A. 6397 2
officers, mail clerks, chaplains, social workers, doctors, lawyers,
teachers, and computer programmers;
2. People with disabilities can benefit from the experience of employ-
ment in state agencies, gaining skills and receiving benefits through
both internships and employment in the public sector and the state can
benefit from the contributions that they can make as state employees;
3. A number of states have instituted within their human resources
agencies policies and programs that foster the inclusion of people with
disabilities into state government jobs, including provisional appoint-
ments, alternative examination and interview processes, trial work peri-
ods, and special appointment lists;
4. As a leading employer, and as an employer providing many well paid,
quality jobs with ample paid time off and medical and pension benefits,
the state of New York can set an important example to other employers,
especially private sector employers, by increasing its efforts to
recruit and retain in employment individuals with intellectual and
developmental disabilities; and
5. It is therefore appropriate to establish a task force to promote
the employment by state agencies of people with disabilities for the
purposes of studying the problem of unemployment and underemployment
among individuals in New York with disabilities, reviewing existing
programs in this and other states, and private sector companies, to
recruit and retain in employment individuals with intellectual and
developmental disabilities, and assisting in the identification and
implementation of strategies to expand efforts of New York state agen-
cies to recruit and retain in employment individuals with disabilities,
including by providing guidance and support to agencies and institutions
of higher education.
§ 2. 1. There is established, in the department of labor, the task
force to promote the employment by state agencies of people with disa-
bilities. The task force shall consist of 13 members, including one
representative each from the department of civil service, the department
of education, the disability employment initiative of the department of
labor, the state comptroller, the office for people with developmental
disabilities, the state rehabilitation council, the office of strategic
workforce development, and the office of the chief disability officer,
and 5 members appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of
the senate as follows: 2 members representing The Arc New York; a repre-
sentative of a community rehabilitation program, and 2 individuals who
have a disability.
2. Members of the task force shall be appointed within 90 days after
the effective date of this act. The appointed members of the task force
shall serve for terms of 3 years. Vacancies in the membership of the
appointed members of the task force shall be filled in the same manner
as the original appointments.
3. Members of the task force shall serve without compensation, but
shall be reimbursed for necessary expenses incurred in the performance
of their duties as members of the task force, within the limits of funds
appropriated or otherwise made available to the task force for its
purposes.
4. The task force shall organize as soon as possible after the
appointments are made and select a chairperson from among its members.
The task force shall meet at least quarterly, may hold meetings and
hearings at places and times as it designates, and may meet at any other
times at the call of the chairperson. No action shall be taken by the
A. 6397 3
task force except by an affirmative vote of a majority of the voting
members.
§ 3. 1. The purpose of the task force is to study the problem of unem-
ployment and underemployment among individuals with disabilities, review
relevant, available programs within the state of New York for state and
local government agencies to recruit, hire, and retain in employment
individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, as well as
similar programs in other states and private sector employers, and
assist in the identification and implementation of strategies to expand
efforts of New York state and local government agencies to recruit,
hire, and retain in employment individuals with disabilities.
2. The task force shall issue annual reports which offer a vision and
provide viable recommendations on how the state can increase opportu-
nities for employment for individuals with intellectual and develop-
mental disabilities by expanding efforts of New York state and local
government agencies to promote the employment of such individuals by
recruiting, hiring, and retaining them in employment, including by
providing guidance and support to agencies and institutions of higher
education.
3. The task force shall issue its first report to the governor and the
legislature not later than one year after the members of the task force
are appointed. Each annual report shall be made available to the public
by means including the posting of the report on the websites of the
state agencies represented on the task force.
§ 4. This act shall take effect immediately and shall expire and be
deemed repealed December 31, 2030.
PART B
Section 1. Legislative intent. 1. Historically, federal programs for
adults with disabilities have encouraged dependency on income supports
and have created barriers to employment and economic self-sufficiency.
Even in strong economic times, adults with disabilities have had limited
options and faced major barriers to achieve economic self-sufficiency,
resulting in prolonged reliance upon public assistance programs and an
unacceptably high unemployment rate statewide.
2. Federal laws enacted during the 1990's offered significant public
policies and fiscal incentives designed to assist states to restructure
workforce development programs into integrated workforce investment
systems that will respond to the employment, training, and education
needs of its citizens.
3. Since 1998, employment-focused reforms for adults with disabilities
in the workforce have been enacted into Medicare, Medicaid, the Supple-
mental Security Income Program (SSI), the Social Security Disability
Insurance Program (SSDI), and with respect to programs administered by
the United States department of labor, and the United States department
of education.
4. The federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA), (Public Law
105-220) redesigned major federal public employment programs, and
included a requirement that services for employers and employees be
centered in accessible, community-based one-stop centers.
