There are a number of resources available to help you meet your recruitment goals of qualified individuals with disabilities and protected veterans.
Public Sources
The American Job Center connects businesses to individuals seeking employment through local American Job Centers. As an employer you can post jobs in the Veterans Job Bank, the central source for identifying Veteran–committed employment opportunities and helping employers hire qualified Veterans, as well as connect with your local labor exchange and state job bank to reach jobseekers locally and around the country.
Centers for Independent Living
Centers for Independent Living (CILs) are consumer–controlled, community–based, cross–disability, nonresidential private nonprofit agencies that are designed and operated within a local community by individuals with disabilities and provide an array of independent living services. A majority of CIL staff and Board of Directors are persons with disabilities; and CILs provide information and referral, independent living skills training, individual and systems advocacy, and peer counseling. Many, but not all CILs are funded by the U.S. Department of Education.
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Service
VA’s Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Service helps employers across the country fill workforce needs with trained, educated and experienced disabled veterans. It provides recruitment assistance based on employers’ specific qualification requirements, and candidates are skilled, committed workers who are pre–screened for specific employment opportunities. Through the service, employers also gain access to resources to assist with recruitment, retention and succession planning strategies.
Disability.gov is the Federal Government Website for comprehensive information about disability–related programs, services, policies, laws, and regulations. The site links to thousands of resources for employers and jobseekers from many different federal government agencies, as well as state and local governments and nonprofit organizations across the country. The site has an “Employment” page with resources for recruiting and hiring individuals with disabilities, a link to State vocational rehabilitation agencies across the country, information on reasonable accommodation and job support, job boards connecting employers to jobseekers with disabilities, and other pertinent information.
Employer Assistance and Resource Network (EARN)
EARN provides free technical assistance to employers seeking to recruit, hire, and retain employees with disabilities.
State Vocational Rehabilitation Agencies
Vocational Rehabilitation agencies exist in every state and coordinate and provide counseling, evaluation, training, and job placement services for people with disabilities. The U.S. Department of Education’s Education Resource Organization Directory (EROD) provides contact information on rehabilitative services to assist people with disabilities.
State vocational rehabilitation agencies can be accessed from a single point – The National Employment Team (NET), which is sponsored by the Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation (CSAVR). The NET is a national collaboration among 80 Vocational Rehabilitation agencies operating in all of the states and U.S. territories. The NET partners with businesses, leveraging the vast network of communication and dissemination channels available to them, to connect employers and qualified jobseekers. The NET offers a variety of business services, and can facilitate connections with other workforce development agencies and partner organizations at the national and local levels.
Ticket to Work Employment Networks
The Social Security Administration’s Ticket to Work program supports career development for people with disabilities who want to work. This program, through Employment Network (EN) providers and State Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) agencies, coordinates and provides appropriate services to help social security beneficiaries find and maintain employment. These services may be training, career counseling, vocational rehabilitation, job placement, and ongoing support services necessary to achieve a work goal.
The Workforce Recruitment Program for College Students with Disabilities (WRP) is a free resource co–sponsored by DOL’s Office of Disability Employment Policy and the Department of Defense, through which private businesses and federal agencies nationwide can find qualified candidates from a variety of professional fields who are looking for internships and permanent positions. Applicants are highly motivated postsecondary students, recent graduates, and veterans eager to prove their abilities in the workforce. The WRP is jointly managed by the Department of Defense (DoD) and the Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) https://askearn.org/topics/recruitment-hiring/workforce-recruitment-program-wrp/.
Private–sector employers can now use https://wrp.jobs/employers/about-workforce-recruitment-program/, a no–cost online job board, to find pre–screened college students and recent graduates with disabilities looking for internships and permanent positions. Employers can post single jobs or elect to connect all appropriate college–level job vacancies to WRP.jobs. Workforce Recruitment Program (WRP) candidates looking for entry–level, career–track positions or professional internship opportunities can view and apply for positions. Candidates represent all majors and include graduate and law students, as well as veterans. WRP.jobs directs applicants to employers’ career pages and applicant tracking systems.
Educational Institutions
Educational institutions, including community colleges, universities, and other institutions of learning and/or training, are another important recruitment source for veterans and people with disabilities. Most college campuses have designated offices for students with disabilities and veterans’ services. Note, that on some campuses these offices do not work closely with the career services departments and separate contacts will be necessary.
