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WHY WORKFIRST

 

WorkFirst helps individuals with disabilities maintain paid employment or start their own business. WorkFirst identifies each person’s talents, interests and abilities in order to support him or her to find a job that can be fulfilling long-term or what business can be successfully built.

Guiding Principles of WorkFirst

  • ensure employment for people with disabilities,
  • decrease the demand for State-funded services,
  • stimulate the economy by adding people to the workforce
  • improve the quality of life in our communities.

People with Disabilities Want to Work

  • Most people with disabilities want to work. Two out of three people with disabilities who are unemployed (67%) say they would prefer to be working. Of those people with disabilities who say they are able to work, 56 percent are working, and the rest are looking. (N.O.H, Harris, 2000)

Employers Need & Will Need Their Skills

  • The U.S. job growth is projected to swell by 55 million by 2008, compared to a growth of only 20 million in workers, of whom 3.6 million will have a disability. Employers will need these 3.6 million people to fill vacant positions. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections, 1999)

(Source: National Association of Social Workers)

http://www.naswdc.org/pressroom/2002/122302_earn.asp

WorkFirst currently works with the Department of Rehab and the following Regional Centers:

Department of Rehab:

  • DoR: Department of Rehab

Regional Centers:

  • SDRC: San Diego Regional Center
  • RCOC: Regional Center Orange County
  • ELARC: Eastern Los Angeles Regional Center
  • NLACRC: North Los Angeles County Regional Center
  • WRC: Westside Regional Center
  • SLARC: South Los Angeles Regional Center
  • HRC: Harbor Regional Center