October 2023 Meeting

Meeting Date
  • Opening quotation 
    • “To me, disability is not a monolith, nor is it a clear-cut binary of disabled and non-disabled. Disability is mutable and ever-evolving. Disability is both apparent and non apparent. Disability is pain, struggle, brilliance, abundance, and job”
      • Alice Wong (Founder of the Disability Visibility Project)
  • Agenda: 
    • Invited Guests: Allison Kusher, Director of Disability Equity and ADA Coordinator, ECRT
      • Slides will be sent out later.
    • The ADA team introductions
      • Allison Kushner
        • The Director and ADA Coordinator
      • Megan Marshall
        • The Assistant Director of Disability Equity and the deputy ADA Coordinator within the Equity, Civil Rights, and Title IX office.
      • Phil Deaton
        • Digital Accessibility Coordinator. 
          • He makes sure that everyone at the university understands the obligations around digital accessibility.
      • Erin Norris
        •  Digital Communication Specialist in ECRT for all of ECRT.
          • works on the website and thinks about what the next steps of the website will look like. 
      • Dr. Stephanie Beatty
        • One of the ASL interpreters under ECRT.
          • Helps provide access to meetings, training, events, to educate about interpreters and working with deaf individuals.
      • Casie Watson
        •  Sign Language interpreter at ECRT.
      • Erin Metz
        • An accessibility specialist with the ADA team.
          • works with making sure accommodations are met and helps with workshops.
      • Jordan Funk
        • Accessibility Specialist in ECRT
      • Angie Gruendl
        • Case manager with the ADA team
          • looking forward to answering questions employees have about the accommodation process.
      • Sarah Caruso
        • Administrative Specialist on the ADA Team
          • Log incoming cases and assign them. Assists with ASL and Carte interpreters.
      • Adding a 3rd disability specialist
    • They are not the only unit on campus that is interested in reasonable accommodations but they are a resource and can provide advice and consultation to  a unit and can take the lead on facilitating the process. 
    • On campus they take part in reviewing cases that may come through the grievance process or discrimination complaints. They also work on various committees including committees involving physical accessibility and digital accessibility.
    • What are they up to?
      • Expanding materials, training, and resources. 
      • Transitioning to a database that is specific to the ADA team.
      • “Report a Barrier” form for any and all accessibility concerns
        • Will be a centralized location
        • Associated QR code for placement across campus
        • Ability to upload images in the form
        • Ability to add information about the barrier
        • Addresses physical and digital accessibility issues.
        • Will work with whoever reported the barrier to let them know that their concern is being looked into
      • Expanding website presence
        • Ability to filter what they are looking for by relationship to the university in order to find useful resources.
      • 50 years of the Rehab Act
      • NDEAM
        • Inaugural NDEAM resource fair event
      • Upcoming events 
    • Questions:
      • Will there be a virtual option to access the content shared at the fair?
        • Flier information 
          • CfDC flier
        • Most are available through the events page
        • Drop-in hour this month for people to virtually ask questions

 

  • Is there a place where that information is collected making it discoverable in one place?
    • Yes they will be on the website including recording of presentations.
  • Relationship with Work Connections? The place where staff is directed to for staff needing accommodations. 
    • ECRT does not have access to provide extended sick leave or paid benefits.
    • Goal is to help keep employees with disabilities at work.
    • This office looks at accommodation at work for accessibility.
    • No need to go to work connections if they do not need time off. 
    • ECRT can help determine whether or not an individual has a disability but there is a different threshold because they are not looking at giving paid benefits to employees
  • Seems like you are competing? Who does what? Many people in the disability community have had issues with Work Connections and it leaves him wondering if ECRT is a place for everyone to go if it does not address pay benefits. Can people feel comfortable going to you for support for everything short of paychecks
    • Yes. We appreciate this question. They work directly with LSA and work together around reasonableness for all of their cases. Where there is not a navigator program you can consider Accessibility Specialists as the navigators for other units across campus.
    • Looking about how to adjust the work for individuals
    • Don’t look through medical lens but look through lived experience.
  • Could you spend a little time explaining how you work with “reasonable accommodations” as a framework, and how you might work with those with medical/disability-related trauma in prior experiences to help people who might work with you?
    • What has been traumatic for folks in the past is not knowing what the interactive process looks like: what steps, privacy, who is talked to, what autonomy does the individual have in the process?
      • The team is trying to make the process be more transparent than it has historically been.
      • Make the office a place where you can ask questions before you move forward. This allows you to get your concerns addressed before negative experiences take place.
      • Reasonable accommodation
        • They have a presentation on what reasonable accommodation means that they would be happy to give the council. 
        • This idea can sometimes present a barrier.
        • Learning about barriers as part of their condition in relation to their work/role here at U-M.
        • It may be useful to analyze the term reasonable accommodations case by case.
  • NDEAM/ADA Team workshops are listed on the Happening @ Michigan event calendar: https://events.umich.edu/group/4765 
    • Are these events being recorded for later viewing?
      • Yes they will be recorded for later viewing