5. The federal Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of
1999, (Public Law 106-170) increased opportunities for states to remove
and minimize barriers to employment for people with disabilities by
improving access to health care coverage available under Medicare and
Medicaid.
A. 6397 4
6. Beginning February 1, 2002, the Social Security Ticket to Work and
Self-Sufficiency program began a state-by-state phase-in period
nationally, allowing SSI and SSDI beneficiaries to receive a "ticket"
from the Social Security Administration that can be assigned for employ-
ment services to a wider pool of rehabilitation, employment, or other
employment support service providers.
§ 2. 1. The commissioner of labor, in collaboration with the commis-
sioner of health, shall make available the expertise of state employees
and programs to support the employment-related needs of individuals with
disabilities. Using existing resources, the agencies shall develop a
sustainable, comprehensive strategy to do all of the following:
a. bring adults with disabilities into gainful employment at a rate
that is as close as possible to that of the general adult population;
b. support the goals of equality of opportunity, full participation,
independent living, and economic self-sufficiency for these individuals;
c. ensure that state government is a model employer of individuals
with disabilities; and
d. support state coordination with, and participation in, benefits
planning training and information dissemination projects supported by
private foundations and federal grants.
2. a. The state workforce investment board shall monitor and enforce
implementation of Section 188 of the federal Workforce Investment Act of
1998 (29 U.S.C. Sec. 2938), and shall require local workforce develop-
ment boards to report as follows:
(i) By July 1, 2024, each local workforce development board shall
report to the state workforce investment board or its designated depart-
ment on the steps it has taken to ensure compliance with Section 188 of
the federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. Sec. 2938), in
regard to the provisions as they apply to persons with disabilities.
(ii) By October 31, 2024, each local workforce development board that
chooses to participate in the federal Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficien-
cy program shall report to the state workforce investment board on its
readiness to meet the eligibility standards to serve as an employment
network under the federal Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency program
(Section 1148(f), Part A, Title XI of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C.
Section 1320b-19).
b. The state workforce investment board shall report its findings,
based on the reports described in subparagraph (i) of paragraph a of
this subdivision to the governor and the legislature.
§ 3. 1. a. The governor shall establish, in the state workforce
investment board, a governor's committee on employment of people with
disabilities. The committee shall include, but not be limited to:
(i) 4 individuals with disabilities representing disabled persons, 2
appointed by the governor and one each appointed by the temporary presi-
dent of the senate and the speaker of the assembly, each for a 3-year
term;
(ii) the commissioner of labor, the commissioner of health, the
commissioner of mental health, the commissioner of the office for people
with developmental disabilities, the commissioner of social services,
the director of the state education department's office of adult career
and continuing education services-vocational rehabilitation, the chief
disability officer, and the chair of the New York state independent
living council, inc.;
(iii) a representative from the state workforce investment board;
A. 6397 5
(iv) representatives from any other department or program that may
have a role in increasing the capacity of state programs to support the
employment-related needs of individuals with disabilities;
(v) a representative from a local one-stop center or local workforce
development board, to be appointed by the governor; and
(vi) a business representative with experience in employing persons
with disabilities, to be appointed by the governor.
b. Members of the committee shall be appointed within 90 days after
the effective date of this act. The appointed members of the committee
shall serve for terms of 3 years. Vacancies in the membership of the
appointed members of the committee shall be filled in the same manner as
the original appointments.
c. The members of the governor's committee on employment of people
with disabilities shall select a chair from among the members and shall
hold open meetings no less than quarterly.
2. The committee shall consult with and advise the state workforce
investment board on all issues related to full inclusion in the work-
force of persons with disabilities, including development of the compre-
hensive strategy required by this section and the implementation of the
grant program established pursuant to section four of this act.
3. The governor's committee on employment of people with disabilities
shall:
a. coordinate and provide leadership, as necessary, with regard to
efforts to increase inclusion in the workforce of persons with disabili-
ties;
b. report annually to the legislature and the governor on the employ-
ment status of New York residents with disabilities;
c. provide support to the state workforce investment board and the
local one-stop centers in their efforts to achieve full compliance with
federal and state law, and shall identify the extent to which any one-
stop centers are not in full compliance with those laws and the reasons
for the lack of compliance, including the need for additional resources;
d. using existing funding, facilitate, promote, and coordinate colla-
borative dissemination of information on employment supports and bene-
fits, which shall include the Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency
program and health benefits, to individuals with disabilities, consumers
of public services, employers, service providers, and state and local
agency staff; and
e. using existing funding, receive primary administrative and staff
support from the department of labor.
§ 4. 1. The governor's committee on employment of people with disabil-
ities, in conjunction with the department of labor and to the extent
that funds are available, shall make grants available to counties and
local workforce development boards in order to develop local strategies
for enhancing employment opportunities for people with disabilities, and
to fund comprehensive local and regional benefits planning and outreach
programs to assist persons with disabilities in removing barriers to
work.
