Bringing together disability advocates representing individuals, service providers, and state agencies, this panel will share insights into the short- and long-term impacts of recent legislative and administrative actions affecting the disability community. Topics to be discussed include Medicaid funding, eligibility for Home and Community Based Services (HCBS), healthcare adequacy and provider system sustainability, and changes to education policy. This session will be hosted and moderated by Jon Meyers, Executive Director of the Arizona Developmental Disabilities Planning Council.
Learning Outcomes
- Participants will learn about the range of recent legislative and policy activities affecting the disability community in Arizona and nationwide.
- Participants will understand the upcoming effects of legislative and policy activities on services and supports for individuals with disabilities and caregivers.
- Participants will be better prepared to advocate with policymakers to ensure continued funding and availability of disability services and supports.
Encompassing state and federal policies and policymakers, this session explores public policy priorities, advocacy, and decision-making as they touch the lives of people with disabilities, caregivers, service providers, and government service systems. The session also includes a detailed update on key legislation affecting the disability community in Arizona and nationwide.
Co‑presented by Dr. Daniel Wendler and Dr. Elizabeth Aslinger, this session equips disability professionals with a clear, research‑grounded understanding of burnout and its impact on the people they support. Drawing on Dr. Wendler’s expertise as a psychologist and Dr. Aslinger’s expertise as a biomedical researcher, the presentation blends clinical application with scientific insight to provide an comprehensive of what burnout is, why it develops and – most importantly – how to escape it.
Participants will learn to recognize burnout in the individuals they support, gain practical tools for overcoming burnout, and gain a new understanding of how burnout specifically shows up in the disabled community.
Learning Outcomes
- Recognize burnout and its effects
- Explain causes of burnout and how burnout is particularly prominent in the disability community
- Apply practical strategies for recovery from burnout and prevention of burnout
Individuals with disabilities often experience layered trauma resulting from medical systems, social exclusion, systemic inequities, and mental health conditions. These experiences significantly influence employment engagement and outcomes, yet disability-related trauma is frequently overlooked in vocational rehabilitation (VR) practice. This presentation highlights an innovative, intersectional approach to trauma-informed care (TIC) within disability disciplines, emphasizing cultural competence and counselor-centered practice. Participants will explore how disability, trauma, and identity intersect to shape vocational experiences and employment trajectories. The session bridges theory and application by translating trauma-informed principles into practical counseling strategies that promote psychological safety, empowerment, and meaningful employment. Designed for professionals in disability and workforce systems, this training reframes VR practice through a trauma-informed, culturally responsive lens that supports ethical, inclusive, and effective employment services.
Learning Outcomes
- Describe how trauma and disability intersect and explain how these intersections influence engagement, assessment, and employment planning in vocational rehabilitation practice.
- Demonstrate trauma informed care, culturally responsive communication strategies that promote emotional safety and strengthen the counselor client relationship with individuals experiencing mental health conditions.
- Apply at least two trauma informed counseling techniques within vocational rehabilitation interactions to support client autonomy, reduce re traumatization and reinforce the the professional counseling role if VR staff.
As demand for skilled engineers continues to rise, engineering programs must evolve to engage neurodiverse and underrepresented students through intentional, inclusive design. Our initiative, Internships Designed with Engineering Autistic Students in Mind (IDEAS in Mind), broadens participation and supports belonging among neurodivergent engineering students. Developed in partnership with the University of Arizona Sonoran Center, the College of Engineering, and local employers, the program connects autistic engineering students with industry internships while fostering engineering identity through experiential learning. This presentation will share practical frameworks for building inclusive engineering programs that support neurodiverse students through industry partnerships and intentional program design. Attendees will gain insights applicable to STEM education, career readiness, and disability inclusion initiatives at their own institutions.
Learning Outcomes
- Practical frameworks for building inclusive college programs
- Developing industry partnerships
- The impact of cross-unit collaboration
In this presentation, discover how WorkAbility—an employment services program of UCP of Southern Arizona—is transforming employment opportunities for people with disabilities across Pima, Santa Cruz, and Yuma counties. This dynamic session highlights our journey in implementing Employment First practices, the integration of customized employment throughout all our services, and effective strategies for addressing systemic barriers through advocacy and self determination. You’ll also hear how our partnership with Diverse Ability Incorporated, a youth serving organization, is strengthening employment and other outcomes, to elevate youth voice, leadership, and advocacy efforts through a peer-to-peer service methodology rooted in independent living philosophy. Gain practical tools and fresh insights that will enhance employment services and empower the individuals you support.
