Human Posted September 27, 2006 Report Share Posted September 27, 2006 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.csun.edu/cod/conf/2002/proceedings/42.htm The presenters will review global requirements to increase employment of people with disabilities in the United States Federal government; including policies and programs to impact the recruitment, hiring, and accommodation processes. The workshop will provide an overview of Federal initiatives and policies to implement real changes in the accessibility of the electronic and information technology environment for people with disabilities. With recent actions, including the implementation of President Bush's New Freedom Initiative, the Federal government is implementing these recommendations. This workshop will provide information on the methods for determining and integrating accessible technology solutions for persons with disabilities in the workplace. It will also highlight initiatives and their impact on employment of people with disabilities and the integration of assistive technologies in the workplace. Federal Initiatives On March 13, 1998, the Presidential Task Force on Employment of Adults with Disabilities was created. This organization has worked to formulate an aggressive national policy to increase employment via altering conflicting policies, sharing promising practices, and improving communication between stakeholders. The workshop will provide an overview of Task Force actions from the Subcommittee on Technology and impact of their recent initiatives. On July 26, 2000, the tenth anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), President Clinton signed two executive orders related to the employment of people with disabilities in the Federal government. One aims to increase Federal employment opportunities for people with disabilities, and directs agencies to work aggressively towards hiring a projected 100,000 qualified individuals with disabilities government wide over the next five years. The other executive order addresses the provision of reasonable accommodation to federal applicants and employees, mandating that agencies establish effective written procedures for processing requests for reasonable accommodation. The workshop will explore the implementation of these to executive orders. New Freedom Initiative: Fulfilling America's Promise to Americans with Disabilities President George W. Bush's Administration has made a firm commitment to "tearing down barriers to equality" in its plan for increasing opportunity and accessibility for Americans with disabilities. With several components, including education, employment, technology, transportation, and housing, the New Freedom Initiative is an integrated plan capable of producing significant improvements for people with disabilities. The workshop will review the overall plan, and highlight two specific components: * Increasing Access to Assistive Technology and Universally Designed Technologies; and * Integrating Americans with disabilities into the workforce. Recruiting, Hiring, and Accommodating The Presidential actions, including the executive orders, the task force work and the Bush Administration's Initiative, create an elaborate and complex requirement to alter the approach to hiring people with disabilities. The outline for success is apparent. The following programs and initiatives offer starting points, supporting resources, and ongoing management and financial commitments to increase employment of people with disabilities in the Federal government. * The Workforce Recruitment Program for College Students with Disabilities (WRP) has served as a recruitment resource for Federal agencies since 1995. This nationwide program, co-sponsored by the Department of Labor and the Department of Defense (DoD), involves over 1,200 motivated, qualified college students from more than 150 colleges and universities each year. The students, who must go through an interview process to be included in the WRP database, represent a broad spectrum of fields of study, levels of experience, and areas of interest. Students are interested in summer jobs and permanent positions in the Federal government. The WRP has proven to be a major pipeline for people with disabilities coming into government service, often initially through summer jobs; more than 300 WRP students are hired each summer in the Federal sector, and data shows a high retention rate once these students have graduated from college. The WRP is an outstanding resource for agencies as they work to support the President's initiative. * The Office of Personnel and Management (OPM) created Accessing Opportunity: The Plan for Employment of People with Disabilities in the Federal Government and People With Disabilities in the Federal Government: An Employment Guide. The documents represent the first-ever plan to hire and promote persons with disabilities at all levels of the federal workforce, from entry-level jobs to the senior executive service. The workshop addresses how the hiring plan and guide translates policies into real programs that will affect real lives. * On March 2, 1999, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released Enforcement Guidance: Reasonable Accommodation and Undue Hardship Under the Americans with Disabilities Act. This document assists Federal employers in understanding practices that assist in reasonable job accommodations, including assistive technology. By using this resource, individual accommodations are more likely to occur with supporting legislative channels to enforce the requirements. * The executive order calling for the Federal government to hire 100,000 individuals with disabilities by 2005 refers directly to an ongoing employment shortage for individuals in IT positions. If the Federal government is to hire these individuals, a system-wide accommodation must be in place to ensure the productivity and retention of the new employees. Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act calls for the implementation of accessibility standards when the Federal government develops, maintains, procures, or uses electronic and information technology. This requirement will ensure a more accessible environment to allow Federal employees with disabilities to be more productive as they will have increased access to information and opportunities. As technology evolves, how the Federal government addresses the relationship between Section 501, 504 and 508 in the Rehabilitation Act will afford new employment opportunities for people with disabilities. Section 508 incorporates design elements to enable the increased functionality of a Section 501/504 individual accommodation. * A program that will ensure the ability to recruit, hire, and accommodate a person with a disability in support of these initiatives is the Computer/Electronic Accommodations Program (CAP). Established by DoD in 1990, CAP is now the Federal government's centralized accommodations program providing assistive technology and related services to people with disabilities. This program, which includes a Technology Evaluation Center (CAPTEC), has filled over 25,000 requests for accommodations since its inception. In addition to the services it offers employees year round, CAP provides accommodations to students who are hired for summer jobs through the WRP. This partnership between CAP and WRP has proven to be an effective mechanism for promoting the hiring and retention of college students with disabilities in the federal sector. * A final initiative highlights the importance of technology transfer. President Clinton's Executive Memorandum entitled Strategy for the Development and Transfer of Assistive Technology and Universal Design required the Interagency Committee on Disability Research (ICDR), which is chaired by the Department of Education's National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR), to prepare a report identifying priority needs for the advancement of assistive technologies and universal design capabilities. The Bush Administration continues this policy to ensure Federal investment in assistive technology research and development. The workshop will provide an update on the policy implementation process and progress in the technology transfer arena. Expected Outcomes The implementation of the Presidential initiatives and related governmental actions will create an accessible environment capable of recruiting, hiring, and accommodating people with disabilities in the Federal government. Programs, such as the WRP and CAP, will access new talents and provide needed accommodations to anyone, anytime, anywhere, as the Federal government opens its electronic and information technology portals to all people. This process will ensure the employment of 100,000 new employees over the next five years. This workshop will allow the attendees to understand the United States Federal government's plan to become a model employer via the information age's success. The economy has created jobs that the Federal government has identified as targeted opportunities. By using accessible electronic and information technology, created by working closely with industry and assistive technology vendors, the results are attainable. RESOURCES Executive Orders, Presidential Memorandums, and other significant Federal actions highlight developments in the effort to increase employment of adults with disabilities. * EXECUTIVE ORDER 13163: Increasing the Opportunity for Individuals With Disabilities To Be Employed in the Federal Government (July 26, 2000) * EXECUTIVE ORDER 13164: Requiring Federal Agencies to Establish Procedures to Facilitate the Provision of Reasonable Accommodation (July 26, 2000) * MEMORANDUM FOR THE HEADS OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES: Strategy for the Development and Transfer of Assistive Technology and Universal Design (July 25, 2000) * MEMORANDUM FOR THE HEADS OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES: Renewing the Commitment to Ensure that Federal Programs are Free from Disability-Based Discrimination On the 10th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (July 26, 2000) * MEMORANDUM FOR THE HEADS OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES SUBJECT: Employing People with Significant Disabilities to Fill Federal Agency Jobs that can be Performed at Alternate Work Sites, Including the Home (July 26, 2000) * NEW FREEDOM INIATITIVE (February 2001) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest human_* Posted September 27, 2006 Report Share Posted September 27, 2006 Ya know if anyone was to look this up, the ones to ask would probably be OMB. Just a thought. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I wonder if Government ever reached those numbers. The Orders was under the Clinton Administration. Still I was always curious if they ever reached that number. By the way; these executive orders are treated like LAW. In other words the government has to meet these orders. REALLY HAVE TOO. