WorkSource has received one of six Florida grants to address the needs of people with disabilities seeking training and employment opportunities through the One-Stop Career Center system. The Disability Program Navigator (DPN) is the focus of a 2 year pilot project jointly sponsored by the Department of Labor, Employment Training Administration (DOL/ETA) and the Social Security Administration. The program focuses on improving employment opportunities for persons with disabilities.

Venessa Fairbairn will be managing the program. Fairbairn, formerly a Business Consultant for WorkSource in St. Johns County, has 12 years of experience in advocacy and employment of people with disabilities, and 15 years of experience as an American Sign Language Interpreter.

The grant will help WorkSource improve its outreach and service to disabled jobseekers. Over the next year, the grant will help WorkSource provide sensitivity and etiquette training for staff serving job seekers with disabilities in the Career Centers. The grant will also help provide ongoing assessment of WorkSource centers for ADA compliance as well accessibility and accommodations for job seekers with physical, sensory, emotional, learning as well as hidden disabilities.

WorkSource will be investing in alternate format collateral materials, assistive and adaptive technology, and will create a brochure to market all Center resource services to people with disabilities. Ms. Fairbairn will train WorkSource staff on Vocational Rehabilitation programs and other services available in each Northeast Florida community. She is also tasked with developing collaboration with employers and employer organizations such as Chambers of Commerce and Business Leadership Networks to promote the hiring of people with disabilities.