State Projects to be Awarded

Illinois

Lead Agency: Department of Human Services, Office of Rehabilitation Services

Project Name: Putting the Pieces Together for Employment

Initial Year Funds Approved: $328,000

Target Population: SSDI/SSI recipients with disabilities, both adults and high school students

Abstract: This project proposes four separate employment pilots, which will serve 160 people with various disabilities. The outcome is to enable people with disabilities who currently receive SSI or SSDI and Medicaid to improve the quality of their lives through employment, affordable housing, self-determination, and access to health care. Illinois will test implementation of Section 4733 of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (the state option to permit workers with disabilities to buy into Medicaid) in all four pilot sites. The first pilot will focus on adults with physical disabilities who are graduating from college. The second pilot will use new money generated by the state legislature to develop a pilot voucher program under the Office of Developmental Disabilities (ODD). A third pilot will test a voucher program in one site, which will allow customers of the Office of Rehabilitation Services (ORS) to use vouchers to pay for employment supports. The fourth pilot will test new collaborative efforts with ORS and the Office of Mental Health in securing and retaining employment with supports.

This proposal shows good collaboration among State agencies and involvement of consumers/advocates. It builds on two existing initiatives -- vouchers for recent high school graduates and linkage to health care and housing.

Sites: Champaign, Carbondale, DuPage County, Chicago, and Rockford

Iowa

Lead Agency: Department of Human Services

Project Name: Public Assistance: A Bridge to Employment, Not an Anchor to Dependency

Initial Year Funds Approved: $425,196

Target Population: SSA beneficiaries

Abstract: This project will coordinate and enhance infrastructures to encourage the employment of people with disabilities through four objectives. First, the project will develop a Public/Private Partnership Group to re-engineer the system. It will establish partnerships with businesses to address workforce shortage in Iowa through employment of SSA beneficiaries. Third, it will use a network of peer consultants in the Employment Access Resource Network to give beneficiaries immediate access to employment counseling. Finally, the project includes a third-party evaluation to track and evaluate project activities.

The project involves many partners, including business and community college involvement, and proposes to establish a loan fund for qualified beneficiaries.

Sites: North Iowa Area Community College District and Kirkwood Community College District

New York

Lead Agency: State Department of Labor

Project Name: New York Works: Self-Sufficiency through Employment Initiatives

Initial Year Funds Approved: $683,604

Target Population: SSDI/SSI beneficiaries; initially seriously mentally ill, in year 3, expansion to other disability populations

Abstract: New York will use the first year of funding to implement a design team involving State, Federal, and local agencies to: conduct a feasibility study using leading employment and disabilities researchers; develop local coalitions in pilot areas; and host an Employment Summit in cooperation with corporate stakeholders. In the second year, the project will begin direct services to individuals with psychiatric illnesses in two project sites. No waivers are proposed.

Sites: New York City and Buffalo