Technical Assistance

Resources to help One-stop staff and administration offer improved service to customers with disabilities. These include state and local grant recipients, training conference materials federally funded Rehabilitation Research and Training Centers, and general website resources.

Grant Recipients

Federal grants support state and local efforts to help people with disabilities find and maintain quality employment. These grants are aimed at building a comprehensive system that ties health, social, training and employment services together to form a strong web of support for people with disabilities. One-stops can look to state and local grant recipients as partners and information sources.

• Work Incentives Planning and Assistance Projects (WIPAs)
  Social Security Administration (SSA) program that funds community organizations in the states to assist SSA beneficiaries with disabilities with information about work incentives, benefits planning, and making good choices about work. Many of the WIPA grantees are organizations that were formerly known as Benefits Planning Assistance and Outreach projects or BPAOs. Benefit Specialists under the WIPA program are referred to as Community Work Incentives Coordinators (CWICS) and also work to improve community partnerships.
  
• Customized Employment Grants
  Department of Labor grants to Workforce Investment Boards for strategic planning and activities that improve the employment and career advancement prospects of people with disabilities.
• Demonstration Projects for Youth with Disabilities
  Department of Labor grants to community organizations nationwide to develop demonstration projects that show how youth with disabilities can be fully included in various Department of Labor youth programs.
• Disability Program Navigator Initiative
  ETA and SSA are jointly funding a $22 million DPN Initiative in 31 states where SSA implemented employment support initiatives. This Initiative will soon be expanded to the remaining 22 states and territories. This Initiative promotes comprehensive services and work incentive information for SSA beneficiaries and other people with disabilities, through the One Stop system. The Initiative focuses on developing new and ongoing partnerships to achieve seamless, comprehensive, and integrated access to services, creating systemic change, and expanding the workforce development system’s capacity to serve customers with disabilities and employers.
• Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program
  Department of Labor grants to address the problems of homelessness among America's veterans.
• Medicaid Infrastructure Grant
  Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) grants to states to support people with disabilities in securing and sustaining competitive employment in an integrated setting. This grant program is authorized under the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999, and is focused on implementing the core elements of that legislation.
• Navigator Demonstration: The DOL and SSA Vision
  [Powerpoint Presentation]   [Rich Text Format]
  Power Point Presentation outlining the US Department of Labor (DOL) and the Social Security Administration's (SSA) vision of the jointly funded Disability Program Navigator Initiative. The Disability Program Navigator helps people with disabilities "navigate" through the enormous challenges of seeking work. DOL and SSA have established the Disability Program Navigator initiative to better inform beneficiaries and other individuals with disabilities about the work support programs now available at DOL-funded One-Stop Career Centers.
• Projects with Industry Program (PWI)
  Department of Education grants to agencies and organizations that engage business and industry in partnerships to expand job and career opportunities for people with disabilities.
• SSA State Systems Change Grants
  Social Security Administration grants to states to identify systemic barriers to employment for SSA beneficiaries with disabilities, and develop creative methods to overcome those barriers. The SSA has also funded the State Partnership Systems Change Initiative (SPI) to support the grantee states.
• U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) Grants and Programs
  Programs, grants and initiatives administered by ODEP. These programs and activities are ongoing. Periodic updates will be provided throughout the year. Anyone desiring more information on any program should contact the staff member listed on this web page.

Training Conference Materials

Helpful resources from US Department of Labor Training Conferences focused on improving employment services for people with disabilities.

• Disability Program Navigator Second Annual Training
  The second annual Disability Program Navigator Training was held from November 15-17, 2004 in Chicago, Illinois. The audio and transcripts of the training sessions are accessible from the link above.
• Marketing One-Stop Career Centers to Individuals with Disabilities & Community Service Providers
  A resource developed by the University of Iowa, Law, Health, Policy and Disability Center that includes recommendations and suggestions for Disability Program Navigator (DPN) grantees when developing marketing materials targeting individuals with disabilities and community service providers. The guide includes recommendations for DPN grantees to primarily market One-Stop Career Center services versus the grantee’s role as a DPN.
• Region V Building Employment Opportunities for People with Disabilities Training Forum
  Website of the US Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA) Region V's Training Forum that was held from March 3 - 4, 2004 in Chicago, Illinois. The Training Forum focused on improving employment services and outcomes for people with disabilities and showcased promising practices and service delivery strategies of USDOL grantees, State and local innovators and Federal partners. Workshop presentations and handouts are accessible from this link.

