Listen to this articleOctober’s National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) is an apt time to consider the state of employment for people with disabilities.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2023, 22.5 percent of people with a disability were employed: the highest recorded ratio since 2008. The data also reveals that unemployment rates were much higher for people with a disability than for those with no disability; workers with a disability were nearly twice as likely to work part time as compared with workers with no disability.
Still, there are some optimistic trends, notes Chris Rosa, president and CEO of The Viscardi Center of Albertson.
Many companies looking at their talent pipeline challenges are beginning to realize that people with disabilities are an underleveraged resource and the cost for accommodating them is negligible.
“People with disabilities are not only extraordinarily productive, but they’re very loyal, so they have higher retention rates as compared with the general population of U.S. workers,” Rosa said.
Remote work: a positive development
Serving people throughout the region and nationally, The Viscardi Center works on career readiness through a variety of programs and job placement.
One of Viscardi’s signature programs is its award-winning culinary curriculum for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
“There’s a real unmet need on Long Island and beyond for trained culinary and hospitality workers,” said Rosa. “Our graduates of this program are in such demand that we have a 100 percent placement rate.”
Looking ahead at economic growth sectors to determine where the best opportunities might be, The Viscardi Center is zeroing in on small business and entrepreneurship through an initiative with Iona and Hofstra universities.
“We’re optimistic that we’re going to create a pipeline for new business development that will allow people with disabilities to take their rightful place in the entrepreneurship sector,” Rosa said.
Post COVID, remote work has become a more universally accepted practice.
“The greater tolerance and appreciation for remote work has opened up a range of different employment opportunities for people with disabilities and those mitigate a lot of problems, like transportation barriers and other barriers that might occur at job sites,” Rosa said.
From referrals to jobs
Through Maryhaven—one of the six affiliates of Kinexion—people with disabilities find a range of employment, from packaging and assembly work at Maryhaven to working at various stores and restaurants, notes Charles Vanek, executive director of the Port Jefferson Station-based organization.
Working with people referred from ACCES-VR, Maryhaven assesses their abilities and skills and whether they need additional training, explains Amanda Dondero, director of Maryhaven’s Integrated Business Center Services.
At its 25,000-square-foot integrated business center in Yaphank, Maryhaven provides training in porter/maintenance, packing and assembly, clerical, hydroponics, warehouse and document imaging work.
Once people are ready to work in the community, a job developer from the organization’s supportive work department helps with resumes, interviews, and orientation.
“Last year we had over 70 placements within our local community with jobs of varying levels,” said Dondero, adding that employees can also be assigned job coaches.
Switching from the small workshop model to an integrated business center in 2017, Maryhaven is currently the only provider on Long Island that’s completed that process, notes Vanek.
“It allows us to have disabled and non-disabled people working side by side,” said Vanek, adding that their comprehensive services also provide employment for those with more severe intellectual disabilities.
A service to community
Work is more than a paycheck, avers Jim McCann, founder and chairman of Smile Farms of Jericho.
“It’s who you are. It’s what you are. It’s social. And these people didn’t have any of those other components,” said McCann, who founded 1-800-Flowers, and has a developmentally disabled brother who works at the organization’s Moriches campus. “We’re trying to do our little part to create opportunities for a lot of people.”
Today, with 13 different campuses around New York, Smile Farms employs 375 people growing plants—including peppers—which they turn into hot sauce. Many people who’ve learned job skills at Smile Farms have gone on to jobs in the hospitality industry, including at Tom Colicchio’s restaurants, notes McCann.
“From the very beginning, we felt that there were a lot of opportunities for our people in the nursery industry,” said Walter Stockton, president and CEO of Kinexion, who had the idea for Smile Farms.
Jobs for the disabled are also invaluable to the community, notes Stockton.
“People who shop and buy plants and things see that they’re really an integral part of that program and that they can provide a great service to the community,” he shares. “They get to know the people. They get to help them out to the car. It’s a big complete circle.”
Finding jobs for individuals
Through funding from the state’s Department of Education’s ACCES-VR, ACLD Health Services Center of Bethpage helps support people with disabilities with employment evaluations and goals, interview prep, resume assistance, onboarding and job coaches.
A second source of funding comes through the state’s OPWDD–Office of People with Developmental Disabilities—for job coaching throughout the duration of the job.
“That’s the program, which is called Supportive Employment,” said Jeanie Shelton, assistant director of vocational services for ACLD.
Supporting 327 people annually through its various services, ACLD helps people with disabilities in childcare, foodservice, manufacturing, schools, healthcare, eldercare, entertainment, the legal field, insurance and supermarket jobs.
“We look at each individual person to look at where their strengths are, what their goal is for employment and help them to come up with a plan that will align with their goal,” said Shelton, adding that they also help people transition to different jobs. “In this group of developmentally disabled people they’re really looking at career opportunities as opposed to maybe that entry level job being the life of their career.”
ACLD’s annual job fair, Talent Connection Job Expo, in collaboration with FREE, will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Oct. 29 at the Town of Oyster Bay Ice Skating Center in Bethpage.