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News 'n Notes from November 2008

BPDD Announces Apprenticeship Program

The Wisconsin Board for People with Developmental Disabilities (BPDD) is taking applications for people interested in being an Apprentice Organizer and Mentors to work with them. BPDD is once again working in association with the Wisconsin Apprenticeship Organizer Project (AOP). Applicants should be from southern Wisconsin (south of a line from Sheboygan to La Crosse).

Apprentices will serve a seven month apprenticeship with AOP. They will be matched and work with a mentor who will assist them in an organizing project in their area of the state. Apprentices will either work 20 hours a week for the seven month apprenticeship and be paid $750 a month or a 40 hour week and be paid $1500 per month. Five apprentices will be accepted into this program.

Applications for Mentors within this project are also being accepted. Mentors will be experienced organizers who will provide a mentor experience with the apprentice on an organizing project. These mentors should generally work for an established agency. The Apprentices will make a commitment to work with BPDD for 17 months after the apprenticeship is over helping to organize local disability groups. . Apprenticeships will start at the beginning of February 2009 and continue until August of 2009.

Application forms are available online at the BPDD website. Apprentice applications are due on November 14, 2008. Mentor applications are due by November 11, 2008. Both applications should be returned to: Apprenticeship Organizer Project, 325 W Silverspring Drive, Second Floor, Milwaukee, WI 53217.

Board's Voting Project Unveils Voting Survey Results

The non-partisan Wisconsin Disability Vote Coalition (WDVC), co-sponsored by the BPDD, recently released preliminary results of a new survey that looked at voting and the disability community.

The survey of 600 respondents was conducted October 2 - October 9, 2008 and reached a cross section of the disability community including parents, guardians, people with disabilities, direct support workers and advocates. The poll is among the first to reach into the disability community for answers about barriers to voting, key issues, and voting patterns. A detailed memo on the polls' key findings is available on the Disability Vote Coalition's website.

The WDVC has built a statewide database of about 15,000 individuals in the disability community. A phone survey was conducted of a random sample of 600 of those individuals in order to learn more about what the disability community thinks about voting issues. Melissa Mulliken, coordinator of the WDVC, pointed to some of the results. "People with disabilities are three times more likely than others in the disability community to cite a lack of transportation and uncertainty about eligibility as reasons they have not voted in the past."

Some of the survey's other major findings are:

• People with disabilities are more apt to feel less knowledgeable about issues and candidate's positions than others in the disability community.
• The vast majority of the disability community reports they are "definitely" going to vote in the November 2008 election, but people with a disability are 7% less likely to definitely vote.
• When it comes to disability-related issues, the Disability Community evaluates candidates based on four key issues: making public places accessible; creating jobs for people with disabilities; improving the availability of health care, and support for community-based programs.

ILCW Welcomes New Peer Power Coordinator

The Board has contracted with the Independent Living Council of Wisconsin (ILCW) to hire a Coordinator for the Board's Peer Power Program. Cheryl Schiltz has been hired recently to coordinate that program.

The Peer Power Program works with high school students with disabilities to enhance their knowledge, skills, and supports so that they are better prepared to transition to adult life. To help achieve that goal the program uses peer mentors who share common interests and experiences. Ms. Schiltz has an extensive background in sales, marketing, and customer service. She recently received a degree in Rehabilitation Psychology and had been working in vocational rehabilitation, including working with transitioning students.

Cheryl says, "I look forward to working on promoting Peer Power throughout Wisconsin. I believe in the value of peer mentoring and feel it goes far beyond the scope of traditional understanding. It is the foundation of the future for students with disabilities and an opening of doors to living independently."

You can reach Cheryl at 608-256-9257, ext. 3 or by email at Cheryl@ilcw.org.

Board to Hold November Meeting

The Wisconsin BPDD will hold its November meeting on Thursday, November 20, 2008. The meeting will be held at WHEDA Commerce Building, 201 West Washington Avenue, Madison in the first floor conference room. The Board will hear committee reports and continue with Board training that was started at their July meeting. The preceding day will be devoted to Board committee meetings and a presentation about Emergency Preparedness for vulnerable populations.