Disability Mentoring Day (DMD)

Local Coordinator Information

Tool Kit

Local Coordinators can find the toolkit below with helpful forms and information for local committees in starting and continuing a local Disability Mentoring Day event in their community. If you have questions, call the State Coordinator, Cody Harris at (620) 792-1321 or KCDC Executive Director Martha Gabehart at (800) 295-5232 or email her at martha.gabehart@ks.gov.

What do Local Coordinators and Committees Do?

A Local DMD Coordinator chairs a local DMD committee that is comprised of representatives from the following organizations in your community: education, service providers, and employment/employers.

If you are connected to an organization that works with people with disabilities and/or employment in your community, you can serve as a local coordinator.

Local DMD Committees facilitate job career exploration experiences between Mentees with disabilities and local businesses. These could include:

• One-On-One Job Shadowing, which individually pairs a Mentee with a workplace Mentor to learn more about a typical day on the job and how to prepare for that particular career
• Group visits to work sites, in which Mentees tour a workplace or meet with various employees on the job and learn first hand about different types of jobs and related opportunities within that career field.
• Diverse Programmatic Events: kick-off breakfasts, all-day informational seminars, and/or end-of-day receptions for all community participants to attend.
• Career fairs that could include job readiness workshops for mentees, mentor workshops on disability etiquette and job accommodations for mentors.
• Panel discussion of employees with disabilities and/or employers of people with disabilities. A master of ceremonies facilitates questions to the panel and students and job seekers are able to listen and hear of others’ experiences and what employers expectations, etc.

All of these events, plus other scenarios that take place on Disability Mentoring Day, provide an opportunity for the program participants to share their experiences and build a much broader and beneficial network of relationships.

How a particular community decides to do Disability Mentoring Day depends on the desires of the local DMD committee and what will work best for that community and their situation. All of the formats listed above have been done very successfully in Kansas.

How to Start a Local DMD Committee

The principal eligibility requirement for becoming a local coordinator, besides meeting the responsibilities set forth below, is being affiliated with a local organization that supports DMD; such as a school, employer or disability-related organization.

Individuals that do not have such affiliation will not be confirmed by the State Coordinator or AAPD. This requirement is based on experience that organizational backing makes a significant difference in enabling individuals to fulfill the responsibilities.

Local Coordinators should make good faith efforts to do the following:

• Complete and return the Local DMD Coordinator application form. Start a Local Organizing Committee suitable to the size and scope of event(s).
• The Local Committee should have representation in all three of the following areas: Education, Service Provider, and Employment
• Participate in, or arrange for a substitute to participate in, Kansas and National DMD toll-free conference calls
• Develop a schedule for planning DMD activities
• Notify the Kansas Committee immediately if circumstances prevent you from continuing to coordinate DMD event(s)
• Complete and return a final report form on the highlights of DMD event(s) by the deadline

To be a Local Coordinator, fill out the DMD Local Coordinator Application Form.

More Information

For more information about becoming a local DMD coordinator, please contact Martha Gabehart, Executive Director, Kansas Commission on Disability Concerns at (800) 295-5232, or email martha.gabehart@ks.gov.

Local Coordinator Toolkit

General Start Up Info

• Local Coordinator Proposal Form
• ABCs of DMD
• Job Shadowing in Rural Areas
• Ideas for Local contacts when starting a Local Committee

Other Resources

• Proclamation Template

Mentee Documents

• Mentee Application
• Mentee Recruitment Letter
• Mentee Evaluation
• DMD Fact Sheet
• DMD Student Guide

Mentor Documents

• Mentor Application
• Mentor Recruitment Letter
• Mentor Evaluation
• DMD Fact Sheet
• DCF Registry and Release of Info Form for background checks
• Employer Liability Comment

Background Check Information

It is a “best practice” for all Kansas mentoring programs, and national mentoring programs, to run a background check on mentors for students. It is done for the protection of the students. The check is done through the Department for Children and Families Abuse and Neglect Registry and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation Criminal Records Check. Additionally, the Driver’s License check is necessary if the mentee is going to be driven to the workplace and/or back by the Mentor. If you have a state agency or affiliate as a partner on your local committee, you may be able to get the SRS background services for free or a reduced rate. Be sure to check.

If your Disability Mentoring program runs 9-12 months of the year, you can register with the Kansas Mentors program and the background checks for fingerprinting and Department for Children and Families are free.

Abuse/ Neglect

Kansas Department for Children and Families ($10.00 or free if you have 9-12 month mentoring program and are registered with Kansas Mentors)

Child Abuse and Neglect Central Registry
915 SW Harrison
5th Floor South
Topeka, KS 66612

Annette Caraway
(785) 296-6783

• DCF Registry and Release of Info Form

Criminality

Information Network of Kansas (INK) ($12.50)
1-800-452-6727 (technical questions)
(785) 296-8200 (ask for Criminal Records Unit)

If you have a 9-12 month program and prefer fingerprinting of mentors, the process is free through the Kansas Mentors program.

Driver's License

Insurance Information Exchange ($6.50 for KS)
3011 Earl Rudder Freeway South
College Station, TX 77845

Therese
800-683-8553, extension 8491

Sex Offender Registry

Sex Offender Registry is accessed through the KBI website.