A Look Ahead to 2010

Wisconsin is fortunate to have numerous conferences and professional development opportunities for our members to take advantage of.  Many of them offer opportunities to earn CRC and CEU credits.  Here is a (partial) list of conferences and training sessions for you to put on your calendar.

Wisconsin Transition Conference.  Feb 18 & 19 @ Kalahari Resort, WI Dells, WI.  This conference includes state and national speakers presenting cutting edge strategies to help make the transition from school to adult life as smooth as possible.  This year’s conference features a keynote by Dr. Temple Grandin.  Early bird registration is available until Dec. 23rd.  More info at www.wsti.org

WI APSE –Providing Vocational Services to people with Criminal Histories.  March 11 & 12, 2010.
Radisson Paper Valley Hotel, Appleton, WI.   This training with include information about current programs in our state from Mary Day Kollat, and a full day on employment strategies with national trainer, Maria Anderson. More information coming soon at  www.wiapse.org.

National Rehabilitation Association Governmental Affairs Summit, March 14-16, 2010, Alexandria, VA.  For the past 28 years, NRA has hosted the annual Governmental Affairs Summit in the Washington D.C. area, and it continues to attract the best and brightest in the field of vocational rehabilitation.  The summit offers members the opportunity to participate meaningfully in shaping vocational rehabilitation policy at the State and Federal levels. More information at www.nationalrehab.org.

Rehabilitation and Transition Conference, March 24-26, Kohler, WI.  Continue your professional development and education at Wisconsin’s premiere conference for rehabilitation and transition professionals.  Presenters include a wide variety of state and nationally renowned speakers, as well as rehabilitation and transition professionals practicing innovative strategies for assisting consumers in multiple areas.  More information at http://www.rfw.org/
The Annual WRA General Membership meeting will be held at this conference.  Time and location to be announced.   WRA members are encouraged to attend to learn more about how WRA is working for you, share your ideas, network with other professionals and meet the student scholarship recipients.

WARPS Spring Seminar April 23, 2010.  Vocational and medical program tracks.  Milwaukee Exact location and agenda to be announced.

WI Youth Leadership Forum for High School Students with Disabilities June 27—July 2, 2010, Edgewood College, Madison, WI. High school sophomores, juniors and seniors learn leadership skills and develop career awareness. Applications are available at http://www.wsti.org/yic.ylf.php.  If you know of a high school student with a disability who is active in their school and/or community, please forward an application to them.  Consider attending this event yourself as a mentor.

WI APSE Annual Conference Nov 2-5, 2010, Osthoff Resort, Elkhart Lake, WI.  More details to follow

 At A GLANCE: 2009 WRA Activities

WRA has been active in a number of different ways this year to support the mission and the membership of the organization.  It has been a successful and productive year.

Your WRA Organization Supported you and Other Practicing Professionals through…

• Sponsorship of the 2009 Rehabilitation and Transition Conference.  This was held on April 1-3 in Kohler.  Several WRA members participated in the planning committee.
• Sponsorship of the 2009 APSE/RFW Elements of Success Conference in Elkhart Lake on November 12, with a WRA member involved in planning.
• Cooperative planning with the WARPPS Spring and Fall Seminars  in Madison and Steven’s Point
• Sponsorship for the 2009 Legislator Breakfast in Milwaukee in April, providing attendance for 15 consumers.
• WRA Newsletters two or three times a year to keep you informed and entertained.
• Legislative Advocacy in Washington D.C.  Your WRA members yearly attend the NRA Government Affairs Summit and perform extensive research on issues important to Wisconsin, prior to meeting with legislators.  The board also provides legislative updates to the membership.
• CRC and LPC credits. WRA/WRCEA offered continuing education credits at several conferences and training sessions.
• Sponsorship for the breakfast for exhibitors at the 2009 Assistive Technology Expo in Madison.

In 2009, WRA and You supported the Future of Rehab by …

• Providing Two student scholarships to attend the conference in Kohler were awarded, and WRA was an exhibitor.

• Sponsoring the Annual Spring Social at UW-Madison for students and alumni.

• Providing support and information to the UW-Stout Rehabilitation Club.

Help keep us going!   Be sure to renew your membership, and encourage others to join NRA/WRA!    And, Please Vote!   A ballot was recently sent out, and we need your vote to keep the board going. 

The WRA board has identified the following New goals for 2010:

• Add an intern/consultant position to welcome new members, contact lapsed members, send out a survey, and do a member spotlight for the newsletter with the goal of increasing our membership.  The effectiveness of the position will be evaluated in 6 months.

• Request abstracts from graduate students’ rehabilitation papers to include in the newsletter.

• Explore APSE conference partnership.

• Set up a Facebook page.

• Develop a teleconference on ethics with CRC credit approval for WRA members (at a reduced rate) and DVR counselors.  Continue offering professional development opportunities to members if the first teleconference is well received.