Disability.gov - Now Re-Vamped and Online!

The new Disability.gov site has been re-tooled and is up and running. Seems very user friendly. Access to info is intuitive. Check it out.

Any questions may be directed to: rsi5@srt.com

Are you 65 or eligible for Medicare?

The North Dakota Insurance Department invites you to attend a free seminar on Medicare Part d, supplements and Medicare Advantage plans.

6:30-9 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 11th
Minot Commission on Againg
21 1st Ave. SE, Minot

Registration is required by Aug. 6th

1.888.575.6611 or janfrank@nd.gov

Any questions may be directed to: rsi5@srt.com

$5 Donation Gets you a Knit Putter Cover

Check out Rehab Services, Inc. and their mission/services here.

To help in their annual fundraiser - and get a putter cover - visit:

www.coveryourputter.blogspot.com

Any questions may be directed to: rsi5@srt.com

Minimum Wage Increase

The minimum wage in North Dakota is currently $6.55 per hour, with an increase to $7.25 per hour scheduled to occur on July 24, 2009. North Dakota does not have a training wage. Source: Frequently Asked Questions, North Dakota Department of Labor, http://www.nd.gov/labor/faq.html#a06.

An individual who is paid the new minimum wage of $7.25 per hour will exceed the substantial gainful activity guideline of $980 per month upon working more than approximately 31.4 hours per week. That figure is the result of the following calculation: $980 per month ÷ 4.3 weeks per month ÷ $7.25 per hour = 31.44 hours per week.

Any questions may be directed to: rsi5@srt.com

Pomeroy's New American Recovery and Reinvestment Act ND Map

Slightly off-topic for this blog - but definitely ND specific. ND Representative Earl Pomeroy, on his website, has set up an interactive map to see what projects are being funded in ND through the ARRA. If interested, you can check it out HERE.

Any questions may be directed to: rsi5@srt.com

ELIMINATING THE SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY BACKLOG

Interested in SSA's plan on eliminating the backlog? The Ways and Means Social Security Subcommittee held a hearing on exactly that in March. A full transcript can now be found HERE.

Any questions may be directed to: rsi5@srt.com

Communications and Video Accessibility Legislation Introduced

On June 26, comprehensive legislation to ensure that people with disabilities have access to Internet-based telecommunications and video programming technologies was reintroduced. The bill, the Twenty-first Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2009 (H.R. 3101), will--

* require that mobile and other Internet-based telecommunications devices be fully hearing aid compatible, have accessible user interfaces, and offer people with disabilities use of a full range of text messaging and other popular services that are currently largely inaccessible;

* provide people who are deaf-blind with vital but costly technologies they need to communicate electronically, establish a process for the provision of real-time text capability, and clarify existing relay-to-relay, Lifeline and Linkup service requirements to ensure their relevance to the real world communications needs of people with disabilities;

* restore the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC's) modest video description rules and unambiguously establish the Commission's current and ongoing authority to expand such regulations, require emergency announcements and similar information to be accessible to people with disabilities through audible presentation of on-screen alerts, ensure that video programming offered via the Internet will be both captioned and described, and call for all devices that receive and playback video programming to employ accessible user interfaces and
allow ready access to captioning and description; and

* strengthen consumers' ability to enforce their rights to communications and video accessibility through the establishment of a clearinghouse of information about service and equipment accessibility and usability, a meaningful FCC complaint process that holds industry accountable for their accessibility obligations, and judicial review of FCC action to ensure the Commission's own accountability.

Full text of the bill can be found HERE.

Any questions may be directed to: rsi5@srt.com

In Office, by Phone, Online and Now on Video - Minot, ND

There are a number of ways people can do business with Social Security. Today clients can visit a local office, call by phone and even complete many business transactions online. For the future, we’re testing a way for people to do business with us by video.

The new real-time video service is being tested, for example, in Minot, N.D., where it’s already a huge success. Social Security representatives are able to conduct interviews face to face even when they’re miles away. This makes it possible for representatives to verify needed documents using high-resolution video screens even when they don’t actually have it in hand.

Video service delivery was honored as a finalist in Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government 2009 Innovations in American Government Awards competition.

Video service delivery is only available in the test area at this time. But another way Social Security brings the office closer to clients is with our online services — available everywhere. See a list of online services available HERE.

Any questions may be directed to: rsi5@srt.com

Funding for Kennedy-Brownback Prenatally and Postnatally Diagnosed Conditions Awareness Act

The National Down Syndrome Society (NDSS) and National Down Syndrome Congress (NDSC) commend the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for providing funding to implement the Prenatally and Postnatally Diagnosed Conditions Awareness Act (also known as the Kennedy-Brownback bill in honor of the two Senators who originally championed it).The passage of this important legislation was an extremely high priority for NDSS and NDSC, the original sponsors of the bill in the Senate and the leadership of the Congressional Down Syndrome Caucus. After an extensive advocacy effort, including visits to Capitol Hill by individuals with Down syndrome and their families, the bill was signed into law by former President Bush on October 8, 2008. However, it did not come with any Congressional appropriations to enact the recommendations. Now, MCHB has dedicated $820,000 in funding for each of the next four years.

More info Here.

Any questions may be directed to: rsi5@srt.com