Learning about Working with Individuals with Disabilities

The National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth (NCWD/Youth) has two resources that can be helpful in your exchanges with individuals with disabilities.

A section on the NCWD/Youth website called Disability Basics can help your work with people with disabilities It includes language and etiquette tips as well as information on specific disabilities.

The second resource is an InfoBrief, also found on the website, called "Disability Inquiries in the Workforce Development System." This publication is for those working in One-Stop Career Centers as well as youth and adult service providers who interact with individuals with disabilities. It is designed to help clarify what you can and cannot ask about someone's disability.

U.S. Department of Education Seeks IDEA Comments

The U.S. Department of Education is soliciting comments from the public and intends to hold informal public meetings before preparing regulations governing the recently enacted Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004. The announcement was issued in the December 29 th Federal Register. Comments from the public on rules governing the new IDEA are due to the Education Department by February 28, 2005.

A schedule for the meetings was not announced, but the Federal Register notice indicated that the meetings would be held during the first few months of 2005 to seek comments and recommendations for developing regulations, as needed. The meetings are planned for Atlanta, GA; Newark, NJ; Boston, MA; Columbus, OH; San Diego, CA; Laramie, WY; and Washington, D.C. Notification of specific dates and locations of the meetings will be published in the Federal Register.

The Federal Register notice can be found at http://tinyurl.com/57xwl or http://tinyurl.com/6omg5.

A summary of the new IDEA law is available at http://tinyurl.com/3rxvc.

Individuals with Disabilities May Not be Benefiting from WIA Services

A General Accountability Office (GAO) report has found that although the U.S. Department of Labor has developed specific regulations requiring that people with disabilities have equal opportunity to participate in the programs and services offered in the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) One-Stop system, efforts to date may not be sufficient to ensure that result.

The GAO Report, Workforce Investment Act: Labor Has Taken Several Actions to Facilitate Access to One-Stops for Persons with Disabilities, But These Efforts May Not Be Sufficien t (GAO 05-54) was released in December, 2004 and examined activities at 18 local areas and their One-Stops.

The WIA, enacted in 1998, unifies previously fragmented employment and training programs and creates a more comprehensive workforce investment system by bringing together federally funded programs into a single service delivery system--the One-Stop Career Center System. WIA requires about 17 programs to provide services through the One-Stop system, including the Department of Education's Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) program, which provides services to eligible individuals with disabilities. The Department of Labor is responsible for providing general leadership and guidance to the One-Stop system. Section 188 of WIA prohibits discrimination based on disability in programs funded or otherwise financially assisted under WIA.

 

One-Stops have established various relationships to provide services to persons with disabilities. The collaboration between One-Stops and state vocational rehabilitation (VR) programs varied, as did the extent to which the One-Stops have formed relationships with disability-related service providers other than VR. A few local areas and One-Stops primarily formed partnerships with VR, while others also had relationships with community-based disability organizations.

GAO found that officials in most sites were working to implement architectural access requirements. They found that the local areas and One-Stops visited varied in the degree to which they had addressed other concerns relating to access for people with disabilities.

GAO recommended that to improve comprehensive access for persons with disabilities, the Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration, Civil Rights Center, and Office of Disability Employment Policy develop and implement a long-term plan for ensuring that the One-Stop system complies with comprehensive access requirements.

The report is available at http://ww.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-05-54.

Provide Feedback on KSA

NCWD/Youth would like you to answer a questionnaire identifying the relevant Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSA) that youth service providers need. The KSA Questionnaire focuses on 10 “Competency Areas” for youth service practitioners. We need your feedback to determine which competencies are most relevant to your work, what professional development opportunities are currently available in your area, and the priority areas for training to be developed .

To respond, click here and follow the directions. Results will be posted on the website and listed in this newsletter. You can read the background paper on KSAs here.