Employment First State

In Tennessee, fewer than 30% of working-age adults with disabilities have jobs, compared to 75% of those without disabilities.

Overcoming barriers to employment is the key to greater independence, productivity, and self-sufficiency for the half-a-million working-age adults with disabilities in Tennessee who CAN work and WANT to work.

Employment First State

Tennessee has taken on the challenge of overcoming those barriers. In 2013, Governor Haslam signed Executive Order 28 which created an Employment First Task Force charged with identifying barriers to employment for Tennesseans with disabilities, develop strategies to aggressively address these barriers and setting goals to significantly increase employment outcomes for these individuals.

The federal Office of Disability Employment Policy has selected Tennessee as a Core State for the Employment First State Leadership Mentoring Program. The program’s purpose is to facilitate the full inclusion and integration of people with the most significant disabilities in the workplace.

The Employment First Task Force released an Expect Employment Report in years 2014 and 2015. In the 2015 Report, the Task Force laid out specific objectives for years 2015-17 in these five goal areas:

·  Alignment and Coordination of Service Systems

·  Strong Community Commitment

·  More Employers Hiring

·  Tennessee as Model Public Sector Employer

·  Student Transition to Employment

Vocational Rehabilitation Services are Key

At the center for most employment initiatives for people with disabilities in the state is Vocational Rehabilitation Services (VR), a Division of the Department of Human Services. VR is a federal- and state-funded program providing services to help individuals with disabilities enter or return to employment. It is designed to assist individuals of work age with physical and/or mental disabilities compete successfully with others to earn a living.