Workshop Proposal Form

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The Association of Regional Center Agencies (ARCA) A New Day: Working Toward A Positive Future Conference is being held on September 18 and 19, 2012, at the Pasadena Hilton. ARCA represents the 21 non-profit regional centers that serve over 250,000 Californians with developmental disabilities and their families. This is the fourth ARCA employment and housing conference. Previous conferences have all reached capacity and we anticipate that our audience will exceed 400 people. The conference provides a forum for sharing knowledge and expertise on the promising practices and innovations that make employment and housing a reality for persons with developmental disabilities.

Nominations are being solicited for workshop presenters to showcase promising practices and innovations in employment. Employment workshop themes are detailed below as examples and additional workshop themes are also welcome for consideration. The conference is a vehicle for encouraging the replication of promising practices and the sharing of innovative ideas and practices. In furtherance of this goal and to keep conference fees reasonable, presenters will be recruited who are willing to share their expertise without compensation. The submission deadline is February 1, 2012 and nominations can be submitted using the form provided below.

• Workshop presenters provide services without payment for speaker fees or travel expenses.
• Workshop presenters are required to pay the conference registration fee.
• All workshops will be 90 minutes in duration, but some may be repeated over the two-day conference.
• Workshop presenters are responsible for submitting power point presentations and materials in advance. Presenter power points will be posted on the ARCA website for download. It is estimated that 50-70 persons will attend each breakout session.
• All session rooms will be arranged theatre style, and will be equipped with a projection screen, LCD projector, lap top computer, one hand held microphone, a draped table and four chairs for presenters, and a hand held microphone for audience Q & A. Any additional equipment must be arranged and paid for by the presenter.
• In addition to workshop presentations on the morning of September 19, an opportunity for informal roundtable discussions on employment and housing topics and the sharing of innovative materials and ideas will take place. More details to follow.

Suggested Employment Workshop Themes:

1. Transition From School To Work – Examples: Collaborative projects with education, rehabilitation, regional centers and service providers that have resulted in successful transition from school to employment, ensuring a smooth transition for persons with autism, making transition work through self-advocacy, building a culture of employment, self-empowerment and self-advocacy to improve school outcomes, using the IEP and IPP process to obtain employment outcomes, community college and University based employment programs and early transition planning.
2. Job Development and Marketing – Examples: Customized employment, marketing in this economy, marketing and job development in rural communities, job development and marketing 101, and promising practices in job development.
3. Transformation of Services – Examples: Transforming sheltered workshops and segregated services to integrated employment and transitioning from segregated day services to integrated employment.
4. Job Support Resources – Examples: Accessing one stop career centers, benefit planning resources, community college and workforce resources, technology and other job supports for persons with autism, use of technology in the workplace and to increase independence, and using the discovery process to improve employment outcomes.
5. Internship Programs and Volunteer Pathways – Examples: Project Search partnerships, accessing corporate internship programs, successful volunteer and internship programs serving persons with autism, AmeriCorps and volunteer pathways to employment.
6. Microenterprise and Self-Employment- Examples: How clients have started their own businesses, start-up and mentoring resources, development of self-employment options for persons with autism, starting up and maintaining a Microenterprise, and accessing local resources for self employment.
7. Post-Secondary Education: Examples: The Higher Education Opportunity Act, College to Career programs, post-secondary options for persons with autism, and how post-secondary education can prepare students for careers and higher paying jobs.
8. Public Policy, Systems Change and Advocacy – Examples: SCDD Employment First Policy and Report, Senate Select Committee on ASD, and other California and national advocacy, policy and legislative employment initiatives.

Timeline:

• Nomination Submission Deadline 2/1/12
• Notification of Nominees March 2012

Biography:

• Please also attach a brief, one-paragraph (up to 450 characters and spaces) biography when completing the form below.

Use the form below to send nominations:

All fields are required