Washington State Leads the Way
strategies to achieve this end, including cabinet-level positions, creating accountability through strategic planning and convening interagency committees.
Suggested Strategies
The state is raising the bar by setting a goal. It is committed to employing people with disabilities and are working to have 5 percent of state employees be individuals with disabilities by 2017. To achieve this goal, they have created a task force with the purpose of supporting recruitment and retention of employees with disabilities in state government, requiring every cabinet-level agency to dedicate staff to the effort and put a plan in place addressing staff underrepresentation.
i Create a cabinet-level position to act as a champion for people with disabilities.
B Create infrastructure to maximize the likelihood
• Institute hiring goals and preferences.
that employment-related and other issues affecting people with disabilities are addressed by government agencies at the earliest stages of policy development, design, implementation and evaluation. By enhancing current state
organizational structures with champions for those with disabilities, states can increase the likelihood that disability-specific considerations are incorporated into the policymaking and implementation process from the start. States have used a variety of
EXAMPLES IN ACTION Cabinet-Level Position In Maryland, there is a cabinet-level position for policy relating to people with disabilities. The secretary of disabilities, as head of the Maryland Department of Disabilities, sits on numerous advisory councils and task forces related to disability issues. The department also provides information and referrals to Maryland citizens with disabilities, evaluates relevant state programs, and at least quarterly consults with and advises the Maryland Commission on Disability.
ii Create task forces/committees/interagency workgroups to reinforce and assess efforts. iii Adopt comprehensive government-wide strategic plans (e.g., state as model employer), including reporting to leadership on a regular basis. iv Extend diversity and inclusion initiatives (e.g., affirmative action) applicable to state agencies and departments to include disability.
• Develop employee self-identification policies. • Implement annual reporting mechanisms and surveys. v Include stakeholders with disabilities in the policymaking process. vi Collect data from people with disabilities to identify barriers to workforce participation.
Interagency Working Groups Alaska, California, Massachusetts, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Utah and Washington have committees, interagency working groups and/or task forces for policy issues relating to people with disabilities. For example, in September 2012, Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell issued an executive order creating a State as Model Employer Task Force within the Governor’s Council on Disabilities and Special Education. The task force, which was charged with reviewing best practices
22 The Council of State Governments • National Conference of State Legislatures