ODDC- DOL-Delivering on the Promise

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TITLE:Delivering on the Promise: U.S. Department of Labor Self-Evaluation to Promote Community Living for People with Disabilities

AUTHOR:Department of Labor, specific author unknown (KACW 2/26/03)

BARRIERS AND EFFORTS TO EMPLOYMENT: There are numerous barriers to employment of adults with disabilities, including fragmentation of existing employment services; segregation of people with disabilities from mainstream programs and services; lack of access to health insurance; the complexity of existing work incentives; the lack of control and selection of providers; inadequate work opportunities resulting from attitudinal barriers; and the lack of accurate data on employment of people with disabilities. In spite of legislative mandates and interagency initiatives intended to facilitate the communication and collaboration needed for programs to work together, the unemployment rate for Americans with disabilities has not improved significantly over the last 12 years. People with the most significant disabilities continue to be viewed as unable to contribute to their communities, despite multiple innovative demonstrations and model programs documenting that they can work in the community.

In addition to the Department of Labor (DOL), other federal agencies have responsibility for programs and services affecting the employment of people with disabilities but the General Accounting Office concluded that these programs do not work together efficiently to share information. The Presidential Task Force on Employment of Adults with Disabilities, established in 1998, created a coordinated strategy across several agencies to increase employment. The Task Force is working with 18 departments and agencies to: review policies and practices relating to employment; make recommendations to the President for changes necessary to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of programs and services; and ensure that program and policy implementation is consistent with the goals in the ADA. The Task Force has focused on increasing employment for people with the most significant disabilities, transitioning from institutions, nursing homes, and other places where they are not working or are working at less than minimum wage. It identified specific actions needed to increase employment opportunities for people with disabilities, including: developing a consistent national policy on integrated employment; increasing choice and individualized budgeting; expanding opportunities for small business and entrepreneurship; and focusing on youth transitioning from school to employment or post-secondary opportunities.

Based on a Task Force recommendation, Congress established the Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) at DOL and charged it with ensuring that all DOL agencies work cooperatively to increase employment in community settings through better access to customized employment, training, and other individualized services and supports. ODEP will coordinate the development of policy recommendations and technical assistance needed to ensure physical, communication, and programmatic access to all DOL programs. DOL agencies have undertaken several activities over the last five years to begin addressing the need to increase employment, including the Employment Training Administration’s (ETA’s) access and technology initiatives, the development of very strong regulations by the DOL Civil Rights Center (CRC) implementing Section 188, and the nondiscrimination provisions of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA).

ACTION AND RECOMMENDATIONS:The Department of Labor identified five broad areas to ensure that people with disabilities can fully participate in their communities and identified actions to achieve these goals.

To improve access to, and choice and customization of, employment and entrepreneurship opportunities, supports, and services for people, particularly those with significant disabilities. The Department of Labor will collaborate with ODEP, and the ETA to ensure the meaningful participation of individuals with disabilities in all employment activities, programs, and services by:

Increasing employment choices and earnings opportunities by expanding capacity for individually designed customized employment throughout the workforce investment system. ODEP will expand the Customized Employment Grant Initiative to 10 additional sites in FY 2002 to support Local Boards in reviewing their policies. ODEP will collaborate with ESA’s Wage and Hour Division to develop training and technical assistance on increasing wages and customizing employment for individuals with significant disabilities earning wages under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Preparing young adults for participation in the workforce of the future and developing strategies between education, employment, health care and transportation to support successful transitions. Specific actions include: Convening the Youth Advisory Committee composed of 15 young people to advise the Secretary of Labor on education, transition, employment, health, rehabilitation, and independent living issues affecting young people.
Increase One-Stop Center employment services for people with psychiatric disabilities, including those transitioning to the community from institutions or those at risk for placement in residential facilities

To increase the availability and quality of personal assistants and community workers, thereby preventing unnecessary institutionalization of people and providing supports necessary for those individuals to seek and maintain employment. The action steps are:

Identify and propose options for increasing the availability of personal assistants by developing a cross-agency/cross-department plan to increase the availability and quality of personal assistants.
Explore the possibility of encouraging the use of Senior Community Service Employment Program participants, volunteers from the National Service Corporation’s programs, former welfare recipients, high school students required to perform community service, the One-Stop Center system and community organizations, to be used as personal assistants.
Convene a listening session so people with disabilities can provide input on this initiative and a similar listening session for service providers and other direct care staff to give their input on the initiative.
Establish an online registry, similar to America’s Job Bank, on DisAbilityDirect.gov where local or community-based organizations that help locate personal assistance can be identified.
Working with Wage and Hour Division to determine if a study of the Fair Labor Standards Act’s treatment of employees engaged in companionship and live-in services would be useful in assessing any impact in this area.
Working with the Internal Revenue Service to develop and disseminate technical assistance to ensure that people with disabilities are aware of their responsibilities as household employers under federal tax laws.