Cornell University’s Employment and Disability Institute, is a site that offers articles, checklists, a glossary, and links to useful disability resources to help employers in recruiting and hiring persons with disabilities.
Associations and Community Organizations
Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN)
The ASAN provides consulting services to assist companies and agencies with including autistic individuals in diversity employment programs and providing workplace accommodations.
DisABLEDperson is a nonprofit public foundation that provides an online employment recruitment service for individuals and veterans with disabilities. They work closely with employers to make their job openings available to individuals with disabilities, and with disability rights organizations and State Vocational Rehabilitation agencies from across the country. Employers and individuals create an online account to post jobs and to search for current job openings.
National Federation of the Blind (NFB)
The mission of the NFB is the complete integration of the blind into society including the workforce. One way of doing this is by providing employers access to resources and information such as lists of Braille resources and the latest assistive technologies, and offering Web accessibility certifications.
National Organization on Disability (NOD)
NOD provides technical assistance and can help federal contractors with setting utilization goals, collecting data, and reaching out to sourcing agencies and disability service providers. Its subject matter experts, with knowledge acquired through the Bridges to Business initiative and other programs, possess considerable experience and expertise in employer disability processes and procedures, among other things, and can help employers change processes for the entire employment life cycle.
National Telecommuting Institute, Inc. (NTI)
NTI has a technology assisted method of finding job applicants with disabilities for federal contractors and other companies seeking qualified workers. According to NTI, it has used this technique for six years to fill jobs for companies and federal agencies who want to find qualified home–based individuals with disabilities for virtual customer service jobs. They are expanding the use of this method to filling traditional on-site jobs. Partnering with major staffing agencies, federal contractors and Fortune 500 companies, NTI’s “The Staffing Connection” program places Americans with disabilities in on-site positions. NTI has access to the national database of 11.5 million Americans receiving Social Security disability benefits.
U.S. Business Leadership Network (USBLN)
The US Business Leadership Network (USBLN) is a national non–profit that helps business drive performance by leveraging disability inclusion in the workplace, supply chain, and marketplace. The USBLN serves as the collective voice of nearly 50 Business Leadership Network affiliates across the United States, representing over 5,000 businesses.
General Resources
Add Us In is an initiative sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP). The initiative is designed to identify and develop strategies to increase employment opportunities within the small business community for individuals with disabilities. Included within the small business community are targeted businesses that are owned and operated by minorities, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals, women, veterans, and people with disabilities.
1-877-4-ED-PUBS (1-877-433-7827); 1-877-576-7734 (TTY)
Disability Employment 101 is a publication that addresses how to find qualified workers with disabilities and highlights what various businesses have done to successfully integrate individuals with disabilities into the workforce. Jointly developed by the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, it provides information about VR agencies and Disability and Business Technical Assistance Centers (DBTACs), as well as checklists and other resources to aid employers as they prepare to employ people with disabilities.
The Workforce Recruitment Program for College Students with Disabilities (WRP) is a recruitment and referral program that connects federal and private sector employers nationwide with highly motivated college students and recent graduates with disabilities who are eager to prove their abilities in the workplace through summer or permanent jobs.
Job Accommodation Network (JAN)
Funded by DOL’s Office of Disability Employment Policy, JAN is the leading source of free, expert, and confidential guidance on workplace accommodations and disability employment issues. Working toward practical solutions that benefit both employer and employee, JAN helps people with disabilities enhance their employability, and shows employers how to capitalize on the value and talent that people with disabilities add to the workplace. JAN’s trusted consultants offer one–on–one guidance on workplace accommodations, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and related legislation, and self–employment and entrepreneurship options for people with disabilities.
Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP)
ODEP’s mission is to develop and influence policies and practices to increase the number and quality of employment opportunities for people with disabilities. ODEP was authorized by Congress in the Department of Labor’s FY 2001 appropriation. Recognizing the need for a national policy to ensure that people with disabilities are fully integrated into the 21st Century workforce, the Secretary of Labor delegated authority and assigned responsibility to the Assistant Secretary for Disability Employment Policy. ODEP is a sub–cabinet level policy agency in the Department of Labor.
The Campaign for Disability Employment
The Campaign for Disability Employment (CDE) is a collaborative effort among social disability and business organizations that seek positive employment outcomes for people with disabilities. The organization encourages employers to recognize the value and talent that people with disabilities bring to the workforce. The site has outreach tools to promote inclusion and opportunities for people with disabilities in the workplace including a news room that includes timely information with social media venues.
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