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Projects and Programs A-Z
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Accommodations Guide
The Wyoming Institute for Disabilities contracted with UW's Wyoming Survey & Analysis Center (WYSAC) to conduct a survey of Wyoming restaurants and lodging facilities that offer accessible accommodations. The printed guide is now available. Please contact (307) 766-2561 if you would like a copy or copies.
Consumer Program Advisory Council
CPAC is comprised of people who have disabilities or family members with disabilities who provide feedback to WIND from the perspective of disability service users. CPAC members also serve as members of the larger WIND Advisory Council.
CPAC members develop and disseminate disability awareness materials, currently the disability awareness coloring book series. The latest edition in that series, "Let's Ride!" introduces Fred, who acquires a brain injury, and how he (and his classmates) adjusts to the impact the injury has on his participation in everyday activities.
CPAC is embarking on a new project to provide disability awareness to middle school aged children. Stay tuned as that project develops.
Web link: http://www.uwyo.edu/wind/cpac/
Head Start State Collaboration Project
The Wyoming Head Start Association is an active, unified voice for quality early childhood education, encompassing whole family development and setting standards for the future.
The Wyoming Head Start Association serves as an advocate for Head Start programs and the children and families they serve, defining strategies, providing training and maintaining a network with other organizations whose efforts are consistent with the Wyoming Head Start Association. The project strives for high quality early education for all children and provides parents with the tools to be primary educators for their children.
Web link: http://www.uwyo.edu/wind/headstart/
Infusion Units
The staff of WIND provides guest lectures about various aspects of disability. These lectures are called Infusion Units because they are designed to be easily integrated into classroom topics and issues. The most popular unit is “Disability Etiquette”, and is provided to numerous colleges and departments each semester. Other units are “Disability History”, “The Basics of the Americans with Disabilities Act”, and “Assistive Technology in Education”.
The goals of the Infusion Units are to familiarize college students about disability issues, so that they may more effectively interact with people with disabilities, understand the social or minority model of disability and consider the value of Disability Studies as an academic field. Content, activities and readings for students vary depending on the students' class standing, freshman through graduate level.
Inventory of Client and Agency Planning
The ICAP is a standardized measure that yields an estimate of a person's adaptive functioning, the extent of behavior problems that may limit their inclusion in various settings, as well as a systematic review of all available evaluation data. ICAP scores are used by the Wyoming Department of Health, Developmental Disabilities Division as part of the basis for determining eligibility for funding within the Developmental Disabilities service system. The Developmental Disabilities Division contracts with WIND to conduct ICAP interviews throughout the state and is responsible for conducting initial, emergency, and continuing eligibility interviews. More than 600 interviews are conducted each year.
Medicaid Buy-In Program
The purpose of the Employed Individual with Disabilities EID program is to provide a work incentive for individuals with disabilities. People with disabilities who are employed, have a disability based on Social Security Administration guidelines, are both a US citizen and a Wyoming resident, are between ages 16 and 64 and meet income guidelines, may be eligible to apply and should contact their nearest Department of Family Services (DFS) field office. Through this program, people with disabilities who work will pay a monthly premium for their Medicaid health-care coverage rather than lose this coverage.
Medicaid Infrastructure Change Grant (MIG)
Wyoming's first MIG grant was awarded in 2001 based on Congressional funding to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) under the Ticket to Work and Work Improvement Incentives Act of 1999 (TWWIIA). The primary target of MIG funding is enhancement of competitive employment for people with disabilities.
Community Services projects seek to pull together the spectrum of local service and support programs available for people with disabilities for integration and coordination. Community Services projects underwrite full inclusion in all aspects of life, which contributes to personal success and successful employment for all community members.
TANF At-Risk Preschool Program
The Department of Family Services and the Wyoming Department of Education collaborate to provide preschool services to qualifying children with a family income at 185% of the federal poverty level. Programs operate statewide and include collaborations across agencies. Fourteen grantee programs serve approximately 600 children in 53 classrooms throughout Wyoming. All TANF Preschool Programs must meet national accreditation guidelines and best practices for curriculum, family participation, and teacher education. Programs are monitored and provided with technical assistance to promote quality early childhood learning experiences.
URLEND-WIND Collaboration
WIND is a partner in a regional LEND program conducted jointly by the University of Utah School of Medicine - Department of Pediatrics and the Utah State University - Center for Persons with Disabilities. LEND programs provide long-term, graduate level interdisciplinary leadership training as well as interdisciplinary services and care. URLEND (Utah Regional Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities) uses teleconferencing technology to conduct its weekly training sessions. The other regional participants in the URLEND program are the Idaho, Montana and North Dakota UCEDDs. In addition to basic leadership and clinical training, URLEND provides specialized training in Autism and Infant/Pediatric Audiology. Bill MacLean is the WIND coordinator for URLEND and participates with the trainees in the weekly sessions.
Web link: http://www.urlend.org/
Emergency Planning for People Unable to Self Evacuate (UTSE) and others with functional and/or access needs
The Wyoming Institute for Disabilities leads statewide efforts to enhance emergency planning for people with disabilities. Executive directors of Wyoming Protection and Advocacy, the Governor's Council on Developmental Disabilities, the Wyoming Department of Health's Developmental Disabilities Division, and WIND concurred with the need for a central statewide effort to assist emergency planners with efforts to ensure specific focus on people Unable To Self Evacuate and on other people with access and/or functional needs who would need help in an emergency.
