Recognizing the importance of television as a channel for the dissemination of public information, education and entertainment, ITU, in collaboration with partner G3ict, has released Making TV Accessible, a new digital inclusion report designed to help the millions of persons worldwide living with a disability that prevents them from fully enjoying the audiovisual content coming into their homes.
The report identifies the kinds of access services required by a range of persons with disabilities, along with different accessibility options. These include closed captioning and signing for the deaf, audio description and audio captions for the visually impaired, and accessible remote control devices for the elderly and those with reduced dexterity.
It also explains how access services are produced and delivered so that regulators and service providers can better understand the issues and costs, emphasizes the need to make target users aware of access services, and provides a checklist for accessible TV implementation.
Link to full report here.
Showing posts with label disabilities. Show all posts
Showing posts with label disabilities. Show all posts
Friday, December 09, 2011
Making TV Accessible
Thursday, September 15, 2011
OPWDD and CDTA Renew Partnership to Aid Local Homeowners with Disabilities
Program provides 24 months of free bus service to Capital Region residents
ALBANY, NY – Continuing their commitment to help individuals with disabilities live independently, the New York State Office for People With Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) and the Capital District Transportation Authority (CDTA) have announced 24 months of free unlimited bus passes to Capitol Region residents with disabilities who purchase a home through OPWDD’s Home of Your Own Program (HOYO).
The program is also open to income-qualified parents or legal guardians of people with developmental disabilities or mental illness, and to direct support professionals who provide care.
OPWDD Commissioner Courtney Burke said, “We are committed to giving individuals with disabilities the support and resources they want and need to be successful in their day-to-day lives. Owning a home is not for everyone, but for those who make that decision, having ready access to reliable public transportation opens up new opportunities. I thank CDTA for their partnership and commitment to help people with disabilities to fulfill their dreams of owning a home.”
CDTA Chairwoman Denise Figueroa said, “ ‘Our ‘Homeowner’s Transit Use Incentive Program’ helps individuals with disabilities to maintain their independence by offering easy and reliable access to employment, shopping centers and health institutions to conduct their daily routines and improve their quality of life. To help transition people to public transportation, our Travel Trainers are available through appointment to teach new customers how to ride the bus and plan a trip itinerary.”
CDTA has issued passes to about 100 homebuyers through “Transit Use Incentive Program” partnerships, since the programs began in 2005, and has distributed almost 5,000 passes to new homeowners 64 percent of whom say they will continue to ride CDTA after the free pass program expired.
The agreement, dubbed the “Homeowner’s Transit Use Incentive Program,” will provide free, unlimited access CDTA transit passes, as well as travel training assistance. CDTA “Travel trainers” assist people or groups to learn how to take a bus – specifically, helping them to plan their trip, reading and understanding route maps and schedules, getting on and off a bus properly, paying fares and purchasing passes, transferring to other buses, riding specific routes, and traveling independently and comfortably when riding a bus.
Through the State of New York Mortgage Agency (SONYMA)/Housing Finance Agency (HFA), first-time homebuyers with developmental disabilities or mental illnesses and their income-eligible parents or legal guardians can get a 30- or 40-year fixed rate mortgage at a low 4 percent interest rate, with100 percent LTV financing and down payment and/or closing cost assistance.
Participants must be 18 years of age or older, be a first- time homebuyer, have an income and be credit worthy. OPWDD and the state Office of Mental Health (OMH) are the only agencies determining eligibility for participation in the HOYO program. All eligible borrowers are referred to M&T Bank, which oversees a mortgage product specifically designed to meet the needs of these target populations.
hrough a HOME grant from the New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR), OPWDD assists first-time homebuyers with developmental disabilities or mental illness and their income-eligible parents or legal guardians with a variety of expenses, including down payments, closing costs or minor household repairs. Additionally, OPWDD is approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development as a housing counseling agency and HOYO representatives are certified by NeighborWorks America to provide pre- and post-homeownership counseling, financial education, credit counseling, foreclosure prevention, identity theft and predatory lending.
For more information about HOYO, people are encouraged to contact OPWDD at 1-866-946-9733.
For more information about CDTA services, visit www.cdta.org
ALBANY, NY – Continuing their commitment to help individuals with disabilities live independently, the New York State Office for People With Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) and the Capital District Transportation Authority (CDTA) have announced 24 months of free unlimited bus passes to Capitol Region residents with disabilities who purchase a home through OPWDD’s Home of Your Own Program (HOYO).
