MASSACHUSETTS REHABILITATION COMMISSION HONORS PARTNERSHIP WITH UMASS BOSTON; UMass Boston’s College of Public and Community Service has been honored as part of the MRC’s 50th anniversary with the Community Partnership Award for ongoing work to improve the education of persons with disabilities and their preparation for the workforce. On November 1, the campus will host the morning conference “Partnering for Success in Hiring and Retaining Qualified Employees with Diverse Backgrounds and Abilities,” a gathering of workforce specialists, researchers and area employers. The event takes place from 7:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. in the Ryan Lounge, McCormack Building. For more information about the conference, contact Mabel Julián at 617-442-5510.

***OCTOBER IS WHITE CANE AWARENESS MONTH. UMass Boston prepares teachers with specialized knowledge and skills to promote independent and safe travel skills to individuals who are blind or visually impaired through NERCVE. 97% of all persons registered as legally blind with the Massachusetts Commission for the Blind have some amount of usable vision that when combined with a cane can assist a person’s safety and independence. Learn about the White Cane Awareness and the Graduate Program in Orientation and Mobility at www.nercve.umb.edu

***NATIONAL CENTER FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH WITH DISABILITIES LAUNCHED IN BOSTON. A $4 million grant goes to the Institute for Community Inclusion in a partnership with Children’s Hospital and UMass Boston to back a 5-year plan to service children with special health care needs and disabilities via the new national demonstration project will fund collaboration among families, community groups and disability orgs, schools and more to connect families to needed services earlier and improve post-secondary school prospects for disabled youth. More at www.communityinclusion.org.