News

The Workforce Invesment Act is being reauthorized.  Unfortunately, two key provisions would weaken the WIA.  As an organization that serves children, youth and young adults with disabilities and their families, SPAN strongly believes that these provisions are steps in the wrong direction for the disability community, at a time when it is critical to support career development for people with disabilities.  Oppose moving the Rehabilitative Services Administration from the USDept. or Ed to the Dept. of Labor.

First, the proposed move of RSA to DOL comes at the time when RSA is collaborating

Nearly seven years after the lawsuit was filed, and more than five years since the District Court denied the State’s motion to dismiss, disability advocates entered into an historic settlementwith the New Jersey Department of Education to ensure that New Jersey students with disabilities receive an appropriate education in the “least restrictive environment.”  Plaintiffs in the lawsuit included Disability Rights New Jersey (DRNJ), the Education Law Center (ELC), the Statewide Parent Advocacy Network (SPAN) and the ARC of New Jersey.

New Jersey's families faced many challenges due to Sandy.  In addition to the trauma of displacement or sheltering in place, families faced closed schools, economic hardship, and emotional trauma.  But families of children with special needs were disproportionately impacted by the storm and its aftermath.  Under its new SuperStorm Sandy Resiliency Project, SPAN now provides intensive assistance to families of children with special needs in the counties hit hardest by the storm:  Atlantic, Bergen, Cape May, Cumberland, Essex, Hudson, Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean, and Union.

SPAN Family Resource

Alert!  The Cash Option (Self-Directed) Respite from the NJ Department of Human Services Division of Developmental Disabilities has been discontinued effective 2/1/14!  (Please note that respite provided under the Department of Children and Families is not affected by this change.)   The DDD website has the initial 12/23/13 notice and the 1/24/14 update at http://nj.gov/humanservices/ddd/home/.  Per DDD, “This does not mean that these services are being discontinued.”  It just means that families will no longer be reimbursed directly.

There is still time to purchase affordable health coverage that provides essential health benefits on the NJ Health insurance exchange/marketplace! You can do it on line at https://www.healthcare.gov/marketplace/individual/#state=new-jersey.  You can also get information or enroll using other options, such as the phone, on line chat, or in-person navigators.  Find out more at https://www.healthcare.gov/contact-us/