Maintain a ‘Can-Do’ Attitude In a Challenging Job Market

The employment picture in our country has sadly not improved significantly in the two years since I last focused this column on October as Disability Employment Awareness Month. I guess that’s why I chose not to highlight the topic last October and I must admit in retrospect I am not proud of that decision.
It is too easy to be discouraged by the disability employment statistics published each month by the U.S. Department of Labor. Last month, for example, the percentage of people with disabilities in the labor force was 21.6 versus 69.9 percent of persons in the labor force with no disability. In that same month, the unemployment rate for those with disabilities was 14.8 percent compared with 9 percent for persons with no disability. But let’s face it, with the over-all unemployment rate so high these are particularly challenging times to make progress in the effort to increase employment for people with disabilities.
Fortunately, there are many who work tirelessly toward that goal despite difficult odds, slow progress and many setbacks. Some efforts, like the Lights! Camera! Access! campaign and the I Can PSA video sponsored by the Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP), concentrate on creating more accurate and positive portrayals of people with disabilities in the media. These ODEP initiatives, part of their What Can You Do? Campaign for Disability Em-ployment, support in a very public way the 2010 theme of Disability Employment Awareness Month: “Talent has no boundaries . . . Workforce diversity includes workers with disabilities.”
And then, there are the everyday “workers in the vineyard” that somehow manage to keep the faith and a can-do attitude while they assist qualified individuals to choose, get and keep jobs. I visited one such local service recently, operated by Employment Services Network in Rio Grande.
The STEP (Starting Toward Employment Possibilities) Program’s professional career counselors provide (at no cost to the client) career counseling, vocational assessments, job search assistance, training and ongoing support and monitoring for all active participants in the program. In addi-tion, they provide referrals to community agencies for assistance with transportation, housing, food, clothing, health care, education and legal issues, all of which can mean the difference between working and not working.
These are tough times for all job seekers and the job market in Cape May can be particularly challenging for people with disabilities. But there are in our communities dedicated individuals like the STEP counselors who continue to work toward a workforce that welcomes the talents, skills and potential of this greatly underrepresented group. Want to be inspired to share their vision? Check out the I Can PSA on YouTube or at www.whatcanyoudocampaign.org.
DID YOU KNOW??
• The Division of Vocation Rehabilitation Services (DVRS) helps individuals of employable age whose mental or physical disability is an obstacle to employment. There must be a reasonable expectation that this agency’s services will help the individual become employable. Counselors work with eligible individuals and their families to develop and implement a plan for training and placement. Depending on financial need, the DVRS may purchase other reha-bilitative services (eg, further evaluation or counseling; training at a vocational center or technical school; on-the-job training) from private providers. For more information call: 609-523-0330 (Wildwood)
• Plan to Achieve Self-Support (PASS) is a Social Security Administration program that offers a series of work incen-tives, including the retention of benefits while starting a business. Individuals receiving SSI may be able to acquire additional capital for small business start-up through a PASS. (A business plan is required.) For more information call: 609-889-3955 Ext. 105 (Rio Grande Social Security Administration Office)
• The NJ WorkAbility Program offers full New Jersey Medicaid health coverage to people with disabilities who are working, and whose earnings would otherwise make them ineligible for Medicaid. For more information call 1-888-285-3036.
• A new online resource, developed by the U.S. Department of Labor, is designed to help employers and employees understand their responsibilities under nondiscrimination laws and regulations. The Disability Nondiscrimination Law Advisor is accessed at www.dol.gov/elaws/odep.htm.
Pierson is the Coordinator of the Cape May County Office of Disability Services