Putting Military Experience to Work Ask any business owner the skills they seek in new hires and any veteran what they learned in the military, and you'll likely hear the same things ― the ability to adapt, learn quickly and get the job done. These characteristics exemplify veterans, including those with visible or invisible disabilities. Read more about the Competitive Advantage in the November issue of Business Sense…

Assistant Secretary Martinez to be the Principal Guest Speaker at Disability Policy Forum

On Tuesday, November 17, from 10 AM to noon, Assistant Secretary Kathleen Martinez will be the principal guest speaker for an interactive forum to be held at the Cornell University Government Affairs Office in Washington, DC. The topic is “ODEP Update: New Directions for the Office of Disability Employment Policy at the Department of Labor.” Other panelist/reactors will be Kelly Buckland, E.D. of NCIL; Paul Tobin, President and CEO of United Spinal Association, and Lori Golden of Ernst & Young.

The Disability Policy Forums, sponsored by the Employment Policy RRTC in collaboration with the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), are held quarterly in Washington, DC and are available on the web. To register or to read more about the forum, visit http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/edi/p-eprrtc-policyforum.cfm

DOL and ODEP Salute Veterans

Captain (Ret.) Dawn Halfaker and Secretary Solis listen to Command Sergeant Major Michele H. Jones

On November 5, Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis hosted DOL’s annual Salute to VETS. The event featured a panel discussion with Secretary Solis, veteran and business owner, Dawn Halfaker, and Command Sergeant Michele Jones. The November 2008 issue of ODEP’s small business publication, Business Sense featured Ms. Halfaker’s story. You can read more about the Salute to Vets and download the poster by clicking here.

Be sure to also read about ODEP's efforts on behalf of the employment success of returning service members living with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and/or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) at the America’s Heroes at Work website.

October 2009 Disability Employment Statistics Released

In October 2009, the percentage of people with disabilities in the labor force was 21.7 compared with 70.5 for persons with no disability. The unemployment rate for those with disabilities was 16.5 percent, compared with 9.2 percent for persons with no disability, not seasonally adjusted.

Read about the October Disability Employment Statistics

Read Commonly Used Terms in BLS Employment Statistics

Cities Throughout U.S. Declare Disability.gov Day During National Disability Employment Awareness Month

In conjunction with National Disability Employment Awareness Month, Assistant Secretary Martinez asked mayors from cities, recognized for their accessibility and contributions to the disability community, to declare a day in October as Disability.gov Day. The Department of Labor and the Office of Disability Employment Policy extend their thanks and appreciation to all the cities that participated. See the official proclamations in the 2009 Disability.gov Day Proclamations section on Disability.gov.

US Department of Labor Announces Web-based Collaborative Policy-Making Initiative to Address Disability Employment Barriers

ePolicyWorks is a collaborative, information-sharing initiative among national policymakers designed to address specific barriers to employment faced by people with disabilities. The goals of ePolicyWorks closely align with the guiding principles outlined in the President’s disability agenda – from strengthening access to and improving the quality of health care, to protecting civil rights and increasing opportunities for employment. Facilitating real-time coordination and communication, ePolicyWorks is an unprecedented effort to tackle today’s critical disability employment issues.

Read the Press Release

Wanted: Participants for National Dialogue About Transportation Access for People with Disabilities

Do you have suggestions and ideas on transportation access that you would like to share with national leaders? The Federal Interagency Coordinating Council on Access and Mobility (CCAM) invites you to participate in a United We Ride National Dialogue to help communities increase access to affordable and reliable transportation services for people with disabilities, older adults and people with limited incomes. This two-week long, Web-based dialogue will begin on November 2 and end on November 13. Your invaluable participation will directly inform the work of the Federal government on future policy decisions and its strategic plan. ODEP strongly encourages you to register at www.UWRdialogue.org and to participate in the Dialogue.

ODEP’s collaboration with the U.S. Department of Transportation and other federal agencies has been critical to the development and on-going work of United We Ride. This federal interagency initiative supports States and their localities in developing coordinated human service delivery systems. For more information about United We Ride, click here.

