This bill prohibits an employer from paying less than minimum wage to a person by virtue of that person having a mental or physical disability, and nullifies special certificates authorizing the payment of less than minimum wage.
Topic(s): Career Prep & Work-Based Learning
This bill establishes a task force to study the coordination of services and expansion of educational programs for young adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities to identify barriers to full societal integration. It includes representatives from a statewide association for career and technical education, the University of Maine System, the Maine Community College System and the Department of Transportation.
This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services to develop a comprehensive statewide strategic plan to serve people in the state with behavioral health needs (including mental health conditions and developmental disabilities) throughout their lifespans, which will address supported employment, among other topics. It further requires that the plan be developed in collaboration with various agencies and communities, such as indigenous and tribal populations and the LGBTQ community.
This bill states that the goal of rehabilitation services - including pre-employment transition services and other services for students and youth with disabilities to facilitate transition from school to postsecondary life - is to engage in competitive integrated employment.
Topic(s): Career Prep & Work-Based Learning
This bill establishes that competitive integrated employment, including self-employment, is the first and preferred option for all working age citizens with disabilities. It further requires state agencies to coordinate their efforts to ensure that programs, funding and policies support integrated community-based employment or customized employment.
This program offers one grant a year to help Maine students with developmental disabilities pursue a post-secondary education. The money is applied toward the student's tuition.
Operating Entity: Robbie Foundation
Entity Type: Non-Profit / Community Organization
Topic(s): Connecting Activities
This program helps individuals with disabilities start or resume driving, as a way to maintain their independence. It evaluates peoples' visual, physical, and cognitive skills and make recommendations for adaptive driving equipment, further training, and teaching strategies.
Operating Entity: Alpha One
Entity Type: Non-Profit / Community Organization
Topic(s): Connecting Activities
This program provides low-interest rate loans to individuals with disabilities, which can be used to purchase equipment or technology that improves a person's independence, safety, and quality of life.
Operating Entity: Alpha One
Entity Type: Non-Profit / Community Organization
Topic(s): Connecting Activities
This program provides supported employment services to individuals with mental illness who require ongoing supports to maintain successful employment.
Operating Entity: State of Maine Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Behavioral Health (OBH)
Entity Type: State Agency / Office
Topic(s): Career Prep & Work-Based Learning
Maine's five Area Agencies on Aging serve as “one-stop-shops” to answer questions from older adults, individuals with disabilities, and their care partners about a range of in-home, community-based, and institutional services. The program can help individuals access employment training, connect to educational opportunities, and receive information and referrals.
Operating Entity: --
Entity Type: Multi-Stakeholder Project
Topic(s): Connecting Activities
This program enables individuals with disabilities, service providers and others to learn about, access, and acquire assistive technology needed for education, employment, and community living. Services include device demonstrations, reutilization, loans, and financing.
Operating Entity: Maine Department of Education, Maine CITE (Consumer Information and Technology Training Exchange)
Entity Type: State Agency / Office
Topic(s): Connecting Activities
This program helps individuals with disabilities increase their functional ability, safety, and overall independence through the use of assistive technology. The program helps individuals identify their assistive technology needs and connect with resources for reaching their goals.
Operating Entity: Goodwill Northern New England
Entity Type: Non-Profit / Community Organization
Topic(s): Connecting Activities
This program provides assessment, consultation, and training to assist individuals with disabilities in accessing learning and employment through the use of technology. The program also enables consumers to purchase donated and refurbished adaptive equipment at a reduced price and/or to borrow adaptive equipment for short-term loans.
Operating Entity: Spurwink ALLTECH
Entity Type: Non-Profit / Community Organization
Topic(s): Connecting Activities
The Business Enterprise Program helps people who are blind become food service or vending operators.
Operating Entity: State of Maine Department of Labor, Division for the Blind and Visually Impaired (DBVI)
Entity Type: State Agency / Office
Topic(s): Career Prep & Work-Based Learning
CAP helps individuals who experience problems when applying for or receiving vocational rehabilitation or independent living services. This includes advising and informing individuals of their rights and providing advocacy services.
