Edit

Kansas Commission on Disability Concerns Disability News Message - February 22, 2023

Government and Politics

February 23, 2023

From: Kansas Governor Laura Kelly

Job Vacancy Announcements

The Intrust Bank job vacancy listing is attached below. Please feel free to share. 

Medicaid Training Announced

Kansas Department of Health and Environment-The Division of Health Care Finance (KDHE-DHCF) has scheduled Unwinding: Understanding Medicaid Annual Reviews virtual training opportunities in February, March and April  of 2023 to bring awareness to the Kansas Medicaid Annual Reviews due to start up in April of 2023. Course information is below.

Course Information:

Unwinding-Understanding Medicaid Annual Reviews

  • Tuesday, February 28, 2023: 11:00-11:30 AM
  • Wednesday, March 22, 2023: 2:00-2:30 PM
  • Wednesday, April 19, 2023: 11:00-11:30 AM

Participants will understand:

  1. When Medicaid annual eligibility reviews or renewals will re-start
  2. The process of how reviews or renewals need to be submitted
  3. The three types of reviews and their criteria
  4. How  to access the Medical Consumer Self-Service portal

How to Register & Attend:

For DHCF employees: An account has been created for each DHCF employee. Please do not attempt to create a new account. Contact [email protected] for concerns.

For all other KDHE divisions, other State Agencies, and Public participants: please see the process of creating an account in KanLearn below.

  1. Log in to KanLearn, KDHE’s Learning Management System (LMS) by following this link, https://lsglm700.learnsoft.com/LSGLM/Login/kdhelogin.aspx?ecart=1. If you have any questions regarding your username or password, please email [email protected]
  2. In KanLearn, use the search feature at the top of the user dashboard to search for the course. Click “Details - Enroll(Self)”.
  3. On the day of the training, log in to KanLearn and see the course you are enrolled in the “My Task” area of the “Overview” Section. Click on the webinar/conference button across from the course name to join.

Other KDHE divisions, other State Agencies, and Public participants:

You will need a KanLearn account to register for trainings when they are announced. If you would like to set one up these are the instructions:

To register, all individuals need to create an account in KanLearn by following this link, https://lsglm700.learnsoft.com/LSGLM/Login/kdhelogin.aspx.

  • On the landing page, under the login button, choose “Click Here.” by new user to create an account. (If an individual already has an account and has forgotten their password, please use the “forgot password” link. If an individual has forgotten their username, please email [email protected]. All individuals should check their junk mail folder after using the “forgot password” link.)

From the Disability Rights Center (DRC) of Kansas. If this issue is important to you, there are instructions below. 

It only takes 30 seconds to take action now.  Tell the Kansas Legislature: "DO NOT Give New Tax Credits to Entities that Pay People with Disabilities Less than Minimum Wage!"

The Kansas House of Representatives is poised to vote on a bill this week (HB 2275) that will give new tax credits to entities that pay people with disabilities less than minimum wage (also known as holding a “14(c) sub-minimum wage certificate”).

Sometimes Kansans with disabilities make mere PENNIES AN HOUR working at these entities! Paying people with disabilities less than minimum wage is bad enough. Allowing entities that do that to benefit from these new tax credits adds insult to the injuries Kansans with disabilities have already suffered. Under this bill, entities that pay people with disabilities less than minimum wage will access these tax credits and use the new revenue to underwrite and subsidize this unjust practice!

This bill is out of touch with where America as a whole is heading on this issue. Many states have done away with paying people with disabilities less than minimum wage.
Nationally, leaders in Congress from both parties are working to pass a bipartisan bill that would eliminate this practice entirely.

To keep this controversial provision in the bill, the Chairman of the Committee, Rep. Sean Tarwater, made offensive comments about the capabilities of people with disabilities, saying people with disabilities “can’t really do anything.” That is completely untrue, and it paints a false picture of people with disabilities as pitiful and lacking any value or worth.
Tell your Kansas Legislators to amend the bill (HB 2275) to DELETE the tax credits for entities that pay people with disabilities less than minimum wage.

Take Action Now!

Disability Rights Center of Kansas
214 SW 6th Ave Suite 100 | Topeka, Kansas 66603
(877) 776-1541 | [email protected]

The University of Kansas School of Medicine is pleased to announce:

Spring 2023 Tobacco Treatment Specialist Training

April 24th – June 16th

Skills Building Day is June 16th

To apply for this virtual, self-paced, eight-week click the link below:

https://redcap.kumc.edu/surveys/?s=9PXRJ3CHLH7KKYYN

Deadline to register is Monday, March 13th!

