WIOA

This report explores the limited availability of supported employment despite the research demonstrating its success. It then presents strategies utilized by states when they expanded supported employment under settlement agreements; practical perspectives from employers, providers, and service users; and valuable lessons learned over the past decade. The paper concludes with a series of recommendations for ensuring that supported employment is widely available.

On Friday, August 19, 2016, the U.S. Departments of Education and Labor published the final rules implementing the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) in the Federal Register. WIOA legislation is designed to strengthen and improve the public workforce system and help Americans, including youth and those with significant barriers to employment, move into high-quality jobs and careers as well as help employers hire and retain skilled workers.

On Wednesday, May 11, the Administration for Community Living (ACL) published a final rule that implements the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) of 2014 transfer of the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR) from the Department of Education to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The final regulations will remain in effect until Friday, July 1, 2016.

The Employment Policy and Measurement Rehabilitation Research and Training Center, with funding from the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, published a report on financing transition services. Multiple funding streams, or braiding of resources, are used to fund the services and supports available for transition-age youth seeking employment or higher education. This report examines who the payers of last resort are based on different regulatory and legal requirements.