Operating Entity: Disability Rights Maine (DRM)
Entity Type: Non-Profit / Community Organization
Topic(s): Connecting Activities
Four Clubhouses throughout the state offer a variety of services to help individuals with mental illness attain work. Services include in-house prevocational programs, transitional employment, and competitive employment in the community with or without Supported Employment.
Operating Entity: --
Entity Type: Multi-Stakeholder Project
Topic(s): Career Prep & Work-Based Learning
Employment Specialists are embedded in behavioral health organizations across the state to assist individuals living with serious mental illness in career exploration and securing employment. The program is a collaboration between the Maine Department of Health and Human Services Office of Behavioral Health, the Maine Department of Labor Bureau of Rehabilitation Services, and the Maine Medical Center Department of Vocational Services.
Operating Entity: --
Entity Type: Multi-Stakeholder Project
Topic(s): Career Prep & Work-Based Learning
This program offers a variety of services for youth who are blind or visually impaired, to help them prepare for the transition from school to work or post-secondary education.
Operating Entity: State of Maine Department of Labor, Division for the Blind and Visually Impaired (DBVI)
Entity Type: State Agency / Office
Topic(s): Career Prep & Work-Based Learning
This program includes information, referral, and advocacy services for Deaf, Hard-of-Hearing and Late-Deafened citizens of Maine.
Operating Entity: State of Maine Department of Labor, Division for the Deaf, Hard of Hearing & Late Deafened (DDHHLD)
Entity Type: State Agency / Office
Topic(s): Connecting Activities
This program works to identify the needs and maximize the potential of Deaf, Hard of Hearing, Late-Deafened, and Speech Impaired individuals throughout the state. Services include civil rights advocacy, a deaf-blind equipment distribution program, a peer support group, and more.
Operating Entity: Disability Rights Maine (DRM)
Entity Type: Non-Profit / Community Organization
Topic(s): Connecting Activities
This program provides work-based learning experiences to high school students with disabilities to help them attain competitive integrated post-secondary employment and education. Services are provided at five high schools in the Bangor area.
Operating Entity: Jobs for Maine Graduates (JMG)
Entity Type: Non-Profit / Community Organization
Topic(s): Career Prep & Work-Based Learning
These programs provide services to help people with the most severe disabilities maintain jobs in community-based supported employment settings. Programs include a Basic Extended Support Program and a Brain Injury Extended Support Program.
Operating Entity: State of Maine Department of Labor, Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (VR)
Entity Type: State Agency / Office
Topic(s): Career Prep & Work-Based Learning
This program provides a range of independent living services to people with disabilities at Centers for Independent Living across the state. Services include help connecting to local services, assistance with job searches, local transit skills training, assistive technology help, peer mentoring support, assistance with school-to-career transitions, self-advocacy help, and more.
Operating Entity: Alpha One
Entity Type: Non-Profit / Community Organization
This program provides independent living supports and trainings to individuals who are blind or visually impaired, including personal management skills training (for example, around managing money) and mobility instruction.
Operating Entity: State of Maine Department of Labor, Division for the Blind and Visually Impaired (DBVI)
Entity Type: State Agency / Office
Topic(s): Connecting Activities
This program offers adults with disabilities or deafness the opportunity to live and work as independently as possible in their communities. Services include skills training in independent living, work readiness, relationship building, self-advocacy, and health.
Operating Entity: Goodwill Northern New England
Entity Type: Non-Profit / Community Organization
This program helps farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural workers with disabilities attain gainful employment in production agriculture or a related occupation, access appropriate assistive technology needed for work and daily living activities, and more.
Operating Entity: --
Entity Type: Multi-Stakeholder Project
This program trains and engages middle and high school students with disabilities from coastal Hancock County school districts in intertidal census work. Students are offered paid internships; receive training in the identification of invasive species, data collection, data management, and scientific protocol; are supervised by onsite mentors; and gain a variety of hands-on worksite skills. The program is a collaboration between the University of Maine's Center for Community Inclusion and Disability Studies and the Community Environmental Health Laboratory (CEHL) at MDI Biological Laboratory.
