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WDC - SEED Initiative
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WDC-SEED Disability Employment 2021 Resource Toolkit
Covid-19 has ravaged and continues to impact many American economic sectors, especially the workforce. American workers were hit hard during the pandemic with 1 in 7 workers losing employment, however Americans with disabilities were hit especially hard with 1 in 5 becoming unemployed. Sudden business closures were coupled with incredibly slow growth in the number of employed workers with disabilities. The National Organization on Disability found that from 2018 to 2020, the rate has only grown .19%, and in 2020 only 6.3% of new hires disclosed a disability, a tiny increase of .6% from 2019. The message is clear, the U.S needs to build new systems that promote inclusive and equitable employment for individuals with disabilities. A return to the pre-pandemic status quo will only deliver the same stagnant and unjust results.
As the nation recovers from the pandemic, mayors, city leaders, and workforce professionals have a unique opportunity to implement policies and programs that promote workforce inclusivity and accessibility, allowing for a more equitable and collective economic recovery. In order to best promote policies that advance inclusive and equitable employment for individuals with disabilities, the Workforce Development Council, in partnership with the State Exchange on Employment and Disability(SEED), created a resource titled “Providing Effective Workforce Development Services to Individuals with Disabilities In a Limited Resource Environment”. The toolkit puts a focus on measures that city and workforce leaders can take to expand workforce opportunities for people with disabilities, while also emphasizing the importance of using their leadership as an advocacy tool for their community.
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Additional SEED Resources
Work Matters: A Framework for States on Workforce Development for People with Disabilities
The Work Matters framework offers state policy makers 13 broad policy options, as well as more than 240 real-life examples of innovative programs and policies that states have successfully implemented to build strong, inclusive workforces.
Section 188 Disability Reference Guide
This guide provides updated information and technical assistance that can help American Job Centers and their partners in the workforce development system meet the nondiscrimination and equal opportunity requirements for individuals with disabilities in Section 188 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act.
COVID-19 Policy Collaborative: Policy Checklist for a Disability-Inclusive Recovery
This checklist is designed to assist state and local policy makers in their efforts to adopt disability-inclusive COVID-19 recovery policies and initiatives. It features policy options gathered from the SEED COVID-19 Policy Collaborative, as well as research conducted into federal, state and local COVID-19 policy responses that are inclusive of people with disabilities.
SEED COVID-19 Policy Collaborative: Frameworks for a Disability-Inclusive Recovery
This guide highlights important issues as identified by the SEED COVID-19 Policy Collaborative to ensure a disability-inclusive recovery and provides a series of coinciding policy frameworks to assist state and local policymakers in their efforts to adopt disability-inclusive COVID-19 recovery initiatives.
COVID 19: Federal Disability-Specific and Other Related Guidance
This policy brief summarizes guidance issued by Federal Government agencies that can assist in ensuring state and local policy aligns with our nation’s civil rights laws and other disability-related policies.
WDC-SEED Background Information
In August 2019, the United States Conference of Mayors (USCM) Workforce Development Council (WDC) formally engaged with the State Exchange on Employment and Disability (SEED), an initiative funded by the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of Disability and Employment Policy (ODEP) to help address barriers to employment for people with disabilities in cities. The partnership was announced at the September 2019 WDC Board Meeting in Washington, DC.
SEED is a collaboration with leading intermediary organizations that helps state and local governments develop and implement effective policies and best practices that increase employment opportunities for people with disabilities.
As part of USCM’s partnership with SEED, the WDC formed a Disability Employment Working Group in October 2019 to study disability employment issues facing cities and make recommendations for identifying and collecting disability employment best practices from WDC member organizations. The WDC Disability Employment Working Group currently consists of over 20 WDC Members spread across the United States, in 2021 the Working Group solicited completed Disability Employment Best Practice Surveys from WDC members, and share disability employment best practices among members of the Working Group.
If you would like to participate in this initiative or submit a Disability Employment Best Practice, please reach out to Kevin Verge at kverge@usmayors.org for additional information.
Disability Employment Best Practices
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion—and Accessibility: How Cities Can Lead
Mayor Victoria Woodards of Tacoma, WA penned a blog for the National League of Cities (NLC) that highlights steps cities can take to advance DEIA in local workforces and offers ODEP’s State Exchange on Employment & Disability as a resource for mayors and city leaders across the country. The blog, “Diversity, Equity, Inclusion—and Accessibility: How Cities Can Lead,” shares best practices around the employment of people with disabilities and ways for local governments to broaden their approaches to be more inclusive. Mayor Woodards serves as the president of NLC and has made inclusion a core tenet of her leadership at the organization
*This section features best practices from SEED and other partner
organizations.
If you would like more information please contact Kevin Verge(kverge@usmayors.org)
