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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/community.htm
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