National Disability Employment Awareness Month . National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) is recognized every October. It is a national campaign with the aim to raise awareness of disability employment issues in the U.S. This year, the theme is "A Strong Workforce is an Inclusive Workforce: What can YOU do?" NDEAM was first recognized in 1945, when Congress enacted a law declaring the first week in October "National Employ the Physically Handicapped Week." Seventeen years later, in 1962, the word "physically" was removed to acknowledge the employment needs and contributions of individuals with all types of disabilities. Finally, in 1988, Congress expanded the week to a month and changed the name to National Disability Employment Awareness Month. NDEAM has been led by the Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP), since 2001. In January, 2012, ODEP and US Customs and Border Protection signed an alliance agreement to advance President Obama's executive order to increase the hiring of people with disabilities by federal agencies. "Today's alliance is an opportunity for ODEP and CBP to demonstrate disability employment practices that will not only result in increased hires at CBP but easily can be replicated by other federal agencies seeking to fulfill the requirements of their executive order plans," said Assistant Secretary of Labor for ODEP, Kathleen Martinez ODEP offers several resources for organizations, schools, and employers and encourages participation in NDEAM in all communities. These resources include social media content, a sample NDEAM participation press release, a sample NDEAM proclamation, NDEAM articles, and the NDEAM poster (offered in both Spanish and English). NDEAM has an education program, the California Teaching Program, designed to help shape the next generation. It offers jobs in both private and public schooling. The teachers hired learn how to develop lesson plans, present information to children of varying backgrounds and abilities, and master the latest techniques, technologies, and trends in the teaching and education industry. NDEAM also provides valuable resources on how your organization can participate. These resources include ideas for employers/employees, ideas for educators and youth service professionals, ideas for associations and unions, ideas for disability-related organizations, and ideas for federal agencies. For more information on NDEAM, please visit this website, http://www.dol.gov/odep/topics/ndeam/. |