Career Services For Persons With Disabilities in New York State Government
The New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) provides seamless and accessible services to all individuals in our Career Centers, including people with disabilities. It is the policy of NYSDOL and the State of New York to provide universal access and full participation in all of its programs, services, and activities.
Disability Resource Coordinators (DRCs)
As a result of NY SCION, there will soon be Disability Resource Coordinators (DRCs) available in nearly every local area across New York State.
Some examples of what DRCs do:
- Provide credentialed benefits advisement and work incentive counseling to job seekers who receive Social Security Administration (SSA) benefits (e.g., Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) via the Ticket to Work Program (TTW));
- Ensure job seekers with disabilities have access to necessary programs and services including career and training services offered through the Career Centers and Workforce Systems;
- Increase the number of individuals with disabilities, including SSA Beneficiaries interested in work, using the Career Center services system to participate in career pathways programs, including funded career pathways training;
- Advise the workforce development system on how to effectively promote the participation of individuals with disabilities in career pathways systems and programs;
- Promote the web-based career exploration tool, “Your Dream, Your Team.” This career exploration toolkit introduces the concept of Integrated Resource Teams, or IRTs. Integrated Resource Teams bring together a team of diverse service providers to strategize how employment services can be coordinated to reach and maintain an employment goal;
- Promote and support the concept of IRTs, which aids in the development a coordinated approach to employment-related service delivery across multiple services systems;
- Make sure that individuals with disabilities are able to access all the different programs and services they need, including career and training services offered through the Career Centers to participate in career pathways programs;
- Help the Career Center and surrounding career pathways programs and staff to serve individuals with disabilities;
- Assist and train Career Center staff, businesses, community colleges, and other training providers on topics including, but not limited to rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act, TTW, accommodations, assistive technology, and assessments;
- Identify and work with disability-related resources and partners to support collaboration around the employment and/or training goal(s) of job seekers with disabilities. Such partners could include but should not be limited to:
- NYS Education Department’s (NYSED) Adult Career and Continuing Education Services – Vocational Rehabilitation (ACCES-VR)
- NYS Office of Children and Family Services/NYS Commission for the Blind (OCFS/NYSCB);
- Coordinate with career pathway programs’ direct service delivery staff, including career coaches;
- Identify career, training, and employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities using assessments;
- Help to expand the workforce development system’s participation as an Employment Network (EN) under the TTW Program, including the assignment of appropriate Tickets to the Career Center under the New York Employment Services System (NYESS) Administrative Employment Network (AEN);
- Use best practices and available resources necessary for individuals with disabilities to fully participate in existing career pathway programs and to achieve their employment and/or training goal(s).