Big News! ServiceSource and its affiliates – Abilities of Florida; Employment Source (North Carolina); Opportunity Center, Inc., (Delaware); PARC (Utah); and WorkSource (Charlottesville, Virginia) – have been selected to receive a U.S. Department of Education Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) Disability Innovation Fund grant. The ServiceSource organization is one of just 27 recipients selected from more than 200 organizations that applied for grants. The award of $10.8 million over the next five years will be used to lead a demonstration project aimed at shifting disconnected youth and adults with disabilities from reliance on government benefits to achieving competitive, integrated employment through a holistic family support model.
We are eager to partner with the Department of Education and RSA to create a meaningful and positive impact for disconnected youth and adults with disabilities. Additionally, we are excited to strengthen our existing collaborations with state and local vocational rehabilitation agencies, school districts, workforce investment boards, and community stakeholders, while also building new partnerships with social service departments critical to addressing the needs of the disconnected adult and youth population.
The project will focus on adults with disabilities receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), low-income adults with disabilities who have dependents, and youth with disabilities aged 14-24, such as children of TANF recipients, foster care youth, low-income youth, and justice-involved youth.
We’re also partnering with Our Ability, a consulting firm that uses generative AI to match individuals with disabilities to jobs that align with their skills, interests, and market trends. Through this partnership, the project will leverage AI-driven tools to enhance job matching for individuals with disabilities.
Stay tuned for periodic updates on our new initiative! If you are a community training provider or employer in one of the locations where we provide services, please reach out to grants@servicesource.org to learn more about how you can partner with us to create a positive impact for the disconnected youth and adults in our communities.