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.csun.edu/cod/conf/2002/proceedings/42.htm The presenters will review global requirements to increase employment of people with disabilities in the United States Federal government; including policies and programs to impact the recruitment, hiring, and accommodation processes. The workshop will provide an overview of Federal initiatives and policies to implement real changes in the accessibility of the electronic and information technology environment for people with disabilities. With recent actions, including the implementation of President Bush's New Freedom Initiative, the Federal government is implementing these recommendations. This workshop will provide information on the methods for determining and integrating accessible technology solutions for persons with disabilities in the workplace. It will also highlight initiatives and their impact on employment of people with disabilities and the integration of assistive technologies in the workplace. Federal Initiatives On March 13, 1998, the Presidential Task Force on Employment of Adults with Disabilities was created. This organization has worked to formulate an aggressive national policy to increase employment via altering conflicting policies, sharing promising practices, and improving communication between stakeholders. The workshop will provide an overview of Task Force actions from the Subcommittee on Technology and impact of their recent initiatives. On July 26, 2000, the tenth anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), President Clinton signed two executive orders related to the employment of people with disabilities in the Federal government. One aims to increase Federal employment opportunities for people with disabilities, and directs agencies to work aggressively towards hiring a projected 100,000 qualified individuals with disabilities government wide over the next five years. The other executive order addresses the provision of reasonable accommodation to federal applicants and employees, mandating that agencies establish effective written procedures for processing requests for reasonable accommodation. The workshop will explore the implementation of these to executive orders. New Freedom Initiative: Fulfilling America's Promise to Americans with Disabilities President George W. Bush's Administration has made a firm commitment to "tearing down barriers to equality" in its plan for increasing opportunity and accessibility for Americans with disabilities. With several components, including education, employment, technology, transportation, and housing, the New Freedom Initiative is an integrated plan capable of producing significant improvements for people with disabilities. The workshop will review the overall plan, and highlight two specific components: * Increasing Access to Assistive Technology and Universally Designed Technologies; and * Integrating Americans with disabilities into the workforce. Recruiting, Hiring, and Accommodating The Presidential actions, including the executive orders, the task force work and the Bush Administration's Initiative, create an elaborate and complex requirement to alter the approach to hiring people with disabilities. The outline for success is apparent. The following programs and initiatives offer starting points, supporting resources, and ongoing management and financial commitments to increase employment of people with disabilities in the Federal government. * The Workforce Recruitment Program for College Students with Disabilities (WRP) has served as a recruitment resource for Federal agencies since 1995. This nationwide program, co-sponsored by the Department of Labor and the Department of Defense (DoD), involves over 1,200 motivated, qualified college students from more than 150 colleges and universities each year. The students, who must go through an interview process to be included in the WRP database, represent a broad spectrum of fields of study, levels of experience, and areas of interest. Students are interested in summer jobs and permanent positions in the Federal government. The WRP has proven to be a major pipeline for people with disabilities coming into government service, often initially through summer jobs; more than 300 WRP students are hired each summer in the Federal sector, and data shows a high retention rate once these students have graduated from college. The WRP is an outstanding resource for agencies as they work to support the President's initiative. * The Office of Personnel and Management (OPM) created Accessing Opportunity: The Plan for Employment of People with Disabilities in the Federal Government and People With Disabilities in the Federal Government: An Employment Guide. The documents represent the first-ever plan to hire and promote persons with disabilities at all levels of the federal workforce, from entry-level jobs to the senior executive service. The workshop addresses how the hiring plan and guide translates policies into real programs that will affect real lives. * On March 2, 1999, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released Enforcement Guidance: Reasonable Accommodation and Undue Hardship Under the Americans with Disabilities Act. This document assists Federal employers in understanding practices that assist in reasonable job accommodations, including assistive technology. By using this resource, individual accommodations are more likely to occur with supporting legislative channels to enforce the requirements. * The executive order calling for the Federal government to hire 100,000 individuals with disabilities by 2005 refers directly to an ongoing employment shortage for individuals in IT positions. If the Federal government is to hire these individuals, a system-wide accommodation must be in place to ensure the productivity and retention of the new employees. Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act calls for the implementation of accessibility standards when the Federal government develops, maintains, procures, or uses electronic and information technology. This requirement will ensure a more accessible environment to allow Federal employees with disabilities to be more productive as they will have increased access to information and opportunities. As technology evolves, how the Federal government addresses the relationship between Section 501, 504 and 508 in the Rehabilitation Act will afford new employment opportunities for people with disabilities. Section 508 incorporates design elements to enable the increased functionality of a Section 501/504 individual accommodation. * A program that will ensure the ability to recruit, hire, and accommodate a person with a disability in support of these initiatives is the Computer/Electronic Accommodations Program (CAP). Established by DoD in 1990, CAP is now the Federal government's centralized accommodations program providing assistive technology and related services to people with disabilities. This program, which includes a Technology Evaluation Center (CAPTEC), has filled over 25,000 requests for accommodations since its inception. In addition to the services it offers employees year round, CAP provides accommodations to students who are hired for summer jobs through the WRP. This partnership between CAP and WRP has proven to be an effective mechanism for promoting the hiring and retention of college students with disabilities in the federal sector. * A final initiative highlights the importance of technology transfer. President Clinton's Executive Memorandum entitled Strategy for the Development and Transfer of Assistive Technology and Universal Design required the Interagency Committee on Disability Research (ICDR), which is chaired by the Department of Education's National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR), to prepare a report identifying priority needs for the advancement of assistive technologies and universal design capabilities. The Bush Administration continues this policy to ensure Federal investment in assistive technology research and development. The workshop will provide an update on the policy implementation process and progress in the technology transfer arena. Expected Outcomes The implementation of the Presidential initiatives and related governmental actions will create an accessible environment capable of recruiting, hiring, and accommodating people with disabilities in the Federal government. Programs, such as the WRP and CAP, will access new talents and provide needed accommodations to anyone, anytime, anywhere, as the Federal government opens its electronic and information technology portals to all people. This process will ensure the employment of 100,000 new employees over the next five years. This workshop will allow the attendees to understand the United States Federal government's plan to become a model employer via the information age's success. The economy has created jobs that the Federal government has identified as targeted opportunities. By using accessible electronic and information technology, created by working closely with industry and assistive technology vendors, the results are attainable. RESOURCES Executive Orders, Presidential Memorandums, and other significant Federal actions highlight developments in the effort to increase employment of adults with disabilities. * EXECUTIVE ORDER 13163: Increasing the Opportunity for Individuals With Disabilities To Be Employed in the Federal Government (July 26, 2000) * EXECUTIVE ORDER 13164: Requiring Federal Agencies to Establish Procedures to Facilitate the Provision of Reasonable Accommodation (July 26, 2000) * MEMORANDUM FOR THE HEADS OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES: Strategy for the Development and Transfer of Assistive Technology and Universal Design (July 25, 2000) * MEMORANDUM FOR THE HEADS OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES: Renewing the Commitment to Ensure that Federal Programs are Free from Disability-Based Discrimination On the 10th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (July 26, 2000) * MEMORANDUM FOR THE HEADS OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES SUBJECT: Employing People with Significant Disabilities to Fill Federal Agency Jobs that can be Performed at Alternate Work Sites, Including the Home (July 26, 2000) * NEW FREEDOM INIATITIVE (February 2001) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke_Wilbur Posted September 29, 2006 Report Share Posted September 29, 2006 I contacted the OMB. They told me to talk with the ADA. ADA told me to talk with OPM. The Office of Personel Management should have those numbers. U.S. Office of Personnel Management Office of Communications 202-606-2402 The office of Personel Management said they have no such records and for me to call the Office of General Council 202-606-1700. The General Council sent me to Disabilities section. The Disabilities section gave me this information. Office of Personel Management Retirement Operations Center P.O. Box 45 Boyers, PA 16017 I asked why they were making me write a request. They gave me a phone number, but said I would only get a response by writing. 1-888-767-6738 I was first given the following information http://www.opm.gov/retire/ No information there... I then asked why I would I write the Retirement Operations Center. I want current employees. YEESH!! I left a message with Carol Cook. I called the Office of Personel Management, Office of General Council and asked why they sent me to them. They stated the Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Human Posted September 29, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 29, 2006 They "the government" probably implemented 508. