With the unemployment rate of individuals with disabilities 50% higher than those without disabilities, new employment initiatives are sorely needed to reverse this long lasting trend.
CEC applauds a new initiative led by Governor Jack Markell (D-DE), chair of the National Governor’s Association, who recently announced year long project entitled A Better Bottom Line: Employing People with Disabilities. This plan will focus on meeting employment challenges that effect those with significant intellectual or developmental disabilities by creating blueprints for best practices that can be put in place for employment of persons with disabilities and by working with states to heighten awareness of these best practices.
The initiative incorporates plans to provide work place supports for people with disabilities such as job coaches and personal attendants so that people with disabilities will have systems in place that allow them to use their skills and qualifications to contribute to their employer’s success. The plan also includes measures to inform and educate the business community about how employing individuals with disabilities can improve a company or business’s practices and bottom line.
The initiative received wide spread support from leaders of some of the largest companies in the nation and federal leaders including Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA).
Stay tuned to the Policy Insider blog for more updates. For more information on this plan, please click here.
Comments