Back to Connections January 2009 Menu
How is DBTAC Northwest Changing?
And When Did It Trade Vikings for Huskies?
In July, 2008, DBTAC Northwest moved from Western 
Washington University (home of the Vikings) to a new Husky home at the University of Washington. The change offers access to UW’s amazing array of expertise in rehabilitation issues as well as the opportunity to pursue joint activities that will ultimately benefit people with disabilities.
“The opportunities for collaboration with others at UW are excellent,” offers Dr. Kathe Matrone, Center Director. “We will be able to work on projects together. For example, we are sponsoring teleconferences that may be very interesting to the business community, and our colleagues at UW have assisted us in identifying outstanding speakers.”
“Courses taught through UW’s Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, such as their well-regarded ‘Medical Aspects of Disability’ course, feature an impressive cast of physicians," says Matrone, "and might be recorded and made accessible to a broad audience interested in disability issues. Expertise previously available only to a small local audience may become accessible on a regional basis.”
“We also will be working with graduate students,” notes Matrone. “Geri Bell, a new doctoral student in rehabilitation services, has taken a research assistant position with the Center.”
Building a strong relationship with universities enhances the purpose of Disability and Business Technical Assistance Centers (DBTACs). With the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990 came the need to help business, individuals with disabilities, state and local government, and others answer questions about the law and its application. The federal response was to create ten regional DBTACs. The Northwest Region includes Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington, and is served by our center, DBTAC Northwest, located off campus in suburban Seattle. Five of the ten DBTACs across the nation are located at universities.
DBTAC Northwest is collaborating with Dr. Kurt Johnson and Dr. Bob Fraser, both well known researchers at the University of Washington, to better understand how small and medium sized employers view hiring job seekers with disabilities. The research will help the DBTAC Northwest offer good advice to the business community.
DBTAC Northwest’s regional focus is consistent with its parent organization, the Center for Continuing Education in Rehabilitation (CCER), part of the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at UW. For more than twenty-five years, CCER has provided support, training, and leadership development to the state vocational rehabilitation agencies and hundreds of community employment programs serving people with disabilities in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington.
In October, 2008, CCER received a large five-year TACE (Technical Assistance and Continuing Education) grant that will continue to support its activities. CCER’s long history with the region’s rehabilitation community benefits DBTAC Northwest through personal relationships in hundreds of cities and towns across the northwest. When there is a problem in Blackfoot, Idaho, for example, someone from CCER knows local residents who can help with a solution. In addition, CCER’s long focus on employment for people with disabilities naturally compliments a portion of DBTAC Northwest’s mission.