 2008: Job Coaching, El Paso, Texas March 12-13, 2008: Supported Employment: Basic Skills Clinic, New Orleans, Louisiana Upcoming Conferences National ADA Symposium & Expo, May 12-14, 2008, St. Louis, Missouri Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII), the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 ( ADA ), and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA) prohibit the use of discriminatory employment tests and selection procedures. The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission just issued a fact sheet that provides technical assistance on some common issues relating to the federal anti-discrimination laws and the use of tests and other selection procedures in the employment process. Click here for the factsheet. What Would You Like to Hear About in Future Issues of e-News? Send your comments and story ideas to e-News Bulletin Project Director & Editor, Martha Garber.
This project is in part supported under a grant from the Department of Education. However, the contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the Department of Education and endorsement by the Federal Government should not be assumed.