U.S. Department of State: 2011 Summer Student Internship Program

US Department of State

Please be advised the U.S Department of State is now accepting applications for the U.S. Department of State's 2011 Summer Student Internship Program.

Click here (http://careers.state.gov/students/programs.html) for more information and to start the online application process. Please note that the deadline to submit completed applications is November 01, 2010.

You must be a U.S. Citizen and a student (a full- or part-time continuing college or university junior, or graduate student - including graduating seniors intending to go on to graduate school) to be eligible. Please read the program description and vacancy announcement for more information.

We appreciate your interest in a career with the U.S. Department of State.

New Yorkers will be using a new voting system this fall on:

New Yorkers will be using a new voting system this fall on:
General Election: Tuesday, November 2, 2010

To find out more, click here. Learn how it works and where you can practice using it before going to your poll site on election day.

Step 1: Get your paper ballot

Step 2: Mark your paper ballot

Step 3: Scan your paper ballot
Get Hands-on Practice before Election Day:


1. Learning Centers: Visit your local Board Office to have a hands-on experience with the new voting system. Trained staff will be available to guide you through voting on a paper ballot, using the scanner and using the ballot marking device. Click here for Learning Center locations and hours.

2. Find a Voting Demonstration in Your Neighborhood:You are invited to attend any of the demonstrations listed in the Calendar of Events. New events are continually added, so check this page frequently for a demonstration near you.

Blind/Visually Impaired Voters: ImageCast Ballot Marking Device

Image via Wikipedia

Compiled by Susan Cohen of Voting Access Solutions, with the assistance of Lisa Hoffman and Dominion Voting


Introduction:

The Primary and General elections are right around the corner. If you are a voter with a disability, who is registered, to vote, you will have a new way to vote. Thanks to the Help America Vote Act, every county in New York State was required to purchase a new voting system that allows people with various disabilities to vote independently and privately, this is the Ballot Marking Device (BMD).

In New York there are two types of BMDs; the AutoMark and the ImageCast BMD by Dominion Voting Systems. If you live in Albany, Schenectady, New York City, Erie or Nassau Counties you will use the AutoMark. Please see the New York State Board of Elections’ website to learn more about that system.

If you live in the 52 other counties you will have the opportunity to use the ImageCast BMD.

This guide contains supplemental instructions and information for blind and visually impaired voters using the ImageCast BMD.



The ImageCast BMD has three ways to navigate the ballot in order to accommodate voters with various disabilities.



• The Audio Tactical Interface, (ATI) is a keypad that was designed for voters who are blind or sighted voters who have good hand dexterity and want to navigate the ballot in the most efficient way. It allows you to both see the ballot on a screen and hear the ballot through headphones. You will have a choice on which works best for you.

• The paddle buttons are designed for voters with very little hand dexterity. It allows you to both see the ballot on a screen and hear the ballot through headphones. You will have a choice on which works best for you.

• The sip and puff were designed for voters who have no use of their hands or feet. It allows you to both see the ballot on a screen and hear the ballot through headphones. You will have a choice on which works best for you.


For voters who are visually impaired or blind who will vote on the Image Cast BMD using the ATI:
Before You Go to Your Polling Site, Be Aware:

1. If this is your first time voting on the new technology, your voting session may take longer than you expect. Make arrangements with your ride for up to an hour at the polling place. Don’t be afraid to ask for assistance from the poll worker.

2. You will use a keypad called the Audio Tactical Interface (ATI) to mark a paper ballot and you will be guided by the audio feature of the BMD.


Before the Voting Session Begins:

1. Let the poll-worker know that you would like to use the Ballot Marking Device and you want to use the ATI.

2. If you have a visual impairment, it is recommended that you keep the screen on as well as the audio track. This will give you the benefit of using both sight and hearing as you navigate the ballot. Make sure that the font is the correct size for you. It can be enlarged as you listen to the instructions on the audio track or the poll worker can use the zoom buttons on the BMD.

3. If you have no sight, it is recommended that you ask for the screen to be turned off. This preserves the privacy of your vote and the audio track of the voting session will be more logical for you. However, if you have a problem with your voting session, you will need to give the poll worker your headphones so they can assist you.

4. Ask the poll worker to give you the headphones before the voting session begins so you don’t miss any of the instructions on the audio track.

5. Ask the poll worker for the ATI and familiarize yourself with it before the session begins.

6. Ask your poll worker if this election has propositions to vote on. Any propositions will be on the second page of the ballot. When you reach the end of the ballot, press the right pointing triangle also known as the next contest button, to move to the propositions.

