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Department of Labor Work Incentive Grants NOTIFICATION OF AWARD
Department of Labor
Proposed Award Amount: $900,000
Project Emphasis: People with disabilities. Summary Paragraph: Alpha One and the Six County Coastal CareerCenters have designed this consumer-directed employment initiative to serve Maine's citizens with disabilities. The comprehensive strategy emphasizes consumer direction in employment services. Provisions are made for improved employment service supports for customers with disabilities; for expanded access to CareerCenters. Plans for improved relationships with employers entail expanded outreach to employers regarding new opportunities for recruitment of workers with disabilities; the provision of supplemental human resources capacity to employers around disability issues such as legal, accessibility, assistive technology, and financial incentives; and providing conflict resolution assistance to employers and people with disabilities. Further, the project will make extended outreach, delivering an aggressive networked information campaign through consumer-directed disability organizations, to consumers with disabilities. Community Served: All of Maine's Local Workforce Investment Area #4, comprised of the southern coastal counties of York, Cumberland, Sagadahoc, Lincoln, Knox, and Waldo. Barriers/Target Group: This grant will focus on Maine residents with disabilities.
Partnerships: Alpha One, Maine's Center for Independent Living, is the lead applicant. Its consortium partners include the seven CareerCenters located in the Six County Coastal Workforce Investment Area.
Proposed Award Amount: $831,431
Project Emphasis: People with disabilities. Summary Paragraph: The Vermont Human Resources Investment Council, with its consortium partners, proposes to implement a project that seeks to realize the potential of the Workforce Investment Act by defining and providing a coordinated continuum of services to enhance the employability and careers of people with disabilities. This project, called Vermont Works, will provide training, technical assistance, strategic planning, outreach, assessment, benefits planning, information and referral, as well as direct services to people with disabilities, providers of services, advocates, and employers. This proposal will develop systemic and individualized strategies to provide a seamless service delivery system for individuals with disabilities, including: Community Collaboration Forums, an analysis of current services which will reveal existing gaps in service; Consumer Peer Group Program, a peer group program to provide guidance people with disabilities in identifying barriers to employment and developing strategies to overcome them; Benefits Planning, Outreach, and Assistance; and Evaluation, a consumer-tested evaluation of both policies and programs. Community Served: The State of Vermont. Barriers/Target Group: This group is targeted towards consumers with disabilities in the state of Vermont. The core delivery sites for this services continuum will be the Department of Employment and Training's One-Stop Career Resource Centers.
Partnerships: The Vermont Human Resources Investment Council is applying for this grant in partnership with the Department of Employment and Training (DET), the Agency of Human Services (AHS), Vocational Rehabilitation, and the Vermont Center for Independent Living (VCIL).
Proposed Award Amount: $1,000,000
Project Emphasis: People with disabilities. Summary Paragraph: The New Hampshire Workforce Opportunity Council and its One-Stop partners seek to enhance and strengthen NH's seamless service delivery within a One-Stop delivery system for people with a wide range of disabilities. The partners also seek to create a referral source of diverse services and information that commonly impact the employability of people with disabilities. One-Stop service delivery will be improved through the implementation and availability of comprehensive services and programs; fully accessible technology and/or other accommodations; knowledgeable and skilled staff; work incentives and employment counseling to One-Stop customers with disabilities; outreach to the disability community; establishment of linkages and technical assistance to public and private providers of service to people with disabilities; leveraging available funds and services available to people with disabilities; and the facilitation of One-Stops in becoming Employment Network providers. Further, this program will ensure that all One-Stop services are accessible for people with "hidden" disabilities; will assist individuals with disabilities to become more financially independent through the development of an Individual Development Account (IDA) savings and capital acquisition infrastructure, and will create a youth pilot program that provides outreach, mentoring, and employment and training services to youth with disabilities. Community Served: The State of New Hampshire. Barriers/Target Group: This proposal targets people with disabilities, including people with "hidden disabilities," in the state of New Hampshire.
Partnerships: The New Hampshire Workforce Opportunity Council (NHWOC), in conjunction with Governor Jeanne Shaheen and the NH One-Stop System Partners and the Governor's Task Force on Employment and Economic Opportunity, is the applicant for this project. Consortium partners include: NH Employment Security (Wagner Peyser and Unemployment Insurance); NH Department of Education, Division of Adult Education and Rehabilitation (Adult Education, School-to-Work, Vocational Rehabilitation, Vocational Education, and WIA Title I Youth); NH Community-Technical College System; and the NH Association of Community Action Programs (WIA Title I - Adult and Dislocated Worker, Welfare-to-Work, Food Stamp Employment and Training, and one of three partners in delivery of NH Employment Program (TANF)).
