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How to use these links:
These resources are designed to promote the employment of people with disabilities via information, education, and empowerment. The resources listed here are primarily for use by two main audiences: Employers and Businesses, and Educators, Job Trainers, and Career Centers, though people with disabilities will also find many of them useful and important.
Though we have separated the links into those two categories for your convenience, you may find that some of these links are relevant for all people -- one example is the ADA mediation information, which is categorized in the Employer section, but is equally relevant for Career Developers who need to know about reasonable accomodation.
Note that Career Centers will likely find the information in the Employers section to be equally useful. Furthermore, if you are working with people who are ready for immediate employment, you should review our Job Search Links, Job Listings, and Professional Development Resources.
For Employers and Businesses
Office of Disability Employment Policy Publications
The Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) published more than 50 fact sheets and brochures about a variety of issues relating to people with disabilities and employment. Of particular interest is the Myth & Fact Sheet, which dispells myths that employers may believe about employees with disabilities.
Disability Awareness Training
The Georgia Tech Research Corporation has made a disability customer service training course available free of charge online. The course is designed to increase understanding of the needs and experiences of people with disabilities. It describes how to adjust general customer service standards to meet the needs of the customer with a disability and helps individuals develop basic etiquette for interacting with disabled customers. The self-paced curriculum can be used by customer service departments in many sectors. Registration is free and the course can be taken, complete or in part, at any time.
Guidebook for Businesses on Employment of People with Disabilities
The Department of Education and Chamber of Commerce joined forces to produce a guidebook for the business community to assist business leaders in hiring disabled people. "Disability Employment 101: Learn to Tap Your 'HIRE' Potential" contains 56-pages of resources to help prepare businesspeople to employ people with disabilities. The booklet covers the basics including vocational rehabilitation agencies, Disability and Business Technical Assistance Centers (DBTACs) and Centers for Independent Living (CILs).
The ADA: Your Responsibilities as an Employer
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has a one-sheet available online that tells employers all they need to know to be in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The sheet covers questions such as “What are my obligations to provide reasonable accommodations?” and “What is the best way to identify a reasonable accommodation?” It also tackles topics like asking a potential employee about their disability, and when you can ask an employee to have a medical examination. A complete list of contact information is referenced for more particular questions. http://www.eeoc.gov/facts/ada17.html.
Job Accommodation and the ADA
The Job Accommodation Network's has a series of articles about controversial or challenging ADA issues for employers. They describe specific accommodation situations and suggests solutions. The situations are often followed by the outcomes of real life court cases about the issue being discussed.
WorkABLE Solutions Website for Employers
This website from Canada is a great example of how a province/state can encourage its employers to focus on the talent pool represented by people with disabilities. It is a smart and comprehensive site featuring a handbook for employers, video, a listing of disability-specific employment agencies and job-posting service and resume database.
Make Your Business Accessible
The Minneapolis Advisory Committee on People with Disabilities created a video that demonstrates the challenges and solutions for creating spaces that are accessible to everyone. Whether for an office, home or other business or working space, this video demonstrates how accessibility can be achieved with minimal expense. The video, entitled "Access Maze," costs $29.95 and can be purchased online.
Online Directory for Accessibility
The Ontario March of Dimes created a resource to help companies find the right products and services to make their workplaces accessible. Information is organized into categories such as design, direct services, equipment, resources and training. Go to the Ontario March of Dimes website for details.
Section 508 Now Available in Spanish, Japanese and Enhanced Alternate Formats
The Access Board has posted on its Web site translations of its section 508 standards in Spanish and Japanese. The standards, issued under section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, apply to electronic and information technology procured by Federal agencies. They provide specific criteria for computer hardware and software, Web sites, phone systems, fax machines, copiers, and similar technologies. The Board also enhanced the range of available alternate formats by adding a text-to-speech version of the standards and a braille version that can be downloaded from its site.
Employer’s Guide to Hidden Disabilities
This booklet provides information about the ADA, hidden disabilities and workplace accommodations. The booklet also includes an extensive list of resources related to this topic. To obtain a free copy of the guide, contact Cailín Pachter, Muhlenberg College at 484-664-3170 or by e-mail at cpachter@muhlenberg.edu or read it online.
Mediating ADA-Related Disputes
Mediate.com has an ADA section with interesting guidelines, perspectives and information on effectively mediating ADA-related disputes. Recent articles include "ADA Mediation Guidelines: An Ongoing Endeavor" and "Questions and Answers for Mediation Providers: Mediation and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)."
ADA Compliance for Restaurants
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in collaboration with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), published "How to Comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act: A Guide for Restaurants and Other Food Service Employers." The guide is designed to assist restaurants and other food service employers in complying with the employment provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). http://www.eeoc.gov/facts/restaurant_guide.html
Tips for Employing People who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing
This is an online resource for employers looking to hire a diverse work force including those with hearing disabilities. It provides information on job accommodation, the need for diversity in the workplace etc. The University of Arkansas developed the content of this website.
Employing People Who are Deaf
The Canadian Hearing Society's manual "Breaking the Sound Barriers - Employing People Who are Deaf, Deafened and Hard of Hearing" gives employers all they need to know about hiring and workplace issues for people who are deaf or have hearing loss. The manual includes terminology and definitions, communication tips and accommodation plans.
ForEmployers.com
The most successful companies have identified strategies to retain, retrain, and hire a diverse employee base. The ForEmployers.com website helps businesses tap into a growing labor pool that includes people with disabilities. Whether the concern be age-related conditions, injuries on the job, or bringing on new staff with disabilities, this website can help. Topics include accommodations, demographic data, and success stories. We encourage disability and employment professionals to use ForEmployers.com as an information source for businesses in your network.
