National Disability Employment Awareness Month 2018

Every October, National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) offers an opportunity to celebrate the many contributions of America's workers with disabilities. This year's theme is "America's Workforce: Empowering All."

2018 ACL NDEAM Blogs and Activities

• ACL is hosting a webinar on October 24, 2018 at 3pm ET featuring medical professionals with disabilities who are flipping the script and working to enhance inclusion of people with disabilities in the healthcare field.
• In August, ACL led a session on promoting pathways to employment at the Home and Community Based Services Conference. View slides from the presentations on policies, practices, and resources for successful employment outcomes and research findings from key employment studies funded by ACL's National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research.
• Stay tuned for more throughout the month!

2017 ACL NDEAM Blogs

• Lance Robertson: Removing Barriers and Low Expectations
• Changing Lives for Youth with Disabilities by Supporting Employment and Strengthening Partnerships
• Pursuing Employment through Self-Advocacy in Washington D.C.
• National Rehabilitation Informatnion Center Blog: NDEAM 2017
• Research Insights on Advancing Integrated Employment for People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

Be a Part of NDEAM

The Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy has a variety of resources to help you be a part of NDEAM, including:

• A 31 days of NDEAM slide show full of event ideas
• Sample proclamation, press release, and social media content
• Activity ideas for employers, educators and youth-serving professionals, and disability organizations.

Presidential Proclamation

In the White House's National Disability Employment Awareness Month proclamation, President Donald Trump celebrated increases in the employment rate for people with disabilities and highlighted efforts across the federal government to promote disability employment. He added that the Administration "will continue these efforts, and renews its commitment to creating more opportunities for Americans with disabilities who want to provide for themselves and their families and contribute to their communities by participating in the workforce."

Disability Employment Resources from ACL

Resources for People with Disabilities and their Families and Friends

• Centers for Independent Living are consumer-controlled, community-based, cross-disability, nonprofit agencies that provide an array of independent living services, including services that can help with employment.
• ACL-funded state assistive technology programs provide information on tools and services that can help a person with a disability perform activities that might otherwise be difficult, whether at home or in the workplace.
• The Job Accommodation Network is an ODEP-funded technical assistance center providing free, expert, and confidential guidance on workplace accommodations for applicants and employees with disabilities.
• The Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Learning and Working During the Transition to Adulthood (Transitions RTC) has fact sheets for young people with mental health conditions who are entering the job market on applying for a job, keeping a job, and disclosing a disability at work. Also, the Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (RRTC) on Community Living and Participation of Individuals with Psychiatric Disabilities (TU Collaborative) produced a Practical Guide for People with Mental Health Conditions Who Want to Work.
• Job seekers who are blind or have visual impairments may want to explore Career Advantage for VIPs, developed by the project on Transition Services that Lead to Competitive Employment Outcomes for Transition-Age Individuals with Blindness or Other Visual Impairments. The eight instructional modules cover the processes of self-assessment, career exploration, job searching, resume development, job accommodations, and more.

Resources for Employers

• Funded by NIDILRR, the ADA National Network provides information, guidance and training on how to implement the Americans with Disabilities Act. Browse resources for employers or call 800-949-4232.
• ODEP's Resources for Employers Page provides tools to help effectively recruit, retain, and advance people with disabilities.
• The Campaign for Disability Employment is a collaborative effort to promote positive employment outcomes for people with disabilities by encouraging employers and others to recognize the value and talent they bring to the workplace.
• NIDILRR's Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Employer Practices Related to Employment Outcomes Among Individuals with Disabilities looked at the literature and surveyed human resources professionals on the effect of inclusive human resources and practices.
• The California Employment Consortium for Youth and Young Adults with Intellectual and Other Developmental Disabilities (CECY) has posted several videos that illustrate how employers are successfully integrating and supporting employees with intellectual and developmental disabilities. CECY is one of 14 Partnerships in Integrated Employment (PIE) grants being funded by ACL's Administration for Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. 
• For those on the hiring side interested in building an inclusive workforce, engaging frontline personnel, and encouraging strategic planning related to changing policies and workforce dynamics that impact the demand for qualified candidates with disabilities, visit the tools, resources, and training available from the Diversity Partners Intervention: Moving the Disability Employment Needle Trough Value Added Relationships Between Talent Acquisition Providers and the Business Community at  www.buildingdiversitypartners.org.

Resources for States, Policymakers, and Nonprofits

• ACL Profiles in Integrated Employment highlights stories and best practices from agencies and states leading the way towards integrated employment for people with disabilities. Read tips for employment service providers transitioning to an integrated employment model.
• Find out how Medicaid Buy-In is opening the door to employment for people with disabilities.
• The National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth (NCWD/Youth) assists state and local workforce development systems to better serve all youth, including youth with disabilities. 
• A recent issue of our Research In Focus series highlighted research from the Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Employment Outcomes for People who are Blind or Visually Impaired that focused on the keys to employer-agency relationships that lead to successful outcomes for job seekers with visual disabilities.