Proposed Award Amount: $547,000
Project Emphasis: People with disabilities. Summary Paragraph: The North Shore Employment Consortium (NoSEC), led by the Southern Essex Workforce Investment Board, will address the need for full accessibility to employment and training services for all citizens. NoSEC partners are targeting this project for people with disabilities in the nineteen cities and towns of Southern Essex County, Massachusetts. NoSEC partners will institute a cultural paradigm shift towards improved physical and programmatic accessibility. This project will include a training/marketing program for employment service providers, employers, and disabled persons, and the community at large. The project will also focus on transportation needs of disabled persons seeking employment and on the creation of relevant internships for people with disabilities. Community Served: The nineteen cities and towns of Southern Essex, Massachusetts. Barriers/Target Group: NoSEC has determined form meetings unit partner agencies' clients that transportation and education/training/marketing are current gaps in the system. These areas, as well as ethnic and cultural diversity, will be addressed by this project.
Partnership: This grant has been developed by the North Shore Employment Consortium (NoSEC) which is a Collaboration established by the Southern Essex Workforce Investment Board, its One-Stop North Shore Career Centers, and area providers, including: Massachusetts Rehabilitations Commission; Department of Mental health; Department of Mental Retardation; Massachusetts Commission for the Blind; Independent Living Center of the North Shore and Cape Ann, Inc.
Proposed Award Amount: $900,000
Project Emphasis: People with disabilities. Summary Paragraph: The Human Resource Investment Council and its consortium partners plan to make Rhode Islands One-Stop System, called NetWORKri, a model for assisting people with disabilities to make informed decisions about their individual needs to achieve independence. This project is designed to effect systems change, to increase employment outcomes for people with disabilities, and to be sustainable over time. Some innovative components of the project are: the formation of Disability Advisory Committees; hiring Disability Resource Specialists; providing ongoing disability-related training for front-line staff; increasing competitive unsubsidized employment for people with disabilities through on-the-job training and apprenticeship opportunities; increased marketing of NetWORKri, and improved accessibility to specific disability populations such as to people who are Deaf. Community Served: The State of Rhode Island. Barriers/Target Group: People with disabilities in Rhode Island
Partnerships: The Rhode Island Human Resource Investment Council/State Workforce Investment Board is submitting this proposal with its partners, the two local Workforce Investment Boards, the Department of Labor and training (DLT), the Office of Rehabilitation Services' Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) program, the Department of Human Service (DHS), the Adult Education Division of the Department of Education, the Governor's Commission on Disabilities; the Commission on the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, and both Independent Living Centers in the State, PARI "People Actively Reaching Independence," and OSCIL, the Ocean State Center for Independent Living.
Proposed Award Amount: $ 844,157
Project Emphasis: People with disabilities. Summary Paragraph: The Frederick Works Project is a comprehensive proposal designed to address the multiple impediments to employment that persons with disabilities must overcome. Innovative components of the Frederick Works Project are: the establishment of special staff positions, "Community Resource Consultants"; the provision of comprehensive training on disability issues for staff in the workforce investment system; the creation of an advisory Board, which will include both employers and persons with disabilities; the expansion of the Frederick Works website to include a confidential labor exchange for persons with disabilities and interested employers; the pursuit of waivers or demonstration projects with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and/or U.S. Department of Agriculture; and the establishment of a client Services fund to leverage appropriate state and/or local resources to aid in filling gaps in the local service delivery system. Community Served: Frederick County, Maryland. Barriers/Target Group: More than 35,00 people with disabilities reside in Frederick county, and data suggests that at least 800 new individuals with disabilities are expected to move to Frederick county each year. The Frederick works Project proposes to enhance the employability, job retention, and career advancement of persons with disabilities in Frederick county, Maryland
Partnership: Way Station, Inc., a not-for-profit, community-based rehabilitation program presents the Frederick Works Project on behalf of a consortium of public and private organizations. Consortium partners include: the Workplace Development Board of Frederick County; the One-Stop Employment Partnership (OEP ) of Frederick County (a team of nine public agencies, including the Maryland State Department of Educations Division of Rehabilitation Services), Way Station, Inc., and Goodwill Industries of Monocay Valley, Inc.
