“People with disabilities have enormous contributions to make to our economy and our society, but they remain disproportionately represented among our nation’s unemployed.” -U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez
Federal officials want existing job training programs to better serve people with disabilities and they’re putting up millions of dollars to make it happen.
U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez said that new funding his agency is making available to states will help improve training opportunities for people with disabilities seeking employment. (U.S. Department of Labor/Flickr)
The U.S. Department of Labor said this week that $15 million is on the table for the effort. The new funding is intended to be used by state workforce agencies to create “flexible and innovative strategies” to grow participation of people with disabilities in federally-funded job training programs.
“People with disabilities have enormous contributions to make to our economy and our society, but they remain disproportionately represented among our nation’s unemployed,” U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez said. “We are working to change that by providing more training options that prepare these workers for good jobs. These grants will help build strong ladders of opportunity to the middle-class for these workers.”
Grants worth $1.5 to $2.5 million each are expected to go to eight states to be used over a 42-month period, officials said. Selected projects will include those focusing on each of three groups — adults, young people ages 14 to 24 and those with significant disabilities.
Similar grants have been issued to 37 states in recent years to improve accessibility at American Job Centers and train staff at such centers on the needs of people with disabilities among other efforts, the Labor Department said.
State workforce agencies have until June 11 to apply for the new funding.
by: Shaun Heasley/Disability Scoop
After an extensive career broadcast marketing, Jennifer and her husband searched for answers when their oldest son hit the kinder years with great difficultly. After finally learning that their oldest son had Aspergers Syndrome, she left her career in television and became a full time mother to both of her sons. Jennifer elicited the participation of her sons and together they produced several independent programs including a children’s animated series titled Ameriquest Kids (now distributed by Landmark Media) as well as her documentary and book titled, Coping to Excelling: Solutions for school-age children diagnosed with High-Functioning Autism or Aspergers Syndrome.
The need for more information encouraged Jennifer to elicit a team of autism experts to provide weekly, original content to a website free to anyone seeking to live their best under the diagnosis of High-Functioning Autism/Aspergers Syndrome… appropriately titled: Aspergers101.com.
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