Job Seekers with Disabilities Resources – Below you will find various resources that can assist job seekers with disabilities in connecting with employment opportunities.

• One Stop Career Centers – One Stop Career Centers are located across the United States. The Workforce New York system offers services for every job seeker. Your local One-Stop Career Center can meet your every employment need under one roof. To contact Tompkins Workforce New York, call (607) 272-7570, or stop in at 171 East State Street, The Commons.

• DPN – The Disability Program Navigator (DPN) can assist individuals with disabilities in the return to work process by helping to access available resources. The DPN is a resource to employers who might have questions about hiring individuals with disabilities, about job accommodations or various tax and other incentives available when hiring individuals with disabilities. The DPN is also a resource to youth who have questions about transitioning from school to work. To find your DPN, see the New York State list of Disability Program Navigators.

• VESID – Vocational and Educational Services for Individuals (VESID), our state rehabilitation agency, can assist individuals with employment barriers with additional resources. VESID services may include vocational assessment, vocational counseling, assistance with transition from school to the world of work, job training and placement, job follow-up, and other services to support the individual’s employment objectives.

• CBVH – The Commission for the Blind and Visually Handicapped, CBVH, provides vocational rehabilitation and other diret services to blind and visually impaired New York State residents. For more information about CBVH, call (607) 737-1007.

• Challenge – Serving Tompkins County for over 30 years, Challenge is a not-for-profit agency that can assist individuals with disabilities in finding a job suited to their particular skills and abilities. Challenge has a variety of programs and services available to assist you in and individualized manner. For more information about Challenge, call (607) 272-8990.

• Ticket to Work – The Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency program is an employment program for people with disabilities who are interested in returning to full-time employment. This program is administered by the Social Security Administration, and is available to eligible individuals on SSDI or SSI benefits between the ages of 18 and 64. For more information, see: http://www.ssa.gov/work/.

• Experience Works – Experience Works is an agency that provides part-time community service employment, training, and job search to low-income persons age 55 and over. For more information about assistance through this program, see www.experienceworks.org, or for assistance in Tompkins County, call (607) 272-7570 Ext. 110.

• Women’s Opportunity Center – Women’s Opportunity Center is a multi-services center, which provides job search assistance, educational information, computer training, and interview clothing to qualified applicants. Our programs are geared to people in transition who have taken care of a home, relied on someone for financial support, and have lost or are in danger of losing that support. This includes individuals who are separated, divorced, or no longer with a partner, people on refugee assistance, people whose partner’s hours have been cut, or those moving from welfare to work. Please call 272-1520 for more specific questions.

• U.S. Office of Personnel Management - This page contains information for potential applicants and current Federal employees, that describes how to get a Federal job, how positions are filled, how reasonable accommodations are made, and includes resources that can help you with a wide range of issues that pertain to the Federal employment of adults with disabilities. The chapter also contains references to the law and executive orders that apply to applicants and employees who have disabilities. For more information, see this page: /www.opm.gov/disability/appempl.asp

Additional Resources for Individuals with Disabilities – Below you will find additional resources for individuals with disabilities that range from expertise in ADA (Americans with Disabilities law) to Social Security benefits advisement and more…

• WIPA – The Work Incentive Planning Assistance Program, formerly known as Benefits Planning, Assistance & Outreach (BPAO) Program, can assist you in understanding the impact of working on your Social Security benefits. There are many Work Incentives available through the Social Security Administration designed to assist you in maintaining your benefits and health insurance after you return to work. For your local WIPA provider, contact the Resource Center for Independent Living (RCIL) at (315) 797-4642.

• JAN – The Job Accommodation Network (JAN), is a free consulting service designed to increase the employability of people with disabilities by:

1. Providing individualized worksite accommodations solutions,

2. Providing technical assistance regarding the ADA and other disability related legislation, and

3. Educating callers about self-employment options. To contact call (800) 526-7234 (Voice/TTY)

• Cornell’s Northeast ADA & IT Center – This program provides training, technical assistance and materials on the Americans with Disabilities Act and Accessible Information Technology. The ADA protects individuals with disabilities from employment discrimination and much more. For more information, call (800) 949-4232 Voice / TTY, or visit this link for their web-site.