Operating Entity: --
Entity Type: Multi-Stakeholder Project
This program provides parent advocacy training emphasizing Individualized Education Programs (IEP) and advocacy within the K-12 system for Somali parents of children on the autism spectrum. It is a collaboration between the University of Maine's Center for Community Inclusion and Disability Studies and New Mainers Public Health Initiative (NMPHI).
Operating Entity: --
Entity Type: Multi-Stakeholder Project
Topic(s): Family Engagement
This program supports Parent Training and Information Centers and Community Parent Resource Centers in 12 eastern states plus DC and two territories. Services include one-to-one consultations, trainings and webinars, peer-to-peer mentoring, site visits, non-profit management tools, and more.
Operating Entity: Navigating Excellence Parent Center Assistance & Collaboration Team (NE-PACT)
Entity Type: Non-Profit / Community Organization
This program provides a variety of direct services for children and youth with disabilities, families, professionals, and other organizations that support them. This includes helping parents participate effectively in their children’s education and development and partnering with professionals and policymakers to improve outcomes for children with disabilities.
Operating Entity: Maine Parent Federation
Entity Type: Non-Profit / Community Organization
This program provides a $2,000 scholarship to 3 selected individuals with disabilities to pursue post-secondary education, at either an undergraduate or graduate level.
Operating Entity: Alpha One
Entity Type: Non-Profit / Community Organization
Topic(s): Connecting Activities
Pre-ETS assist students with disabilities in identifying career interests and developing skills to be successful in the workplace. This includes five required activities: job exploration counseling, work-based learning experiences, workplace readiness training, counseling on comprehensive transition or postsecondary educational programs, and instruction in self-advocacy.
Operating Entity: --
Entity Type: Multi-Stakeholder Project
This program provides professional development for employment support providers, including certification opportunities, monthly webinars, and advanced topical training on topics of interest to the field. The program is a collaboration between the Maine Department of Health and Human Services (Office of Behavioral Health and Office of Aging and Disability Services), the Maine Department of Labor (Bureau of Rehabilitation Services), and the non-profit Syntiro.
Operating Entity: --
Entity Type: Multi-Stakeholder Project
This program protects individuals with disabilities by empowering them and advocating on their behalf. This includes providing information and referrals, providing training and technical assistance to service providers, and conducting self-advocacy training.
Operating Entity: Disability Rights Maine (DRM)
Entity Type: Non-Profit / Community Organization
This program provides information, training and technical assistance, and support to youth and young adults with disabilities and their families, including transition services to help youth and their families navigate multiple programs and service systems; actively participate in the development of plans for independence; and collaborate with transition professionals. It is a collaborative effort between Parent Centers in nine northeastern states.
Operating Entity: --
Entity Type: Multi-Stakeholder Project
Topic(s): Connecting Activities, Family Engagement
STRIVE U is a postsecondary education program for students with intellectual disabilities. It provides students an opportunity to take college classes, engage in career development and independent living activities, and participate in campus life.
Operating Entity: Southern Maine Community College
Entity Type: College / University
This program provides an opportunity for individuals with developmental disabilities to have more control of their lives and speak up on issues that are important to them. Activities include encouraging and providing support to individuals with developmental disabilities to actively seek competitive employment. SUFU collaborates and receives support from the Maine Developmental Disabilities Council.
Operating Entity: Speaking Up for Us (SUFU) of Maine
Entity Type: Non-Profit / Community Organization
Topic(s): Youth Development & Leadership
This program provides a home setting and services for individuals with an acquired brain injury, an intellectual disability, or other barrier to independence. Services include vocational training, job placement, and transportation assistance, and are offered at 23 residences throughout central and southern Maine.
Operating Entity: Goodwill Northern New England
Entity Type: Non-Profit / Community Organization
NE-PACT provides technical assistance to Parent Centers across 14 states, districts and territories (including Maine). Services include strategies for reaching underserved families, on-site training and support, an annual conference, program evaluation, and consulting around the nonprofit management process.
