DIVISION 10. EMPLOYMENT ASSISTANCE FOR WORKERS WITH DISABILITIES [18000 - 18012]
( Division 10 added by Stats. 2002, Ch. 1088, Sec. 5. )
(a) It is the purpose of this division to ensure that workforce preparation services provided through California’s one-stop centers, including information and services provided electronically, are accessible to employers and jobseekers with disabilities.
(b) It is further the intent of the Legislature that one-stop centers provide appropriate services to individuals with disabilities to enhance their employability.
(c) It is further the intent of the Legislature that, in order to achieve the goals specified in subdivisions (a) and (b), local workforce investment boards plan for and report on services to jobseekers and employers with disabilities, including the implementation of the federal Ticket to Work program for those local workforce investment boards and one-stop centers that choose to implement the Ticket to Work program in their local workforce investment areas.
(Added by Stats. 2002, Ch. 1088, Sec. 5. Effective January 1, 2003.)
Each local workforce investment board shall establish at least one comprehensive one-stop career center in each local workforce investment area. These one-stop centers shall ensure access to services pursuant to Section 134(d) of the federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. Sec. 2864(d)), including services for persons with disabilities, including, but not limited to, all of the following:
(a) Outreach, intake, and orientation.
(b) Initial assessments of skills, aptitudes, abilities, and need for support services.
(c) Program eligibility determinations.
(d) Information on the local, regional, and national labor market.
(e) Information on filing for unemployment insurance.
(f) Access to intensive services as needed, including, but not limited to, comprehensive and specialized assessments of skill levels and service needs, development of individual employment plans, group counseling, individual counseling and career planning, case management for participants seeking training services under subdivision (g), and short-term prevocational services, such as learning, communication, interview, and other jobseeking and work related skills to help prepare individuals for unsubsidized employment and training.
(g) Training services, including, but not limited to, occupational skills training, on-the-job training, workplace training and cooperative education programs, private sector training programs, skills upgrade and retraining, entrepreneurial training, job readiness training, adult education, and literacy activities combined with training, and customized training.
(Added by Stats. 2002, Ch. 1088, Sec. 5. Effective January 1, 2003.)
The local workforce investment boards shall schedule and conduct regular performance reviews of their one-stop centers to determine whether the centers and providers are providing effective and meaningful opportunities for persons with disabilities to participate in the programs and activities of the centers and providers.
(Added by Stats. 2002, Ch. 1088, Sec. 5. Effective January 1, 2003.)
One-stop center counselor staff shall provide accurate information to beneficiaries of Supplemental Security Income and the State Supplemental Program and Social Security Disability Insurance on the implications of work for these individuals. The information shall include, but not be limited to, referrals to appropriate benefits’ planners. One-stop center counselor staff shall also provide accurate information to individuals with disabilities on how they may gain access to Medi-Cal benefits pursuant to Section 14007.9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(Added by Stats. 2002, Ch. 1088, Sec. 5. Effective January 1, 2003.)
In order to ensure that one-stop career centers operated by local workforce investment boards meet the needs of workers and employers with disabilities, the Governor shall ensure that evaluations conducted pursuant to Sections 134 (a)(2)(B)(ii) and (v) of the federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. Sec. 2864(a)(2)(B)(ii) and (v)), address how local one-stop centers provide all of the following:
(a) Full access to workforce development services for their disabled community.
(b) Assistive technology to ensure access to services.
(c) Staff training on assessment and service strategies for jobseekers and employers with disabilities.
(d) Representation of the disability community in program planning and service delivery.
(e) The development of regional employment networks to participate in the federal Ticket to Work program and the role of the local board and one-stop centers in the Ticket to Work program.
(Added by Stats. 2002, Ch. 1088, Sec. 5. Effective January 1, 2003.)
The California Workforce Investment Board shall report to the Governor and the Legislature by September 30, 2004, on the status of one-stop services to individuals with disabilities and implementation of the federal Ticket to Work program in California.
(Added by Stats. 2002, Ch. 1088, Sec. 5. Effective January 1, 2003.)
If permitted by federal law, the California Workforce Investment Board and local workforce investment boards shall include persons with disabilities or their representatives, with a particular effort to include such persons who are not employees of state or local government.
(Added by Stats. 2002, Ch. 1088, Sec. 5. Effective January 1, 2003.)