November 2025

Utah Disability Today

The official newsletter of the Institute for Disability Research, Policy & Practice

You received this monthly newsletter because you are a friend of the Institute for Disability. Keep reading for news, resources, events, and job openings!

Visit our website

NEWS

Tressa and Cari share a laugh during an interview

Home Visiting Program Celebrates Award-Winning Year

The Cache County Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting (Cache Co. MIECHV) program is celebrating an award-winning first year. At the Utah Department of Health and Human Service’s Home Visiting Summit in October, the team was honored for achieving the highest adjusted caseload capacity in Utah, at 122 percent, during their first year.

Find out more about Cache Co. MIECHV on our blog.

Rivera Honored for Advocacy

In the year since IDRPP’s Elizabeth Rivera joined the Cache County MIECHV Program, she has visited multiple families, offered bilingual story hours all over Cache County, moved from part- to full-time work, and opted to help numerous people in her free time. So it isn’t a surprise that she was awarded the Collaborative Spirit and Family Advocate award at the Utah Home Visiting Summit last month.

Read more about Rivera's impact on her program and the Cache County Community on our blog.

New Advisory Board Adds Disability POV to Research

Research has long been performed on and around disability topics, often without asking for perspectives from people with disabilities. Now, an IDRPP advisory board seeks to change that.

“The Partners in Disability Research Advisory Board … recognized that research around disability was being done, but it didn't always include the perspective of people who actually have disabilities,” said Kelie Hess, who leads the new board. “So IDRPP leadership said, ‘Let's develop an advisory board for people with disabilities.’

“It seems like an obvious move, but from my understanding, it's not a common practice,” Hess said.

Find out more about the board on our blog.

Researched and Practiced Advice to Preschool Teachers and Families

In an article for the journal Young Exceptional Children, IDRPP education specialist Ankita Bhattashali outlines ways that educators and families can support children from marginalized backgrounds.

She sat down with IDRPP’s media team to offer advice she has gained from her own research and practice.

You can read more on our blog, or watch snippets of our interview on our YouTube channel.

“Compassion Compass” Effect Studied for Emotional Wellbeing Following Dementia Diagnosis

IDRPP researcher Heather Kelley, Ph.D. was recently awarded a Research Catalyst grant from the Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia Research Center (ADRC) to examine the impact of Compassion Compass, an asynchronous single-session digital mental health intervention among adults who have recently received a dementia diagnosis.

Read more on the Emma Eccles Jones College of Education and Human Services website.

Did someone forward this to you? Would you like to receive our monthly newsletter? Subscribe today!

Utah Assistive Technology Program Mobile Repair Van Visits Rural Utah!

To see where the van will be, or to request a stop in an area UATP doesn't yet cover, click the button below.

Check the Schedule

CAREERS WITHIN IDRPP

Visit the Work With Us page on our website!

We are excited to announce that we are now on Substack! We will be posting our latest blogs and news updates there. Get the latest disability news by subscribing, check out our Substack!

For a look at past IDRPP trainings, visit our YouTube channel.

Accessibility & Health Webinar: Preparing for ADA and Section 504 Updates

Presenter: Jonathan Whiting

Wednesday, Nov. 12 from 12 - 1 PM

Big updates are coming to digital accessibility requirements under ADA Title II and Section 504. This fast-paced session will help you understand what’s new, when these changes take effect, and how to start preparing now.

Learning Outcomes:

Understand changes to ADA Title II and Section 504 Part 84
Know how to apply the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)
Identify exceptions, including requirements for archived content
Prioritize and plan your future work

EVENTS

Parents with Children Treatment

Time to Act ECHO: Substance

November 12th

Find out more & register on the Time to Act ECHO website.

FREE

ACRE Employment Specialist Training - Virtual

Center for Employment and Inclusion

November 18-20th

Find out more & register on the CEI Website.

$300

Positive Parenting

Time to Act ECHO: Mental Health

November 19th

Find out more & register on the Time to Act ECHO website.

FREE

Picky Eating Strategies

Autism ECHO

November 26th

Find out more & register on the Autism ECHO website.

FREE

Prader-Willi Syndrome

Early ECHO

December 3rd

Find out more & register on the Early ECHO website.

FREE

ACE Customized Employment Specialist Training (Basic) - Salt Lake

Center for Employment and Inclusion

December 3rd & 4th

Find out more & register on the CEI Website.

$300

Virtual Web Accessibility Training

Early ECHO

December 9-10

Find out more & register on the WebAIM website.

$600 ($480 each for groups of two or more)

RESOURCES

WebAIM's test of alt text in Word, PowerPoint and PDF documents
NCADEMI's Quality Indicators for Systems Change in the provision and use of accessible materials in PreK-12
IDRPP's Annual Report, 2024-25, also summarized in the Executive Summary.

NEWS FROM AROUND IDRPP

IDRPP is proud of the AmeriCorps VISTA members of our Public & School Partnership program, who have continued to work without pay throughout the government shutdown. Thanks for all you have done in a turbulent year!

Pictured: Austin, Kenner and Jennifer of the Public & School Partnership.

Phone: (435) 797-1981