Calendar of 2021 Disability-Related Dates
Business Solutions and Services
Arkansas Rehabilitation Services a division of Department of Workforce Services
- Arkansas Rehabilitation Services-Business Engagement
Promoting a cohesive and diverse work environment by providing Disability Etiquette Training, Sensitivity Training, and customized training for the workplace. Solution-based advantage to seeking retainable, qualified, and fully developed talent for a global economy.
- Access and Accommodations
Focuses on facilitating opportunities to stimulate and create a barrier free environment to live and work more independently.
- Stay at Work/Return to Work
A professional consulting team, creating an effective and holistic program through communication and trust, with employers to retain valuable employees returning to work after an illness or injury.
A fully accessible portal that allows for employers to meet compliance needs, while also having the support of a team of experts (The NET) to partner with to hire jobseekers.
Resilience
- American Psychiatric Association
- WELCOA Bouncing Back & Bouncing Forward
- WELCOA Burnout & Resilience in the Workplace Infographic
- Positive Psychology – Resilience Building Tools & Exercises
- National Wellness Institute Resilience & Thriving Facilitator Training
- The Superpower of Resilience TED Talk
- Action for Happiness
Webinar Recordings
- Understanding Drives Inclusion Haley Moss, lawyer, neurodiversity expert, and the author of four books on neurodiversity and living life to the fullest.
- “Innovation Drives Inclusion” Randy Lewis, Founder and President of the Nogwog Fund, (No Goodness without Greatness)
- Disability Inclusion While Working Remotely – Vanessa Sims, UMB Bank; Disability Inclusion Network meeting; 3/16/21; 1:00 hr
- Service Animals in the Workplace – Julie Brinkhoff, Great Plains ADA Center; Disability Inclusion Network meeting, 11/24/20; 1:00 hr
- Inclusive Interviewing – Jill Webb, Disability Inclusion Network meeting; 7/21/20; 1:00 hr
- Quieting the Whispers to Secure Disability Inclusion – Dionne King, DMK Consults; Annual Thought Leaders Event; 7/9/20; 1:18 hrs
- Celebrating 30 Years of the ADA – Disability Inclusion Network meeting; 6/16/20, 1:01 hrs
- Employee Lifecycle – Andy Traub, Allied InclusionWorks; Disability Inclusion Network meeting; 5/19/20, 1:03 hrs
National Disability Employment Awareness Month
- Increasing Access and Opportunity – Celebrating 75 years
- What Can You Do Campaign
- ODEP – NDEAM increasing access and opportunity
COVID-19
- COVID-19 Response Mental Health – Disability:IN has compiled resources to support your disability inclusion work during COVID-19.
- Accommodations and Compliance – COVID-19
- Accommodation Strategies for Returning to Work During the COVID-19 Pandemic
- Managing Coronavirus Anxiety
- Steps to Counter the Loneliness of Social Distancing
- It’s OK to Feel Grief Right Now
- The Coronavirus Response Shows How Crucial Accessibility Is
- Working from Home is Great for Diversity. Let’s Keep It Going
- Honoring the Challenges of Disabilities, Seen and Unseen (video)
- How Employee Resource Groups Can Help Manage COVID-19 or Coronavirus Fears
- The Importance of Diversity and Inclusion During Difficult Times
- COVID-19 and the Family and Medical Leave Act Questions and Answers
- Digital Accessibility and Other Best Practices for Remote Work
- Disability Employment Lunch n Learn webinars (nTide – Kessler Foundation)
- Mental Health America
- Right Direction – resources for depression
- Resources on Stress, Burnout & Trauma
Employee / Business Resource Groups
- Toolkit for Establishing and Maintaining Successful Employee Resource Groups (EARN)
- ERG/BRG Resources (Disability:IN)
- Starting a Disability Focused Employee Resource Group
- Work Without Limits – Disability Employee Resource Group
- Resume’ and Career Guide for People with Disabilities
The Business Case
- Disability:IN: “Getting to Equal: The Disability Inclusion Advantage” – joint report from Accenture, Disability:IN and the American Association of People with Disabilities about the Business Case for Disability Inclusion
- Fast Company: “Why Companies Who Hire People with Disabilities Outperformed Their Peers”
- Forbes: “How Business Leaders Are Introducing Disability Rights As A CSR Issue”
- New York Times: “Hiring People With Disabilities Is Good Business; Microsoft, Bank of America and CVS are just a few big companies that profit from their proactive employment practices.”