Leverage technology resources including increasing the use of technology as a tool for employment information and outreach, facilitating and increasing telework opportunities, and increasing employment opportunities in technology-related industries. The lead agencies will be the ODEP, ETA, the Office of the 21st Century Workforce, and the Presidential Task Force on Employment of Adults with Disabilities. The specific steps are:

Coordinate and implement a plan that improves the availability, affordability, and accessibility of technology in the school, home, and workplace for youth and adults with significant disabilities.
Work with industry leaders in electronic and information technology to develop effective accessibility strategies, to anticipate access issues associated with new technologies or designs, and to test and evaluate prototype devices and systems.
Provide information and technical assistance to employers about the benefits of hiring people with disabilities as employees.
Provide opportunities for students with significant disabilities to explore careers in science, mathematics, and technology through the High School/High Tech Program.
Explore how telementoring can best be used to improve employment outcomes for young people with disabilities.
Expand its DisAbilityDirect.gov web site to better serve the employment-related needs of people with disabilities.
Develop and implement an action plan with multiple DOL agencies to promote self-employment and small business development among people with disabilities, particularly those with the most significant disabilities.
Educate lenders about the viability of small business ownership for people with disabilities and collaborate with agencies to examine the possibility of increasing government procurement opportunities for small business owners.

Increase innovative and strategic partnerships between the federal government and employers, people with disabilities, family members, providers, community organizations, and others in the private sector, including foundations and faith-based organizations. The action steps are:

Promote positive images of people with disabilities as workers and community participants through a multi-part public awareness campaign with the Small Business Administration. Distribute educational packets promoting the viability of small business ownership for people with disabilities through federal and state banking associations, with the goal that lenders recognize people with disabilities as potential commercial customers.
Encourage partnerships with employers, members of the disability community, families, providers, foundations, faith-based organizations, and other important partners. ODEP and other appropriate agencies and departments will create a foundation of key leaders to examine how government agencies, businesses, and the foundation can work together to facilitate employment for young people and adults with disabilities. It will work with the Business Leadership Network and other employer stakeholders to secure their input, and to ensure that they have the information and assistance they need to facilitate customized employment for people with significant disabilities.
Work to increase participation of community organizations in providing customized employment services and opportunities to individuals with disabilities, and encourage their role in partnerships with their providers at the local level.

Increase the number of people with disabilities working in the federal workforce, with the department of labor leading by example through its commitment to hiring people with disabilities. The lead agencies will be the Office of Disability Employment Policy, the Office of the 21st Century Workforce, and the Office for the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management. (OSAM) The action steps are:

Recruitment and Placement: The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy (OASP) will seek to identify and change proposed DOL policies, programs, and regulations that may have the unintended effect of discouraging people with disabilities from achieving full employment. OASAM will ensure that all DOL vacancy announcements include a statement on the availability of reasonable accommodations for applicants with disabilities. HRC will work with the Social Security Administration to develop a Memorandum of Understanding that promotes DOL recruitment and hiring of individuals with disabilities who are participating in SSA’s Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency Program.
Reasonable Accommodations: DOL will continue to support the reasonable accommodations needs of employees with disabilities by providing interpreting services for employee training and technical assistance for DOL employees, and providing training to employees regarding disability etiquette and TTY use
Employment Opportunities for Young People with Disabilities: ODEP’s Workforce Recruitment Program (WRP) will continue to serve as a resource for hiring highly motivated post-secondary students and recent graduates with disabilities who are eager to prove their abilities in the workforce. ODEP will work with HRC to establish and promote the WRP program in each DOL agency.
Promoting Telecommuting: ODEP and OASAM’s Human Resource Center (HRC) will work together to identify current positions within DOL that can be relocated to home-based or other off-site facilities. ODEP and HRC will work together to recruit people with disabilities to work in DOL’s customer-service call center. HRC will work with ODEP to implement the federally mandated telecommuting initiative, guided by OPM and General Services Administration (GSA).

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