Case study on Disability Collaborative, Feb. 2010

Here's some particulars about the case study mentioned below:

Right now, there are many systems that can provide employment services to people with disabilities. Service agencies have programs specifically geared at that population. One-stop career centers are available to everyone and sometimes have some support for clients with disabilities. Each of these organizations wants relationships with businesses that will translate into job placements - that's their mission, and those outcomes determine their funding.

The strong incentive to get placements means that organizations tend to be protective of their business contacts. This new collaborative effort (funded on a 2.5 year grant) is intended to create systems change around employment systems for people with disabilities. This will require different behaviors, both between organizations that provide job placement services (sharing more information about businesses and clients) and between those organizations and businesses.
The collaborative wants to involve businesses as full participants. To do so, we have to create an organization that provides businesses with value for their time. The ODSC group provided ideas, some of which are noted in the next post.