THE TICKET TO HIRE E-NEWSLETTER

A monthly E-News update for employers and providers committed to creating opportunities for people with disabilities.

Vol. 2, No. 11     Dec 2003 / Jan 2004

Disability employment news from the U.S. Department of Labor:

On December 11, Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao and Small Business Administration Administrator Hector V. Barreto signed a Strategic Alliance Memorandum (SAM) designed to help people with disabilities establish small businesses and also to increase their opportunities for employment with small businesses.

“This strategic alliance memorandum creates a new partnership that will benefit small business employers and employees, people with disabilities and ultimately, our country as a whole,” said Chao.

EARN Participates in Perspectives on Employment of Persons with Disabilities Conference

In December, EARN attended the 22nd annual Perspectives Conference held to celebrate and promote continued federal sector employment of people with disabilities.

The three-day conference, which was hosted by seven government agencies, brought together federal managers and people interested in employment issues concerning people with disabilities. The event's agenda addressed changes affecting federal sector employment, including the current economy, government outsourcing and staff reduction.

Perspectives also featured 22 workshops to give attendees an opportunity to get the latest information on disability employment policy; new technology and accommodations; and resources on employment opportunities for people with disabilities. EARN is one of those resources.

EARN Program Manager Lisa Lahrman, Department of Labor Office of Disability Employment Policy, and Debbie Morrison, who runs the Social Security Administration's Ticket to Hire Program, led a joint workshop on the recruiting services.

Jane Rath, who oversees the day-to-day operation of EARN, was part of the trio to discuss EARN's goal and why it is useful for employers.

“Our goal is to increase opportunities for people with disabilities and to provide a recruiting tool for employers seeking to hire people with disabilities,” explained Rath.

EARN was launched in March 2001 as a service of the Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy. Since its inception, the program has served both federal and private industry employers nationwide by working with its network of providers to match qualified job candidates with hiring entities.

EARN currently has 21 federal employers enrolled in its program. Many learned about EARN by attending conferences such as the Perspectives Conference.

“Each year we come to Perspectives, we have the opportunity to provide one more agency an opportunity to learn who we are and how we can help them meet their employment needs,” said Rath. “And by coming, we get new information that helps keep us aware of hiring trends and issues.”

Conference sponsors:

• Department of Labor
• Department of Agriculture
• Department of Health and Human Services
• Department of Defense
• Environmental Protection Agency
• Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
• National Institutes of Health/National Institute on Drug Abuse

Attention employers:

Many of you participate in both EARN and Ticket to Hire. Please note the Ticket to Hire e-mail address has changed. The new address is tickettohire@earnworks.com . Please use this address to forward job postings and for any other e-mail correspondence with Ticket to Hire.

If you are enrolled in EARN and interested in participating in Ticket to Hire, log on to www.earnworks.com/tth.asp to learn more about the program. You can also call us toll free at 1-866-TTW-HIRE (1-866-889-4473) or reach us by fax at (703) 448-7545 .

Thank you for your continued participation in EARN and Ticket to Hire!

EARN is a nationwide cost-free referral and technical assistance service for employers. EARN connects employers who have job vacancies to employment service providers who have direct access to job-ready individuals with disabilities. For information on how to enroll, access the EARN Web site at www.earnworks.com or call us toll free at 1-866-Earn Now (1-866-327-6669) . Fax EARN at (703) 448-7545 .