Proposed Award Amount: $744,253
Project Emphasis: People with disabilities. Summary Paragraph: Goodwill Industries of Pittsburgh and its consortium partners seek to implement a comprehensive service strategy with specific approaches to both improving access to One-Stop services for people with disabilities, and expanding their employment options through outreach to employers. Some specific components of the proposed service delivery model include: making determinations of existing service gaps and physical/attitudinal barriers; providing out reach to job seekers with disabilities; developing an informational website for job seekers and employers; developing expertise of One-Stop center staff regarding employment issues of people with disabilities; enhancing physical accessibility of One-Stop centers and satellites; coordination and linkage with Vocational Rehabilitation; providing outreach to potential employers of people with disabilities; and facilitating the development of an employer-driven "workplace inclusion network" to assist businesses to become supportive workplace environments for all employees and customers. Community Served: In Pennsylvania, Allegheny County and the city of Pittsburgh; Washington, Greene, and Beaver counties; Butler, Armstrong, and Indiana counties, and Westmoreland and Fayette counties. In West Virginia, the service area encompasses Hancock county, Brooke county, Ohio county, Marshall county, Wetzel county, and Tyler county. Barriers/Target Group: This project will target job seekers with disabilities, whose support needs will be identified in two ways. First, the customer may self-identify needs; second, one-stop staff may determine through structured interviews that a job seeker might need additional support, and will make appropriate referrals.
Partnerships: Goodwill Industries of Pittsburgh is submitting this grant application on behalf of a consortium of partners in Southwestern Pennsylvania and the Panhandle of West Virginia within the Team Pennsylvania Career Link (TPCL) and Work 4 West Virginia (W4WV) One-Stop systems. Consortium partners in Pennsylvania include: Tree Rivers Workforce Investment Board; Washington Greene County Job Training Agency, Inc; Tri-County Workforce Investment Board, Inc; and Westmoreland/Fayette Workforce Investment Board, Inc. In West Virginia, the Northern Panhandle Workforce Investment Board is participating.
Proposed Award Amount: $1,000,000
Project Emphasis: People with disabilities. Summary Paragraph: The City of Cincinnati and its partners seek to develop a model One-Stop service delivery system in the Southwest Ohio Region. This project will address three dimensions: people, programs, and systems. Some of the measurable objectives of this project are: development of a referral source of services and information concerning the employment of people with disabilities; establishing procedures for identifying hidden disabilities; providing access to knowledgeable benefits counselors; developing and implementing an extensive marketing strategy; providing information/technical assistance to employers and the eligible providers of education and training services; educating staff to enable the three Southwest Ohio Region One-Stops to serve as an employment network provider established under the provisions of the Ticket-to Work and Work Incentive Improvement Act; and developing a more accessible infrastructure and improving programmatic access for people with disabilities. The project activities include capacity building activities; developing a Triage Model to screen One-Stop customers to identify people with disabilities; providing benefits counseling for One-Stop customers and their family members; providing referrals to partner agencies, and upgrading existing technology to improve accessibility for people with disabilities. Community Served: Hamilton City and the City of Cincinnati. Barriers/Target Group: Currently, very few people with disabilities are utilizing services at the physical locations of the One-Stops. Services to this target group are provided primarily off-site at organizations that specialize in providing services to people with disabilities. This project seeks to overcome the physical and other barriers currently preventing people from disabilities from using One-Stop Centers.
Partnerships: The applicant, the City of Cincinnati Employment and Training Division (ETD), made this proposal in partnership with the Southwest Ohio Region Workforce Policy Board, Hamilton County Department of Job and Family Services, Clermont County Department of Job and Family Services, University of Cincinnati College of Evening and Continuing Education, Jewish Vocational Service, Ohio Valley Goodwill, Legal Aid Society of Greater Cincinnati, the Work Resource Center (non-profit), Clermont Counseling Center (non-private), and CRI (non-profit).
