Disability Employment

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New Jersey

Employment First

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Advancing New Jersey’s Employment First Practices and Policies

Language

English

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Excerpt

In 2012, New Jersey became an Employment First state to “proactively promote competitive employment in the general workforce for people with any type of disability.” New Jersey is currently one of 39 states with an Employment First policy. In spite of this policy shift toward Employment First, the mainstream labor force participation rate for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities in New Jersey has not significantly increased and continues to lag behind national trends. To address this issue, in March 2021, the New Jersey Council on Developmental Disabilities contracted with the Heldrich Center for Workforce Development to evaluate New Jersey’s Employment First policies and practices, and to develop recommendations and an advocacy plan to increase meaningful competitive employment for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in New Jersey. This work was done in partnership with the Institute for Community Inclusion at the University of Massachusetts Boston.

The Heldrich Center is pleased to share the results of this study, including an executive summary and action plan in both English and Spanish as well as a longer, more detailed research report.

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The Heldrich Center is pleased to share the results of an evaluation of New Jersey’s Employment First policies and practices.

Evaluation of the National Employer Assistance and Resource Network on Disability Inclusion (EARN)

admin — Mon, 26 Oct 2020 23:17:09 +0000

Evaluation of the National Employer Assistance and Resource Network on Disability Inclusion (EARN)

Topic

technical assistance center

employment research

Workforce Policy & Practice

admin Mon, 10/26/2020 - 23:17

Published Date

October 3, 2019

Status

Current

Funded By

U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy through the Cornell Yang-Tan Institute at the School of Industrial and Labor Relations

Work Category

workers with disabilities

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Excerpt

In 2019, the U.S. Office of Disability Employment Policy awarded Cornell’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations’ Yang-Tan Institute a four-year agreement to operate an employer-focused disability and employment research, policy development, and technical assistance center. The Heldrich Center is one of several partners in the Cornell consortium. The Heldrich Center serves as the independent evaluator for the major activities in the EARN project over the course of four consecutive years. The primary purpose of the evaluation activities under the EARN consortium is to develop data-driven feedback loops so improvements can be continuously made to improve outcomes, and ultimately the overall goal of the project: to increase the capacity of employers to recruit, hire, retain, and advance people with disabilities

Tagline

The Heldrich Center serves as the independent evaluator for the major activities in the EARN project over the course of four consecutive years.

Evaluation of the EmployMe! Training Program for People with Disabilities

admin — Mon, 26 Oct 2020 23:17:07 +0000

Evaluation of the EmployMe! Training Program for People with Disabilities

Topic

employment program

Information Technology

computers

admin Mon, 10/26/2020 - 23:17

Published Date

January 1, 2007

Status

Funded By

Conducted for the New Jersey Institute of Technology with funding from the Kessler Foundation

Work Category

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Excerpt

From 2007 to 2009, the Heldrich Center conducted an evaluation of the EmployMe! program established by the New Jersey Institute of Technology under a grant from the Kessler Foundation. The EmployMe! program provided training to individuals with disabilities to help them obtain information technology jobs. The center’s evaluation featured a quasi-experimental design that compared the employment outcomes of participants with those of similar individuals who did not participate in the program. The Heldrich Center also used a questionnaire to obtain feedback from individuals participating in the program.

Tagline

Evaluation of training program for persons with disabilities.

Evaluation of the Brain Injury Association of New Jersey's Collaborative Approach for Vocational Services for People with Brain Injuries

admin — Mon, 26 Oct 2020 23:17:06 +0000

Evaluation of the Brain Injury Association of New Jersey's Collaborative Approach for Vocational Services for People with Brain Injuries

Topic

brain injury

reemployment

employment outcomes

admin Mon, 10/26/2020 - 23:17

Published Date

January 1, 2007

Status

Funded By

Kessler Foundation through a grant to the Brain Injury Association of New Jersey

Work Category

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Excerpt

Between 2007 and 2009, the Heldrich Center worked with the Brain Injury Association of New Jersey and its partners to evaluate a pilot service delivery model that addresses the unique needs of people with brain injuries and improves their potential for a positive return to work. This model, established as part of the Improving Employment Outcomes for People with Brain Injuries program, was evaluated by Heldrich Center researchers to inform the development of three additional project partner collaboratives. The center's initial evaluation activities looked to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the existing model and make recommendations for its improvement. This information was used to improve the model as well as inform the development of new collaboratives within New Jersey. Later evaluation efforts included measuring the effectiveness of the model toward moving individuals with brain injuries to employment.

Tagline

Evaluation of a pilot service delivery model that addresses the unique needs of people with brain injuries and improves their potential for a positive return to work.

