Goals
|
Jennifer Sheehy, ODEP Deputy Assistant Secretary, and Kenneth Matos, Senior Director of Research, Families and Work Institute, shake hands over the signed Allliance agreement. |
The U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP), and the Families and Work Institute (FWI) recognize the value of establishing a collaborative relationship to promote the employment of individuals with disabilities. ODEP and the Institute hereby form an Alliance to provide Institute members and stakeholders with information, technical assistance and access to resources that will enable members and stakeholders to create workplaces that include the talents of workers with disabilities. In developing this Alliance, ODEP and the Institute recognize that they are an integral part of a national effort to promote workplaces that include all workers including those with disabilities.
Alliance Activities
ODEP and the Institute agree to work together to carry out the following activities:
- Share expertise and disseminate information on hiring, advancing, and retaining workers with disabilities, including veterans with disabilities.
- Promote and disseminate information on ODEP resources to Institute members and stakeholders. ODEP resources include, but are not limited to, the Job Accommodation Network (JAN), the Employer Assistance and Resource Network on Disability Inclusion (EARN), the LEAD Center, the Partnership on Employment and Accessible Technology (PEATworks), the Workforce Recruitment Program (WRP) plus practices and policies to increase disability inclusion in the workplace.
- Develop and publicize resources on the value of recruiting, hiring, retaining and promoting talented workers with disabilities including veterans with disabilities. Such resources might include, but are not limited to, how-to-guides and other educational materials, success stories and case studies developed collaboratively or by individual parties.
- Identify emerging issues to which the Alliance should direct particular attention and resources, and determine how best to communicate relevant and useful information related to these issues.
- Speak, exhibit, and/or appear at mutually agreed upon ODEP and Institute events.
- As appropriate, convene and/or participate in stakeholder meetings focused on forging innovative strategies for recruiting, hiring, retaining and promoting job candidates and employees with disabilities.
- Provide technical assistance to employers and employees regarding replicable disability employment strategies, policies and effective practices.
- Participate in meetings and/or discussions with representatives from other ODEP Alliances and TA Centers to exchange information on various disability employment issues that are being addressed and to explore opportunities for additional collaborative activities.
- Carry out other activities, as mutually agreed upon, that promote the recruiting, hiring, advancement, and retention of individuals with disabilities.
- Build awareness and use of the Workforce Recruitment Program (WRP) as a hiring tool for Institute members and stakeholders.
About Families and Work Institute (FWI)
Families and Work Institute is a nonprofit center dedicated to providing research for living in today's changing workplace, changing family and changing community. Since the Institute was founded in 1989, their work has tackled issues in three major areas: the workforce/workplace, youth and early childhood. Families and Work Institute's research takes on emerging issues before they crest and includes some of the most comprehensive research on the U.S. workforce available. The Institute's work has helped change the language of debates to move the discussion forward toward more effective, and data-driven solutions, and to result in action. http://www.familiesandwork.org/
Related Documents
- Read the final report (PDF)