SAME Strategies: Disability Awareness Training for State Personnel
Learn about disability awareness staff training as a State as a Model Employer (SAME) strategy.
Supervisors and other state government staff need proper training to support employment of people with disabilities. This training best assures disabled employees succeed in their employment and have a long tenure.
Strategies include training on:
EARN Related Resources
- Attitudinal Awareness: Create an inclusive workplace by engaging employees in information discussions and training to address misconceptions and stereotypes about disability.
- Working Together: Ensuring People with Disabilities Feel Welcome and Included in the Workplace: Understand how to communicate and interact with disabled people in a respectful way. You can also take the self-paced “Working Together” online training course to learn more.
- Reasonable Accommodations: Learn how reasonable accommodations help ensure productivity for all employees.
- National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM): Learn about NDEAM and find ideas to celebrate.
- Person-First and Identity-First Language: Learn more about the use of “person-first” and “identity-first” language when communicating about disabled people.
- Federal Government Employment: Find information about federal diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) efforts to support employment for people with disabilities. State governments can embrace these efforts as well through the State as a Model Employer (SAME) five core strategies.
Related Partner Resources
- State Exchange on Employment & Disability (SEED): State-federal collaboration that supports state and local governments through meaningful policies that promote disability-inclusive workforce development to foster employment success for people with disabilities. SEED equips states and localities with timely data, sample policy options, and technical assistance to ensure that state- and local-level policy that is critical to employment success—such as workforce development, economic opportunity, transportation and technology, is inclusive of people with disabilities.
- Job Accommodation Network (JAN): Leading source of free, expert and confidential guidance on workplace accommodations and disability employment issues.
- Campaign for Disability Employment (CDE): Collaborative effort among several disability and business organizations that showcases supportive, inclusive workplaces for all workers.
Other Helpful Resources
- Council of State Governments: State as a Model Employer (SAME): Find examples of specific policies, programs, legislation, and other efforts states have implemented to become model employers of people with disabilities.
- National Conference of State Legislatures: Employment for People with Disabilities: Information on state government efforts and policies that promote employment of disabled people, both in state governments and the private sector.