NATIONAL DISABILITY BEST PRACTICE EMPLOYMENT LABORATORY

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Summary: Implement a National Disability Best Practice Employment Laboratory Internet Website to share with Federal, Tribal, State and local agencies that will result in increasiing employment for individuals with disabilities and efforts to meet government hiring goals"

August 22, 2012

SUBMISSION

TO IMPLEMENT A NATIONAL DISABILITY BEST PRACTICE EMPLOYMENT LABORATORY TO ADDRESS THE CHALLENGE TO USE PUBLICLY AVAILABLE INFORMATION, TOOLS, RESOURCES, AND EMPLOYMENT DATA TO BUILD TOOLS THAT PROMOTE THE EMPLOYMENT OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

THROUGH: Disability Employment App Challenge

BY:

Mildred Owens Social Security Administration 410-965-6451

SUBMISSION TO Establish a National Disability Best Practice Employment Laboratory TO ADDRESS THE CHALLENGE TO USE PUBLICLY AVAILABLE INFORMATION, TOOLS, RESOURCES, AND EMPLOYMENT DATA TO BUILD TOOLS THAT PROMOTE THE EMPLOYMENT OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1.0 Background Summary-Disability Employment App Challenge

2.0 Proposed Process to Identify and Establish Best Practice Disability Employment Laboratories

3.0 National Best Practice Disability Employment Laboratory Coordinators Important Key-Role Assignments

4.0 National Disability Best Practice Employment Laboratories Responsibility

5.0 Benefits of a National Disability Best Practices Laboratory Overall Program bjectives

Tab A –Examples of an Agencies National Disability Best Practices Laboratory

1.0 Background Summary Submission-Disability Employment App Challenge This submission is a request to establish National Disability Best Practice Employment Laboratories can provide Federal agencies nationwide an opportunity to share best practices and innovative ways on their hiring of people with disabilities and meeting Federal Government Hiring Goals. People with disabilities continue to be employed at much lower levels than people without disabilities the general population. “Promote Recruitment Resources for Employees. “According to the most recent data from the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (April 2012), people with disabilities had a 20.3% labor force participation rate compared to 69.1% for their non-disabled peers, and people with disabilities had an unemployment rate of 12.5% compared to 7.6% for their non-disabled peers. For minorities with disabilities, these disparities are even greater. This represents a significant loss of willing and able talent to the American workforce, a loss of income for people without jobs, and an economic loss to the American economy.” To improve and increase the hiring of people with disabilities and meet the challenges set out in the Wexecutive Order 13548 to meet Federal Government hiring goals, agencies, should establish disability best practice laboratories for each Agency on one website: “National Disability Best Practice Employment Laboratories (NDBPEL).” The “National Disability Best Practice Employment Laboratories” website could house all of the Federal, Tribal, State and Local agencies’ adopted best practices on what they have done to promote the President’s Executive order 13548 to become a model employer of individuals with disabilities. The “National Disability Best Practice Employment Laboratories” would provide agencies throughout the country new opportunities to participate in a unique agency program that will provide mulititudes of hiring benefits for all people with disabilities while helping hiring authority managers and directors in all agencies to learn about hiring and retaining people with disabilities.
2.0 Proposed Process to Identify and Establish National Best Practice Disability Employment Laboratories

Develop a National Disability Best Practice Employment Laboratories Website. Most Federal Agencies have access to the internet nationwide. These labs could consist of federal, tribal, state, and local government agencies across the country that have volunteered and designated by the National Disability Best Practice Employment Laboratory headquarters to share their best practices that resulted in the hiring and retaining of people with disabilities. The labs would cut through red tape for hiring and retaining people with disabilities and unleash innovations resulting in increased hiring of people with disabilities. The National Best Practice Disability Employment laboratories can lead the way and set the pace for Federal, Tribal, State, and Local agencies to hire and retain people with disabilities. The labs create an environment where federal workers and their partners have the freedom to experiment and can showcase innovations and best practice results. The labs can show all of us, government and non-government alike, the way to a future, common-sense government that can hire people with disabilities more efficiently and effectively.

The National Disability Best Practice Laboratories could be populated by the Best Practice reports cited in the GAO Report (GAO-12-568) May 2012 to Chairman, Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, U.S. Senate on Disability Employment Further Action Needed to Oversee Efforts to Meet Federal Government Hiring Goals by agencies. The Laboratory reports could outline the

All heads of participating agencies in the Executive Branch should assign Lab Coordinators who are dedicated to becoming a model employer for recruiting, employing and retaining people individuals with disabilities. The assigned Lab Coordinators would be responsible for monitoring, sharing, and sending the agency’s approved disabilitiy hiring and rentention policies and best practices to the National Best Practice Disability Employment Laboratories headquarters office that is responsible for coordinating all agency disability hiring and best practice policies which will be placed on the internet website for all Federal, Tribal, State and local agencies to see and review. This laboratory will be a learning center and useful for agencies to see how hiring people with disabilities is a win win for all agencies. Each National Best Practice Laboratory Agency Coordinator can monitor the internet website to see how they can recommend changes or improvements in the way their agency hire people with disabilities. The Lab Agency Coordinator is called upon to be creative, innovative and aggressively inclined to improve their agency’s hiring and retention practices for people with disabilities.

Why Become a Best Practice Disaiblity Employment Laboratory?

