DISABILITY INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY INITIATIVE

GRANTEE: RESOURCE, Inc., Minnesota Resource Center

ADDRESS: 1900 Chicago Avenue

Minneapolis MN 55404-1903

POPULATION SERVED: 100 participants will be served, with an expected 90% completing the program. 83 participants are expected to complete the training and achieve full-time unsubsidized employment with hourly wages of $13.50 (Twin Cities) and $13.00 (Cleveland). Participants who may be moving from receiving SSI/SSDI assistance will be offered one-to-one Benefits and Analysis counseling.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION: This Disability Information Technology Initiative will expand and strengthen a successful Twin Cities IT Computer Training model by adding supportive services and career advancement strategies to assist individuals with disabilities in obtaining IT industry jobs. The program will provide training targeting long-term retention and career paths in the IT industry, while using innovative strategies such as distance learning and e-training, establishing an online mentoring program to share experiences between the Cleveland and Twin Cities trainees. Existing Twin Cities program components will share training resources and curricula with their Vocational Guidance Services in Cleveland, OH, which will test this projects ability to replicate its core model training components.

KEY PARTICIPANTS: The Minnesota Resource Center (MRC) in Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN, and Vocational Guidance Services (VGS) in Cleveland, OH, are the lead agents in this initiative. Consortium members include: the Minneapolis, Cuyahoga, and Cleveland Workforce Investment Boards; Twin Cities and Cleveland Workforce Center systems (computer training and placement services); Minnesota Vocational Rehabilitation and Cleveland Bureau of Vocational Rehabilitation (disability documentation, serious functional limitation assessment, and development of Individualized Plans for Employment); Information Technology Employer Councils (comprised of 150 employers, including ENTEX, 3M, US BANK, Minnesota Life, Smith Micro Technologies, State of Minnesota, Lutheran Brotherhood, Wells Fargo); Goodwill Easter Seal (providing vocational evaluation testing, case management, work place skills training, other placements, and follow-up services), and others.

MEDIA CONTACT: Kim Feller

1900 Chicago Avenue

Minneapolis MN 55404-1903

(612) 752-8102