Proposed Award Amount: $1,000,000
Project Emphasis: People with disabilities. Summary Paragraph: The Illinois Department of Human Services is leading this proposal for creating the "Access to Employment Network," a statewide infrastructure that will facilitate a fully accessible One-Stop system. Along with its consortium partners, DHS will form network teams comprised of members of the various consortium partners' agencies. These teams will collaborate to accomplish four main tasks: training, technical assistance, outreach/marketing, and One-Stop certification process. Training programs, which will be primarily targeted towards One-Stop staff and employers, will build local capacity by facilitating an ongoing information exchange regarding core disability awareness, benefits planning, assistive technology, and other issues. A wide range of technical assistance, including an Internet-based technical assistance program, will be made available to One-Stops, local employers, community providers, and citizens. Outreach and marketing, as well as a multi-media campaign, will be targeted to customers, employers, and communities. Finally, the network will facilitate full physical and informational accessibility of all One-Stops by developing and implementing a component in the One-Stop certification process and by providing basic assistive technology to meet minimum accessibility needs. Community Served: The State of Illinois. Barriers/Target Group: This project has been developed in coordination with a Benefits planning proposal to the Social Security Administration. Because people with disabilities may choose not to pursue employment without accurate information about the impact of employment on their benefits and health care, this project will also include a provision for benefits planning, in case the SSA grant is not awarded. Also, this program will seek to identify and provide service to individuals receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families who may have hidden disabilities.
Partnerships: The Illinois Department of Human Services (DHS) is making this proposal in partnership with: Illinois Department of Human Services/Office of Rehabilitation Services; Illinois Workforce Investment Board; all 26 Local Workforce Investment Boards/One-Stops; Illinois Department of Employment Security; Illinois Network of Centers for Independent Living/all 24 Centers for Independent Living; SSI Coalition For a Responsible Safety Net; Coalition of Citizens with Disabilities in Illinois; Statewide Independent Living Council of Illinois; Illinois Chamber of Commerce; Illinois Assistive Technology Project; Great Lakes Disability and Business Technical Assistance Center; and the Illinois Council on Developmental Disabilities..
Proposed Award Amount: $980,385
Project Emphasis: People with disabilities. Summary Paragraph: This Work Incentive Grant project is designed to develop and market information about employment opportunities for people with disabilities, and to build a central information clearinghouse for the employer community on the value of hiring people with disabilitles. Key components include needs assessment; compilation of a resource directory for Michigan Works! Center staff; a resource directory for employers; information for employers on incentives such as Ticket to Work and the Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999 (TWWIIA); extensive training to staff and subcontractors; the development of a catalogue of assistive technology products which will be available to both Michigan Works! Centers and employers; and finally, extensive marketing to both the disability community and employers. Community Served: The State of Michigan. Barriers/Target Group: This project will target both people with disabilities in the State of Michigan, and the employer community.
Partnerships: Michigan Works! Association is the membership association for Michigan's 25 Workforce Development Boards, Local Elected Officials, and Michigan Works! Agencies organized under the Workforce Investment Act of 1998. Michigan Works! Association is the lead member of a consortium that includes the Governor's Workforce Commission (Michigan's State Workforce Investment Board); the State Departments of Career Development, Education, Social Services, Transportation, and Community Health (incorporating mental health and public health); Michigan Rehabilitation Services; Michigan Commission on Disability Concerns; Michigan Commission for the Blind; Social Security Administration; and Great Lakes Disability and Business Technical Assistance Center.
Proposed Award Amount: $624,025
Project Emphasis: People with disabilities. Summary Paragraph: The Full Employment Council, Inc., a WIA Fiscal Agent and One- Stop Operator, with consortium partners listed below, will establish a system to provide for a seamless delivery of employment and training service to clients with disabilities at the four One-Stop Centers in the Kansas City and Vicinity and East Jackson County local workforce investment areas. Innovative components of the project include: evaluation of assessment tools and point of usage; development of system for referral of clients to Community Rehabilitation Programs, development of system to access interpreters; coordination of services provided with partners and cross training of staff; implementation of assistive technology at One-Stop Centers; development of automated MIS system and case management system to track clients served and services provided clients; identification of necessary accommodations at training facilities, schools, places of employment; researching effects of employment on benefits including transportation, health insurance, housing, and other entitlements; development/updating directory of services; evaluation of the program; and examination of the sustainability of the system. Community Served: The Missouri Local Workforce Investment Areas of Kansas City, Missouri, and Vicinity, and East Jackson County, which includes the counties of Cass, Clay, Platte, Ray, and Jackson, and the City of Kansas City, Missouri. Barriers/Target Group: People with disabilities served by the One-Stop Operator (Full Employment Council, Inc.) and partner organizations.