Organizations and activities that are designated as labs gain additional leverage and high visibility to help overcome the barriers, obstacles, and organizational resistance that often hinder an agency from hiring and retaining people with disabilities. All agencies that become a National Disability Employment Laboratory should have the opportunity to receive a Disability Award Contract Letter signed by the U.S. President and the Head of the Agency once a laboratory is established for an Agency to showcase their success in creating innovative ways to hire individuals with disabilities.. The labs can be empowered and the Lab Coordinators must be prepared to embark on what could be a life changing experience for hiring people with disabilities and a win win for all agencies in meeting their Federal Government hiring goals.

3.0 National Best Practice Disability Employment Laboratory Coordinators Important Key-Role Assignments The National Best Practice Disability Employment Laboratory quite simply cannot be conducted without the Coordinators who play a key role in the overall ouitcome of the National Best Practice Disability Employment Laboratories. The Coordinator has to hit the ground running and should be able to concentrate fully on the success of improving and increasing the number of employed and retained people with disabilities in their agency as outlined in the Executive Order 13548. The primary role of a National Best Practice Disability Employment Laboratory Coordinator is to:

• Provide critical support, guidance, and oversight to each of the Federal agencies they are assigned to have the opportunity to establish a best practice laboratory.
• Work directly with all Agency Heads or their represenatives, Federal Agency Disability Program Coordinators, Selective Placement Program coordinators, Partnership Councils, and volunteers to develop Best Practices that should be recommended for sharing on the Nationa Best Practice Disability Employment Laboratories to help maximize the number of people with disabilities hired in Federal government agencies.
• 4.0 National Disability Best Practice Employment Laboratories Responsibility

The National Disability Best Practice Employment Laboratories should have a Lab Coordinator headquartered by an office that is part of the U.S. President or Vice President’s office. This Coordinator’s office should receive all Agency requests for their Best Practices to be included on the National Disability Best Practice Employment Website. This Lab Coordinator will make certain that the contract between the U.S. President or Vice President and Agency Head be signed by the U.S. President or Vice President to ratify the that the agency’s best practices will be placed on the National Disabilitiy Best Practice Employment Laboratory Website. This website should also be maintained by the National Disability Best Practice Employment Laboratory Coodinator’s office responsible for maintaining and updating the website with approved best practices.

5.0 Benefits to Overall Federal, Tribal, State, and Local Agencies Who want to Become A Model Employer of Individuals with disabilities

5.1 Sets an example for small and large Federal agencies to help the employers improve their systems to hire people with disabilities.

5.2 Provides the highest quality and offer the unique opportunity for federal employers share best practices around the country which has a great impact on encouraging Federal agency employers to meet their Federal Government Hiring Goals outlined in the Executive Order 13548 committing the Federal Government to become a model employer of individuals with disabilities.

5.3 Receives national public recognition for sharing best practices for hiring individuals with disabilities, specifically designed to accomplish this recognition.

5.4 Gains Opportunity to develop employee leadership potential.

5.5 Brings a successful conclusion to the recruitment of individuals with disabilities for each Federal agency, which results in increased employment and retention of individuals with disabilities.

5.6 Allows agency leadership and hiring authorities to participate in a win-win situation for the employee and the agency that is worth the return on the investment for the National Disability Best Practice Employment Laboratory.

5.7 The National Disability Best Practice Employment Laboratory will market, promote, and will greatly aid in helping agencies learn about the purpose of the Executive Order 13548 committing the Federal Government to become a model employer of individuals with disabilities. This Laboratory will have an impact on increasing the participation and number of Federal, Tribal, State, and local agencies that will employ individuals with disabilities.

5.8 GAO can be the first to populate the best practices they obtained from agencies in their report GAO-12-568, May 20-12.

5.9 Agency leaders and hiring authorities will receives a great developmental and diversification of ideas on how to employ and retain individuals with disabilities.

5.10 Opportunity to enhance developing ability to drive results and increase customer service and partnerships to increase employment for individudals with disabilities

5.11 Agencies can build business processes from documents that show how to recruit and train agencies to increase employment for people with disabilities who are unfamiliar with the project.

5.12 GAO could develop a chart similar to the FY 2011 Table 3 chart of Executive Agencies and their outcomes for hiring people with disabilities.

I thank you and looking forward to your consideration to this Submission.

Respectfully submitted,

Mildred Owens 3321 Greenmead Road Windsor Mill, MD 21244 410-965-6451

TAB A EXAMPLE OF AN AGENCIES NATIONAL DISABILITY BEST PRACTICES LABORATORY Veteran Administration Department/Agency: Agency Lab Coordinator FY: 2012

Federal Agencies National Disability Best Practices Employment Laboratories

Mission Statement

The mission of the Agency to show commitment to become model employer of individuals with disabilities

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Customers and Stakeholders:

Worked in partnership with:
Number of individuals with disabilities hired Month Hired: Best Practices Used to implement increasing employment of individuals with disabilities:

• Demonstrated top leadership commitment. (Share how this was demonstrated) • Single point of contact to help ensure that employees with disabilities have access to information that is comparable to that provided to those without disabilities. • Holds senior managers accountable for meeting hiring goals by including targets in their contracts. • Agency requires training for managers and supervisors on procedures for hiring individuals with disabilities (show specific training). • Agency requires that all employees receive training on the legal rights of individuals with disabilities (should show specific title of training in order to get points for the training required).

Obstacles you would like for agencies to address for hiring employees with disabilties: (List any obstacles and contact information) The National Disability Best Practice Laboratories should be able to enter the answer on the website in this same area as a response to the request)

Agency Response: (Place name of agency that responded) Agency should have recognition for responding) Obstacle Response: (Place response to obstacle here)