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"A few years ago in Illinois, we
had a largely untapped work force of dedicated, qualified and
valuable employees," said Department of Human Services Secretary
Carol L. Adams, Ph.D. "Over the past four years we've made great
progress in utilizing those resources by putting good people to
work. We're pleased that the federal government has recognized
Illinois' commitment to helping businesses hire workers with
disabilities. The additional funding will mean another 70 or more
people with disabilities will get jobs and become Illinois
taxpayers." Adams said the $700,000 in federal funding is for the
vocational rehabilitation program administered by the Department of
Human Services, Division of Rehabilitation Services. The program
provides counseling, job placement and other services to assist
customers in finding quality employment and a living wage.
Adams and the Division of Rehabilitation Services director,
Robert F. Kilbury, Rh.D., are honoring numerous companies this month
for their commitment to hiring people with disabilities. Recognition
events are being organized by many of the department's 50 field
offices. Employers were selected to receive awards for their
willingness to hire, retain and promote significant numbers of
people with disabilities in quality jobs.
"We want to personally thank all employers who have hired
individuals with a disability," said Kilbury. "The positive
relationships our DRS staff has cultivated with many employers
throughout Illinois have helped thousands of people with
disabilities to become self-sufficient members of society. I
encourage other Illinois companies to follow the example of these
businesses and join us in building a stronger work force."
In the past four years, 27,619 Illinoisans with disabilities
entered into competitive employment, according to statistics from
DHS/DRS. Each vocational rehabilitation customer who became employed
in fiscal 2006 is expected to earn approximately $11,770 more per
year after receiving services. Based on this estimate, DRS customers
who became employed in fiscal 2006 can expect to earn a total of $58
million more in the next year than their level of earnings prior to
coming to DRS. In addition to helping these individuals move toward
becoming self-sufficient, the tax revenue generated by these
earnings has an estimated value of more than $6 million.
According to DHS/DRS statistics, the average hourly wage for DRS
customers has steadily increased from $8.36 in 2003 to $9.44 in
2006. Equally important, the percentage of people with disabilities
who receive employer-provided health insurance increased from 27
percent in 2003 to 30 percent in 2006.
In May, Blagojevich celebrated the kickoff of "Disabilityworks,"
a unique public-private collaboration with the Chicagoland Chamber
of Commerce, city of Chicago and a number of other partners to
increase the economic and employment opportunities for people with
disabilities. The initiative, which will eventually be expanded
statewide, is helping to connect employers with prospective
employees with disabilities. To facilitate inclusive secondary and
postsecondary education programs, it targets youth with
disabilities. The governor has provided almost $650,000 in support
of this initiative.
Blagojevich has also supported the
Health Benefits
for Workers with Disabilities initiative, which helps people
with disabilities return to work with full health care benefits.
Many people with disabilities fear that a return to work means
losing Medicaid health care coverage, because private insurance is
costly and difficult or impossible to obtain. The initiative allows
people with disabilities to return to work with full Medicaid health
care benefits, which not only encourages enrollees to work, but also
increases the number of hours they are working. In Illinois, the
program allows individuals with income between 100 percent and 200
percent of the federal poverty level to receive a medical card by
paying a monthly premium based on their income.
During this administration, the number of wheelchairs approved or
repaired by the Illinois Department of Health and Family Services
has also increased significantly. The department pays for
customized, motorized wheelchairs. In the past, there were reports
of delays in Medicaid-eligible nursing home residents getting
medically requested wheelchairs. However, since 2003, a record
number of 2,711 individuals received wheelchairs or had existing
custom chairs repaired.
[to top of second column] |
 Last month, the Department of Human Services announced the
appointment of Dan Dickerson of Springfield to the position of
manager for the disability recruitment program. Dickerson will work
with managers in the department and at Central Management Services
to increase the number of people with disabilities who are hired by
the state's largest agency.
As Illinois' lead division serving individuals with disabilities,
the Division of Rehabilitation Services helps people with
disabilities prepare for and find quality employment that pays a
living wage and offers opportunities for advancement. DRS works
closely with employers through its corporate business partner
initiative to match them with qualified individuals with the skills
and qualities they need. DRS also offers a wide range of support
services to assist eligible individuals with disabilities in
obtaining and maintaining employment.
For more information about hiring people with disabilities and
about other services provided by DHS/DRS, call 1-800-843-6154 or TTY
1-800-447-6404.
A copy of the governor's proclamation follows:
WHEREAS, people with disabilities
represent a largely untapped workforce of dedicated, qualified,
valuable employees; and
WHEREAS, people with disabilities are
leaders in major businesses and corporations throughout the state of
Illinois; and
WHEREAS, Illinoisans with disabilities
have an unemployment rate of nearly 70 percent, even though 7 out of
10 unemployed working-age citizens with disabilities indicate that
they would prefer to work; and
WHEREAS, most citizens with
disabilities in Illinois live in poverty at a rate roughly three
times the state average; and
WHEREAS, Illinois is home to over five
hundred local and statewide Corporate Business Partners who have
partnered with the Division of Rehabilitation Services to assist
Illinois residents with disabilities in attaining stable employment
that leads to economic self-sufficiency; and
WHEREAS, there are numerous tax
credits and deductions for Illinois employers to hire and provide
accommodations to qualified workers with disabilities; and
WHEREAS, the Illinois Department of
Human Services' Division of Rehabilitation Services (DRS) helped
more than 4,950 individuals find quality employment last year alone.
They also helped increase the average earnings of successfully
employed customers; found more customers jobs that included health
insurance as a benefit; reduced the time it takes to achieve
employment; and expanded vocational services to customers with the
most significant disabilities; and
WHEREAS, Illinois' Health Benefits for
Workers with Disabilities (HBWD) initiative helps people with
disabilities return to work with full Medicaid health care benefits
<http://www.hbwdillinois.com/
coverage.html>; and
WHEREAS, the Department has a goal of
promoting full time employment and reduced reliance on government
benefits such as social security disability payments; and
WHEREAS, National Disability
Employment Awareness Month began in 1945 by President Harry S.
Truman as "National Employ the Physically Handicapped Week." In
1988, Congress expanded the week to a month and renamed it National
Disability Employment Awareness Month; and
WHEREAS, DRS will be holding numerous
statewide events during the month to promote the employment of
citizens with disabilities and to thank employers who have excelled
in employing workers with disabilities:
THEREFORE, I, Rod R. Blagojevich,
Governor of the State of Illinois, do hereby proclaim October 2006
as NATIONAL DISABILITY EMPLOYMENT AWARENESS MONTH in Illinois, and
reaffirm the commitment of my administration to helping those with
disabilities.
[Illinois
Department of Human Services news release] |
