CDS has partnered with the Delaware Academy of School Leadership, based at UD, and the Delaware Department of Education to create a statewide “professional learning network.” The network provides educators – including general education teachers and principals – training on supporting students with special needs. Its goal is to impart the skills and strategies necessary to effectively teach students receiving special education services in mainstream classrooms.
A work program for Sussex Consortium students with disabilities is helping about 70 young adults learn job skills so they can transition to the workplace after graduation.The program, open to students 14–21 years old, places students based on their interests and employer needs. About 50 local businesses participate. Students must apply and interview for jobs and practice proper job etiquette, such as offering two week’s notice if they plan to switch to another place of employment.
Delaware Treasurer Colleen Davis writes in support of federal legislation that would raise the maximum age of eligibility to open an ABLE account from 26 to 46. ABLE accounts are savings accounts with certain tax benefits available to people with disabilities. An estimated 0.5 percent of eligible U.S. residents have an ABLE account and the national association of state treasurers has warned that without a large infusion of new money – as would likely happen with an eligibility expansion – the program may collapse.
The nonprofit Preston’s March for Energy, along with Fusion Racing and Placers, a local staffing agency, gave away 20 adaptive bikes to children with mobility limitations after a Newark 5K fundraising run/walk. The president of Placers says he hopes to make the giveaway a yearly event.
An increasing number of hospitals are offering “interactive patient-care systems” — a tablet with controls and apps patients can use, including one with access to their hospital medical information. Physicians and health care researchers report that patients using these systems are more engaged in their care and miscommunications about medical records are reduced.