7. In the audio track you will notice pauses. Please be patient with the pauses.



Navigating the Ballot and Selecting Candidates:

1. When pushing the buttons on the ATI-press hard for one second. Practice this before your voting session begins.

2. When pushing the buttons to make your selection, there will be a delay before the system responds to you. Please do not keep pushing the buttons. The machine will tell you when your vote has been registered.

3. If you don’t press a button to make a selection within 20 seconds, the instructions will begin again.

4. On the ATI, the triangles that point left and right move backward and forward through the list of contests. The instructions will tell you when to push these triangles.

5. Once you get into the contest such as Governor or LT. Governor, there are arrows on the ATI that point up and down. These move through the list of candidate names. There are no instructions to tell you to press these buttons. If you get confused press the green button and ask for help.

6. At the end of the session, your ballot will be printed out. You will then have the choice of inserting the ballot in the scanner yourself or asking the poll worker, who will use a privacy sleeve, to insert it in the scanner for you.

ACTION ALERT: Veterans' Mental Health and Chemical Dependency Act

ACTION ALERT: Urge Gov. Paterson to Sign the Veterans' Mental Health and Chemical Dependency Act


Take Action!


Action: The Veterans Mental Health Act and Chemical Dependency Act (A11098/S7961) has been sent to the Governor for his signature. This legislation, which passed the Assembly and Senate with overwhelming majorities earlier this year, calls on the New York state government to create a comprehensive, long-term plan for addressing the mental health and substance abuse needs of veterans, current service members, and their families. Governor Paterson has 10 days to act. The Governor's office needs to hear from us NOW!


Call and E-mail the Governor’s Office Urging Him to Sign the Legislation!



To call the Governor, dial 518-474-8390 and leave the following message:



"I'm calling to urge Governor Paterson to sign A11098/S7961 into law immediately. These bills recognize the debt that New York State owes the men and women who have risked their lives in service to our nation by calling for the development of a veterans’ mental health and chemical dependency plan in New York State.”


To E-mail the Governor, click the Take Action button above.

Background:

A.11098/S.7961 calls for the development of a long-range and comprehensive plan to address the mental health and chemical dependency needs of veterans and their families. This plan would address many of the biggest threats to veterans who suffer from physical and mental disabilities—the lack of available services, the lack of accessible housing, the risk of suicide, unemployment and more.



This legislation will lay the groundwork for making it easier to get help for the millions of men and women who risked their physical and mental health in defense of our country.

MHANYS Mental Health Update--Veterans Mental Healthand Link to DRAFT 5.07 Plan

http://www.omh.state.ny.us/omhweb/planning/testimony/2010/Draft_Plan_10-14.pdf


At the Mental Health Association of New York State, we are very proud to work with an affiliate network of 31 MHA’s across New York State in 54 counties. Our affiliates are always working on innovative community programs, trainings and advocacy. Whether the issue has been Timothy’s Law, veterans’ mental health, medication accessibility, workforce issues, geriatric mental health, parents with psychiatric disabilities, employment, juvenile justice, suicide prevention, housing, youth in transition or many other issues, the MHA network has been among the leaders in the field. If you would like more information about the state MHA and our affiliates, you can go to www.mhanys.org

Two prime examples from just the last few days

The MHA in Westchester County has been identified as one of the state’s leaders in the transformation of the mental health system. In page 103 of this year’s Draft 5.07 plan, the work of Westchester MHA and the entire county is highlighted. Congratulations to the MHA in Westchester County for their innovative work. The link to the 5.07 plan is listed above.


The MHA in NYC and the MHA in Nassau County have been among the leaders in the fight for the Veterans Mental Health Act. Below is a Gannett article highlighting the need for the Veterans Mental Health Act. Hopefully through their persistence and tireless advocacy and that of the entire community, Governor Paterson will sign this bill into law.

Advocates Urge Governor To Sign Bill To Help Veterans
Albany Watch Gannett News August 23, 2010
Mental-health and veterans advocates said they are calling and e-mailing Gov. David Paterson’s office to urge him to sign the Veterans Mental Health Act and Chemical Dependency Act. The legislation, which passed the Assembly and Senate with large majorities, would require that the state create a long-term plan to address the mental-health and substance-abuse needs of veterans, active service members and their families.


The Mental Health Association of New York State said the legislation would address a number of the biggest threats to veterans with physical and mental disabilities—lack of available services, lack of affordable and accessible housing, the risk of suicide, unemployment, the special needs of female veterans and other issues.

