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Exceptional Employers

The 10th annual Exceptional Employers celebration was held at Tallahassee City Hall as part of recognizing October as Disability Employment Awareness Month. Eight businesses that hire and retain people with disabilities as part of their workforce were recognized by the state of Florida for being exceptional employers of people with disabilities. To read more, check out this press release. To watch the event online visit The Florida Channel's website.

Disability Employment Awareness Month

Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi introduced a resolution at the Tuesday, September 29, Cabinet meeting declaring October as Disability Employment Awareness Month in Florida. Agency for Persons with Disabilities (APD) employee Stacia Woolverton addressed Governor Rick Scott and the Florida Cabinet on the importance of including people with disabilities in the workforce.

APD Wins Two Awards

The Agency for Persons with Disabilities (APD) has been named 2015 Customer of the Year by RESPECT of Florida. The award was presented during the 39th Annual Conference of the Florida Association of Rehabilitation Facilities (Florida ARF). Also during the conference, APD Southeast Deputy Regional Operations Manager Rita Castor was recognized as the 2015 Mary Thiel Award recipient. To read more, check out the Press Release.

The Champion Newsletter

Be sure to check out this month's issue of APD's The Champion Newsletter. Read about Disability Employment Awareness Month, Disability Mentoring Day, and the Exceptional Employers Awards. If you haven't read it yet, click here.

Previous Announcements
The Agency Supports Persons with Developmental Disabilities in Living,
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If you would like to see a tutorial on how to use the Resource Directory, you can view the video tutorial here.

APD Event Calendar

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Other News & Announcements

  • Be sure to check out the FCIC's Florida Symposium on Aging with Developmental Disabilities. The Florida Center for Inclusive Communities is pleased to bring this important day-long symposium on the critical topic of aging with developmental disabilities. People with developmental disabilities are benefitting from an increased life expectancy. However, families, providers, and professionals, may not be fully aware of the supports and resources that are needed to ensure continued quality of life in older adulthood. To learn more about the event, see the event flyer.

  • Home Care Rule Update - The federal Department of Labor adopted the Home Care Rule extending minimum wage and overtime protections to most home care workers. The Agency for Persons with Disabilities (APD) is responsible for having a process available for any person whose service hours would be reduced as a result of the rule and is at risk of institutionalization. Waiver Support Coordinators must notify APD immediately if they encounter a customer whose service needs are not being met. As part of this process, APD will determine if there are other waiver services which would help the individual remain in the community. APD will continue to monitor this process to ensure that our customers are receiving the care they need.

    The legislature will determine if rates will change for the types of services affected by the DOL rule. To learn more visit the DOL website at: http://www.dol.gov/whd/homecare.

  • Please read APD's guidance for changes to the Adults with Disabilities program. The agency will work to assist as many people as possible who are eligible for APD services.

  • Governor Scott has signed a bill into law creating a task force to implement the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) in Florida. APD will be a member of the task force, representing the employment needs of workers and job seekers with developmental disabilities. For more information, visit http://careersourceflorida.com/wioa and read CareerSource Florida’s news release.

  • If you are an active duty military service member and are interested to learn more about applying for services, please read this PDF for more information on how to apply.

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