Partnerships: Consortium partners include: Missouri Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, the Helping Hand of Goodwill Industries, the Rehabilitation Institute, Jewish Vocational Service, the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce, and the Local Investment Commission (a designated representative of the Missouri Division of Family Services). Additionally, the advisory committee will coordinate information on barriers to employment with the SSA grant recipient and HHS Medicaid Infrastructure grant recipient.
Proposed Award Amount: $1,000,000
Project Emphasis: People with disabilities. Summary Paragraph: The Nashville Career Advancement Center (NCAC), the lead agency of Local Workforce Investment Area 9 in Middle Tennessee, is applying for this grant. This project will improve access to One-Stop services for customers with disabilities in several ways. The project will hire several "Special Services Facilitators" whose responsibility will be to serve as gatekeepers for Federally funded employment and training benefits programs, and the community based organizations that serve individuals with disabilities with employment and training services. The grant will allow for improvement of coordinated employment opportunities through the development of an employment council for people with disabilities. Further, the applicant will develop an Individual Training Account (ITA) system for customers with disabilities who would need specialized employment and training services, in preparation for the Ticket to Work system. Community Served: Davidson, Rutherford, Trousdale, and Wilson counties in Tennessee. Barriers/Target Group: Although the current One-Stop system in Middle Tennessee does provide services to people with disabilities, duplication and gaps in service do exist. For example, although the NCAC is fortunate to have a partner in Vocational Rehabilitation, many disabled customers do not qualify or choose away from these benefits. This project is targeted at filling those gaps in service and eliminating duplication.
Partnerships: The Nashville Career Advancement Center is partnered with Vocational Rehabilitation, the Department of Human Services, and the Tennessee Board of Regents.
Proposed Award Amount: $900,000
Project Emphasis: People with disabilities. Summary Paragraph: The Florida Developmental Disabilities Council (FDDC) and its consortium partners have designated three project sites, Regions 5, 12, and 21. The project will provide a project director and staff at the three sites. The project will deliver a training video on awarded of "hidden disabilities," and a statewide conference in conjunction with the annual workforce development sector meeting will provide a forum for discussion of best practices regarding hidden disabilities. The project will produce two guide books one for consumers and one for professionals on individual benefits and the impact of employment on benefits. Outreach will be done both statewide through newsletters and other communication media, and locally, through a public information campaign including radio and television spots, public speaking engagements to service clubs and rehabilitation facilities, and other means. Community Served: Region (North Florida)- Gadsden, Leon, and Nakulla counties; Region 12 (Central Florida)- Seminole Community college, with One-Stops in Orange, Osceola, Seminole, Lake, and Sumter counties; and Region 21 (South Florida)- Palm Beach Habilitation Center, and One-Stops in Palm Beach County. Barriers/Target Group: This project targets individuals with unidentified disabilities who are under served, and individuals who may be receiving individualized services elsewhere, but who would benefit from linkages between One-Stops and the specialized programs that have served them.
Partnerships: The Florida Developmental Disabilities Council (FDDC) is working with a Consortium including the Florida Department of Education, Bureau of Instructional Support and Community Service, Division of Workforce Development, and Division of Vocational Rehabilitation; the Department of Children and Families, Developmental Services and Alcohol, Drug Abuse and Mental Health programs; the Brain Injury Association of Florida; the Agency for Workforce Innovation; the Agency on Health Care Administration Medicaid Program Development, and the Transportation Disadvantaged Commission.
Proposed Award Amount: $800,000
Project Emphasis: People with disabilities. Summary Paragraph: Louisiana Work Incentive Project (LaWIP) builds the capacity of One-Stop to provide seamless service to individuals with disabilities. This project will: train staff; establish policies and procedures; develop knowledge of, and access to, a comprehensive database of resource information; build a system of communication through disability subcommittees, and build a system of communication with employers through the Louisiana Business Leadership Network. Community Served: The service area is all 18 local workforce investment areas in the state of Louisiana. Barriers/Target Group: People with disabilities, including culturally and ethnically diverse populations. To ensure maximum accessibility all written materials will also be printed in Spanish, French, and Vietnamese.