Executive Recruitment DVD
DiversityInc brought experts together for a frank discussion about the supposed inability to find enough "diverse" executive candidates. The experts conclude that in reality, the inability is a failure to look at capabilities instead of qualifications. The nation's leading diversity-recruitment executives share strategies including: looking beyond a set list of requirements to find true talent; developing pipelines of talent; closing the time to hire; whether or not to use external recruiters to supplement internal teams; cultural competency requirements for executive hires. Some of the executives interviewed during this hour-long film include Andrés Tapia, Chief Diversity Officer, Hewitt Associates and Deborah Dagit, Executive Director, Diversity & Work Environment, Merck & Co. The DVD costs $49.95 and can be purchased online.
Ten Small Business Mistakes
This thirteen-minute video identifies common mistakes that small businesses make when trying to comply with the ADA and addresses the importance and value of doing business with 50 million people with disabilities. The video features statements by store owners expressing their doubts or misunderstandings about the ADA followed by responses from Department of Justice employees explaining the law in common sense terms.
CBLN
The Chicagoland Business Leadership Network (CBLN) is a business-to-business consortium that allows members to network, gain best practices, and get information regarding recruiting, hiring and retaining qualified workers with disabilities. The mission of the CBLN is to allow employers to understand, utilize, and benefit from people with disabilities in both the labor and consumer markets.
For Educators, Job Trainers, and Career Centers
Strategies to Facilitate Community Employment
Training and Technical Assistance for Providers (T-Tap) offers an online self-study course on organizational change strategies that can help organizations shift away from facility-based employment programs for people with disabilities and move successfully into community-based employment services.
The Able Trust in Florida
The Able Trust (http://www.abletrust.org) assists non-profit organizations, vocational rehabilitation programs and consumers in obtaining employment for people with disabilities. Trust funds support job training, job coaching, job development and outreach programs including the Business Leadership Network that links employers to the disability community, and the Youth Leadership Forum for emerging leaders. The Able Trust, 106 East College Avenue, Suite 820, Tallahassee, FL 32301; (888) 838- ABLE (toll free in Florida); (850) 224-4493 (voice/TDD); (850) 224-4496 (Fax); Email: info@abletrust.org
Helping Job Seekers Who Have Limited Basic Skills
This guide (PDF) provides program planners and frontline staff at public and private career centers with an introduction to the steps involved in planning, implementing, and improving a system of services that helps job seekers who have limited basic skills to meet workplace skill requirements and get and keep rewarding, financially sustaining jobs.
Free E-Newsletter on Workforce Disability
Interested individuals are invited to subscribe to a free online E-Newsletter from the National Center on Workforce Disability (NCWD). They also have a press release available for distribution to the workforce community at-large that describes NCWD's mission and available services. You can join the NCWD mailing list by completing the short subscription form on the NCWD web site.
Self-Employment Training Manual
The manual is designed for trainers to use in teaching rehabilitation staff the principles of business development, but can also be used to guide the development of key elements in business planning, business feasibility, marketing and sales strategies, etc. The manual is $10 per copy (shipping included). If you are interested please contact Nancy Maxson at maxson@selway.umt.edu or via phone at 406-243-2458.
Microenterprise Services for Entrepreneurs with Disabilities: A Market of Millions
The Association for Enterprise Opportunity in conjunction with The Abilities Fund has developed a training manual designed to give microenterprise development organizations an introduction to the potential of extending services to entrepreneurs with disabilities. The cost of the manual is $17 and can be ordered at their website.
Guidebook on Self-Directed Transition Planning
The Nisonger Center of Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCDD) at Ohio State University recently completed "Take the Next Step: A Guidebook to Support Inclusive and Collaborative Practices in Teaching Students Self-Directed Transition Planning." Students, teachers, and parents helped develop the publication. The guidebook is meant to assist special and general educators in collaborating effectively to teach self-directed transition planning within the general curriculum. The guide is broken into for sections: Student Benefits; Inclusive Classrooms; Collaborative Planning and Teaching Relationships; and Connections to School Reform Efforts. For more information about the guide, contact: Tom Fish, Tel: 614-292-7550; Email: fish.1@osu.edu.
Transition Coalition
The Transition Coalition has a helpful website for professionals engaged in transition planning for students with disabilities. Resources on the site include searchable databases of transition programs and projects from across the US, online training seminars, and some free publications.
Training Manual Available in Spanish
Training Quality Home Health Aides, an effective practice description published by the Paraprofessional Healthcare Institute (PHI) in 2003, is now available free of charge in Spanish, thanks to funding from the U.S. Department of Labor. The 32-page document discusses adult learner-centered training methods, the importance of teaching communication and problem-solving in addition to clinical skills, and orientation, peer mentoring, and other forms of on-the-job support. To order a free copy call 866-402-4138 or e-mail info@directcareclearinghouse.org. Download it online at http://www.paraprofessional.org/publications/SP_Training_Document_final.pdf.
NCD Cultural Diversity Review
In 2003 the National Council on Disability (NCD) released “Outreach and People with Disabilities from Diverse Cultures: A Review of the Literature.” The purpose of the review was to explore what research literature shows about outreach and its feasibility as a viable method to reach under-served populations, especially people with disabilities from diverse cultures. Visit the NCD website for a review of findings and recommendations.
Rural Institute on Disability
This site of the Rural Institute on Disability deals with unemployment issues regarding disabled people. This publication offers information about the issue of disability within the worker cooperative structure in rural America.
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