Employment and Training Administration (ETA) and Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP)

The Employment and Training Administration (ETA) is the DOL agency charged with helping workers find jobs and employers find skilled workers. It achieves this by providing job training, education and employment services through various programs and a nationwide network of local “One-Stop Career Centers” that serve both employers and job seekers. DOL’s Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) provides national leadership on efforts to improve employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities. Although a separate agency from ETA, ODEP works closely with ETA to ensure that One-Stop Career Centers have the capacity to serve individuals with disabilities in their communities.

Because substance abuse impacts not just safety, but also a person’s ability to obtain and maintain employment, Working Partners is involved in a number of joint activities with both ETA and ODEP. Working Partners’ joint efforts with these agencies strive to educate One-Stop Career Center staff that job seekers with a history of substance abuse have special needs and, in certain circumstances, may be qualified individuals with a disability under non-discrimination laws. In particular, activities focus on encouraging collaboration at the local level between One-Stop Career Centers and community-based substance abuse treatment providers.

As part of these efforts, DOL convened the July 2003 Drug-Free Workforce Conference, at which various stakeholders assembled to discuss related issues. As part of this event, a number of Drug-Free Workforce Promising Practices were developed to provide examples of effective service coordination in action. In addition, an “Action Brief” has been developed to help build capacity among One-Stop Career Center staff to better serve individuals with a history of substance abuse.

In addition, Working Partners serves on DOL’s Work Group on Promoting Employment of People with Psychiatric Disabilities, which is chaired by ODEP. It also serves on DOL’s Homelessness Interagency Committee, which is led by DOL’s Veterans’ Employment and Training Service (VETS) and includes representation from both ETA and ODEP.

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