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One-Stop career centers and job seekers with disabilities: insights from Kansas

Journal of Rehabilitation, Oct-Dec, 2005 by Jean P. Hall, Kathy Parker

The U.S. Congress enacted the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998 to consolidate a variety of federal job service programs into a single system, partly through the creation of the "One-Stop" service delivery system. The One-Stop system was created to provide job seekers and employers information, counseling, and help in finding education, jobs, and job training (Hoff, 2001). One of WIA's seven key principles is universal access, whereby any job seeker--including people with disabilities--can access these employment-related services at one location. Unfortunately, the promises of One-Stop centers' physical and programmatic accessibility for job seekers with disabilities have remained largely unmet (e.g., Holcomb & Barnow, 2004; National Council on Disability, 2002; U.S. Department of Labor [DOL], 2002).

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Workforce Investment Act of 1998

Prior to the WIA legislation, the U.S. government distributed approximately $15 billion in public funds to about 17 different employment and training programs (U.S. Government Accountability Office [GAO], 2004). These programs were part of four federal agencies--the Departments of Labor, Education, Health and Human Services, and Housing and Urban Development. Many of the programs served narrowly defined populations (e.g., welfare recipients, migrant and seasonal workers, dislocated workers, veterans, Native Americans, persons with disabilities, persons with limited literacy), and other programs served the general population (e.g., unemployment insurance, employment services). The U.S. Department of Labor set out seven key principles for unifying these programs into a single workforce preparation and employment system: (a) streamlining services through better integration at the street level in the One-Stop delivery system; (b) empowering individuals with financial assistance, information, and guidance; (c) universal access to the One-Stop system; (d) increased accountability through performance measurement and funding incentives; (e) local oversight through local workforce investment boards and the private sector; (f) state and local flexibility to implement systems tailored to local and regional labor market needs; and (g) improved youth programs with strong connections to academic programs and labor market needs (DOL, 2001).

In contrast to programs and services that could only be accessed by particular affinity groups, WIA dictated that any job seeker in the U.S. might access the One-Stop system's core employment-related services (DOL, 2001). These core services include information about job vacancies, career options, student financial aid, employment trends, and instruction on how to conduct a job search, write a resume, or interview. After utilizing the core services available through the One-Stop system, some individuals may need additional services (e.g., career counseling, vocational assessments, training) in order to obtain and persist in productive employment. The One-Stop system was designed to provide these more intensive services when possible, or in limited circumstances make referrals to organizations that can provide them.

The Department of Education's Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) program, a mandatory partner in the One-Stop system, provides services to individuals whose disability constitutes a substantial impediment to employment and who can benefit in terms of employment from their services. As such, VR plays a critical role for some job seekers with disabilities who need rehabilitative services, long-term training, assistive technology, or other intensive support in obtaining and sustaining employment. However, ***** not all people with disabilities qualify for VR services under this definition, and many people with disabilities do not need or want VR services. Moreover, even if a person is receiving VR services, he or she still has a right to use One-Stop services to complement or augment those from VR. In fact, WIA's nondiscrimination regulations indicate that One-Stops may not rely on VR to provide services to people with disabilities, but that they should serve them alongside people without disabilities (GAO, 2004).

Literature review

In principle WIA's universal access provision along with the non-discrimination requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) address the accessibility needs of job seekers with disabilities at One-Stops. However, research shows that in practice persons with disabilities may still face a number of difficulties when utilizing the One-Stop system. A study conducted by Funaro and Dixon (2002) shortly after WIA implementation regarding systems issues that impact effectiveness of the One-Stops in providing services to customers with disabilities identified several problems: lack of accessibility, limited outreach to individuals with disabilities, and having no performance measures related to disability. The research of Timmons, Schuster, Hamner and Bose (2001), also conducted in the early stages of WIA implementation, focused on consumers' perspectives of the characteristics of effective employment services for people with disabilities, regardless of the service provider. Timmons et al. (2001) identified five key components of effective service for this population: agency culture, consumer-directedness, access to resources, quality of personnel, and coordination of services.

Health Care Industry

One-Stop career centers and job seekers with disabilities: insights from Kansas

Journal of Rehabilitation, Oct-Dec, 2005 by Jean P. Hall, Kathy Parker

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