Keynote Remarks
W. Roy Grizzard, Ed. D.
Assistant Secretary
U.S Department of Labor
Disabilities Workforce Policy Summit
Hollywood, Florida
May 22, 2006
Thank you for that kind introduction.
ODEP is delighted to participate in this important summit, and I am honored to have been asked to address you today.
I was particularly pleased by the reference in your invitation to ODEP's vision, "A world in which people with disabilities have unlimited employment opportunities."
I am sure you will agree that this vision is the outcome we all want.
Your work today and tomorrow will contribute to the realization of this vision not only to your local communities, but will also serve as a model statewide and nationally.
I commend you for attracting key experts, including Jane Rath from EARN and Kim Cordingly from JAN, to work with you to address the success factors that will be critical for your Blueprint for Success. This blueprint will guide you in building integrated employment services that include Floridians with disabilities.
The title you have chosen for this summit --"Building Bridges: Blueprints for Success" -- is particularly appropriate. As I prepared to join you today and mused over the title, I began thinking more about what bridges are, the purposes they serve, and how the image of a bridge helps tell the story of what you are attempting to accomplish. Webster defines a bridge as a "structure spanning and providing passage over an obstacle".
The fact that you are using a suspension bridge as a logo in your summit materials reminds me of the story of a bridge I learned about in my high school physics class. First, a little background.
Bridge design and building are not easy. In a suspension bridge, the towers and the cables must be robust, in the right place, and must work in perfect unison in order to provide the support for the roadway. Success requires great knowledge properly applied to the design, and an understandable blueprint that communicates the design. The skilled and dedicated contractors and craftspeople must have strong materials and the will and passion to build a lasting "passage over an obstacle." In other words, everything must work together as a system.
If one or more elements are not in harmony, the effort is a failure. An example of well-intentioned, but poorly informed design is the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. After only a few months of providing a path across a mile-wide section of Puget Sound, known as the Tacoma Narrows, the bridge collapsed due to wind.
The problem you see is that no one thought to look at the roadway as a wing, which is what it was, at least insofar as the wind was concerned. The wind started blowing and the roadway lifted, then dropped, and lifted and dropped, until it tore itself apart. What was left of the bridge now sits at the bottom of Puget Sound and is one of the largest man-made reefs in the world.
That catastrophe changed bridge-building forever. Now, every element of the environment is considered a critical part of the total system that must work harmoniously for safe travel to occur.
Your challenge is very much the same. Your blueprint must consider and deal with all the elements and variables.
The "total view" is the approach that we take at ODEP. The challenge of disability employment demands a systemic approach. ODEP has risen to that challenge by applying and coordinating our resources for research and evaluation, employment supports, adult issues, youth issues, employer issues and education and outreach.
What you refer to as a blueprint, we at ODEP call our strategic plan. Without this plan, this embodiment of our design for changing the systems, we would be wasting time, money and courting disaster.
The same is true about the bridge that you are constructing here. All elements must be considered: transportation, healthcare, housing, assistive technology, personal assistance services, income supports, and employment.
You may recall that on February 1, 2001, President George W. Bush, using the systematic approach I just described, envisioned a similar plan when he announced the New Freedom Initiative-a comprehensive set of proposals designed to ensure that Americans with disabilities have the opportunity to learn and develop skills, engage in productive work, make choices about their daily lives, and participate fully in their communities.
The Office of Disability Employment Policy is uniquely charged with providing a national focus on enhancing the employment of people with disabilities. What ODEP is doing nationally is in some ways similar to what you are doing locally. We at ODEP follow our strategic plan to increase capacity of service delivery systems, enhance planning and coordination within service delivery systems, and provide employer access to supports and services.
In order to attain our collective vision, ODEP provides national leadership and guidance. Locally, Floridians look to you for leadership in developing and influencing disability employment policies and practices that impact people with disabilities.
Speaking of impact, I want to tell you about our research findings. In 2005, ODEP's research and demonstration projects served more than 6,000 individuals with disabilities. Those served tended to be the most difficult to place, many of whom experienced psychiatric disabilities and were chronically homeless. Although a majority of these individuals had little or no work experience, most had at least 12 years of education.
Many of these individuals were not eligible for more traditional employment services. Our research of a random sample of individuals who found employment through ODEP's adult demonstration projects discovered that 97 percent of those sampled gained employment that paid above minimum wage. In fact, almost a third were earning more than $8.15 an hour. Twenty-seven percent received at least one fringe benefit, and an astounding 63 percent had a job with career advancement potential. Fourteen percent went off at least one benefit (e.g., SSI, SSDI, TANF, food stamps).
