Volume 8, No. 2
Summer 2002

Go Home

Archive Articles:

Prisons and Southern Illinois

Consumer Price Index -- Revisited

Illinois Skills Match Upgrade

Illinois Wins a Second Work Incentive
Grant

Archives

Illinois Wins a Second Work Incentive Grant
by Antoinette Golden

Scanning equipment and audio browsers are just some of the technology being used to make One-Stops accessible.

Each year 23 Work Incentive Grants are awarded by the United States Department of Labor. Other state recipients include Indiana, Michigan, and Missouri. Illinois’ award will allow its One-Stop Centers to ensure that their customers with disabilities obtain complete career and employment services, thus increasing their potential of employment.

The recently granted $998,000 will be used to strengthen Illinois’ One-Stop System in the areas of technology and infrastructure. This project could benefit an estimated 342,000 unemployed individuals with disabilities in the state of Illinois. It will also ensure that all One-Stop Centers throughout the state are fully accessible to all of its customers. The 44 One-Stop Centers currently offer career counseling, labor market information, training referrals, job placement assistance and similar employment-related services. According to Chloe Frooninckx, a member of the Workforce Investment Board, the improvements have not been fully defined but are aimed at training staff and making One-Stop Centers more physically accessible. The improvement to the centers will take place over two years.

Origins of the Work Incentive Grant

The Work Incentive Grant is a result of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) signed by President Clinton in 1998. WIA is a comprehensive reform legislation that replaced the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) and amended the Wagner-Peyser Act. WIA also contains the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (title II) and the Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1998 (title IV).

The Workforce Investment Act was enacted to reform federal job training programs and create a new, comprehensive workforce investment system. The reformed system ensures that both individuals with and without disabilities have equal access to employment information that would allow them to manage their careers. It will also enable employers to find skilled workers through high-quality services. As a result of WIA, many states, including Illinois, have taken steps to improve their services, including building One-Stop Centers.

Goals of the Grant

Sometimes, one-on-one contact can be best at making an organization accessible. Here, Brooke Kind gives Electra Abad some arithmetic pointers.

In 2000, the Illinois Department of Human Services sought to accomplish four main tasks with the Workforce Incentive Grant. The 2002 grant will aid in the success of these goals. The first task centers around training programs, primarily targeted towards One-Stop staff and employers. These programs help build local awareness, by facilitating an ongoing information exchange regarding disability issues. Benefits planning and assistive technology are both big parts of these programs.

The second task targeted with the Workforce Incentive Grant money encompasses a wide range of technical assistance for those with disabilities. This includes an Internet-based assistance program. This program is being made available to One-Stop Centers, local employers, community providers, and citizens.

A third task entails outreach and marketing. A multi-media campaign to raise awareness for people with disabilities in the workforce is currently being developed — targeted to customers, employers, and communities.

And lastly, the One Stops are working on achieving full physical and informational accessibility. This goal is being attained by developing and implementing a related component in the One-Stop certification process. Basic assistive technology to meet minimum accessibility needs is also provided.

Accessibility in Action

In order to get a better feel for the ongoing improvements being made in accessibility for those with disabilities, a local One-Stop was contacted. The Pilsen Illinois Employment and Training Center, in Chicago, is expanding with an eye toward complete accessibility for its disabled customers in addition to the assistance offered as part of its general mission. Their resource center currently includes monitors and software suited for those with moderate sight impairment. The One-Stop’s library is equipped with scanning software, which can ‘read’ text, and an audio browser, that can relate that text back to the user. The audio browser can also be used to narrate web pages to visually impaired users.

In addition, physical changes are also being considered for the Pilsen building. The improvements being discussed include an addition of an accessable second floor and a child care facility to better serve the growing number of customers and employers.

There is another big step taking place at the Pilsen Illinois Employment and Training Center -- not related to software and hardware upgrades. Monthly job fairs are now being held. Their purpose is to match potential employees with employers that can accommodate special needs. The Pilsen Illinois Employment and Training Center in collaboration with the West Side Technical Institute will hold a major job fair on October 25, 2002, which is expected to bring 50-60 employers.

These are just some of the changes that are being made with the help of the Work Incentive Grant. Illinois is getting closer to providing accessible career and employment assistance to every citizen of the state. The diversity this will create in the workforce will only serve to make Illinois’ economy stronger and more stable.