The program is also open to income-qualified parents or legal guardians of people with developmental disabilities or mental illness, and to direct support professionals who provide care.
OPWDD Commissioner Courtney Burke said, “We are committed to giving individuals with disabilities the support and resources they want and need to be successful in their day-to-day lives. Owning a home is not for everyone, but for those who make that decision, having ready access to reliable public transportation opens up new opportunities. I thank CDTA for their partnership and commitment to help people with disabilities to fulfill their dreams of owning a home.”
CDTA Chairwoman Denise Figueroa said, “ ‘Our ‘Homeowner’s Transit Use Incentive Program’ helps individuals with disabilities to maintain their independence by offering easy and reliable access to employment, shopping centers and health institutions to conduct their daily routines and improve their quality of life. To help transition people to public transportation, our Travel Trainers are available through appointment to teach new customers how to ride the bus and plan a trip itinerary.”
CDTA has issued passes to about 100 homebuyers through “Transit Use Incentive Program” partnerships, since the programs began in 2005, and has distributed almost 5,000 passes to new homeowners 64 percent of whom say they will continue to ride CDTA after the free pass program expired.
The agreement, dubbed the “Homeowner’s Transit Use Incentive Program,” will provide free, unlimited access CDTA transit passes, as well as travel training assistance. CDTA “Travel trainers” assist people or groups to learn how to take a bus – specifically, helping them to plan their trip, reading and understanding route maps and schedules, getting on and off a bus properly, paying fares and purchasing passes, transferring to other buses, riding specific routes, and traveling independently and comfortably when riding a bus.
Through the State of New York Mortgage Agency (SONYMA)/Housing Finance Agency (HFA), first-time homebuyers with developmental disabilities or mental illnesses and their income-eligible parents or legal guardians can get a 30- or 40-year fixed rate mortgage at a low 4 percent interest rate, with100 percent LTV financing and down payment and/or closing cost assistance.
Participants must be 18 years of age or older, be a first- time homebuyer, have an income and be credit worthy. OPWDD and the state Office of Mental Health (OMH) are the only agencies determining eligibility for participation in the HOYO program. All eligible borrowers are referred to M&T Bank, which oversees a mortgage product specifically designed to meet the needs of these target populations.
hrough a HOME grant from the New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR), OPWDD assists first-time homebuyers with developmental disabilities or mental illness and their income-eligible parents or legal guardians with a variety of expenses, including down payments, closing costs or minor household repairs. Additionally, OPWDD is approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development as a housing counseling agency and HOYO representatives are certified by NeighborWorks America to provide pre- and post-homeownership counseling, financial education, credit counseling, foreclosure prevention, identity theft and predatory lending.
For more information about HOYO, people are encouraged to contact OPWDD at 1-866-946-9733.
For more information about CDTA services, visit www.cdta.org
Friday, April 29, 2011
Workplace Accomodations for Persons with Disabilities
Webinar Date: May 12, 2011 @ 2:00 PM Eastern - 60 minutes
Upcoming webinar will inform participants about workplace accommodations with a focus on non-visible disabilities, such as mental illness, learning disabilities, the accommodation process, and available resources.
Presenters: Anne E. Hirsch, Co-Director, Job Accommodation Network (JAN); Linda Yost, JAN Consultant
Moderator: Rande Chafkin, Senior Program Specialist for Disability Program Division of Adult Services, Employment and Training Administration
The Job Accommodation Network (JAN) is the leading source of free, expert, and confidential guidance on workplace accommodations and disability employment issues. Working toward practical solutions that benefit both employer and employee, JAN helps people with disabilities enhance their employability and show employers how to capitalize on the value and talent that people with disabilities add to the workplace.
JAN’s consultants offer one-on-one guidance on workplace accommodations, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and related legislation, and self-employment and entrepreneurship options for people with disabilities. Assistance is available both over the phone and online. Those who can benefit from JAN’s services include the workforce investment, employers, government agencies, service providers, as well as people with disabilities and their families.
Whether hiring a person with a disability or if an employee becomes disabled, it makes good business sense to provide a workplace accommodation to retain a qualified employee and reduce staff turnover.
Most accommodations are simple, no or low-cost; there are sometimes tax credits and other incentives for employers to make workplace accommodations for persons with disabilities.
During the Webinar, JAN staff will discuss its web site, highlighting useful resources for the One-Stop Career Center system. There will also be a demonstration of JAN’s services via an “Ask JAN” session.
Learn practical solutions to ensure workplace success.
A podcast interview will provide follow-up to this Webinar.