The bill was sent to the governor last Wednesday, and the governor has 10 days, not including Sundays, to act on it.

“This Act would provide crucial support for the one million veterans in New York State and many millions more family members of veterans,” Giselle Stolper, head of the Mental Health Association of New York City, said in a statement. “We urge Governor Paterson to sign it quickly. Our veterans deserve it.”
Veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan have high rates of mental-health and substance-abuse disorders, according to advocates. They are twice as likely as the general population to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, depression or substance abuse; have twice the risk of suicide; are more than twice as likely to be homeless; and are 20 percent more likely to be unemployed. The impact on their families can include divorce, and children at a higher risk of emotional difficulties and struggles in school.

http://statepolitics.lohudblogs.com/2010/08/23/advocates-urge-governor-to-sign-bill-to-help-veterans/

Fall 2010 Internship Program Opportunities

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

Dear CCSD Members,

Please see information below shared from Mr. Dan Simonette from the CUNY Central:

Company: ZenithOptimediaGeographic Location: New York City

Deadline for Responses: ASAP

Topic: Fall 2010 Internship Program Opportunities

Question: If you are eager to learn, motivated to succeed and looking for an internship that will put you on the business side of advertising, ZenithOptimedia may be the place for you. ZenithOptimedia, one of the world's leading media services agencies, is looking for talented, enthusiastic students to intern in our New York office for 2010. Please check out our website for more information: www.zenithoptimedia.com.Overview:As part of our commitment to professional development for our current and future staff, we offer the opportunity for students to participate in our internship program four times a year. Our Fall internship program is a 10 week program beginning the week of September 14th through mid-November. This is a paid internship, 20-25 a week. All Interns must be available Tuesdays from 11:00am-2:00pm for The ZenithOptimedia University Training Program. Please note no housing will be provided.Qualifications:Candidates must have completed their Junior year and are working towards their college degree in Marketing, Communications, Advertising or Liberal Arts and have earned a 3.0 GPA or higher. Must possess excellent communication and organizational skills with the ability to multi-task and prioritize. Proficiency in Microsoft Office strongly desired.To Apply:For consideration, candidates should forward their cover letter and resume (specifying their interest in an internship in the subject line) to internship.recruitment@zenithmedia-na.com.EOE/AA/M/F/V/D

Topic: INTERNSHIP: ZENITH MEDIA, ZENITHGPE/THE PROGRAM EXCHANGE

Question:Internship Description:ZenithGPE/The Program Exchange, a division of Zenith Media, is a barter syndication operation. The function of our group is twofold. First, we sell syndicated programming to local television stations across the nation and second, we buy commercial schedules on these local stations on behalf of our client(s).

Interns will serve as assistants to ZenithGPE/The Program Exchange media buyers, who coordinate national commercial schedules for our main. Their primary function is to analyze commercial schedules that have aired, resolve various discrepancies through billing, and lastly approve those invoices for payment.

Student Qualifications:* Must be a currently enrolled college student

* A detail oriented student, possessing good communication and organizational skills

* Must be proficient in Microsoft Word, Excel and some knowledge of PowerPoint

* A student that can commit to three full days (M-F 9-5) per week.

* All Interns must be available Tuesdays from 11:00am-2:00pm for The ZenithOptimedia University Training Program.

Duration of internship:Interns are needed on a year-round basis; therefore, we encourage students to continue their internship over multiple semesters if beneficial to both parties.

Compensation:Interns will be paid a competitive rate

US DoT proposed ADA changes: testify & submit comments in writng

The US Dept. of Transportation (DOT) is proposing important positive changes to its ADA regulation that are being resisted by most public transportation providers. Disability advocates’ support of the DOT proposals is crucial to the outcome.


* DOT proposes to require all publicly funded transit providers to make reasonable modifications of policies, practices, and procedures in order to avoid discrimination


* DOT proposes to require all new Amtrak and commuter rail stations to provide full platform access


08/20 10-1 PM, DOT Public Meeting (call-ins) Proposed changes to DOT ADA Regulation The rulemaking docket deadline 8/25

Can you call into public meeting and offer testimony tailored to one of the subjects below


1. Riders of public transit (including buses, trains, and ADA Paratransit) who have needed minor modifications of policies, practices, or procedures that transit agency would not provide. For example, someone with diabetes who must eat at a certain hour rode the subway but was disallowed from eating due to a general no-eating policy; someone who must use a specific seat on a vehicle for a disability-related reason; someone who needed a bus to reposition slightly in order to board, due to construction barrier or snowdrift, for a disability-related reason; etc.