WIND partners primarily with the Wyoming Office of Homeland Security (WOHS) and the Wyoming Department of Health (WDH), Public Health and Hospital Preparedness programs.
As part of the UTSE effort, WIND formed an advisory group (CAG) of core people to help guide statewide planning efforts. CAG members include a number of representatives from emergency management functions. CAG core membership is and will remain above 50% comprised of people UTSE or who have other functional and/or access needs. The CAG also includes a county emergency management agency/homeland security coordinator and representatives from law enforcement, fire services and emergency medical services as well as from WOHS and WDH.
WIND Assistive Technology Resources (WATR)
Sandy Root-Elledge and Kathy McWhorter
WIND Assistive Technology Resources (WATR) is Wyoming's Assistive Technology Act program, established through the AT Act of 1998, as amended in 2004, to increase awareness and access to assistive technology. WATR provides assistive technology training and technical assistance, public awareness, device loans and device demonstrations in the domains of employment, community living, and education for all ages throughout the state.
Web link: http://www.uwyo.edu/wind/watr
WIND Resource and Information Center
The WIND Resource and Information Center contains over 2,000 books, multimedia materials, and online sources that deal with disabilities such as autism, Alzheimer's disease, depression, and neurological disorders plus the education, employment, health, and rights of people with disabilities. This unique collection is open on a case by case basis.
Wyoming Accessibility Center (WAC)
Sandy Root-Elledge
The Wyoming Accessibility Center (WAC) provides fee-for-services training, technical assistance and assessments to improve the access of individuals with disabilities to education, training and employment. Services include assistive technology assessments, conversion of conference materials to Braille formats, conversions of books and materials to audio and tactile graphics, close captioning, and Website and course accessibility review.
Wyoming AgrAbility
Sandy Root-Elledge
Wyoming AgrAbility is a program of the University of Wyoming, Cooperative Extension Unit, funded through the United States Department of Agriculture. WIND is subcontracted to provide outreach, disability information, coordination of services and on-site assessments. The program is focused on promoting independence for members of the agricultural community who have disabilities resulting from injury, illness, aging, or other causes.
Web link: http://uwadmnweb.uwyo.edu/AGRABILITY/
The Wyoming Clearinghouse for Accessible Media and Materials
Kathy McWhorter
The Wyoming Clearinghouse for Accessible Media and Materials is supported by funds from the Wyoming Department of Education to assist school districts in obtaining and implementing accessible textbooks and core instructional materials. These materials are available in multiple formats to students who meet eligibility requirements and have a documented print impairment.
Web link: http://www.uwyo.edu/wind/nimas
Wyoming Information Link for Developmental Disabilities
William MacLean
The Governor's Planning Council on Developmental Disabilities, Protection & Advocacy System, Inc., and the Wyoming Institute for Disabilities (WIND) are sister organizations authorized under the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act. The Administration on Developmental Disabilities/Administration on Children and Families provides funding to each of these organizations. In Wyoming, the three groups work together to provide a comprehensive array of supports to people with developmental disabilities, family members, providers and state agencies. Each agency brings a unique perspective on services and supports for people with disabilities and is required under federal law to address specific areas of concern. WILDD is an entity that fosters communication and information exchange among the three organizations.
Web link: http://www.uwyo.edu/wind/wildd/
Wyoming Lions Early Childhood Vision Project
Laurie Westlake and Rebecca Allen
The Wyoming Lions Early Childhood Vision Project is committed to ensuring that all children in Wyoming receive the highest quality eye care. Local Lions Club volunteers and professionals from Developmental Centers conduct vision screening activities with children ages 6 months to 72 months of age. These screening activities may include external observation, stereopsis, or acuity, using specialized equipment such as the PhotoScreenerTM or the PediaVision.
Screening results are mailed to parents and a summary of the results are returned to the screening site and screening agency. Children who fail the screening are referred to eye care professionals throughout Wyoming and neighboring states. Exam results are sent to the Wyoming Institute for Disabilities to ensure that follow-up is completed and help inform data-driven decision making regarding appropriate vision screening.
Web link: http://www.uwyo.edu/wind/vision/
Wyoming Technology Access Program
Sandy Root-Elledge
WYTAP is a partnership among WIND Assistive Technology Resources (WATR), Wyoming Independent Living Rehabilitation, Inc. (WILR), and First Interstate Bank of Laramie to provide a financial loan program for individuals to purchase assistive technology devices and services. WYTAP buys down the interest rate to lower than the current prime rate. Individuals who may not otherwise qualify for a loan are often eligible to participate in WYTAP. Loans can range from $500 to $25,000 with extended payback periods of up to 70 months.
Wyoming Think College
William MacLean and Sandy Root-Elledge
Wyoming Think College is a strategic planning initiative to develop a postsecondary educational opportunity within the state for students with intellectual disabilities. Currently, committees are working to write the report to Think College, gather necessary information, and plan for an eventual postsecondary program in Wyoming. The communicate about, developing programming for, and involving Wyoming legislators in WY Think College. The program goal is for “People with intellectual disabilities in Wyoming to have the choice to attend college with supports that are individualized” by August 2012.
Web link: http://www.uwyo.edu/wind/wythinkcollege/index.html