- EARN: “Engaging Employees to Measure Success” – Innovative Approaches to Encouraging Self-Identification of Disability
- MarketWatch: “Companies that Hired this Underemployed Group had Revenues that were Nearly 30% Higher”
- Workplace Initiative: “Purpose and Profit through Disability Inclusion” – video
- Toolkit on Encouraging Self-Identification of Disability: This guide created by EARN and NILG is a valuable resource for businesses of all sizes interested in assessing their progress toward disability inclusion goals. Self-identification is about more than reaching certain numbers, however. Done right, the very act of inviting applicants and employees to self-identify helps convey that a company intends to not just express a commitment to an inclusive workforce, but also deliver on it.
- The Small Business at Work Toolkit – This toolkit provides curated information and essential resources about how (and why!) small businesses can successfully hire and retain employees with disabilities.
MORE ….
Accommodations
- Job Accommodation Network (JAN)
- The JAN Workplace Accommodations Toolkit
- ADA Checklist for Existing Facilities
- Google Chrome Closed Caption Feature – A quick way to instantly have closed caption
- Great Plains ADA Center – one-stop resource for information, technical assistance, and training
- Employer’s Practical Guide to Reasonable Accommodations (JAN)
- Mid-Atlantic ADA Center: Guide to Planning Accessible Meetings
- Accessible Technology Action Steps: A Guide for Employers (PEAT)
- Accessible Information Exchange: Meeting on a Level Playing Field
- Audio Reader Network – a reading and information service for blind, visually impaired and print disabled individuals
- Good Works in the Heartland Podcasts
- Workplace Strategies for Mental Health
- Managing Return to Work
- Supporting Return to Work Success
- 101 Mobility – Sales, installation and service of wheelchair/platform lifts, stair lifts, ceiling track lifts and modular aluminum ramp systems
Awareness
- Myths and Facts About Hiring People with Disabilities (DOL)
- Disability Language Style Guide: The National Center on Disability and Journalism at Arizona State University has developed a style guide which covers almost 200 words and terms commonly used when referring to disability, most of which are not covered in The Associated Press style guide. (Also available in Spanish
- Use Social Media to Increase Awareness (DOL)
- Public Service Announcement – “Because”
- Public Service Announcement – “Who I Am”
- Public Service Announcement – “I Can”
Business Strategies
- Disability:IN – Disability Equality Index (DEI)
- Disability Is a Strength for Any Organization
- Hire Gauge: Business ROI Calculator (Think Beyond the Label)
- Business Case for Hiring Individuals with a Disability (Think Beyond the Label)
- Business Owner Makes Money by Hiring Disabled Workers – video
- Why I Hired a Workforce No One Else Would (Randy Lewis/Walgreens) – video
- Equal Treatment: The Key to Lowe’s Success in Hiring People with Disabilities
- Lowes: Progressive Hiring Practices of People with Disabilities – video
- Getting Down To Business – Hiring People with Disabilities – video
- Benefits of Employing People with Disabilities (Show Me Careers) – video
- Disability:IN Supplier Diversity Certification: Disability:IN certifies disability-owned business enterprises, including service-disabled and veteran disability-owned businesses, and links them to organizations seeking to diversify their supply chains.
Employment
- EARN Fact Sheet on hiring, retaining and advancing people with disabilities
- What is Disability Inclusion (Workforce Initiative)
- Assess eRecruiting Accessibility (PEAT)
- Inclusive Internship Programs: A How-to Guide for Employers (DOL/ODEP)
- Getting Started on your Disability Inclusion Journey (Workforce Initiative)
- Leading Practices on Disability Inclusion (US Chamber of Commerce)
- Disability Mentoring Day – American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD)
- Veterans Readiness & Employment
Organizations
- Disability:IN
- Industry Liaison Group (ILG)
- Think Beyond the Label
- Employer Assistance Resource Network on Disability Inclusion (EARN)
- Job Accommodation Network (JAN)
- Great Plains ADA Center
- Kessler Foundation
- National Organization on Disability (NOD)
- PEAT: Partnership on Employment and Accessible Technology