• DSS – The Department of Social Services provides a variety of services for low-income and disabled individuals. Some services may include: Medicaid, Temporary Cash Assistance (PA), Rent Assistance, Food Stamps, HEAP (Home Energy Assistance Program) and the Medicaid Buy-In program to name a few. There are many rules specific to individuals with disabilities that allow for expanded financial eligibility guidelines. Tompkins County DSS is located at 320 West State Street , Ithaca, New York 14850 , 607-274-5252. • BOCES Adult Learning Center – For assistance in completing a GED High School Diploma (General Educational Development for students 18 and older). Call (607) 257-1555 Ext. 282 to schedule an assessment and begin studies. Or visit TST BOCES online to find out more about what they offer

• SSA – The Social Security Administration offers a variety of programs from retirement to long-term disability. Individuals with disabilities who have had an impairment that has lasted, or is expected to last at least 12 months may be eligible for benefits. For individuals already receiving benefits that want to go back to work, there are many Work Incentives available through SSA that can assist individuals in returning to work and maintaining benefits. Questions about these incentives can be directed to the Work Incentive Liaison at SSA, at (607) 256-3651. Additional information about SSA programs can be found at: www.ssa.gov.

• IHA – Ithaca Housing Authority (IHA) offers a Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8) program for low income individuals. IHA also administers a Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) program: For individuals on the Housing Choice Voucher program who are employed or seeking employment, to provide personal / financial assistance and support with long or short-term goals. To find out more about IHA programs, call (607) 273-8629 or visit the IHA Web Site.

• TCA – Tompkins Community Action has a variety of resources for low income and individuals with disabilities. Some of the services available are: Food Pantry, Housing Choice Voucher Program (HCVP, also known as Section 8), Family Self-Sufficiency program, Supportive Permanent Housing (Corn Street Apartments) and more. There are also incentives for individuals with disabilities through HUD (Housing and Urban Development) to encourage the return to work without substantially increasing ones rent through HCVP. To contact, call (607) 273-8816.

• Legal Aide of Western New York Inc. – Legal Aide of Western New York Inc. (formerly Neighborhood Legal Services) provides free legal services to persons with low-income and persons with disabilities. It also provides a wide range of technical assistance and support services. To contact, call (607) 273-3666.

• PABSS – Protection and Advocacy for Beneficiaries of Social Security is a service provided by Legal Services of Central New York, Inc. They cover Tompkins County, and can assist beneficiaries with legal matters that create a barrier to employment. To contact, call (315) 475-3127.

• New York Relay Service – This service allows a hearing individual to speak, through a relay operator, to a deaf individual who is using a TTY device. There is also the option for someone calling directly from a TTY to call in to the relay service, and again, through an operator, speak to someone who is hearing. Other options include Voice-Carry-Over which allows individuals who can speak, but not hear, to have text displayed on a Uniphone (separate number) or Speech to Speech which allows individuals with a speech impediment to have relay operator assistance (separate number). See numbers below: TTY (for deaf individuals with TTY 711 or 1-800-662-1220 to access relay services) VOICE (for hearing person to speak 711 or 1-800-421-1220 through relay to TTY user) Voice Carry-Over (for person who 711 or 1-877-826-6977 cannot hear, but can speak) Hearing Carry-Over (for person who 711 or 1-800-662-1220 can hear but cannot speak) Speech-to-Speech (for individual who 711 or 1-877-662-4234 have speech impediment) Or feel free to visit the New York Relay service web-site by clicking here.

• Section 504 - Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 is a federal statute, which guarantees the rights of disabled people to equal opportunity in all programs and activities, which receive federal financial assistance. It prohibits discrimination against qualified individuals solely on the basis of handicap. Public school districts and Boards of Cooperative Educational Services, as recipients of federal funds, are required to remove any communications, architectural, policy and practice or any other barriers that prevent disabled people from participating in, benefiting from or being employed by such programs. For more information, go to: http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/504.html

• ADA Paratransit Service – TCAT ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) Paratransit Services provides door-to-door, demand-responsive transportation for people with disabilities. For more information: http://www.tcatbus.com/paratransit.shtml

• Gadabout – Gadabout is a nonprofit, door-to-door, demand-responsive service for people aged sixty or older and for disabled residents of Tompkins County.

• FLIC - Finger Lakes Independence Center assists people with disabilities to promote independence and make informed decisions in pursuit of their goals.

• MHA – The Mental Health Association in Tompkins County provides information, referral, advocacy and support to individuals and strives to empower them and enhance their mental health.

• JIST – Free Resources for Job Seekers and Career Professionals. JIST Publishing ., is an Indianapolis-based publisher and authority on the topics of career, job search, business, and families in crisis…