Partnerships: State agencies include: the Workforce Commission; Louisiana Rehabilitation Services; Department of Health and Hospitals; Office of Mental Health; Louisiana Commission for the Deaf; Office of Citizens with Developmental Disabilities; Department of Education; Bureau of Health Services Financing; Office of Public Health; Department of Labor; Department of Social services; Department of Transportation and Development; Traumatic Brain Injury Trust Fund; and Louisiana State University's Human Development Center. Boards and Councils are: Local Workforce Investment Boards; Louisiana State Planning Council on Developmental Disabilities; Statewide Independent Living Council; Louisiana Rehabilitation Council; and Governor's Advisory Council on Disability Affairs. Additionally, the following disability agencies are consortium partners: Latan; the Advocacy Center; Families Helping Families; Louisiana Youth Leadership Forum; and the three centers for independent living.
Proposed Award Amount: $1,000,000
Project Emphasis: People with disabilities in Central Indiana. Summary Paragraph: Under this grant, the One-Stop Consortium will partner with Easter Seals Cross Roads Rehabilitation Center to address assistive technology and facility accessibility evaluations. The project will provide disability-related staff training that results in an informed, cross- trained staff who are willing and prepared to assess and meet the needs of people with disabilities through programmatic and leveraged funding opportunities; incorporating the use of assistive technology and improving accommodations services to employers and to people with disabilities; and improving the physical accessibility of One-Stop Centers, along with improving outreach services to communities of people with disabilities. Community Served: Central Indiana. Barriers/Target Groups: Despite the overall success of the One-Stop System in Marion county, people with disabilities remain an under served population. This project addresses the barrier of "accessibility issues" by focusing on access to knowledgeable staff, access to assistive technology (including computers), and physical accessibility to One-Stop facilities.
Partnerships: The Indianapolis Private Industry Council submitted this proposal in partnership with the One-Stop consortium and Easter Seals Crossroads Rehabilitation Center (Easter Seals Crossroads).
Proposed Award Amount: $1,000,000
Project Emphasis: People with disabilities. Summary Paragraph: This Work Incentive Grant project will focus on identifying and eliminating physical, procedural, training, and policy barriers within the State's regional One-Stop Center system. This state-wide project will develop resource teams--consisting of local service providers and state partner organizations' staff who have expertise in addressing specific barriers to employment--which will work with the regional workforce investment boards to identify possible solutions, and then to implement locally-selected changes using Workforce Investment Grant funds. This project is innovative in its wide scope from grassroots focus groups to statewide collaborations. A SSA proposal is being submitted, concurrently with this proposal, to expand the provisions of benefits planning within Iowa for individuals with disabilities. With the additional complementary grants from Rehabilitation Services Administration and Social Security Administration to address community collaboration-related barriers and employer-related barriers, respectively, this Work Incentive Grant project will fulfill an essential piece in the delivery of a seamless employment and training service delivery system through each regional One-Stop Center system in the state of Iowa. Community Served: All sixteen regions of the State of Iowa. Barriers/Target Group: This project will target the employment and training needs of persons with disabilities, including beneficiaries of SSI and SSDI, in the State of Iowa.
Partnerships: Iowa Workforce Development is serving as applicant on behalf of the project partners, which, in addition to IWD, include the State Workforce Investment Board, the Iowa Department of Human Services, the Iowa Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Services, the Iowa Department for the Blind, the Iowa Department of Human Rights (Division of Persons with Disabilities), the Governor's Council on Developmental Disabilities, Iowa CEO, Inc., University of Iowa Law Center/DBTAC, Drake University Rehabilitation Institute, Centers for Independent Living, and the Iowa Association for Community Providers.
Proposed Award Amount: $900,000
Project Emphasis: People with disabilities. Summary Paragraph: The Texas Workforce Commission will partner with five local workforce development boards to design a model project of five unique One-Stop systems. Each of the sites (covering a spectrum of urban, suburban, and rural areas) will focus on a different strategy for creating a model approach to providing seamless service deliver within the One-Stop system for people with a wide range of disabilities. These approaches include: providing State-of-the-art accessible technology; setting up satellite locations within the offices of other service providers; concentrating on outreach to the disability community by including people with disabilities on an Advisory Board; providing comprehensive services and programs designed to meet needs and to address common employment barriers to persons with significant disabilities; and establishing a Virtual One-Stop with services accessible through computer. Community Served: The State of Texas and five local sites: Concho Valley, Golden Crescent, the Gulf Coast, Tarrant County, and the Upper Rio Grande. Barriers/Target Group: This project will target people with disabilities, including significant disabilities, across varying cultural and ethnic groups across the State of Texas.