Operating Entity: Navigating Excellence-Parent Assistance and Collaboration Team (NE-PACT)
Entity Type: Non-Profit / Community Organization
This program provides a curriculum to help students with disabilities discover employment possibilities in an interactive team environment. Topics include disability disclosure; requesting accommodations; learning styles at work; work values, abilities and aptitudes; interest inventories, self-management skills, occupational exploration; and more. The curriculum can be facilitated independently or in conjunction with the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation.
Operating Entity: State of Maine Department of Labor, Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (VR)
Entity Type: State Agency / Office
Maine's Employment First Team includes a Transition Workgroup, which focuses on identifying and addressing challenges that students with disabilities face in their transitions out of high school.
Operating Entity: --
Entity Type: Multi-Stakeholder Project
Topic(s): Systems Coordination
This program provides culturally relevant vocational rehabilitation services to assist Alaska Native and American Indian individuals with disabilities residing on or near reservations in the state to prepare for and engage in gainful employment. Program services are provided under an individualized plan for employment.
Operating Entity: Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, Wabanaki Vocational Rehabilitation
Entity Type: Other
Topic(s): Career Prep & Work-Based Learning
This program helps individuals with visual impairment get, retain, or return to work. Services include individual counseling and guidance, vocational assessments, orientation and mobility instruction, and job placement and follow-up services.
Operating Entity: State of Maine Department of Labor, Division for the Blind and Visually Impaired (DBVI)
Entity Type: State Agency / Office
This program provides services to help individuals with disabilities find or keep a job. The program offers career exploration activities; information about skills and training; assistance acquiring tools, uniforms or basic equipment needed to start a job; and job coaching.
Operating Entity: State of Maine Department of Labor, Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (VR)
Entity Type: State Agency / Office
Topic(s): Career Prep & Work-Based Learning
This program utilizes a customized employment planning approach to assist job seekers in exploring their unique needs, abilities and interests. Services include career counseling, career exploration, “soft” skills development, resume preparation, Work Trial Assessments, job shadows, job development and job search assistance, job coaching, and long term supports.
Operating Entity: Easterseals Maine
Entity Type: Non-Profit / Community Organization
Topic(s): Career Prep & Work-Based Learning
This program help out-of-school and in-school youth with one or more barriers to employment (including having a disability) prepare for and secure employment and postsecondary education opportunities. Services include tutoring; work experiences; occupational skills training; leadership development opportunities; and postsecondary education and training preparation activities.
Operating Entity: --
Entity Type: Multi-Stakeholder Project
This program helps individuals with disabilities who are receiving Social Security Disability benefits make informed choices about work and make a successful transition to self-sufficiency.
Operating Entity: Maine Medical Center, Department of Vocational Services
Entity Type: Non-Profit / Community Organization
Topic(s): Connecting Activities
This program helps prepare high school youth with disabilities for adulthood through community access/integration and employment and job training services.
Operating Entity: Easterseals Maine
Entity Type: Non-Profit / Community Organization
Topic(s): Career Prep & Work-Based Learning
This program assists youth with disabilities in exploring career opportunities, locating training programs, and acquiring resources needed for a job (including assistive technology, vehicle modifications, and medical devices). It also includes job coaching services and a Progressive Employment component, where youth engage in hands-on work-based activities in the community, including job tours, interviews, job shadowing, work experiences, and on-the-job training.
Operating Entity: State of Maine Department of Labor, Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (VR)
Entity Type: State Agency / Office
This webpage of resources contains links to connect the audience to resources that support mental health during the pandemic, which can be found under social support, as well as nationally-based efforts around Long-COVID.
Operating Entity: Maine American Academy of Pediatrics
Topic(s): Long-COVID, Mental Health
This webpage contains links to resources that address behavioral health needs that may arise during the COVID-19 pandemic. Resources are organized by potential audience with a portion designated for helplines. Resources for families and parents include general tips on how to cope with COVID-19, economic hardship, quarantine or distance learning, talking with children about COVID. It includes links to family education and support programs.
Operating Entity: Maine Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Behavioral Health
Topic(s): Mental Health
This webpage contains links to national resources on Long-COVID, including information on how it affects children. It also contains links to national resources regarding mental health in response to COVID-19.
