Goals
The Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) and the Professional Baseball Athletic Trainers Society (PBATS) recognize the value of establishing a collaborative relationship to promote the employment of people with disabilities nationally. ODEP and PBATS hereby form an Alliance to conduct outreach, education and technical assistance activities that promote the recruitment, hiring, retention and advancement of individuals with disabilities, including veterans with disabilities.
ODEP PBATS Alliance Renewal Signing April 10, 2018
(L-R) Front Mark O’Neal, President, PBATS; Jennifer Sheehy, Deputy Assistant Secretary, ODEP
(L-R) Back Renee Tajudeen, Director, PC&O, ODEP; Neil Romano, Former Assistant Secretary, ODEP, Patrick Mannix, Special Assistant, ODEP; Carol Dunlap, Alliance Manager, ODEP.
Alliance Activities
Specifically, ODEP and PBATS agree to work together to carry out the following activities:
- Share expertise and information on hiring, advancing, and retaining people with disabilities.
- Promote and disseminate information on ODEP resources to PBATS members and others. ODEP resources include, but are not limited to, the Job Accommodation Network (JAN), the Employer Assistance and Resource Network on Disability Inclusion (EARN), and the Workforce Recruitment Program (WRP).
- Develop and publicize resources on the value of hiring and retaining individuals with disabilities, including veterans with disabilities. Such resources include, but are not limited to, educational materials, success stories, and case studies developed collaboratively or by individual parties
- Identify issues of specific concern to employers to which the Alliance should direct particular attention and resources, and determine how best to communicate relevant information to them.
- Speak, exhibit, and/or appear at mutually agreed upon ODEP and PBATS events.
- As appropriate, convene and/or participate in stakeholder meetings focused on sharing information about innovative strategies for recruiting, hiring, retaining and promoting people with disabilities.
- Provide technical assistance to employers and employees regarding replicable disability employment strategies, policies and effective practices.
- Participate in meetings and/or discussions with representatives from other ODEP Alliances to exchange information on various disability employment issues that are being addressed and to explore opportunities for additional collaborative activities.
- Carry out other activities, as mutually agreed upon, that promote the hiring, advancement, and retention of individuals with disabilities.
About the Professional Baseball Athletic Trainers Society (PBATS)
PBATS is an educational resource for professional athletic trainers from all 30 major league baseball clubs in North America and their 164 minor league affiliates. Its members are considered the leading group of medical professionals in baseball and the most respected athletic trainers in the world. PBATS recently launched a multi-year outreach program to educate the public about the talents of people with disabilities in the workplace by drawing upon baseball's history of players with disabilities. The initiative — called "Ability Transcends Challenges" — includes PSAs, media events and other activities.
Products and Outcomes
PBATS/DOL PSAs featuring:
- Bo Jackson, former MLB player
- Curtis Pride, former MLB player
- Professional baseball athletic trainers