QUEST FOR BEST PRACTICES IN EMPLOYMENT &
DISABILITY
We are currently working on a project
to identify exemplary initiatives, throughout the United States and Canada,
to advance the employment of people with disabilities. We want to identify
“best practices” in these broad categories:
-
PERCEPTION – Promoting a
better image/understanding of people with disabilities as productive
participants in the workforce.
-
RECRUITMENT – Proactive
strategies that enable companies to identify, reach and hire prospective
employees with disabilities.
-
TRAINING – Programs that
enable people with disabilities to develop and/or enhance their
marketable skills.
-
ACCOMMODATIONS – Exemplary
policies and demonstrated practices on implementing effective
accommodations.
-
COMMUNICATIONS – Methods
and strategies that are used to keep all “stakeholders” in communication
about resources, developments and opportunities.
-
PARTNERSHIPS – Examples of
(formal) partnerships between two or more organizations that result in
productive employment outcomes.
By "best practices" we mean
initiatives that have both demonstrated a high level of success and are
worthy of being replicated in other locales. If you are aware of initiatives
in any or all of those categories, please consider taking a few minutes in
the next week or so to share your expertise/knowledge with us!
Find the survey at:
www.surveymonkey.com/s/RKNR5MM
RESOURCES on
DISABILITY & EMPLOYMENT
PROFILES:
Active in the Work Force
The Job Accommodation is now
featuring a number of terrific profiles of folks with disabilities and the
accommodations that have enabled them to thrive in their careers. Featured
on the JAN homepage, these brief little profiles are engaging and upbeat.
Visit the website:
http://askjan.org/index.html
VIDEO:
All Ways Welcome
One of the best videos I’ve ever seen
on disability awareness issues was produced years ago by the Ontario
Ministry of Tourism. “All Ways Welcome” is a fun and upbeat educational tool
that revolves around the experiences of Mr. Different. I’ve heard from many
folks who still use and treasure their VHS copies. Never released on DVD and
no longer for sale on VHS, I was happy to have recently been alerted to an
online version. (Thanks Cathy!) Be sure to check it out.
The movie is in the website of
“Sniff, the Dog Movie”. I haven’t seen it, but I’ve heard it contains an
entertaining perspective on guide dogs. I’ve encouraged these folks to
upload “All Ways Welcome” to YouTube so it will reach a broader audience.
You might want to suggest the same.
See the video:
http://blog.sniffthemovie.com/2009/09/all-ways-welcome_04.html
REQUEST:
Recruiting Sources
In response to their corporate
member’s needs, the USBLN® is looking for recruiting resources with a proven
track record in delivering quality candidates with disabilities. They are
not looking for self-referrals. They are asking companies, across the
country to recommend organizations that they have successfully used in their
own recruiting efforts. If your company has worked with a supplier of
applicants with disabilities that you want to recommend, please contact the
USBLN.
Contact email:
anita@usbln.org
RADIO: Employment and Disability Issues
Disabilities
at Work: In April, Disabilities at Work launched a weekly radio program
on the VoiceAmerica Business Channel – focusing on disability & employment
issues. These programs have featured a variety of individuals and
organizations that are proven leaders in the effort to increase employment
opportunities for folks with disabilities. All of their broadcasts are also
archived online in MP3 format
Visit the website:
www.disabilitiesatwork.org/Daw_Radio.html
Disability
Matters: Since 2003 Joyce Bender of Bender Consulting Inc., a key player
in the advancement of workforce inclusion for people with disabilities, has
hosted a VoiceAmerica radio show that is focused on employment and
empowerment and features interviews with an amazing array of leaders from
the disability field. Broadcasts are Tuesdays at 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM. All past
interviews (100+) are archived online.
Visit the website:
www.benderconsult.com/radio.html
WEBSITE:
Disability Nondiscrimination Law Advisor
The U.S. Department of Labor has a
new online site to help employers understand which federal laws, related to
disability nondiscrimination, apply to them. By
answering a short series of questions about their business or organization,
employers can quickly discover which laws apply to their particular
situation.
Visit the website:
http://webapps.dol.gov/elaws/odep/
EXEMPLARS:
Top Ten Companies for People with Disabilities
Diversity Inc has recently released
its 2010 list of the “Top Ten Companies for People with Disabilities.” Some
of the criteria used for indentifying these companies include: recruiting
programs for people with disabilities; work/life and other accommodation
benefits; diversity-awareness training that addresses people with
disabilities; employee-resource groups for people with disabilities and/or
caregivers; and communications, such as web sites and other materials, that
feature employees with disabilities.
Visit the website:
www.diversityinc.com/article/7554/The-DiversityInc-Top-10-Companies-for-People-With-Disabilities/
ARTICLE:
For People with Disabilities, Technology is Disproportionately Empowering
Published in the May edition of the
World Institute on Disability (WID)’s newsletter- Equity, this short article
by WID Deputy Diretcor Tom Foley is a really nice synopsis of how the impact
of new technology that has so dramatically changed our lives has had even
more impact on the life experience of people with disabilities.
Visit the website:
http://www.wid.org/programs/access-to-assets/equity/equity-e-newsletter-may-2010/profile-of-the-month
THEME: National
Disability Employment Awareness Month
In mid-May, the U.S. Department of
Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy unveiled the official theme
for October's National Disability Employment Awareness Month: "Talent
Has No Boundaries: Workforce Diversity INCLUDES Workers With Disabilities."
According to the press release, the theme “serves to inform the public that
workers with disabilities represent a diverse and vibrant talent pool for
hire”
See the New Release:
www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/odep/ODEP20100630.htm
VIDEO:
That’s HandiCrap
This video is a real treat. Produced
by the Northwest Institute for Social Change this 6-minute video is really
fresh and upbeat. It profiles students with disabilities who are
successfully breaking through the barriers of “HandiCrap” to find their
productive place in the workforce.
See the video:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cw8VClKn8sI
The
Cornell study reports that 17% of all non-institutionalized
people with disabilities of working age are receiving
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments. That is almost
4 million people. The study additionally informs us that
fully 24.7% of non-institutionalized people with
disabilities of working age are considered to be living in
poverty. What myriad of social services are they drawing on
just to get by? 
