The Workforce Investment Act
The overriding goal of all of ODEP's demonstration programs is to make sustainable change to the workforce investment system. In 1998, the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) established a national workforce preparation and employment system to meet the needs of businesses, job seekers, and those who want to further their careers through a one-stop single-entry access to employment services, job training, and education. While universal access is a guiding principle of the WIA, the One-Stop Career Center system and its staff and partners often lack the capacity to provide coordinated and seamless service delivery to people with disabilities for programs and services which typically impact their entry or retention in the workforce. As a consequence, ODEP has awarded competitive grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements to external organizations in order to develop and test effective practices to expand and strengthen the capacity of the workforce development system to respond to the needs of people with disabilities in order to increase their rates of employment, retention, and educational attainment.
