State of the Workforce
Herkimer, Madison and Oneida Counties

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Individuals With Disabilities

Key Factors

Unemployment for individuals with disabilities ranges well above 50% across the region.

An increasing number of individuals with disabilities are graduating from high school with both higher skills and higher expectations than in the past.
Although the business environment is generally accessible to individuals with disabilities, misperceptions endure about the cost of compliance with the Americans With Disabilities Act.

At a time when employers need to find creative ways to deal with positions, customized employment strategies that can give part-time employment to individuals with disabilities offers a tremendous opportunity to create a win-win situation.

Policy Actions

The WIB is currently operating two projects to increase employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities: a Work Incentive Grant to improve service delivery in the region’s One-Stop Centers and a Customized Employment Grant to change both how the system works with people with disabilities and to increase the numbers of people employed through customized employment strategies.

The WIB and Oneida County Workforce Development are reaching out to populations with multiple barriers to employment, including the homeless and ex-offenders, to ensure that all people with the potential for success are working and to reduce the costs of government support to individuals who can become self-sufficient with the right supportive network.

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