OLMSTEAD UPDATES

News blog follows implementation of landmark 2014 federal consent decree that requires Rhode Island to remedy violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the U.S. Supreme Court's Olmstead decision. Over ten years, Rhode Island must reinvent state services for citizens with developmental disabilities to give them opportunities for supportive employment and meaningful activities in their communities.

Registration information has been corrected.

By Gina Macris

Tim Vogt, a nationally-recognized expert in building inclusive communities, will speak at a free seminar in Rhode Island November 3 that will be sponsored by several organizations that advocate for Rhode Islanders with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families.

Vogt is executive director of Starfire in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he has developed ways of making connections among individuals that rely on mutual interests and collective strengths while working around disabilities.

“His visionary message is to maximize the positive; minimize the negative,” said Connie Susa, executive director of PLAN RI, one of the sponsoring organizations. Vogt blogs at https://cincibility.wordpress.com/

The November 3 seminar will be at the Dean’s List Academy, 25 Esten Ave., Pawtucket. Check-in will begin at 9 a.m., with the presentation scheduled from 9:30 to 12:30. Anyone planning to attend is asked to register in advance at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/claiming-a-corner-of-community-tickets-51383200536 Additional sponsors are RI FORCE, the Rhode Island Developmental Disabilities Council and the John E. Fogarty Foundation.

The Community Provider Network of Rhode Island, a trade association representing two dozen private organizations that serve adults with developmental disabilities, is a co-sponsor of Vogt’s visit to Rhode Island, Susa said.