ODEP's employer-related research has produced findings that have built an impressive business case for the employment of people with disabilities. Later, Jane Rath will be sharing the research findings with you.
ODEP research findings also dispel the fear that many employers have that accommodations are costly. Kim Cordingly from JAN will share this in more detail.
You will be pleased to hear what both Jane and Kim have to say. ODEP has found that if we present a strong business case, dispelling typical fears that many employers have, we can succeed in encouraging employers to recruit, hire, retain, and promote people with disabilities.
At this point, I would like to invite you to visit ODEP's completely redesigned Website at www.dol.gov/odep. Be sure to sign up for the e-mail updates we will send whenever we have something new to report. While you are at our site, I suggest that you view three documents that are pertinent to this summit.
First, ODEP has introduced a series of new publications on customized employment-the process of individualizing the employment relationship between job seekers and employers to meet the needs of both.
Second, a new fact sheet on entrepreneurship outlining benefits, challenges, success stories and resources. And third, Guideposts for Success-an excellent tool for school-to-work transition planning. This document identifies key educational and career development interventions that can make a positive impact on the lives of young people with disabilities.
With regard to youth initiatives, I would like to commend the 29 High School/High Tech programs throughout the state of Florida. Notable is the success these projects have displayed in inspiring youth with disabilities to pursue technical careers. Employer visits, job shadowing, mentoring and summer job opportunities allow employers to see first hand what young people with disabilities can accomplish.
ODEP's new research initiatives include funding a cooperative agreement for a research consortium to develop a standard design methodology and conduct case study research to identify ways in which an organization's structures, values, policies and day-to-day practices facilitate the employment of people with disabilities. ODEP will also be investigating, developing and validating systems models that are likely to increase self-employment opportunities for entrepreneurs with disabilities.
Before I finish, I want to deliver on a promise I made to Tom Land to share some of the employer best practices of the Secretary of Labor's New Freedom Initiative awardees. But first, a little background on the award. Presented annually, this award recognizes employers (large and small), non-profit organizations and individuals for increasing access to assistive technologies, utilizing innovative training, hiring and retention strategies and instituting comprehensive strategies to enhance the ability of Americans with disabilities to enter and participate fully in the workforce.
ODEP has been privileged to learn much from the business community. Our forum is the NFI Circle of Champions-a brain trust of past NFI awardees and companies whose work in the area can be a model from which others can learn. Its purpose is to craft and implement strategies that raise awareness among other employers about the benefits of building a diverse workforce that includes employees with disabilities. Champions share their insight with ODEP to develop ideas on how to reach peers and participate in outreach efforts. I encourage you to visit ODEP's Web site to learn more about both the Secretary's New Freedom Initiative Award and the Circle of Champions.
Now, as promised, here is a sampling of NFI employer awardees and what they are doing in the disability employment arena.
A&F Wood Products is a small company in Michigan with 20 employees, 7 of whom are workers with disabilities. This company offers job tryouts and job evaluations for job seekers with disabilities to help them determine whether a job in a manufacturing environment is worth pursuing. The company offers all new employees opportunities to experience different workstations, based on their ability and interest. A&F Wood Products also provides training that matches an employee's learning style.
The Hewlett-Packard Company is the only information technology manufacturer to have the accessibility features of all its products documented and available online.
The Computer Science Corporation (CSC) has active relationships with Abilities, Inc., the National Center for Disability Services and the National Business and Diversity Council. CSC's Partnership for Freedom Program is designed to enhance the employment of people with disabilities in competitive positions in information technology, finance, accounting, business development, communications and human resources.
Microsoft Corporation was recognized for increasing access to assistive technologies, including a book titled Accessible Technology in Today's Business, which demonstrates how accessible technology can help retain valued employees, recruit new employees and attract customers with disabilities. Microsoft also relies on its employees with disabilities to provide valuable perspectives on how the company develops products and services, how it markets them and how it can improve customer satisfaction.
SunTrust Bank has a multi-faceted corporate commitment to people with disabilities, including assistive technology, innovative hiring practices and exceptional retention and advancement strategies. SunTrust was also recognized for its active leadership of the Business Leadership Networks in Virginia, Florida, Tennessee, Maryland and the District of Columbia.
Before I close, I'd like you to know that Secretary of Labor, Elaine L. Chao has announced the theme for National Disability Employment Awareness Month 2006. It is "Americans with Disabilities: Ready for the Global Workforce." ODEP will have a poster available through its web site (www.dol.gov/odep).
I hope that the information I have shared with you this morning helps you in your work. You know that I admire you, your knowledge, your wisdom and your dedication. Never let the light of your passion fade. Know that I support you and wish you the best in all that you do.
