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Holcomb, P., & Barnow, B. (2004). Serving people with disabilities through the Workforce Investment Act's One-Stop Career Centers. Washington, D.C.: Urban Institute.
Abstract
This report examines the extent to which people with disabilities are served by the One-Stop system. Drawing on administrative data, prior studies, and key informant interviews, the study identifies barriers to service and promising strategies for improvement.
Barriers include lack of physical and programmatic access to One-Stop centers, staff ignorance about how to identify and serve customers with disabilities, and inappropriate referral of customers to state vocational rehabilitation agencies. Programmatic constraints include time and dollar limits on training One-Stop customers, and performance standards relating to employment, earnings, and credentials of customers who exit the program, without allowances for serving customers who face discrimination and other systemic barriers to employment.
However, there is a general consensus that, overall, the One-Stop system has made significant progress in reducing barriers to physical access and addressing special accommodation needs. There is also a widespread perception that One-Stops must make efforts to ensure programmatic access, not just physical and technological access. Federal initiatives such as Work Inventive Grants, Disability Program Navigator grants, and Customized Employment Grants, in particular, have helped make One-Stops more accessible and responsive to customers with disabilities.
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