Institute for Community Inclusion

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We are hiring a Research Associate II to assist the Inclusive Postsecondary Education Team in developing and managing cross project research and evaluation projects addressing state and federal services that support postsecondary education, transition to college, and employment and community inclusion for individuals with intellectual disability. Learn more and apply by January 6:

Erick Elizeus Mukiza is the Executive Director of ESS Creative and Legal Foundation in Tanzania and a Spring 2024 alumnus in the #ProFellows Program on Inclusive Civic Engagement. Erick worked on a fellowship project empowering Deaf and hard-of-hearing persons in Tanzania to learn about alternative dispute resolution. Read Erick’s blog to learn more about his work and collaboration with High Court Judges in Tanzania to improve the accessibility of legal processes for Deaf and hard of hearing persons: https://buff.ly/3VOP2QL #ExchangeOurWorld #CitizenDiplomacy Image Caption: Training participants seated in the front row, left to right are: Spring 2020 PFP Alumna Aneth Gerana; Senior Judge Hon. Arufani Kweka; Hon. Zahra Maruma; Senior Judge Hon. Angela Bahati; and Spring 2024 PFP Alumnus Erick Elizeus Mukiza.

How can your provider agency implement best practices and improve integrated employment outcomes for people with disabilities? Check out the latest #ThinkWork promising practice about how Rise, Inc., a Minnesota-based services provider, was able to hire and retain quality staff: https://buff.ly/4gwdSNx Providers can use ThinkWork’s catalog of promising practices. These briefs illustrate how community rehabilitation providers implement best practices and improve integrated employment outcomes: https://buff.ly/49SnbFc

ICI and Think College staffers Meg Grigal, Maria Paiewonsky, Caitlyn Bukaty, and Irina Cain recently co-authored a chapter about postsecondary education for students with intellectual disability for the second edition of the Handbook of Research-Based Practices for Educating Students with Intellectual Disability. In the chapter, the authors discuss the legislative and historical background of postsecondary education for students with disabilities in the U.S., including policy changes at the state and regional level. The chapter also reviews the increasing need to address diversity, equity, and student voice within postsecondary education opportunities and examines how evolving postsecondary education opportunities impact the preparation of transition personnel. Read more about the chapter on the ICI blog:

Clare Papay and Meg Grigal traveled to Ireland for a conference and meetings with colleagues from across Europe. They kicked off the week with a series of meetings with staff at the Trinity Centre for People with Intellectual Disabilities (TCPID) at Trinity College Dublin. They then traveled to University College Cork for the European State of the Art Conference: Inclusion in Action. Meg presented the opening keynote, “Nurturing Inclusive Higher Education in Europe – Critical Insights from the Think College Experience” Meg also presented the JoinIN Symposium: Next Steps for a Successful Future with Prof. Wolfgang Plaute from Austria and Prof. Michael Shevlin from Ireland. With Dr. Beth Myers from the Taishoff Center for Inclusive Higher Education at Syracuse University, Clare and Meg led a workshop called “Building Professional Knowledge about Inclusive Higher Education: Critical Factors of Success” Clare and Meg also presented a poster, “Demonstrating Progress and Potential: Lessons Learned from Federally Funded Inclusive Postsecondary Education in the United States” Image Caption 1: Group photo TCPID (on screen) Prof. Conor McGuckin, TCPID Director. (L-R) Dr. Beth Myers, Syracuse University; Dr. Vivian Rath, Trinity College Dublin; Des Aston, TCPID; Brianna Shults, Syracuse University; Jenny Banks, TCPID; Jill Wodnut, INCLUDE Coordinator; Meg Grigal, ICI; and Clare Papay, ICI. Image Caption 2: Meg and Clare stand next to their photo. Image Caption 3: Clare, Meg, and Beth ready to lead their workshop session Image Caption 4: Graphic recording of Day 1 of the conference, with Meg’s keynote in the center. Graphic recording by Hazel Hurley buff.ly/3DsrbQr

College can impact our future employment, income, and social connections. Students with disability have access to more and better postsecondary education options when they are prepared through college-based transition services, family support, and a supportive college search process. College options also expand when federal funding and legislation support the development of inclusive higher education programs. Read the latest comprehensive review by ICI Think College staffers on the benefits of postsecondary education experiences for adults with intellectual and developmental disability: https://buff.ly/3Dv1O0A #ThinkCollege #InclusiveHigherEd #PostSecondaryEd #IPSE

Think College’s Chelsea VanHorn Stinnett recently co-authored an academic article with colleagues at the University of South Carolina that used a participatory research method called photovoice to analyze how U.S. college students with intellectual disabilities understand self-determination. Photovoice is a partnership between researchers and participants, where participants take photos of specific parts of their lives and then explain them. Researchers used photovoice in an inclusive postsecondary education program at a large university to give emerging adults a platform to share their lived experiences and raise consciousness about social realities within their college community. Learn more about this research, published in the academic journal Disability & Society:

Do you provide employment services for people with intellectual disabilities? Sign up for our free, self-paced #ExploreVR IT’S EMPLOYMENT trainings this January, available all month long! This month, we offer two trainings: Building Employer Relations: The Dual Customer Approach and Family Engagement & Employment Success. What do other VR agency staff and partners have to say? “[After this Employer Relations training,] I have begun researching employers and businesses to learn more about their products, services, and presence in the community before reaching out.” Each training is worth 2 CRC credits. Register today! https://buff.ly/3YlGZLu #ITSEmployment

Vocational rehabilitation and employment services staff: Learn new skills and earn CRC credits with the #ExploreVR IT’S EMPLOYMENT 10-week training, beginning February 2025! Those of you who support job seekers with intellectual disabilities throughout the employment process can take this free, online, instructor-led course for 27 CRC credits. The course includes lessons on cultural humility and family engagement, building a career plan, financial literacy, business engagement, and much more! Learn more and sign up!