Customized workplace accommodations for persons with disabilities nationwide will improve, thanks to a five-year, multimillion-dollar contract to the West Virginia University Research Corp. from the U.S. Department of Labor.
That award was announced today, Wednesday, Oct. 9, at a 10 a.m. press conference at WVU .
The Job Accommodation Network (JAN) �€a consulting service for information on making workplace accommodations for people with disabilities funded by the U.S. Department of Labors Office of Disability Employment Policy �€will receive nearly $1.77 million the first year. The contract is renewable for four subsequent years, subject to the availability of funding, for a contract total up to $9.5 million.
JAN is a free national service housed within the WVU College of Human Resources and Educations InternationalCenter for Disability Information and administered by the U.S. Department of Labors Office of Disability Employment Policy. Its 25 employees answer more than 32,000 calls annually nationwide, primarily responding to inquiries by employers and their workers with disabilities.
Praising JAN as a primary vehicle to empower the employment of people with disabilities through customized workplace accommodations, U.S. Assistant Secretary of Labor Roy Grizzard is pleased that this valuable service is available to both employers and employees.
“This will further help JAN perform its mission of assisting in the hiring, retraining, retention and advancement of persons with disabilities by providing accommodation information in a confidential manner,”Dr. Grizzard said.
WVU Provost Gerald Lang thanked the Department of Labors Office of Disability Employment Policy for this latest contract and commended JAN and its highly experienced consultants for continuing to help enrich countless lives of people with disabilities and their families by providing services that facilitate independence and productivity.
WVU HR &E Interim Dean Anne Nardi agreed, saying that JAN also provides an important resource to employers by supplying information about the ADA and other disability-related legislation.
“I could not be happier,”said D.J. Hendricks, JAN program manager.”This is definitely the largest funding we have received and will do much to further our goals to make accommodation information as accessible and as available as possible to even more users.”
In particular, Dr. Hendricks, also associate director of WVU s InternationalCenter for Disability Information, plans to use the funds to improve three primary electronic services:
A Web site that serves as a gateway to information on accommodations, disability laws, publications and other resources to assist employment of people with disabilities (www.jan.wvu.edu)
Project SOAR �€a Searchable Online Accommodation Resource to provide information on accommodation options and products (www.jan.wvu.edu/soar)
The Small Business and Self-Employment Service to provide information about resources available for people with disabilities who wish to be self-employed or to start a small business.
Since 1983, JAN consultants have provided workplace accommodations information to more than 300,000 employers, rehabilitation professionals and individuals with disabilities.
JAN s web sites received more than 5 million”hits”over the past year, and JAN staff members make more than 70 presentations annually to employers, members of professional organizations and service providers.
Collectively, JAN staff have more than 100 years of accommodation service provision.