Evaluation of a Vocational Model for Persons with Severe Mental Illness in Somerset County, New Jersey

admin — Mon, 26 Oct 2020 23:17:06 +0000

Evaluation of a Vocational Model for Persons with Severe Mental Illness in Somerset County, New Jersey

Topic

vocational education

mental illness

Somerset County

employment assistance

admin Mon, 10/26/2020 - 23:17

Published Date

January 1, 2015

Status

Funded By

Somerset County, NJ and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

Work Category

(OLD) Related Experts

William Mab

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Excerpt

The Heldrich Center contracted with Somerset County in central New Jersey to conduct an independent evaluation of the Mental Health Association in New Jersey's (MHANJ) model for assisting people with mental illnesses to become employed. MHANJ implemented supported employment supplemented by a support network of peer counselors who worked with people with serious and persistent mental illness to help them return to work. The evaluation provided feedback to MHANJ on what aspects of the program were and were not functioning effectively, and recommended ways that the program might be strengthened. The evaluation also calculated employment outcomes of the individuals that the program served to learn whether they experienced positive earnings gains.

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Evaluation of a model to assist people with mental illnesses to become employed.

Evaluation of the PepsiCo Achieving Change Together Employment Innovation Initiative

admin — Mon, 26 Oct 2020 23:17:05 +0000

Evaluation of the PepsiCo Achieving Change Together Employment Innovation Initiative

Topic

Workforce Policy & Practice

admin Mon, 10/26/2020 - 23:17

Published Date

December 11, 2015

Status

Funded By

A grant from the Kessler Foundation and the Poses Foundation.

Work Category

workers with disabilities

(OLD) Related Experts

Laurie Harrington

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Excerpt

From 2014 to 2016, the Heldrich Center conducted an implementation evaluation for the Kessler Foundation and the Poses Foundation of the Achieving Change Together (ACT) Employment Innovation Initiative, a corporate disability and inclusion project designed to increase the number of qualified employees with disabilities working for PepsiCo, and to improve their employment outcomes and career experiences. With assistance from the national not-for-profit Ability Beyond, Inc., PepsiCo implemented the ACT initiative in eight pilot sites across the nation, with specific components of the model replicated at each site. These components were designed to improve the application, screening, ranking, interviewing, hiring, and onboarding processes as well as retention at PepsiCo. The Heldrich Center conducted a process evaluation of the program and collected data through employee and hiring manager surveys, interviews with program operators as well as through the analysis of participant data collected by Ability Beyond.

Tagline

Evaluation of a corporate project designed to increase the number of employees with disabilities working for PepsiCo.

Evaluation of Kessler Foundation Signature Employment Grant Grantees

admin — Mon, 26 Oct 2020 23:17:04 +0000

Evaluation of Kessler Foundation Signature Employment Grant Grantees

Topic

employment programs

persons with disabilities

admin Mon, 10/26/2020 - 23:17

Published Date

January 1, 2010

Status

Current

Funded By

Kessler Foundation

Work Category

(OLD) Related Experts

Laurie Harrington

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Excerpt

Since 2010, the Heldrich Center has served as the primary evaluator for the Kessler Foundation, performing regular evaluations of the foundation’s Signature Employment Grant Program grantees located across the United States. The center is using tested evaluation approaches to provide feedback to the Kessler Foundation on the effectiveness of the grant programs in meeting their stated goals and to provide feedback to grantees about the best ways to establish and manage their programs in order to maximize the probability that people with disabilities will be employed upon program completion. The Heldrich Center has completed program evaluations of 31 grantees since 2010 and is currently evaluating 8 grantees.

Tagline

Evaluations of disability employment programs funded by the Kessler Foundation.

Evaluation of Kessler Foundation Community Employment Grant Grantees

admin — Mon, 26 Oct 2020 23:17:04 +0000

Evaluation of Kessler Foundation Community Employment Grant Grantees

Topic

Workforce Policy & Practice

admin Mon, 10/26/2020 - 23:17

Status

Funded By

Kessler Foundation

Work Category

(OLD) Related Experts

Laurie Harrington

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Excerpt

In 2015, the Heldrich Center was requested by the Kessler Foundation to begin performing regular evaluations of the foundation’s Community Employment Grant Program grantees, which are largely located in New Jersey. Similar to the center’s evaluations of the Kessler Foundation’s Signature Employment Grants, researchers used tested evaluation approaches to provide feedback to the Kessler Foundation on the effectiveness of the grant programs in meeting their stated goals and to provide feedback to grantees about the best ways to establish and manage their programs in order to maximize the probability that people with disabilities will be employed upon program completion. The Heldrich Center evaluated seven grantees.

Tagline

Evaluations of Kessler Foundation's disability employment grantees.

National Research for the EARN Network

admin — Mon, 26 Oct 2020 23:16:58 +0000

National Research for the EARN Network

Topic

employment

EARN

Cornell University

admin Mon, 10/26/2020 - 23:16

Published Date

July 11, 2011

Status

Funded By

A grant from Cornell University and the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy

Work Category