2. The governor's committee on employment of people with disabilities,
in conjunction with the department of labor and to the extent that funds
are available, shall make grants available to counties and local work-
force development boards, through collaborative efforts of public agen-
cies and private organizations, including organizations that serve
people with disabilities, to accomplish the following purposes:
A. 6397 6
a. to develop local strategies, including, but not limited to, regular
cross-agency staff training, for enhancing employment opportunities for
individuals with disabilities; and
b. to fund comprehensive local or regional benefits planning and
outreach programs to assist individuals with disabilities in removing
barriers to work.
§ 5. 1. It is the purpose of this section to ensure that workforce
preparation services provided through one-stop centers, including infor-
mation and services provided electronically, are accessible to employers
and jobseekers with disabilities. It is the intent of the legislature
that:
a. one-stop centers provide appropriate services to individuals with
disabilities to enhance their employability; and
b. in order to achieve the goals specified in this section, local
workforce development boards plan for and report on services to employ-
ers and jobseekers with disabilities, including the implementation of
the federal Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency program for those local
workforce development boards and one-stop centers that choose to imple-
ment the Ticket to Work program in their local workforce development
board areas.
2. To the extent not already available, each local workforce develop-
ment board shall establish at least one comprehensive one-stop career
center in each local workforce development area. These one-stop centers
shall ensure access to services pursuant to Section 134(d) of the feder-
al Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. Sec. 2864(d)), including
services for persons with disabilities, including, but not limited to,
the following:
a. outreach, intake, and orientation;
b. initial assessments of skills, aptitudes, abilities, and need for
support services;
c. program eligibility determinations;
d. information on the local, regional, and national labor market;
e. information on filing for unemployment insurance;
f. access to intensive services as needed, including, but not limited
to, comprehensive and specialized assessments of skill levels and
service needs, development of individual employment plans, group coun-
seling, individual counseling and career planning, case management for
participants seeking training services under paragraph g of this subdi-
vision and short-term prevocational services, such as learning, communi-
cation, interview, and other jobseeking and work-related skills to help
prepare individuals for unsubsidized employment and training; and
g. training services, including, but not limited to, occupational
skills training, on-the-job training, workplace training and cooperative
education programs, private sector training programs, skills upgrade and
retraining, entrepreneurial training, job readiness training, adult
education, and literacy activities combined with training, and custom-
ized training.
3. Each local workforce development board shall schedule and conduct
regular performance reviews of their one-stop centers to determine
whether the centers and providers are providing effective and meaningful
opportunities for persons with disabilities to participate in the
programs and activities of the centers and providers.
4. One-stop center counselor staff shall provide accurate information
to beneficiaries of Supplemental Security Income and the state Supple-
mental Program and Social Security Disability Insurance on the impli-
cations of work for these individuals. The information shall include,
A. 6397 7
but not be limited to, referrals to appropriate benefit's planners.
One-stop center counselor staff shall also provide accurate information
to individuals with disabilities on how they may gain access to Medicaid
benefits.
5. In order to ensure that one-stop career centers operated by local
workforce development boards meet the needs of employers and jobseekers
with disabilities, the governor shall ensure that evaluations conducted
pursuant to Sections 134 (a)(2)(B)(ii) and (v) of the federal Workforce
Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. Sec. 2864 (a)(2)(B)(ii) and (v)),
address how local one-stop centers provide the following:
a. full access to workforce development services for their disabled
community;
b. assistive technology to ensure access to services;
c. staff training on assessment and service strategies for employers
and jobseekers with disabilities;
d. representation of the disability community in program planning and
service delivery; and
e. the development of regional employment networks to participate in
the federal Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency program and the role of
the local board and one-stop centers in the Ticket to Work and Self-Suf-
ficiency program.
6. The state workforce investment board shall report to the governor
and the legislature by September 30, 2024, on the status of one-stop
services to individuals with disabilities and implementation of the
federal Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency program in New York.
7. If permitted by federal law, the state workforce investment board
and local workforce development boards shall include persons with disa-
bilities or their representatives on such boards, with a particular
effort to include such persons who are not employees of state or local
government.
§ 6. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amend-
ment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implemen-
tation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and
completed on or before such effective date.
§ 2. Severability clause. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivi-
sion, section or part of this act shall be adjudged by any court of
competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect,
impair, or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in
its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section
or part thereof directly involved in the controversy in which such judg-
ment shall have been rendered. It is hereby declared to be the intent of
the legislature that this act would have been enacted even if such
invalid provisions had not been included herein.
§ 3. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that
the applicable effective date of Parts A through B of this act shall be
as specifically set forth in the last section of such Parts.