Learning Outcomes
- Describe the core components of WorkAbility’s provider transformation and how Employment First practices are being implemented to expand employment opportunities for people with disabilities across multiple counties.
- Explain how customized employment is integrated across WorkAbility’s services and identify strategies that support individualized, meaningful employment outcomes.
- Identify common systemic barriers to employment and apply advocacy and self determination approaches that help address and reduce these barriers.
- Analyze the role of community partnerships, including WorkAbility’s collaboration with Diverse Ability Incorporated, in strengthening transition and employment outcomes, and enhancing community advocacy efforts.
Join us to explore how Arizona Employment First is turning principles into action to improve competitive integrated employment outcomes for people with disabilities. While Employment First has long been embraced as a philosophy, meaningful change requires coordinated systems alignment, consistent messaging, evidence-based practices, and intentional community engagement. This session will highlight Arizona’s cross-agency strategies to strengthen collaboration, expand work-based learning, align policy, and elevate expectations statewide. Participants will gain insight into how systems change, stakeholder collaboration, and a commitment to evidence-based practices can transform employment outcomes. Whether you are a policymaker, provider, educator, or advocate, you will leave with practical strategies to advance Employment First in your own community.
Learning Outcomes
- Describe core Employment First principles and explain their role in advancing competitive integrated employment.
- Identify evidence-based practices that improve employment outcomes for people with disabilities.
- Apply actionable strategies to strengthen Employment First implementation within their own systems or organizations.
Sexual violence is a difficult but critical issue that people with disabilities, their families, advocates, and professionals must address. Research shows that individuals with disabilities experience sexual violence at significantly higher rates than those without disabilities. In response, the Arizona Sexual Violence and Disability Network and the Sonoran Center’s Silence to Safety project have partnered to develop accessible, trauma-informed resources that strengthen prevention efforts and improve community response. This session will highlight risk factors, systemic barriers, and practical tools designed to increase safety, awareness, and coordinated response. Participants will leave with information about available resources and strategies to better support people with disabilities in their communities.
Learning Outcomes
- Describe key risk factors and systemic barriers contributing to higher rates of sexual violence among people with disabilities.
- Identify evidence-based prevention and response strategies that are accessible and trauma-informed.
- Discover how to access resources to strengthen disability-inclusive sexual violence prevention and response efforts within their own communities.
Individuals with disabilities struggle with the thought of returning to work and/or further education. There are numerous work incentives that can assist individuals achieve financial wellness and independent living. As well, many do not realize that health benefits do not end; actually, they just shift. This presentation breaks the barriers to employment by discussing the untapped resources that can support your decision to take that first step. It will include much needed information regarding, Pre-employment Transition Services, post-secondary education, employment, Social Security rules, benefits, and healthcare. We will provide information on how you can gain free access a Community Work Incentives Coordinator that will work with you one-on one to ensure that you are taking advantage of all the resources that are available.
Learning Outcomes
- Learn about post-secondary funding sources to help you further your education as well as, Pre-employment Transition Services, career exploration, and job readiness services that help students with disabilities prepare for future employment.
- Learn about work incentives and safety nets used when considering employment without losing one’s healthcare benefits.
- Learn about savings programs that will allow one to save earned income and not count as resources against one’s Social Security cash benefits while working.
Workplace access barriers—physical, communication, and programmatic—can erode performance, belonging, and retention. A workplace inclusion survey found 60% of respondents missed at least one event or meeting due to accessibility barriers, and a public-sector report found 80% of disabled workers surveyed had considered quitting because of difficulties obtaining accommodations. Too often, barriers persist in “employee-only” spaces when ADA efforts focus on public-facing areas. This practical, evidence-informed session covers identifying common built-environment barriers (routes, doors, restrooms, workstations, break areas, etc.) and selecting reasonable, prioritized solutions.
Learning Outcomes
- Learn how to identify the most common barriers to the built environment (as well as potential solutions) that may impact employee access and success.
- Learn how to identify the most common barriers to the learning environment (as well as potential solutions) that may impact employee access and success.
