Transcript Ed Turner

Increasing Employment
Options Through
Collaborations with Economic
Developers:
A New Approach
Ed Turner, Governor Kaine’s Special Advisor on Disability
Issues
Dr. Joe Ashley, Department of Rehabilitative Services
Jack Quigley, Department of Medical Assistance Services
Layout By: Takeisha Henley
November 9th 2009
State Leaders Institute to Expand
Employment for Adults with
Disabilities
National Technical Assistance and Research
Center to Promote Leadership for Increasing
the Employment and Economic Independence
of Adults with Disabilities (NTAR)
J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
State Leaders Institute to Expand
Employment for Adults with
Disabilities
Ed Turner, Team Leader
Joe Ashley, VA Department of Rehabilitative Services
Bob Burton, VA Department of Blind & Visually Impaired
Jack Quigley, VA Department of Medical Assistance Services
Vicki Tanner, Disability Program Navigator
Howard Green, Virginia Commonwealth University
Deborah Ruh, TechAccess
Joanne Ellis, Career Support Services
Kathy Thompson, Governor’s office for Workforce
Expanded Team Members:
Daniel LeBlanc, Governor’s Office for Workforce
David Smith, Secretary of Commerce and Trade Office
Elizabeth Povar, VA Economic Development Partnership
State Leaders Institute to Expand
Employment for Adults with
Disabilities
Goals:
1. To determine how to create a demand-side focus for training
individuals with disabilities to meet the needs of employers;
2. To determine how to be more competitive;
3. To determine how to partner with economic development
organizations and understand their process to align the
disability and generic employment needs with business
needs;
4. To learn how to use economic development and their
process to create employment opportunities for persons with
disabilities;
5. To determine how to tap into entrepreneurial opportunities to
prepare persons with disabilities to be skilled to meet the
employment needs of existing industries and emerging
industry clusters; and
6. To determine how to be a catalyst for meeting the demands
of employers.
Virginia State Peer
Leaders Network
NTAR Technical Assistance:
 Established the first State-Level Leadership Team
focused on the employment issues for individuals with
disabilities;
 Established the first Round Table Discussion titled,
“Expanding Employment for Adults with Disabilities;”
and
 Established the first Forum in collaboration with the
Virginia Economic Developers Association to develop a
blueprint to address unemployment among Virginians
with disabilities.
Virginia State Peer
Leaders Network
Round Table Discussions
Three (3) discussions were held between
November 2008 and March 2009 focused
on creating entrepreneurial opportunities
and developing collaborations with local
and state economic development
organizations for persons with
disabilities.
-Development of a Work Plan
-NTAR Grant
Virginia State Peer
Leaders Network
Sample of Work Plan Activities
-Develop a public service announcement
by Governor to be shown in movie
theaters Summer 2009
-Foster stronger connections between
workforce networks and local economic
development officials
Virginia State Peer
Leaders Network
NTAR Grant
In March 2009, NTAR awarded the Virginia
State Peer Leaders Network a grant in
the amount of $50,000.
The grant was used to host a statewide
Forum to develop a blueprint to address
unemployment among Virginians with
disabilities.
Governor’s Forum on Disability
and Economic Development
September 15 and 16, 2009
Held in collaboration with the Virginia
Economic Developers Association
Conference
September 16 – 18, 2009
The Hotel Roanoke
Governor’s Forum on Disability
and Economic Development
Goals of Forum
1.To determine how to tap into and create
opportunities to prepare persons with
disabilities to be skilled to meet the
employment needs of existing and
emerging industry clusters; and
2.To determine how to be a catalyst for
creating employment opportunities for
persons with disabilities.
Governor’s Forum on Disability
and Economic Development
Creating the Blueprint to Address
Unemployment Among Virginians with
Disabilities
Breakout Sessions:
1. Building the case for Economic Development
and Disability Services Integration
2. Action Plan Dissemination and Implementation
3. Build Skill Sets Through Career Pathways
4. Building and Sustaining Relationships
Blueprint to Address Unemployment
Among Virginians with Disabilities
Help us to:
Build a case for Economic Development
and Disability Services Integration
Your thoughts?
Blueprint to Address
Unemployment Among
Virginians with Disabilities
Help us to:
Develop an Action Plan Dissemination and
Implementation
Your thoughts ?
Blueprint to Address
Unemployment Among
Virginians with Disabilities
Help us to:
Build Skill Sets Through Career Pathways
Your thoughts?
Blueprint to Address
Unemployment Among
Virginians with Disabilities
Help us to:
Build and Sustain Relationships
Your thoughts?
Next Steps
Virginia State Peer Leader Network
1.
2.
3.
4.
State team will review the blueprint
Decide how to disseminate the blueprint
Deliver the blueprint to the Governor
Decide how to introduce the blueprint to
the incoming Administration
5. Monitor implementation of the blueprint