Partnerships: The Texas Workforce Commission will develop a statewide consortium including: the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA); the Texas Rehabilitation Commission (TRC); Texas Commission for the Blind (TCB); Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation (MHMR); Texas Department of Human Services (TDHS); the Texas chapter of Goodwill Industries; Texas Association of Centers for Independent Living, and local Workforce Development Boards from five local sites: Concho Valley, Golden Crescent, Gulf Coast, Tarrant County, and Upper Rio Grande.
Proposed Award Amount: $539,000
Project Emphasis: Working-age individuals with disabilities, including Native Americans with disabilities. Summary Paragraph: The New Mexico One Project will develop a model One Stop program to enhance employability, employment, and career advancement of people with disabilities. The project will provide training in disability-related issues for One Stop staff, and will seek new informational technology for use at the One Stop Career Centers. Assistive technology and staff support and training will augment this program's work towards maximizing the One-Stop Centers' accessibility. The NMONE will also maintain a quality program evaluation system to include an external evaluator and a core team of representative consumer advocacy stakeholders. The evaluation function will provide opportunities for correction and redirection as the program development process unfolds. Community Served: The State of New Mexico. Barriers/Target Group: This project targets all working-age individuals with disabilities in the state of New Mexico.
Partnerships: The New Mexico Technology Assistance Program (NTAP), Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR) in the New Mexico Department of Education, in Santa Fe, New Mexico, working with the New Mexico Workforce Development Board is leading this project. The New Mexico One (NMONE) Project is submitted in collaboration with the State Workforce Development Board and includes all its WIA partners.
Proposed Award Amount: $864,037
Project Emphasis: People with disabilities. Summary Paragraph: The South Bay Work Incentive Partnership proposes to plan and implement system enhancement activities to adapt and improve their One-Stop center WIA Core services to fully meet the employment and training needs of persons with disabilities. The applicants plan to carry out a series of planning, system integrations, staff development, technology, marketing, management, evaluation, and system management. The applicant further intends to develop uniform client intake and tracking forms to establish baseline data on consumers with disabilities accessing the One-Stop centers. Community Served: Inglewood, Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach Hawthorne, Lawndale, E/Segundo, Gardena, and Redondo Beach. Barriers/Target Group: This project targets people with disabilities, including Welfare-to-Work recipients, who are seeking employment services at One-Stop Centers.
Partnerships: The South Bay Workforce Investment Board is the applicant agency on behalf of the South Bay Work Incentive Partnership. The Consortium includes the six affiliated South Bay One-Stop Centers: Hawthorne One-Stop Centers; Inglewood One-Stop Center; Lawndale One-Stop center; Gardena One-Stop Center; Beach cities One-Stop center(Redondo Beach, CA) and Westchester/El Segundo One-Stop Center. Also, the Westside center for Independent Living, the Westside Regional Center, and the California Department of Rehabilitation. Other participants are: The State of California Employment Development Department; Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services; Southern California Regional Occupation Center; Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science; California State University Dominguez Hills, and El Camino Community College.
Proposed Award Amount: $824,112
Project Emphasis: Individuals with disabilities. Summary Paragraph: This project will focus on providing capacity-building activities to enhance Montana's One-Stop delivery system. The comprehensive service strategy encompasses that the applicants will (1) establish a benefits analysis certification program for One-Stop staff and partner agency staff; (2) provide professional development and technical assistance on topics including Workforce Investment Act, ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act (TWWIIA), Medicaid and health issues, Social Security work incentives, Plans to Achieve Self Support (PASS) job development and job carving methods, supported employment, assistive technology, assessment/screening issues, and self-employment for people with disabilities;(3) market workforce investment programs to other state and local entities such as Vocational Rehabilitation and others; (4) create an Assessment Task Force charged with testing assessment and diagnostic tools used in the One-Stop Centers, developing guidelines for services provided for people with learning and other disabilities, identifying training opportunities for the identification of hidden disabilities for front-line staff in the workforce investment system; and (5) convene a statewide conference to highlight such issues as health care, transportation, technology, housing, employment and training, school-to-work, work incentives, Ticket to Work, and the Workforce Investment Act. Community Served: The State of Montana. Barriers/Target Group: This project will target people with disabilities who are served through the One-Stop system in the State of Montana. The applicants note that a central part of providing seamless service delivery includes educating front-line staff about the identification and screening of hidden disabilities in the consumers.
