Each month, NDSS provides a free educational web-based
seminar, or webinar, to anyone who is interested in learning more about Down
syndrome
What: NDSS Webinar Series: Employment First,
Employment Now
Date: Thursday, May 21, 2015
Time: 1:00 p.m. (Eastern Time)
Presenter: Allison Wohl, Executive Director, Association of
People Supporting Employment First
Join NDSS as we welcome Allison Wohl, Executive Director of
the Association of People Supporting Employment First, for the webinar
Employment First, Employment Now.
Over the past decade, the concept of Employment First – the
idea that employment in integrated settings within the community should be the
priority service option – has emerged in the disability field. Employment in
the general workforce is the first and preferred outcome in the provision of
publicly funded services for all working age citizens with disabilities,
regardless of level of disability. This idea is based on the following:
- The current low participation rate of citizens with disabilities in the workforce is unacceptable.
- Access to “real jobs with real wages” is essential if citizens with disabilities are to avoid lives of poverty, dependence, and isolation.
- It is presumed that all working age adults and youths with disabilities can work in jobs fully integrated within the general workforce, working side-by-side with co-workers without disabilities, earning minimum wage or higher.
- As with all other individuals, employees with disabilities require assistance and support to ensure job success and should have access to those supports necessary to succeed in the workplace.
- All citizens, regardless of disability, have the right to pursue the full range of available employment opportunities, and to earn a living wage in a job of their choosing, based on their talents, skills, and interests.
- Implementation of Employment First principles must be based on clear public policies and practices that ensure employment of citizens with disabilities within the general workforce is the priority for public funding and service delivery.
- Inclusion or exclusion of the specific term “Employment First” does not determine whether a public system or agency has adopted Employment First principles. Such a determination can only be made in examining whether the underlying policies, procedures and infrastructure are designed for and ultimately result in increased integrated employment in the general workforce for citizens with disabilities.
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