CP State News- Health and Relationship Training, PPP Changes, and More!

February 22, 2021

CP State News

We're here for you!

Hundreds join us to kick off Virtual Lobby Days

Today, hundreds of advocates joined CP State and our partners (Alliance of Long Island Agencies/ALIA, Developmental Disabilities Alliance of Western New York/DDAWNY, Interagency Council/IAC and the NY Association of Emerging and Multicultural Providers/NYAEMP) to kick off this year's virtual Legislative Advocacy Days, taking place this week and next.

Click here to get involved.

CP State Training Series Continues!

Tuesday, Feb. 23:

Dating and relationships for people with I/DD

CP State is honored to host a series on navigating dating and relationships for people with disabilities. These FREE sessions will begin on February 23 and are presented by Kathy O'Connell, Director of Radiant Abilities. Radiant Abilities provides resources and products for people with disabilities in the areas of self-esteem, relationships, and personal empowerment.

Click here for more information.

Wednesday, Feb. 24:

Fitness and healthy eating for all abilities

Now, more than ever, it's important to keep ourselves physically fit!

Join SPIRIT Club at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, February 24, for a session on fitness for people with disabilities.

SPIRIT Club strives to foster a culture of support and encouragement for all members. They create this environment by hiring dual-certified trainers who are experts in fitness and have completed certifications to provide support for people of all abilities. Click the thumbnail to watch Mike's journey to being healthier.

Click here for more information about SPIRIT Club.

CP State is offering these FREE sessions through its DDPC Rural Advocacy Grant. If you would like to participate, please contact Tim Ferguson at TFerguson@cpstate.org or 518-436-0178.

Susan Constantino talks budget on Cap Pressroom

Susan Constantino, President and CEO of CP State, goes on The Capitol Pressroom and breaks down what the Governor’s proposed budget means for New Yorkers living with disabilities.

Click here to listen.

Officials: Center for Disability Services vaccine clinic could be statewide model

Officials are now hoping that the clinic can serve as a model for other regions of the state that may be struggling to ensure equitable access to vaccines for people with disabilities.

Read more at Spectrum News.

DOL Update: Independent Contractor Rule is delayed

The department of Labor recently announced that it has "proposed to delay the effective date of its final rule entitled "Independent Contractor Status Under the Fair Labor Standards Act" to allow [Wage and Hour Division] additional opportunity for review and consideration of the rule. Opinion Letter FLSA2019-6 addressed the same issue under consideration by the Department-independent contractor status under the FLSA. Consistent with its proposed delay of the final rule, WHD is withdrawing this opinion letter."

Click here to read the full announcement.

PPP additional funding and changes proposed in the American Rescue Package

Our partners at ANCOR analyze two PPP provisions in President Biden’s American Rescue Plan that will likely become law:

Making larger non-profits eligible by looking at the employee headcount per physical location, and
Making some nonprofits eligible for a second draw of PPP loans, as long as they have suffered at least a 25% revenue loss and do not employ more than 300 employees.

Click here for details and analysis.

Make a difference in peoples' lives with just a couple of clicks. Use CP State’s online advocacy tool to tell your legislators and the Governor to reject cuts to supports and services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities!

Leading Developmental Disabilities and Sexuality Training on April 20-21

Registration is Open for Regions 4 and 5

Learn how to lead staff trainings in your area with this comprehensive training led by Katherine McLaughlin and a staff member from a NY Developmental Disability Service Provider! All attendees will receive materials to lead their own trainings including a facilitator's curriculum guide, follow-up support through quarterly webinars, and a certificate of completion for passing the assessment.

There is no fee to attend this training, but we do require you to implement these events in your community and sign a commitment form in order to attend.

Who should attend?

Staff from Agencies & Schools

When:

APRIL 20- 21, 2021 | ONL INE 8:30AM-4:00PM

PRIORITY WILL BE GIVEN TO THOSE WHO LIVE IN REGIONS 4 and 5 - Counties: Bronx, Kings, Nassau, New York, Richmond, Suffolk, Queens

If you have any questions, please contact Kimberly Berg at Kimberly.Berg@ddpc.ny.gov

Get involved in Project Euphonia and help individuals with impaired speech use voice-activated tech

CP State is proud to partner with Google’s Project Euphonia, designed to improve how speech recognition systems recognize impaired speech. The project is designed to refine the speech recognition algorithms that drive devices like Google Home, Alexa, and other voice-activated technologies by introducing atypical speech patterns from individuals with disabilities.

On Tuesday, Feb. 16, we were joined the project's Katie Seaver and Marilyn Ladewig for an informational session on how the project works and how the individuals we serve can be part of it (and make some money in the process).

Click here to view the presentation and visit the links below to some of the videos and resources that were shared during the Feb.16 meeting:

Here are some links you'll need to get started with Project Euphonia:

Click here to visit Project Euphonia
Click here to fill out an Interest form (this is for the person with impaired speech)
Click here to fill out an Ally interest form (this is for the person helping the person with impaired speech complete recordings)

If you have any questions about Project Euphonia, please contact Deb Williams at DWilliams@cpstate.org.

CP State and SAP Litmos have your training needs covered

CP State is proud to provide the SAP Litmos online learning platform to provide efficient and thorough training for Affiliate staff.

Whether you need to onboard staff more efficiently or are looking for a suite of COVID-19 related classes, we provide top-level professional development courses within our online learning library!

For more information contact:

Tim Ferguson

Director of Online Learning

tferguson@cpstate.org