Stars Focus on Ability

L-R Assistant Secretary Martinez, Secretary Solis, Robert David Hall, Fred Beam

On Thursday, October 22, Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis convened a panel to discuss and answer audience questions about people with disabilities in the performing and visual arts. Before a standing room only audience in the DOL auditorium, Secretary Solis was joined by Assistant Secretary for Disability Employment Policy Kathleen Martinez, performance artist Fred Beam, and actor Robert David Hall, who portrays Dr. Al Robins on the popular TV show "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation."

Click here and scroll down the page to learn more about the panel and the VSA arts exhibition, acknowledged during the panel discussion and organized by the Office of Disability Employment Policy. VSA arts is an international nonprofit organization founded 35 years ago by Ambassador Jean Kennedy Smith to create a society where people with disabilities learn through, participate in, and enjoy the arts. Prominently displayed outside the Secretary’s office are selections from Greenlight, a juried exhibition of emerging artists with disabilities.

Click here to view the video of the panel.

Three Issue Briefs from the ODEP-funded National Technical Assistance and Research (NTAR) Leadership Center are now available.

• Issue Brief No. 1: Entrepreneurship for Veterans with Disabilities: Lessons Learned from the Field examines entrepreneurship as a viable option for veterans with disabilities, particularly those returning from the present-day Middle East conflicts. This brief examines the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp (EBV) introduced at Syracuse University's Walt Whitman School of Management.
• Issue Brief No. 2: Leveraging State Economic Development Resources to Create Job Opportunities for People with Disabilities highlights existing state regional, and local economic development resource tools and discusses ways in which states and localities can leverage traditional loan and financing programs that enhance job creation, provide access to local employment opportunities, or help support employment for residents, with and without disabilities.
• Issue Brief No. 3: Collaborating and Coordinating with Employers examines the evolving relationship between disability employment initiatives and employers, and uses case illustrations of selected collaborations to demonstrate these characteristics, including implications for effectively formulating broad-scale promotion of disability workforce investment initiatives.

The NTAR Leadership Center is a collaboration of partners with expertise in workforce development, disability employment, economic development, financial education, benefits planning, and leadership development. Established in September 2007 through a grant from ODEP, the Center is housed at the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.

Maryland Governor's Workforce Investment Board (WIB) Submits Universal Design Resolution

In September 2009, the Maryland Governor's WIB submitted a Resolution that stated, "in order to assure that there truly are no spare Marylanders, all of Maryland's potential workers should be provided with universal access, services and processes according to the principles known as Universal Design." This Resolution is a priority of the Maryland pilot under the coordination of the ODEP-funded National Technical Assistance and Research (NTAR) Leadership Center's State Leaders' Innovation Institute (SLII). In 2008, Maryland, Connecticut, and Minnesota were selected to participate in the first SLII, part of a national effort to improve employment for adults with disabilities with a particular focus on Universal Design. Read the Resolution.

“I Can” Public Service Announcement Now Available on YouTube

This flagship PSA was produced specifically for the Campaign for Disability Employment’s What Can YOU Do? campaign. It features seven real people – not actors – with hidden and obvious disabilities, demonstrating what they “can do” on the job when given the opportunity. Intended for television broadcast, we would like to see this PSA and its inspiring message distributed as widely as possible. We invite you to share it with others so we can all remember that at work, it’s what people can do that matters.

Watch the “I Can” PSA

Leading Disability Organizations Collaborate to Launch National Campaign for Disability Employment

Establishing a new standard for collaboration to increase the employment of people with disabilities, The Campaign for Disability Employment offers a range of education and outreach tools. All are designed to engage employers, people with disabilities, family and educators, and the general public. The Campaign is supported by West Virginia University and receives technical assistance from the Job Accommodation Network (JAN). Funded by the ODEP, it is comprised of the American Association of People with Disabilities, the National Business and Disability Council, Special Olympics, and the U.S. Business Leadership Network.

Read more about the Campaign for Disability Employment. Be sure to visit the Multi-Media Room to experience the new “I CAN” Public Service Announcement and the “What Can YOU Do?” video contest winners.

Registration Opens for the 2009 Perspectives on Employment of Persons with Disabilities Conference

Take advantage of the early bird rates

Read more about the Conference