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I contacted the OMB. They told me to talk with the ADA. ADA told me to talk with OPM. The Office of Personel Management should have those numbers. U.S. Office of Personnel Management Office of Communications 202-606-2402 The office of Personel Management said they have no such records and for me to call the Office of General Council 202-606-1700. The General Council sent me to Disabilities section. The Disabilities section gave me this information. Office of Personel Management Retirement Operations Center P.O. Box 45 Boyers, PA 16017 I asked why they were making me write a request. They gave me a phone number, but said I would only get a response by writing. 1-888-767-6738 I was first given the following information http://www.opm.gov/retire/ No information there... I then asked why I would I write the Retirement Operations Center. I want current employees. YEESH!! I left a message with Carol Cook. I called the Office of Personel Management, Office of General Council and asked why they sent me to them. They stated the Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Human Posted September 29, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 29, 2006 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Dec2002/n1..._200212093.html DoD Sets Five-Year Goal to Hire 32,000 People with Disabilities By Rudi Williams American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, Dec. 9, 2002 -- Employment and retention of individuals with disabilities is a top priority in the Department of Defense. And DoD wants them to make their own decisions, fulfill their own goals and be rewarded and advanced on an equal footing with their nondisabled peers, said Ginger Groeber, deputy undersecretary of defense for civilian personnel policy. Groeber told more than 400 attendees at the 22nd annual DoD Disability Awards Ceremony in Bethesda, Md., what DoD is doing with Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's initiative to hire 32,000 employees who are qualified disability candidates. "Nothing is more important to the secretary of defense than the recruitment and retention of highly qualified and capable individuals who are willing to go the extra mile for their country," Groeber told the audience after they witnessed awards presentations to 16 outstanding DoD employees with disabilities. She said President Bush signed an executive order on July 26, 2000, directing the federal government to hire 100,000 employees with disabilities over the next five years. DoD quickly pledged to hire 32,000 candidates with qualified disabilities before September 2005, she noted. Groeber said the secretary further emphasized DoD's pledge by issuing a memorandum in October 2000 to the secretaries of the military departments and directors of defense agencies fully supporting the president's initiative. Rumsfeld asked them "to redouble your efforts to eliminate barriers in hiring and advancement of employees with qualified disabilities and to increase their opportunities for employment and advancement." The department took the secretary's request to heart and divided the five-year goal of 32,000 new hires by fiscal year, Groeber said. "In fiscal 2001 our goal was 4,763 and 5,801 for fiscal 2002 for a grand total of 10,564," she said. "Our actual hiring level was 11,963 new employees who have qualified disabilities. This exceeds the two-year goal by almost 1,400 additional employees. We fully expect the same success rate for the following fiscal years, as we look this year to hire over 6,600 employees with qualified disabilities." She said such success doesn't happen by "sitting back and waiting for people to come to us." DoD human resources and equal employment opportunity specialists have been committed to this goal and work together to aggressively seek those candidates who would like to come to work for the Department of Defense." At the beginning of the ceremony, Judy Gilliom, manager of the DoD program for people with disabilities, said, "Inclusion and empowerment are the things that make diversity great. People with disabilities are now part of the mainstream. We belong. Few would argue with that statement today, but few would have understood it 32 years ago, when I broke my neck and very suddenly joined this community of people with disabilities." Gilliom told the audience that, since her accident, many things have changed. "Opportunities are better today for people with disabilities to be employed at the Department of Defense than they have ever been before," she noted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Human Posted September 30, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 30, 2006 IN total, there are only several handfuls of people who are fully disabled who work in congress at any given moment. If my group is to make a difference? Then we will have to get out more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlingBling Posted October 1, 2006 Report Share Posted October 1, 2006 For once I agree with you Human. I believe that people with disabilities have the same problems that blacks like myself face everyday. Unless you are one, you can not understand what we go through. I am a little better researching than Luke. So I will look as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Human Posted October 2, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2006 At least on this we can put our politics aside. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For once I agree with you Human. I believe that people with disabilities have the same problems that blacks like myself face everyday. Unless you are one, you can not understand what we go through. I am a little better researching than Luke. So I will look as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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