Partnerships: Montana Job Training Partnership, Inc., which is the administrative entity/grant recipient for Montana's workforce areas, is applying for this Work Incentive Grant in consortium with: State Workforce Investment Board; Balance of State Joint Council; Concentrated Employment Program Workforce Investment Board; and the University of Montana Rural Institute on Disabilities (a university-affiliated program).
Proposed Award Amount: $1,000,000
Project Emphasis: People with disabilities. Summary Paragraph: This project will provide model One-Stop service delivery through availability of comprehensive services and programs designed to meet multiple needs and to over come common employment barriers for people with disabilities. There are five main components to this project: staff training (for One-Stop Center and partner staff) in "Basic Disability 101 Information" and "Sensitivity/Awareness training"; development of an online resource manual for One-Stop Centers and system, employers, and employees/potential employees with disabilities; pilot projects in accessible technologies; the incorporation of benefits planners and experts into the One-Stop system; and outreach to the multivariate disability community and potential or current employers of people with disabilities. Community Served: The State of Oregon. Barriers/Target Group: This project seeks to improve overall accessibility of the One-Stop System in order increase the system's utilization by people with disabilities.
Partnerships: The applicant, State of Oregon Department of Human Services, Vocation Rehabilitation Division, submitted this proposal along with the following consortium partners: State Workforce Investment Board; State Independent living Council; State of Oregon Workforce partners, including: Department of Human Services-Adult and Family Services, Senior and Disabled Services, and Vocational Rehabilitation; Department of Education; Department of Community Colleges and Workforce Development; and Employment Department.
Proposed Award Amount: $900,000
Project Emphasis: Native American individuals with disabilities. Summary Paragraph: This project involves the development and implementation of a model One-Stop Center for delivering employment training services to Native Americans, with an emphasis on individuals with disabilities, within the 5 Tribe service area. The 5 member Tribes and SPIPA, who have previously collaborated on vocational rehabilitation and Welfare to Work programs, utilize an innovative service delivery system in which technical assistance, data collection, collaboration, evaluation, and administrative services are centralized at the SPIPA headquarters. Additionally, at the tribal sites located on each reservation, on-site counselors provide outreach, intake, service plan development, and case plan implementation and follow-up services. This Work Incentive Grant project will entail the employment of a project coordinator, a training resource/technology specialist, and 5 tribal job counselors/coordinators to encompass all employment training, counseling, and related services under an intertribal service delivery umbrella. Community Served: The project service area includes the 5 member Tribes' reservations, plus the tribal services areas encompassing Thurston, Mason, Grays Harbor, Pacific, Lewis, and portions of Pierce Counties in the State of Washington, South Puget Sound region. Barriers/Target Group: This project will serve Native Americans with disabilities who reside in the project service areas. The applicants expect to provide employment and training services to more than 360 Native Americans within the service area over the 30 month period.
Partnerships: The applicant, South Puget Intertribal Planning Agency (SPIPA), represents an Intertribal Consortium whose members include: Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation; Nisqually Indian Tribe; Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe; Skokomish Indian Tribe; and the Squaxin Island Indian Tribe.
Proposed Award Amount: $900,000
Project Emphasis: People with disabilities. Summary Paragraph: The proposed project markets the One-Stop system to the disability community, while at the same time building the capacity of the system to better serve individuals with disabilities in a competent, respectful manner with consumer choice at its foundation. Components of the project include hiring Resource Specialists to provide training and technical assistance on disability and employment issues; coordination with Alaska's HHS Medicaid Infrastructure grant; and employment of a Program Manager to oversee activities including Assistive Technology capacity assessment and reporting, establishing statewide marketing initiatives, compiling and adapting training curricula relevant to persons with disabilities using One-Stop Job Centers, and compiling and adapting existing disability-specific screening tools working towards their implementation statewide in Job Centers. Additionally, this project will support the Job Centers in enhancing their capacity to become Employment Networks under the Ticket to Work program. This project will also assist in the procurement of services from qualified benefits counselors. As well, through this project the applicants will publish a reference manual for Job Center staff about disability-related needs and services, with concrete answers to common situations. Community Served: The State of Alaska. Barriers/Target Group: The proposed project provides wraparound services to individuals with disabilities as they move through the One-Stop system. Partnerships: Along with the Alaska Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR), p artner agencies include: the Alaska Division of Public Assistance (DPA); the Alaska Division of Employment Security (ES); Tribal Vocational Rehabilitation programs; Governor's Council on Disabilities and Special Education (GCDSE); and area non-profit organizations and local business entities. |
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