Operating Entity: Healthy Oxford Hills
Topic(s): Long-COVID, Mental Health
This webpage contains links to counseling options for Maine higher education students as well as information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to help students address mental health needs during the pandemic.
Operating Entity: University of Maine System
Topic(s): Mental Health
This webpage contains resources for children and their families and for teachers to address mental health needs during the pandemic. Links include information for both adults and young people about coping as well as taking care of one's mental health and links to other organizations that work with children.
Operating Entity: Maine Association of Psychiatric Physicians
Topic(s): Mental Health
This news archive from Disability Rights Maine lists resources to address mental health needs such as helping families cope with grief and anxiety and behavioral health support services.
Operating Entity: Disability Rights Maine
Topic(s): Mental Health
The Maine Department of Education created a web page to host COVID-19 related resources for teachers across the state. The web page provides over 40 resources focused on online learning, accessibility, behavior and social skills, professional development opportunities, and more.
Operating Entity: Maine Department of Education
Topic(s): Assistive Technology, Distance Learning, Transition
This document is a priority notice discussing how students with disabilities should continue to be taught now as we face special circumstances surrounding COVID-19. It specifies adjustments to IEP plans based on the COVID-19 pandemic, requirements for virtual IEP meetings, and requirements for communicating with parents of students with disabilities.
Operating Entity: Maine Department of Education
Topic(s): IEP
GEAR is offering phone support, parenting suggestions, education regarding youth's diagnosis, educational workshops, referrals, and resource information for parents of youth with disabilities.
Operating Entity: Maine Department of Health and Human Services
Topic(s): Mental Health
This program provides support and education to people who have Long-COVID.
Operating Entity: Northern Maine Medical Center
Topic(s): Long-COVID
This referral form is used to connect the respondent with relevant services if they are isolating. Available services include support for stress and anxiety in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Operating Entity: Maine Department of Health and Human Services
Topic(s): Mental Health
This document, created in response to the pandemic, contains information on the symptoms of fear and anxiety, offers tips on how to cope with stress and provides crisis hotlines, one of which is for teens.
Operating Entity: Maine Department of Health and Human Services
Topic(s): Mental Health
This is a free educational program for parents and primary caregivers of kids with mental illness. This document also lists course options for families of students with mental illness, seeking to engage families in the mental health, trauma recovery, or destigmitization process.
Operating Entity: Maine Department of Health and Human Services
Topic(s): Mental Health
NAMI is offering 26 hours per month of in home support for families raising a child with mental illness or two or more developmental delays. This press-release discusses lowered pricing of these services, as well as the process by which families can apply for NAMI services.
Operating Entity: Maine Department of Health and Human Services
Topic(s): Mental Health
This document is a priority notice with commonly asked questions regarding special services during distance learning including IEPs. It describes the circumstances under which IEP meetings should be conducted (either virtually or in-person), lists potential adjustments to IEP plans to best serve students with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic, discusses potential alternative or additional educational opportunities for students with disabilities, and lists resources to inform families of federal and State-level disability resources.
Operating Entity: Maine Department of Education
Topic(s): Distance Learning, IEP
The webpage provides information on interventions related to the impact of COVID-19 on mental health, addressing grief and loss during the pandemic and the impact of the pandemic on school leadership.
Operating Entity: Maine Department of Education
Topic(s): Mental Health
Maine's Social-Emotional Learning landing page is a response to the pandemic. Categories of resources include Adult Care; Diversity, Equity and Inclusion; Parenting; School Communities; U.S. Department of Education COVID-19 Resources; and Mindfulness for Educators. Resources address anxiety or stress, regulating emotions, supporting students, addressing racism linked to the pandemic, confronting COVID-19-related harassment and practicing mindfulness.
Operating Entity: Maine Department of Education
Topic(s): Mental Health
This program, developed in response to the pandemic, specifically offers stress management and resiliency resources to promote mental health. The website has information about various crisis hotlines and also identifies digital resources. It contains information about responding to stress, links to videos about stress management resources and links to wellness resources. There is also a wellness check-in quiz to help a person identify their own stress level and identify user-specific resources.
Operating Entity: StrengthenME
Topic(s): Mental Health