Your Spring Update from MOD

Spring marks a season of hope, new beginnings, and celebration of what’s to come.

This time of year also marks Women’s History Month in March. The disability community is mourning the recent loss of one of its own great woman leaders – Judy Heumann. Judy was a tireless fighter for inclusion and accessibility. Judy played a key leadership role in historic wins for disability rights, including the passage of Section 504 and the ADA. We owe many of our accomplishments to her work, and also owe it to her to keep advocating for change.

On the horizon at MOD: several upcoming trainings and events to keep you informed of your legal rights and obligations! In June, we’re again hosting our Work Experience Program, our effort to help close the disability employment gap by setting a leading example here at the Commonwealth. And, in case you missed them, several of our past trainings are available on demand – check out the recordings below.

With warm wishes for spring,

Mary Mahon McCauley

Executive Director

Help close the disability employment gap!

June 26 - 29, 2023

The Work Experience Program (WEP) is a collaborative effort between the Massachusetts Office on Disability (MOD) and the Human Resources Division (HRD) to help close the disability employment gap by connecting talented candidates with disabilities to state agencies committed to hiring a diverse workforce.

The program is made up of three parts:

1. Virtual opening, closing, and networking sessions
2. Optional informational webinars
3. Job shadowing (a minimum of 4 hours per day on June 27, 28, and 29)

Each host agency will be matched with one or more participants. Job shadowing may occur virtually or in-person, depending on the preferences of host agencies and participants.

This program is open to Open to Executive Branch state agencies only. The deadline to apply is Friday, April 7th.

Why It Matters - Sharing Stories of Tackling ADA Transition Plans

Presented by: New England ADA Center, a project of the Institute for Human Centered Design 

Wednesday, April 12

9 AM - 1 PM

Zoom Webinar

In a recent study, New England municipalities (cities, towns and counties) reported that the transition plan is the least likely to be completed of the ADA’s five administrative requirements. For those without a transition plan, a lack of knowledge was the most common cited reason.

In this webinar, you will hear from municipal leaders about how they were able to create successful transition plans. The Institute for Human Centered Design (IHCD) with its New England ADA Center project, is bringing together these leaders who invested in this planning process. Each started from a different place and had their own needs and goals. They succeeded in creating a planning and budgeting tool that puts improving accessibility squarely on the agenda.

The event is free. Captioning and sign language interpreting will be provided. For any questions, please email Jason Angel at [email protected]  

Reasonable Accommodation & Modification Requests in Housing

Wednesday, May 3

12 - 2 PM

If you can't equally enjoy your housing because of a disability-related obstacle, what do you do? Join us for an interactive virtual workshop on the reasonable accommodation (RA) and modification (RM) request process in housing.

This workshop provides information and examples to help you understand the process from start to finish and tips to avoid common pitfalls.

This workshop is designed for residents with disabilities (or their advocates), whether they live in rented accommodation or are owners in a housing/condo association.

Navigating Vocational Rehabilitation for Applicants and Consumers

Tuesday, May 16

5:30 - 7:30 PM

Join the Client Assistance Program staff for an interactive presentation to learn about navigating vocational rehabilitation (VR) services. We will cover the purpose of the VR program and the role of each party (consumer and VR agency staff) in implementing services to reach an employment goal, how to recognize when something might be going wrong, and how to get back on track.

Target Audience: Individuals with disabilities applying for or currently receiving vocational rehabilitation services, their families, and VR stakeholders

Quarterly Tea with MOD: Service Animals in Public Settings

Rights & Obligations for Business Owners, Staff, & Animal Control Officers

Wednesday, June 7

1 – 2 PM

There is a lot of misinformation about service animals and emotional support animals, such as where they are allowed to go, what questions can be asked about them, and what to do if they are not behaving well. This Quarterly Tea aims to describe the rights and obligations of service animal users in public places, such as restaurants, stores, and libraries. The intended audience of this session is owners and staff of public places, as well as Animal Control Officers.

This quarter’s Tea will get you started with information and real-world examples to answer common questions like:

• What is the difference between a service animal and an emotional support animal?
• How can I determine if a dog is a service animal?
• When can service animals be denied?
• How do I consider other patrons’ concerns like allergies, concern for health and sanitation, and phobias of dogs?
• How and when can MOD provide support?

Disability Disclosure in Employment Workshops

Various dates

MOD's Client Assistance Program (CAP) has developed a free, interactive workshop series, consisting of three separate workshops over Zoom. The series is aimed at employees and jobseekers with disabilities and their advocates. There is no cost to attendees.

The Decision to Disclose focuses on things to consider when deciding to disclose a disability. Reasonable Accommodations offers guidance on best practices for requesting a reasonable accommodation. Disability Discrimination explores workplace interactions that could be discriminatory and discussing steps to deter or address them.

Quarterly Tea: Navigating Support Options to Resolve Disability-Related Issues

When you’re looking for answers or support to resolve a problem, sometimes simply working out who does what and how to effectively ask for assistance can be a major hurdle. This Quarterly Tea provided real-world examples to help you identify your needs and goals and the best plan of action to find support.

Service and Emotional Support Animals in the Workplace

When employees request to bring a service animal or emotional support animal with them to the workplace, there are important considerations and procedures to keep in mind. This webinar from MOD gives Municipal ADA Coordinators at executive branch agencies the information they need to properly handle requests.

Municipal ADA Coordinator Training: Public Meetings and Town Meeting

This webinar reviews best practices for Municipal ADA Coordinators to ensure that public meetings and town meetings are accessible to people with disabilities. Presented by Ann Lynch, Assistant Attorney General, and Julia O'Leary, General Counsel at Massachusetts Office on Disability.

New webpage! Client Assistance Program (CAP)

MOD's Client Assistance Program (CAP) provides advocacy, education, outreach, and systemic improvements for applicants and consumers of vocational rehabilitation (VR) and independent living (IL) services. Our new CAP webpage provides more information on when, how, and who we can help.

MOD grants $2.9M to municipalities for accessibility improvements

The Massachusetts Office on Disability recently awarded a total of $2,924,998 directly to 44 cities and towns across the Commonwealth as part of the Municipal ADA Improvement Grant Program. The grant program, which has been in place since 2017, gives direct funding to municipalities for city-wide accessibility planning (ADA Self-Evaluation and/or Transition Plans) or individual projects to remove architectural or communication barriers.

MOD and Town of Dighton featured in CivicPlus article

The Town of Dighton partnered with CivicPlus and AudioEye to improve their town website's accessibility using funds from the Municipal ADA Improvement Grant .. by MOD. CivicPlus featured Dighton's project in an article on their website. Michael Mullen, Dighton's Town Administrator, shared “The grant from MOD was what helped Dighton improve its accessibility and reach residents who need accommodations.”

Bill Noonan

Welcome to Bill Noonan, who joins MOD as our new Executive Assistant. Bill comes on board with almost 20 years of administrative experience, having previously worked as the Fiscal Clerk for the Downtown Boston office of the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission (MRC). A Quincy resident and proud graduate of the University of Massachusetts – Boston, Bill enjoys a good concert or other live performance, especially stand-up comedy.

We're hiring! Outreach and Communications Intern

MOD is seeking a summer Outreach and Communications Intern to support MOD’s efforts to engage municipal ADA Coordinators and other key stakeholders across the state through development of a new networking group and MOD trainings, events, and social media channels. This is a paid internship with a flexible schedule, beginning in June.