2. Wheelchair users wanting to ride Amtrak who had problems boarding or disembarking, due to Amtrak's reliance on a portable lift, rather than being able to board the train directly from a high-level boarding platform.

Also greatly needed are advocates who wish to speak at the public meeting (in person or by phone) on the importance of these issues to the disability community. Learn more about them from DREDF's docket comments at the link below. Feel free to use any of these arguments, or others of your own. There is no need to mention or cite DREDF:


http://dredf.org/transportation/draftcoments6_06.html
IF YOU WILL SPEAK AT DOT PUBLIC MEETING:


Call in advance to DOT's Office of the Assistant General Counsel for Regulation and Enforcement at 202-366-4723, or e-mail laura.reeves@dot.gov


You may also submit written comments (include "Office of the Secretary, DOT" & Docket ID Number OST-2006-23985) by any of the following methods:

Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and follow the online instructions for submitting comments.


Mail: Docket Management Facility
U.S. Department of Transportation
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE

West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140
Washington, DC 20590-0001
* Fax: 202-493-2251

See DOT's announcement of the public meeting and docket re-opening at:

http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2010/2010-19673.htm
http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2010/pdf/2010-19673.pdf

Improving Access to Home and Community-Based Services and Long-Term Care Services

Improving Access to Home and Community-Based Services - Information Bulletin # 319 (8/2010).



Nearly five years ago, Congress amended Medicaid by adding Section 1915 (i), intending to increase community-based services instead of institutional Medicaid services by permitting greater flexibility than Waivers permit. Unfortunately, only a few states took advantage of this.
In enacting the Affordable Care Act in 2010, Congress made a number of additional changes which are extremely important to the disability community. However, unless your State opts to take advantage of these changes, they will not happen. These amendments take away many excuses the

States have used in the past.

On August 6, 2010, CMS wrote a "Dear State Medicaid Director" encouraging States to take advantage of the ACA 2010 amendments. Here are the changes:

1. The ACA strengthened Section 1915 ( i ) to remove the requirement that individuals had to meet an institutional level of care in order to qualify for home and community-based services. Unlike eligibility for

Medicaid Waivers which require a person meet an institutional level of care, the 2010 amendments permit your state to provide community-based services for people who are not otherwise eligible for institutional care. Heh - makes sense to provide services before a person loses more ADLs.

2. Another big change is that the Affordable Care Act amended this Section to permit States to provide community-based services to persons with chronic mental illnesses and/or substance use disorders.

Services for this population are defined extremely broadly. This is long overdue and will help a portion of the disability community that has been shortchanged too long.


3. States now have the option to provide thee community-based services to persons whose incomes are 300% of the SSI income benefit.

4. Benefits can be targeted either to specific population groups without violating Medicaid's comparability requirements. Alternatively, States could target by functional needs. This permits States to have multiple programs, each targeted at specific populations, e.g., one for persons with physical needs and another benefit package targeted at persons with chronic mental illnesses. It permits your State to define populations' needs with great precision and specifics.


5. Services can be narrowly defined, e.g., personal care or home health aide, instead of the Waiver package of services. There goes a big excuse States have used with Waivers, i.e., they had to provide a broad range of services to everyone on the Waiver.
6. States have the option to offer consumers "self-direction." In the 8/6/10 Dear State Medicaid Director letter, it states that "CMS urges all States to afford participants the opportunity to direct some or all of their HCBS. Self-direction permits participants to plan and purchase their HCBS under their direction and control or through an authorized representative." Well, how about that?

These changes become effective October 1, 2010.


You and your State Medicaid officials have to begin this process now!

Let's not let this slip away. There could be great financial savings if

these provisions are used creatively.

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Long-Term Care Services & Supports Update: August 6, 2010 Letter to State Medicaid Directors on Improving Access to Home & Community-Based Services


Center for Medicaid, CHIP and Survey & Certification

Letter from Cindy Mann, Director, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) about changes to Section 1915(i) of the Social Security Act which take effect on October 1, 2010. These changes include revised and new 1915(i) provisions for removal of barriers to offering home and community-based services (HCBS) through the Medicaid State plan. Section 1915(i) gives states an opportunity to offer services and supports before individuals need institutional care. The letter provides states guidance on important changes to the law. This link opens a PDF document.

http://www.cms.gov/smdl/downloads/SMD10015.pdf.

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VERY IMPORTANT!!! If anybody is getting this email