News from the Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP)
ODEP Twentieth Anniversary
The Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) is celebrating its twentieth anniversary in 2021. Jennifer Sheehy, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for Disability Employment Policy, posted a blog entitled ODEP at 20: Driving Change and Creating Opportunity. The blog discusses ODEP’s origin and the importance of the evidence-based data that supports its work to promote disability employment. “Data allows us to measure progress made and opportunity to come, and in the case of disability employment, it helps drive change toward a more inclusive workforce – the crux of our mission at ODEP since day one,” said Sheehy. “From evidence-based data to policy to employment supports, we have been driving change and creating opportunity for 20 years.”
Zero Project Awards
The Partnership on Employment and Accessible Technology (PEAT) and the State Exchange on Employment and Disability (SEED) received the 2021 Zero Project Award in the employment category’s innovative policies. This international award is given to organizations for their pioneering practices and policies that support the rights and lives of persons with disabilities. PEAT was honored for its role in fostering collaborations that make emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence; extended reality; and autonomous vehicles, accessible to people with disabilities. SEED was recognized for promoting state and local policies and practices through cooperative relationships with legislative and administrative bodies, leading to increased employment opportunities for people with disabilities.
MyJAN
The Job Accommodation Network (JAN) launched the MyJAN portal on its website. The MyJAN tool allows website users to save and organize resources in one location, including accommodation solutions by disability, information by topic area, JAN newsletter articles, and more. Users can create a free MyJAN account and add links to JAN webpages, file them by category, include notes about the resources, and set the list and grid view order. Resources can be added, organized, and deleted at any time. In addition to these features, the site displays recommended and newly released JAN resources in a “Recommended Resources” tab in the portal.
- Create a MyJAN account
- Visit the JAN website
