The Administration for Community Living invites businesses to compete for cash prizes to help them expand their recruiting and retention programs to better include workers with disabilities and to recognize their leadership in addressing this critical economic issue. Through this Challenge, ACL seeks innovative models that can be shared to help businesses across the country reach a wider talent pool and to create more opportunities for employment for people with disabilities.
The Problem: A diversified workplace is good for the bottom line. Research shows that firms that employ and support workers with disabilities have 28% higher revenue and 30% higher profit margins than peer businesses that do not. Inclusive employers report higher overall employee morale and higher retention rates of workers with disabilities. Research also reveals that people with disabilities are healthier and happier when they have the opportunity to work.
Hiring and retaining workers with disabilities is good for everyone. And businesses want to diversify their workforce, but don’t always know how to create talent pipelines that include people with disabilities.
The Challenge: ACL believes that businesses are best suited to develop innovative solutions – that work for employers – for hiring and retaining workers with disabilities. There will be three phases of the competition with cash prizes awarded at each phase. The cash prizes will serve as seed money to help them refine, develop, test, and implement their initial concepts.
The Grand Prize is $100,000. All winners will receive travel to Washington, D.C., mentorship from experts in the field, and promotion of their business innovation models. Participating businesses will receive feedback on their proposals and permission to use the “Administration for Community Living Inclusive Talent Pipeline Partner” logo.
The Deadline: Submit a proposal by February 14, 2020.