The WiSe Blog… Welcome and information

Welcome to the WiSe Blog!  Our hope is that this site will become a hub of information for a variety of subjects across Washington State.  As such, some organization is needed to get people to the right places.  Across the top of the blog you will see several pages listed.  If you recognize the subject of the page, it is probably somewhere you might like to visit and read.  General information and topics will always appear here on the main page, but specialty pages and topics have been moved to their own pages.

If you would like to become a contributor to the WiSe Blog, please e-mail Mark Snodgrass with your request.

Remembering Ellensburg

Well the 2009 Ellensburg dates have come and gone. I don’t know about anyone else but I felt a huge void in my heart last week as I felt the absence of the conference. I wanted to share a story that was produced by the local media late last week. You can find it at http://www.kndo.com/Global/story.asp?s=10552355.

Also, I’d like to share with you a piece of conference history straight from Lee Valenta’s closet. It’s the T-Shirt from Ellensburg II.
Anyone else have things they’d like to share?

Jefferson County

Jefferson County has a wonderful Guide to their Pathway to Employment service. It has been featured in the newsletter for The National Consortium for Health Systems Development.

Great Hires! now with Spanish Subtitles!

Yes, we now have the Great Hires! video with Spanish subtitles.  Go the our YouTube page to see either version, as well as a growing collection of other videos having to do with Supported Employment.  Here is the link for Great Hires! ESP:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SXJ18uewNQ

Washington State Rehabilitation Council

The Washington State Rehabilitation Council offers their quarterly newsletter in both HTML and plain text.

An Opportunity to Comment–Take a Look at Obama’s Blog

What is Ideas for Change in America?
Ideas for Change in America is a citizen-driven effort to identify and create momentum around the best ideas for how the Obama Administration and Congress can turn the broad call for “change” across the country into specific policies. You can help by submitting an idea for how you would change America, discussing ideas with others, and/or voting for your favorites. Read More

http://www.change.org/ideas/view/fully_fund_medicaid_waivers_for_the_developmentally_disabled

Fully Fund Medicaid Waivers for the Developmentally Disabled
I propose that if the Medicaid waiver program were fully funded that the action would not only end decades-long waiting lists for people with developmental disabilities, but would also create small businesses and jobs because more service providers would be needed. Funding must be available in all states, portable across and within states and promote self-determination for the individual with the disability, their families and legal guardians. Furthermore, parents who have had to stay home to be caregivers could go back to work, and people with developmental disabilities would also be able to go to work because they would have employment supports to do so. Portability of services across states and counties also should be mandated so that families can, during these difficult times, move to another state and continue to receive services if they had them before. Right now, if a family moves, they placed at the bottom of the new state’s waiting list and can wait many years for services.

- Renee Beauregard (Mom, advocate, small business owner), Aurora, CO Dec 15 @ 12:11PM PST

Odds and Ends

In an attempt to keep our web site Home page as current and un-cluttered as possible, I am moving several items over here to the blog.  The first two items are newsletters from Project SEARCH at Seattle Children’s Hospital and our own Project MOVE in Spokane.  Also, a great web site on Transition at the University of Kansas featuring 101 Transition Ideas.

A humble beginning

Well, here we are! WiSe dives into the world of blogging. It is another bold move. Opening up the conversation about Supported Employment to the world.

Today was my rookie outting in the world of blogging. I had no idea how expansive this world is. I have searched templates, explored a massive number of sites, admired amazing photos and stories and am blurry-eyed with possibilities!

I find it simply mind boggling to consider the potential for feeling connected in a virtual world. I’m left to ponder…what does it mean to feel unified in the information era? I see how technology connects us to old friends, family and like-minded others but is it really possible to create unity through technology? I have witnessed the most connected movement in my lifetime, the Obama campaign. I sit stunned by the capacity of the vast array of outreach tools available through technology and yet still wonder if the ability to unify, connect and move a massive country like the United States was “for real”.

I guess only time will tell. The collective energy that is stirring in our country has my mind in action and in question of what is possible and probable.

Happy Veteran’s Day…and thank you to all of our veterans on this rainy, overcast day in lovely Seattle. I look forward to sharing the world of Supported Employment with you through yet another modality of our collective connectedness.