Meeting Demand-side Expectations and Needs
W. Roy Grizzard, Ed. D.
Assistant Secretary
U. S. Department of Labor
ADA 15 th Anniversary Seminar
Washington, DC
July 26, 2005
INTRODUCTION
Good morning. Fifteen years. Isn't that amazing? Here we are celebrating the 15 th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act – our Declaration of Independence! I know that each of us on this platform today are delighted to have this opportunity.
We've come a long way in those 15 years – but, as we all know, we still have many challenges ahead.
As head of the "newest kid on the block," the Office of Disability Employment Policy, it's my job to assess how we have fared in employment.
We are making progress, but we also know there are far too many people with disabilities – particularly people with the most severe disabilities – who continue to be jobless.
In ODEP's first four years, we have worked diligently in our capacity as a catalyst for change to transform the American workforce. We have addressed the issues on both the supply-side and the demand-side of the employment equation.
SUPPLY-SIDE INITIATIVES
Customized Employment
ODEP has channeled funds into demonstration projects that are testing new approaches to employment – specifically something we call "customized employment."
And, we are seeing effective results of these kinds of efforts.
Customized employment, which we view as a universal-design strategy for employment, is showing positive outcomes in helping people with some of the most significant disabilities, who had in many cases been deemed to be "unemployable."
For example: We collected data on 536 customers at 30 ODEP demonstration projects. Preliminary results indicate:
- Almost half (43%) of those who self-disclosed their disability said that they had psychiatric or emotional disabilities.
- After participating in the Customized Employment programs, 95% of the customers were employed in jobs that paid minimum wage or higher.
- Approximately 27% of these respondents were earning more than $8.15 an hour.
- More than 17% of the respondents said that their job has benefits (such as health insurance or paid vacations).
- 63% of the respondents said that their new jobs have the potential for advancement in a new career.
- ODEP's clients are coming off of social economic supports: The percentage of customers of the ODEP demonstration programs who were on government benefits had declined in every category except subsidized housing.
While these statistics are important, let me personalize them for you – by giving you an example of success in one of our Customized Employment sites in Georgia.
A young man with autism, who had been labeled as "unemployable" by his caseworker, is now running his own successful business. The project staff learned that his father owns a barber shop, and that the young man used to work there, washing towels. The grantee used flexible funds to help repair a jeep for him, and to purchase a washer and dryer.
This young man now supplies clean towels for local barber shops and hair salons. He is also hoping to expand his business to the point where he can hire a driver.
Youth Initiatives
We have also funded projects that test how to effectively equip youth with disabilities to transition successfully to adulthood and compete successfully in the workforce. We have established a series of research-based "Guideposts to Success" and have incorporated the guideposts into all our youth initiatives.
Developed through our youth technical assistance center, the five Guideposts are:
- School-Based Preparatory Experiences
- Career Preparation & Work-Based Experience
- Youth Development & Leadership
- Connecting Activities, and
- Family Involvement & Supports.
Research shows that each of these activities is vital to successful transition from youth to adulthood. Let me give you a few examples of implementation:
- Youth Development & Leadership focus in a project in Hawaii resulted in a youth self-advocacy curriculum that was so effective that it was eventually approved by Hawaii's Department of Education as a for-credit course for all high school age special education students.
- As part of Career Preparation & Work-Based Experience an Indiana project hosted a "Groundhog Day" job shadowing activity. The site placed youths in a variety of workplaces in their community. One young man, who spent the day at a community college working with equipment for the football and basketball teams, decided, "I would like to keep doing this job for money."
- Encouraging Family Involvement & Support, a Minnesota project conducted focus groups with parents of youth with disabilities, then developed a parent-training curriculum based on what they learned about parental attitudes and experiences related to their children entering the workforce.
DEMAND-SIDE INITIATIVES
While testing these supply-side strategies, I want to stress that ODEP is "demand-driven." What do I mean by that? We all know that it's not enough just to prepare people for jobs. They must be prepared for jobs that employers need to fill.
ODEP has put a significant emphasis on finding out exactly what employers need and expect in their workforce.
From May through October 2004, ODEP's Employer Assistance Recruiting Network, or EARN, as we call it, conducted focus group research in 13 major metropolitan areas with 26 groups of private sector executive-level managers and human resources professionals. These individuals represented a variety of industries, company sizes and both for-profit and not-for-profit organizations.
The key question we asked was: What one thing would need to change to improve the hiring climate for people with disabilities?
The answer most commonly given was that employers need more accurate and practical information to dispel preconceptions and concerns about hiring people with disabilities.
EARN also tested key message points that demonstrate how recruiting and hiring people with disabilities is a sound business strategy used by successful businesses nationwide.
Some key findings:
- The most common concern was the assumption that people with disabilities cannot do the type of work that the organization needs to have done. This was prevalent across a variety of industry sectors.
- Facts and statistics are persuasive. Participants agreed that facts and statistics are very useful for dispelling myths and misconceptions about people with disabilities. However, employers wanted to know the source of data to determine the credibility of the information.
- Employers want to hear from other employers like themselves – same industry, same size. They want real stories of other companies' experiences. More testimonial information would be useful for dispelling myths and misperceptions.
- While all employers were interested in hiring, the pressing workforce issues they face today include retaining qualified workers. Employers' immediate concerns involve retention and return-to-work.
This research represents the first phase of ODEP's work to develop a multifaceted business case that takes a practical approach to dispelling preconceptions and concerns about hiring people with disabilities.
Next Steps:
As part of an ongoing research plan, ODEP plans to survey a large sample of employers. We need to refine our understanding of the needs and expectations of employers in different types and sizes or industries, as well as better understand attitudes and expectations at different levels of the organization – CEO, human resources professionals, first line supervisors, for example.
ODEP's Job Accommodation Network (or JAN) is conducting an ongoing evaluation to update the information available on the costs and benefits of providing reasonable accommodations.
The one thing we all know is that none of us can do it alone. I am very pleased to acknowledge the outstanding work being done by my colleagues in sister agencies.
And I am pleased that, as Co-Chairs, ODEP and the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR), are working closely with other members of the Employment Subcommittee of the Interagency Committee on Disability Research (ICDR) to convene an employer-focused research conference next year.
CONCLUSION
In order to fulfill our mission, ODEP must continue to gather information, listen to its stakeholders and constituents, and ensure that it is advancing the issues that will put more and more people with disabilities into the workforce.
We will be taking cues from employers to develop resources that assist them in successfully meeting their workforce needs.
I look forward to further collaboration so that on the 20 th Anniversary of the ADA, we can celebrate our progress. Thank you.
