Throughout October, the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services highlighted aspects of disability awareness for national disability employment, dyslexia, learning disabilities, ADHD and Down syndrome.
Check out the stories below.
Category Archives: National Disability Employment Awareness Month
Exploring Career Opportunities in Alaska
Note: October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month
This spring, 65 students with disabilities from southeast Alaska participated in the Alaska Division of Vocational Rehabilitation’s (DVR’s) Explore program.
The Explore program is a hands-on career exploration opportunity in the high-demand fields of construction, power technology and healthcare.
Explore is part of Alaska DVR’s Pre-Employment Transition Services that promotes career paths in high-demand, high-wage occupations through postsecondary vocational training for students with disabilities. This program is made possible through a partnership with the University of Alaska Southeast School of Career Education.
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Vocational Rehabilitation for Individuals with Disabilities from High School and College Youth to Adults
The Maine Department of Labor’s Bureau of Rehabilitation Services works to bring about full access to employment, independence and community integration for people with disabilities.
Working with its partners in the Maine Department of Labor’s CareerCenter and the rehabilitation community, the Bureau of Rehabilitation Services works with persons with disabilities through the divisions of vocational rehabilitation, blind and visually impaired, and deaf, hard of hearing and late deafened.
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I Can Do Anything: Learning Job Basics and Preparing for the Future
NOTE: October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month
By Theo Brooks
When I lost my job in the food industry, I didn’t know what to do. Without my job, I was feeling defeated. I was frustrated that the job I enjoyed and looked forward to was gone.
I stopped by INCLUDEnyc, which my mom found, that helps young people with disabilities like me and their families. One of their youth educators spoke to me and gave me an assessment. From that point, I started to feel more optimistic that I had opportunities.
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Creating Access to Successful Employment
Note: October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month
Manufacturing, healthcare and information technology are three promising career pathways for Kentuckians seeking training and employment in in-demand jobs that pay family-sustaining wages and have opportunities for advancement.
Project CASE was created to increase the numbers of individuals with disabilities training and working in these fields by finding and/or developing flexible and innovative training and postsecondary approaches to skill attainment.
Project CASE’s six Career Pathway Coordinators help increase the capacity of Kentucky’s Office of Vocational Rehabilitation and Office for the Blind in reaching employers who can provide work experiences such as job shadowing, internships, apprenticeships and, ultimately, job placement in these pathways.
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The Power of Partnerships
NOTE: October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month
By Chris Pope, OSERS RSA, and Kathy West-Evans, CSAVR
Partnerships between state vocational rehabilitation (VR) agencies and the private sector have helped individuals with disabilities served by state VR agencies to meet their career goals.
Ethan, a young man with Autism, secured a paid internship with HP Inc. last spring thanks in part to a partnership between the Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation’s (CSAVR) National Employment Team (NET), Michigan Rehabilitation Services (MRS), and Michigan Technological University (MTU).
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Vocational Rehabilitation Success Stories from the Sunshine State
Note: October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month
Florida’s Division of Vocational Rehabilitation within the Florida Department of Education offers various vocational rehabilitation (VR) services to Florida customers.
This division has helped clients find jobs including services, technical and professional positions, self-employment, business start-up, and others positions across the state.
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Transitions and Transmissions: VR Services Help Teen Roadmap a Career Path
Note: October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month
By Way2Work Maryland
Way2Work Maryland, a five-year federal RSA research grant in Maryland, connects students with disabilities in local school systems across the state to community rehabilitation providers to participate in Work-Based Learning Experiences.
Way2Work student Kenneth Singletary was connected to TransCen, Inc. for services in his junior year thanks to a partnership between the University of Maryland, the Maryland Department of Education’s Division of Rehabilitation Services and its pre-employment transition services funding, and the Harford County, Maryland school system.
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Career Pathways Advancement Project — Individuals with Disabilities Find Work That Best Fits Them
Note: October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month
![Nebraska VR logo in center of 4 photos. Top Left: A.J. (Andrew) Sigler, A1 United Heating, Air & Electrical Construction. Top Right: Sam Nelson, Environmental Services Associate. Bottom Left: Tanna Skarniak, Owner TS Preservation Specialist. Bottom Left: Amanda Carr, Hy-Vee Courtesy Clerk ]](https://sites.ed.gov/osers/files/2019/10/NE-Collage-004.png)
The Career Pathways Advancement Project (CPAP) is designed for Nebraska vocational rehabilitation (VR) clients to explore and access opportunities to advance in their employment.
Through a combination of classroom and on-the-job training, clients earn the recognized postsecondary credentials required for advancement within a specific industry. CPAP provides employers access to a group of potential employees with the required and relevant skills.
This project is funded by a five-year grant awarded to Nebraska VR in 2015.
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Flipping the Script on my Limitations
NOTE: October is Learning Disabilities/ADHD/Dyslexia Awareness Month
This blog is written by Julia Kaback, a member of the Young Adult Leadership Council of the National Center for Learning Disabilities
When I was a child, I dreamed of working at the National Park Service and when an entry-level position became available, I applied for it immediately. After my interview, I had to start thinking about the words I would use to describe my learning disability if given a job offer.
Good news, I got the job!
