Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Increasing Housing Stability Through State-Funded Community Mediation Delivered By The Massachusetts Housing Mediation Program (Hmp) Fy2023 Evaluation Report, Madhawa Palihapitiya, Karina Zeferino

Massachusetts Office of Public Collaboration Publications

The Massachusetts Housing Mediation Program (HMP) is a comprehensive statewide program that provides free housing mediation services as a tool to increase housing stability with the intention of preventing homelessness created by landlord-tenant disputes. It is administered by the Massachusetts Office of Public Collaboration (MOPC) at the University of Massachusetts Boston and deploys the community mediation system infrastructure with 11 Community Mediation Centers (Centers) participating and serving all 14 counties of the Commonwealth to provide free conflict resolution services for tenants and landlords/property managers with housing disputes at any stage, from the earliest point a problem occurs, up to, and …

Addressing Barriers To Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion In Massachusetts Community Mediation, Madhawa Palihapitiya, Jarling Ho, Shino Yokotsuka, Karina Zeferino

Massachusetts Office of Public Collaboration Publications

This report presents over three years of systematically engaging, documenting and analyzing the diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) needs/gaps and assets of state funded community mediation centers in Massachusetts. The report was compiled by researchers and an in-house DEI expert at the statutory state office of dispute resolution, the Massachusetts Office of Public Collaboration (MOPC) at the University of Massachusetts Boston. The office has been serving as a neutral forum and state-level resource for over 30 years.

The report is based on qualitative research that falls into the category of community based participatory research conducted through a series of community …

Supporting Employment Consultants In Their Work With Job Seekers, Alberto Migliore

All Institute for Community Inclusion Publications

This is a summary of the article "Supporting employment consultants in their work with job seekers: A longitudinal study" published in the Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation. The article highlights an urgent need for policy, practice, and research to identify and remove the roadblocks that prevent employment consultants from investing more of their time in core activities that lead to hiring.

State-Level Strategies That Promote Alternatives To Guardianship For Youth With Intellectual And/Or Developmental Disabilities: Lessons Learned From Georgia, Vermont, And Wisconsin, Esther Kamau, Jaimie Ciulla Timmons

All Institute for Community Inclusion Publications

This brief that shares key strategies to promote creativity and encourage replication among state-level projects seeking to advance alternatives to guardianship.

I Was A Think College Policy Advocate!, Arthur Moreira

All Institute for Community Inclusion Publications

Arthur Moreira shares about his experience as a Think College Policy Advocate in 2022. Arthur, a student at College of Alameda, had the opportunity to learn about advocacy and disability policy from experts at AUCD and Think College, and then travel to Washington, DC, where he visited representatives and talked with them about issues important to people with disabilities, including education, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and more.

Statedata: The National Report On Employment Services And Outcomes Through 2016, Jean Winsor, Jaimie Ciulla Timmons, John Butterworth, Alberto Migliore, Daria Domin, Agnes Zalewska, John Shepard, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

ThinkWork! Publications

Recent legislation and regulation governing Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS), the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014 (WIOA), and settlement agreements between states and the U.S. Department of Justice are clarifying federal intent and paving the way to supporting opportunities for people with disabilities to have meaningful jobs in their communities. With an increasing emphasis on integrated employment and an Employment First philosophy, the nation is poised for transformation that could put Americans with disabilities on a path out of poverty and towards self-sufficiency. However, there remains a significant gap in employment rates between people with and without …

Building An Evidence-Based, Holistic Approach To Advancing Integrated Employment, Allison C. Hall, John Butterworth, Jean Winsor, John Kramer, Kelly Nye-Lengerman, Jaimie Ciulla Timmons, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

ThinkWork! Publications

Since the introduction of supported employment in the Developmental Disabilities Act of 1984 and the Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1986, there has been continued development and refinement of best practices in employment services and supports. Progress includes creative outcomes for individuals with significant support needs including customized jobs and self-employment, community rehabilitation providers that have shifted emphasis to integrated employment, and states that have made a substantial investment in Employment First policy and strategy. Despite these achievements, the promise of integrated employment remains elusive for the majority of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The number of individuals supported in …

Apse Employment First Statement, Apse, Green Mountain Self Advocates, Self Advocates Becoming Empowered, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

ThinkWork! Publications

These authors worked together to write a statement about what Employment First means and why it’s important. Here is an excerpt from the statement.

All people with disabilities should have opportunities to work. Public dollars should be used to pay for supports for people to work in the community. People with disabilities, their families, and their allies believe that:

• All people should have opportunities for real jobs with real wages. It will get us out of poverty. We will be more independent. We will feel more included. All people, with and without disabilities, can work in jobs together earning minimum …

Effective Supervision And Career Advancement Of Individuals With Idd, John Kramer, Jean Winsor, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

All Institute for Community Inclusion Publications

As professionals in the disability field, we are in a unique position to support the career goals of individuals with IDD who want to work as researchers. While the literature contains rich knowledge of how employment service providers can support individuals with IDD and employers, there is limited literature directed towards employers themselves.This poster highlights our experiences supervising individuals with IDD who are employed in the field of research and who receive both individualized supported integrated employment services and natural supports at the workplace.

Kinship Care In Massachusetts, Jan Mutchler, Alison S. Gottlieb, Lona Choi, Ellen A. Bruce

Gerontology Institute Publications

The population of kinship care families in the Commonwealth is diverse in its characteristics, resources, and needs. The often-referenced stereotype of the elderly single grandmother caring for a number of grandchildren holds for only a portion of the kinship care families. Many children are cared for by married couples; many of the grandparents are not elderly; and many of the caregivers are not grandparents, but rather aunts, uncles, grown siblings, or other relatives. Although the duration of the caregiving relationship is unknown for non-grandparental care, most of the grandparent caregivers are involved in long-term caregiving. As such, their needs are …