Some scholarships are available for the training with priority given to those who serve

in rural areas or in behavioral health settings in the state of Kansas.

Slots fill up quickly, so apply as soon as possible
??????????
Contact: Cassie Nichols, [email protected]

Governor Kelly Announces Qualifying Families Can Now Apply for $1000 per Student for Learning Recovery

TOPEKA – Governor Laura Kelly on Feb 22nd, announced that the Kansas Education Enrichment Program (KEEP) is open to applications from qualifying parents and guardians of Kansas students. KEEP provides a $1,000 award per student to pay for various educational goods and services that promote learning recovery and facilitate academic enrichment opportunities.

“This program will provide Kansas students with new opportunities and resources to help them thrive in the classroom," Governor Laura Kelly said. “I encourage all families that qualify to apply for KEEP.”

KEEP funds may be used on various enrichment and educational activities, including:
• Day and overnight camps with academic-related curriculum such as music, arts, science, technology, agriculture, mathematics, and engineering
• Curriculum and educational materials, including certain technological devices
• Language classes
• Musical instruments and lessons
• Tutoring

The funds are not eligible for private school tuition.

Eligibility for KEEP funds is determined by financial need, and funds will be distributed to actively enrolled K-12 Kansas students between the ages of 5-18. Students whose household income is less than 185% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines are eligible.
Subject to funding availability, future waves of funding may be provided with expanded household income eligibility parameters.

Families can learn if they qualify, apply for the program, read the full handbook of rules and instructions, and browse the marketplace of qualified service providers at www.keep.ks.gov. Program participants will have access to a web and mobile app for using their awarded funds.

Earlier this year, businesses that offer educational opportunities and services were invited to join the KEEP Marketplace to assist students and families. Parents and guardians can now search for those opportunities across Kansas on the KEEP Marketplace. Parents and guardians may also submit requests for additional businesses to be added to the Marketplace if they know of a business that would qualify.

KEEP is being offered through a contract between Merit International, Inc. and the Kansas Office of Recovery to provide educational activities and learning opportunities to students across Kansas to promote educational learning recovery in response to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The program is funded with American Rescue Plan Act dollars approved through the SPARK process.

This webinar information is from the LEAD Center. 

View this message in your browser

Webinar! Helping Native Youth Succeed
Through Family and Community Engagement

Wednesday, March 15, 2:00-3:30 P.M. ET

The White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Native Americans and Strengthening Tribal Colleges and Universities (WHI TCU), along with the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Labor, is hosting a virtual, four-part, dialogue series that addresses multiple topics that impact employment for American Indians and Alaska Natives.

This virtual dialogue, the second in the series, provides perspectives from Native individuals (including youth) on the values of community-driven solutions in supporting Native students with disabilities. According to the 2019 National Indian Education Study (NIES), 17% of Native American fourth and eighth graders identified as students with disabilities. In less than a decade, most of these students will matriculate into secondary and post-secondary educational and career environments. We’re all invested in the effort to support Native students with disabilities and to ensure they have access to gainful employment opportunities across all levels of the tribal, federal, state, and local workforce. Speakers from various tribal nations will explore culturally informed strategies that help address the lack of community-driven approaches that often fall short in addressing the needs of Native youth.

Event Objectives:
• To gain contextual awareness of national educational statistics of fourth and eighth graders who identify as Native American students with disabilities.
• To learn about the value of community-driven solutions, particularly those that center around and empower the role of Native American families caring for students with disabilities.
• To cultivate a deeper understanding of community practices in order to help participants mitigate their own bias towards believing “best practices” fit all Native communities.
• To increase the visibility of Native American students who have disabilities.

REGISTER FOR THE MARCH 15 WEBINAR!

Previous Dialogues:
Mental Health within Native Communities: A Story of Resilience, Recovery, and Employment

www.leadcenter.org

The LEAD WIOA Policy Development Center is led by National Disability Institute and is fully funded by the Office of Disability Employment Policy, U.S. Department of Labor, Grant No. OD-38977-22-75-4-11.

The Viscardi Center's  Digital Accessibility Advisor Newsletter for February is on their website now.