W. Roy Grizzard, Ed.D
Plenary Address
“Living and Working in the Community” Conference
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
Baltimore, MD
March 4, 2003

Hello. I am Roy Grizzard, Assistant Secretary of the Office of Disability Employment Policy of the U.S. Labor Department.

I am sorry I could not be with you today, but my schedule calls for me to be out of town. However, I want to recognize the important role that each of you has in ensuring that people with disabilities are fully integrated into their communities.

I particularly want to acknowledge my colleagues, Martin Gerry from the Social Security Administration, and Bob Pasternack from OSERS. We are indeed fortunate to have these men of vision and expertise in their respective leadership roles. I look forward to working with them on a variety of initiatives.

I also want to speak about the opportunity we all have to create meaningful jobs for Americans with disabilities.

The word “opportunity” has an especially important meaning to me, for I have retinitis pigmentosa, and have been declared legally blind.
But that did not stop me from earning three degrees, or from serving in the field of education for over 25 years.

It did not keep me from running a large state agency, or from being appointed as the first Assistant Secretary on disability employment issues in the history of the country.

A large part of my success was because I came in contact with people who focused on my abilities – not on my disability. They gave me an opportunity to succeed and I took it.

President Bush is giving people with disabilities an opportunity to succeed through the New Freedom Initiative, which he announced in his first month in office.

The NFI represents the President’s strong commitment to integrating individuals with disabilities into all phases of daily life, including the world of work.

Under the strong leadership of Secretary Chao, the Department of Labor, through ODEP, has been given a significant share of the responsibility for fulfilling the promise of the New Freedom Initiative.

Although relatively new, ODEP has already committed millions of dollars in various initiatives. These are aimed at creating job opportunities and providing information we need to recommend policies to eliminate employment barriers, government-wide.

They include funding One Stop Career Centers, established under the Workforce Investment Act, to help build their capacity to serve people with disabilities. That includes serving people with multiple disabilities and complex needs.

We are also funding demonstration grants to integrate technology in local youth programs. And, we are funding three national centers to provide technical assistance to local service and government agencies.

Another NFI achievement is the recently launched DisabilityInfo.gov website.

This on-line resource for people with disabilities was operational within 60 days of the President’s directive to develop such a site – an unheard of accomplishment!

It stands as a shining example of the deep commitment of the President -- and Secretary Chao -- to make government more easily accessible to all Americans.

The site, staffed by ODEP, contains information on employment, job accommodations and state and regional assistance programs.

You can also find information on the latest assistive technology, Medicaid and Medicare, and even emergency preparedness.

These and other actions are geared toward one important goal – economic opportunity through meaningful work.

Work is important not just because it provides a paycheck, but because it defines who we are and what we do with our lives. No one should be denied that sense of satisfaction and identity, especially Americans with disabilities.

Those of you gathered here today stand in the forefront of system change. You are positioned to make a difference – to help the President make the goals of the New Freedom Initiative become reality.

But we need your input. We need to work together – in partnerships of various kinds -- to assist people with disabilities into realizing their full employment potential.

As we look ahead in ODEP, we see partnerships as key to many of our efforts. Let me give you a brief overview of these efforts:
We are working with the Employment and Training Administration on reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act. Our goal is to build the capacity of the workforce system to be able to serve everyone, including people with disabilities.

We also want to increase the choice and control people with disabilities have over the services, supports and outcomes they achieve through this system.

And, significantly, we want to bring to the table such systems as Medicaid, Social Security and Developmental Disabilities, which are not currently mandated WIA partners, but which are essential for streamlined service delivery to people with disabilities.

Our overall goal is to leverage and blend resources across the system for the benefit of the individual.

ODEP is also working with others, such as the Departments of Transportation and Housing and Urban Development, to expand needed employment supports, such as transportation, housing, assistive technology, health care and personal assistance.

We have funded customized employment initiatives in 15 states.

The term “customized employment” is important. It means individualizing the employment relationship between employees and employers based on a determination of the strengths, needs and interests of the person with a disability. It includes job development or restructuring strategies that result in responsibilities being individually negotiated to fit the needs of persons with a disability.

The notion of customization is essential for people with significant disabilities and complex needs to achieve choice-based employment. ODEP is working to introduce the notion of customization into the workforce system and the provider networks that are part of that system.

One of the requirements of these initiatives is to bring to the local workforce development table those systems that, while not mandated partners under the WIA, are essential to employment for people with disabilities.

We must develop a collaborative, multi-pronged approach to expanding customized employment nationally. Such efforts require the cooperation and collaboration of various government agencies, including RSA, SSA, SBA – and, of course, the Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services.

We are also working in collaboration with ETA and SSA to implement “navigators” in the One Stop Centers. These are individuals who are well versed in programs of various agencies and can, literally, help the individual navigate the system.

We are in our second year of funding Workforce Action grants. These allow community employment providers to provide individually designed, customized employment services to individuals transitioning into the community. They also help others with significant disabilities who require such assistance in order to participate in employment.

You see, at ODEP we believe that as people move to the community, they must have the choice to be able to work. And, the services and supports must be there to assist them in that goal.

As I mentioned earlier, we have funded three technical assistance initiatives. Two are focused specifically on providing technical assistance to the Workforce Development System regarding adults and youth with disabilities.

The third provides technical assistance to community rehabilitation providers who use sub-minimum wage certificates authorized under the Fair Labor Standards Act. ODEP’s goal is to work with these providers to evolve their programs so that they result in integrated employment situations for people with disabilities. These are the kinds of situations that will provide people with disabilities opportunity to increase their wage and employment choices, and even participate in career advancement possibilities.

ODEP initiatives are also targeting employment outcomes for youth with disabilities. We have funded 29 projects focused on youth transition. Our approach recognizes that there is not a single “system” for youth transitioning from school to postsecondary education and the world of work.

Youth with disabilities must navigate a maze of programs – many with different eligibility and performance measurement requirements. Our grants are seeking to identify effective practices and policies that will help state and local agencies move in the direction of a unified and integrated system for young people.

I don't believe one size fits all in the employment of people with disabilities. We need to explore a variety of opportunities for employment consistent with informed choice.

I recently met with CMS leadership to discuss our mutual areas of interest, and we had an excellent exchange.

I expect this productive collaboration to continue, and I look forward to expanded dialogue with CMS leaders. Our goals are important. And, together, we can make sure that the choice to work, and the choice of work, is available to all people.

In this way the government can truly come together to make the system work effectively.

In closing, let me repeat what President Bush is fond of saying – “In the end, what matters are the results.”

The staff at ODEP, the Secretary of Labor, and this President, will be listening to your ideas and concerns.

We will continue to lend support and act as a catalyst to reducing barriers to employment for those with disabilities.

But the federal government cannot do it alone.

With your help and guidance, we look forward to fostering a partnership that is truly working!

Thank you and best wishes for a successful conference.