Rehabilitation Research and Training Centers (RRTC)

• The Department of Education's National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) funds Rehabilitation Research and Training Centers (RRTC) across the country. The RRTCs conduct research on improving rehabilitation methodology and delivery systems, alleviating or stabilizing disabling conditions, or promoting maximum independence for people with disabilities. The RRTCs also offer training in these areas.
  
  There are 40 RRTCs nationwide, with varying specialties. These six, which focus on employment issues, are particularly relevant as sources of information and assistance for One-stop staff and administration:
• Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Workforce Investment and Employment Policy for Persons with Disabilities
  Law, Health Policy & Disability Center
  University of Iowa College of Law
  Washington, D.C. Office
  1725 Eye Street, N.W. Suite 600
  Washington, DC 20026
  202-521-2930
  
  RRTC focused on how federal and state disability policy affects the employment status and economic independence of people with disabilities. The aim of the Center is to offer new approaches to workforce development and employment policy that will improve outcomes for people with disabilities. The Center also acts as an information and technical assistance resource to federal and state policymakers, individuals with disabilities, parents and family members, and other interested parties.
• National Center for the Study of Postsecondary Educational Supports: A Rehabilitation Research and Training Center
  University of Hawaii at Manoa
  Center on Disability Studies--University Affiliated Program
  1776 University Avenue/UA4-6
  Honolulu, HI 96822
  808-956-3975
  
  RRTC exploring how individual support, assistive technology, high expectations and a personalized learning environment can help students with disabilities succeed in postsecondary education and in the transition to a chosen career.
• Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on State Systems and Employment
  University of Massachusetts Boston
  100 Morrissey Boulevard
  Boston, Massachusetts 02125-3393
  617-287-4300
  617-287-4350 (TTY)
  
  RRTC studying how state agencies provide employment support to people with disabilities. The Mission of the Center is to improve the employment outcomes of people with disabilities through the promotion of responsive, effective, and efficient state service delivery systems.
• Rehabilitation Research and Training Center for Economic Research on Employment Policy for Persons with Disabilities
  Program on Employment and Disability
  School of Industrial and Labor Relations
  Ithaca, NY 14853-3901
  607-255-7727
  607-255-2891 (TTY)
  
  RRTC conducting research, training and dissemination activities that will help policymakers and other stakeholders gain a deeper understanding of how the economy, public policies and other socio-political factors affect the employment and economic self-sufficiency of people with disabilities.
• Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Workplace Supports
  Virginia Commonwealth University
  1314 West Main Street, Box 842011
  Richmond, VA 23284-2011
  804-828-1851
  804-828-2494 (TTY)
  
  RRTC focused on identifying factors that inhibit businesses from hiring employees with disabilities, and also those factors that encourage them to do so. This Center offers extensive training through university courses, self-paced modules, teleconferences, the Internet, fact sheets, seminars and workshops, and conferences.
• Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Community Rehabilitation Programs to Improve Employment Outcomes
  University of Wisconsin/Stout
  Stout Vocational Rehabilitation Institute College of Human Development
  Menomonie, WI 54751
  715-232-2236
  715-232-5025 (TTY)
  
  RRTC focused on improving the employment outcomes and self-sufficiency of people with disabilities who are served by community-based rehabilitation programs.

General Assistance

• The Access Board
  Independent federal agency devoted to accessibility for people with disabilities. The Access Board website includes information on federal guidelines and standards; technical assistance, training and research; and enforcement. The website also contains Access Board publications and links to additional resources.
• Americans with Disabilities Act Technical Assistance Program
  Comprehensive web resource for information on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), including links to the 10 regional Disability and Business Technical Assistance Centers (DBTAC) charged with providing information to employers, people with disabilities and the general public on their rights and responsibilities under the ADA.
• Department of Justice ADA Home Page
  Central web resource for information and technical assistance on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), including the text of the law and subsequent regulations, guides, technical manuals, links to federal agencies with ADA responsibilities, informational publications, a toll-free information hotline, news, and mediation services.
• Disability and Business Technical Assistance Centers
  The Disability and Business Technical Assistance Centers (DBTACs) are regionally-based grantees of the US Department of Education whose mission is to provide technical assistance on requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act and other disability laws and regulations. The technical assistance services of the DBTACs have been available to the workforce system for the past few years under an Interagency Agreement between the US Departments of Labor and Education.
  Contact Information for the Disability and Business Technical Assistance Centers (DBTACs)
• National Center on Workforce and Disability/Adult
  Non-profit organization that provides training, technical assistance, policy analysis, and information to improve access for all in the workforce development system.
• National Center on Workforce and Disability/Youth
  Non-profit organization that provides information to state and local workforce development systems about employment and youth with disabilities.