Institute States

Connecticut

The Connecticut team plans to develop strategic actions that leverage the services of multiple government agencies to build a more integrated continuum of career development supports for adults with disabilities, as well as create stronger alliances with workforce and employer needs. The state will focus specific high-growth, industry-related building efforts in southwestern Connecticut through The Workplace Inc., the state's southwest regional Workforce Investment Board.

Maryland

The team from Maryland will develop strategic actions that result in stronger coordination with the state's economic development, workforce development, and disability employment systems to better integrate training and preparation programs for adults with disabilities. The state will focus on identifying and linking job seekers with disabilities to anticipated job growth in and around Prince George's, Harford, and Anne Arundel counties as a result of military base expansion plans.

News from Maryland:

Maryland Adopts Universal Design Resolution

Secretary Catherine Raggio of the Maryland Department of Disabilities, and leader of the NTAR Leadership Center's State Leaders Innovation Institute Maryland team, announced that on September 16, 2009, the Maryland Governors Workforce Investment Board (GWIB) approved a resolution supporting the implementation of universal design principles in the state's One-Stop Centers.

“The State of Maryland is committed to providing our citizens the most inclusive environment possible,” said Secretary Raggio. “The decision to apply universal design principles to One-Stop Career Centers is consistent with Governor O’Malley’s belief that there is ‘no spare Marylander’ and that all of our citizens should have equal access and opportunity for career programs and services offered throughout the state.”

The resolution recognizes that Maryland’s workforce development system, including the local Workforce Investment Boards and One-Stop Career Centers, serve a diverse range of customers, including individuals with disabilities. Therefore, it is critical to design services to benefit job seekers who possess a wide range of learning styles, languages, educational levels, intelligences, and abilities.

To help implement the resolution, the NTAR Leadership Center will be providing technical assistance resources to Maryland through the Institute for Community Inclusion at University of Massachusetts.

Read more about the resolution.

Minnesota

The Minnesota team will build on important recent work taking place in the state to integrate adults with disabilities into the design and implementation of state economic growth activities. Minnesota will look to build on existing models that work to move youth with disabilities into jobs in the manufacturing sector by adapting these models to adults, and expanding the model to other high-growth sectors in the state.

Click here to read a summary of the preliminary action plans for all three states.