The U.S. Department of Labor has picked 13 states and the District of Columbia to participate as “core states” in fiscal year 2025 in its National Expansion of Employment Opportunities Network (NEON) initiative. The program will enable government agencies in these states to receive capacity-building support, policy development assistance, and ongoing mentoring to increase competitive integrated employment for people with disabilities.
The recently selected states are Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon and Tennessee, in addition to the District of Columbia.
The selections will complement existing partnerships between the department’s Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) and five state intermediary organizations that joined the NEON initiative in fiscal year 2023 and five national provider organizations that have participated in NEON since it began in fiscal year 2020. These organizations work with the initiative on key issues at the national, state, and local levels to increase competitive integrated employment for people with disabilities.
“By supporting the new core states and maintaining our partnerships with national and state organizations, the NEON initiative will continue to advance policies and practices to make competitive integrated employment a reality for more disabled people, especially for individuals with significant disabilities,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Disability Employment Policy Taryn M. Williams. “Our goal is to increase access to jobs that pay competitive wages, offer equal opportunities for advancement and ensure that disabled people succeed in workplaces alongside other workers both with and without disabilities.”
The five state intermediary organizations currently engaged in the NEON initiative include the Association of People Supporting Employment First and the Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation, both in Rockville, MD; the National Association of Medicaid Directors in Washington, DC; and the National Association of State Directors of Developmental Disabilities Services and the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors, both located in Alexandria, VA.
The five national provider organizations participating in NEON include ACCSES and The Arc, both in Washington, DC; the American Network of Community Options and Resources in Alexandria, VA; the Association of People Supporting Employment First in Rockville, MD; and SourceAmerica in Vienna, VA.
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ODEP has administered the NEON initiative since its 2019 launch and contracts with Economic Systems Inc. in Falls Church, VA for services needed to support the initiative.
