• Are you aware of targeted grants funding within your state that aims to increase employment of people with disabilities and their outcomes?
  • Are there Navigators, Disability Resource Coordinators, Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Counselors and/or other staff with disability expertise co-located within your state’s American Job Centers (AJCs) that support capacity buidling?
  • Are you aware of all national/state/local Technical Assistance (TA) available to your state/local Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) system?
  • Are you aware of promising practices that have been effectively implemented nationwide, such as Customized Employment and Integrated Resource Teams (IRTs), to improve employment of people with disabilities?

Actions (to take individually or as a team)

  • Identify national, state, and/or local TA that may support your efforts to expand employment to people with disabilities.
  • If targeted grants are not in place, research national promising practices, including Customized Employment and Employment First on the LEAD Center website that can be implemented in your programs or through partnerships.
  • Explore the level of active resource coordination in your region for people with multiple employment challenges and how partners are working together to serve them.
  • Use the Data and Resources to Inspire a Vision of Employment (DRIVE) website and resources to identify state policies, practices, technical assistance initiatives, and outcomes that are focused directly or indirectly on the employment of individuals with

Examples

Resources