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Texas Disability Navigator Initiative
Funded Through the DOL-SSA Disability Program Navigator Initiative, a Demonstration Project

Highlighted Workforce Development Areas (WDA) are participating in the DOL-SSA Disability Program Navigator Demonstration project. Each of the 14 areas has a grant-funded Disability Navigator position in collaboration with the Texas Workforce Commission.
Map of Texas showing WDAs with and without Disability Navigators WDA 4 North Central WDA 4 North Central WDA 4 North Central WDA 5 Tarrant County WDA 6 Dallas WDA 7 North East WDA 8 East Texas WDA 9 West Central WDA 10 Upper Rio Grande WDA 12 Concho Valley WDA 19 Golden Crescent WDA 20 Alamo WDA 22 Coast Bend WDA 23 Lower Rio Grande Valley WDA 24 Cameron County WDA 28 Gulf Coast
  1. Panhandle
  2. South Plains
  3. North Texas
  4. North Central
  5. Tarrant County
  6. Dallas
  7. North East
  8. East Texas
  9. West Central
  10. Upper Rio Grande
  11. Permian Basin
  12. Concho Valley
  13. Heart of Texas
  14. Capital Area
  1. Rural Capital
  2. Brazos Valley
  3. Deep East Texas
  4. South East Texas
  5. Golden Crescent
  6. Alamo
  7. South Texas
  8. Coastal Bend
  9. Lower Rio Grande Valley
  10. Cameron County
  11. Texoma
  12. Central Texas
  13. Middle Rio Grande
  14. Gulf Coast

In July 2006, Texas received a $1.5 million two-year award from the U.S. Department of Labor to join the ongoing DOL-SSA Disability Program Navigator Initiative (PDF). The national initiative includes 45 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

In Texas, fourteen Workforce Boards joined with the Texas Workforce Commission to implement the Texas Disability Navigator Initiative. The project funds one full-time position in each of the participating workforce areas, a Disability Navigator. The initiative provides an opportunity to establish a specialized position within the local workforce area to facilitate staff growth and system development.

Goals of the Texas Disability Navigator Initiative are to

  • increase access to workforce employment and training services and
  • increase employment opportunities for people with disabilities.

Fourteen Workforce Boards joined with the Texas Workforce Commission to implement the initiative in Texas. The Texas Initiative funds one Disability Navigator position in each of the participating workforce areas.

Texas Disability Navigators work within their workforce areas to

  • build the capacity of the workforce system to more effectively serve people with disabilities
  • strengthen collaborative relationships with entities within their communities that provide services to people with disabilities
  • increase employer knowledge and awareness of workforce services, reasonable accommodations and requirements, and available resources.

Last Revision: October 30, 2007