To Register; must register in Workforce3one first
Upcoming webinar will inform participants about workplace accommodations with a focus on non-visible disabilities, such as mental illness, learning disabilities, the accommodation process, and available resources.
Presenters: Anne E. Hirsch, Co-Director, Job Accommodation Network (JAN); Linda Yost, JAN Consultant
Moderator: Rande Chafkin, Senior Program Specialist for Disability Program Division of Adult Services, Employment and Training Administration
The Job Accommodation Network (JAN) is the leading source of free, expert, and confidential guidance on workplace accommodations and disability employment issues. Working toward practical solutions that benefit both employer and employee, JAN helps people with disabilities enhance their employability and show employers how to capitalize on the value and talent that people with disabilities add to the workplace.
JAN’s consultants offer one-on-one guidance on workplace accommodations, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and related legislation, and self-employment and entrepreneurship options for people with disabilities. Assistance is available both over the phone and online. Those who can benefit from JAN’s services include the workforce investment, employers, government agencies, service providers, as well as people with disabilities and their families.
Whether hiring a person with a disability or if an employee becomes disabled, it makes good business sense to provide a workplace accommodation to retain a qualified employee and reduce staff turnover.
Most accommodations are simple, no or low-cost; there are sometimes tax credits and other incentives for employers to make workplace accommodations for persons with disabilities.
During the Webinar, JAN staff will discuss its web site, highlighting useful resources for the One-Stop Career Center system. There will also be a demonstration of JAN’s services via an “Ask JAN” session.
Learn practical solutions to ensure workplace success.
A podcast interview will provide follow-up to this Webinar.
To Register; must register in Workforce3one first
Thursday, July 22, 2010
The ADA Turns 20
The US Department is celebrating the 20th anniversary of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act this week. I find this to be exciting; at the same time, it seems as though some people seem to find ADA difficult and punitive. While I'm sure that one can find bad outcomes of good intentions in any bureaucracy, the core message of the Act is to make goods and services more accessible to a population that is nearly one in five Americans, and growing.
As the Reaching Out to Customers with Disabilities section indicates that "The ADA asks public accommodations to take steps that are 'readily achievable' or are 'reasonable' or that do not constitute an 'undue burden' to enable people with disabilities to be their customers and clients."
I was at a business conference a few years ago, and a representative laid out some examples about how a business could become more customer friendly. A dry cleaner had a three-step walk up to the entrance. Not only would a ramp been expensive, it would not have been practical, because the angle would have been too steep. The solution: setting up a buzzer at the bottom of the stairs for an employee to come out to the customer and pick up or deliver the dry cleaning.
I was struck by the conversation I had with someone at my former church. There was a debate before I had gotten there as to whether they should build a ramp. Some folks indicated that there were no current parishioners who needed a ramp. The response: "Yes, and if we don't build the ramp, we never will." Subsequently, folks with walkers and wheelchairs and others for whom the few steps were a burden have made good use of that ramp.
Accessibility is not just a matter of "fairness" or "justice"; it's good business sense.
***
Info about the Disability website and blog; the latter features some great stories.
As the Reaching Out to Customers with Disabilities section indicates that "The ADA asks public accommodations to take steps that are 'readily achievable' or are 'reasonable' or that do not constitute an 'undue burden' to enable people with disabilities to be their customers and clients."
I was at a business conference a few years ago, and a representative laid out some examples about how a business could become more customer friendly. A dry cleaner had a three-step walk up to the entrance. Not only would a ramp been expensive, it would not have been practical, because the angle would have been too steep. The solution: setting up a buzzer at the bottom of the stairs for an employee to come out to the customer and pick up or deliver the dry cleaning.
I was struck by the conversation I had with someone at my former church. There was a debate before I had gotten there as to whether they should build a ramp. Some folks indicated that there were no current parishioners who needed a ramp. The response: "Yes, and if we don't build the ramp, we never will." Subsequently, folks with walkers and wheelchairs and others for whom the few steps were a burden have made good use of that ramp.
Accessibility is not just a matter of "fairness" or "justice"; it's good business sense.
***
Info about the Disability website and blog; the latter features some great stories.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Disability Etiquette
From the United Spinal Association: "A great resource for businesses, schools, organizations, staff training and disability awareness programs. You don’t have to feel awkward when interacting with, or when you meet, a person who has a disability. This booklet provides tips for you to follow that will help create positive interactions and raise everyone’s comfort levels. The publication offers advice related to a diverse number of specific disabilities."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)