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ODEP News Release: [08/25/2003]
Contact Name: Michael Volpe
Phone Number: (202) 693-7880

Service Agencies in Five States Selected by U.S. Labor Department for People with Disabilities Training/Technical Assistance Program

WASHINGTON—Human service agencies in Rhode Island, North Carolina, South Carolina, Oklahoma, and Washington will take part in a training and technical assistance program for people with disabilities, U.S. Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chao announced today.

The five agencies were selected under the Training and Technical Assistance to Providers project (T-TAP), a national technical assistance center funded by the department’s Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP). T-TAP helps community rehabilitation providers move from providing segregated employment services to applying customized employment strategies for people with disabilities seeking to fill employer needs in competitive jobs within their communities. The Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, and the Institute for Community Inclusion, located at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, partner with ODEP on this project through a cooperative agreement.

“This Training and Technical Assistance to Providers agreement in these five states will build effective partnerships between employers and employment service providers that will result in better jobs and career advancement opportunities for people with disabilities,” Secretary Chao said.

ODEP Assistant Secretary Roy Grizzard said, “Under today’s T-TAP announcement, people with disabilities will gain more opportunities for individually determined, customized employment in non-stereotypical jobs, helping them to increase their earnings and more fully participate in community life.”

The five sites selected to participate are:

• Cranston ARC, Cranston, R.I.
• NEViNSinc., Charlotte, N.C.
• ARC Industries, Bartlesville, Okla.
• AtWork!, Issaquah, Wash.
• Babcock Center, Columbia, S.C.

Each site will receive an individually developed technical assistance plan, guidance from a mentor agency from the Community Rehabilitation Provider Leadership Network, consultation from T-TAP staff, and other online and in-person training opportunities. Five additional sites are expected to be selected in the spring of 2004. Additional information about the five agencies, the T-TAP project and its Web site are available at www.dol.gov/odep.

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