Expanded employment opportunities for individuals with developmental disabilities in Hawaiʻi

Hawai’i is one of 12 states that will participate in its  National Expansion of Employment Opportunities Network or NEON initiative, according to an announcement from the US Department of Labor.

The initiative is to commence during the 2024 federal fiscal year and enables Hawai’i government agencies to receive consultation, capacity-building support and ongoing mentoring to increase competitive employment  for people with disabilities. 

“We are one of 12 states offered the opportunity to make workplace equity a reality rather than it remaining a great idea,” said Daintry Bartoldus, the Executive Administrator of the Hawai’i State Council on Developmental Disabilities. “The council has already congregated a plethora of interagency groups both public and private striving to accomplish this goal. The NEON grant will surely accelerate our efforts”.  

The newly received NEON grant will act as a catalyst for Hawai’i’s current employment equity efforts including the state’s Employment First Task Force. Led by the state’s Council on Developmental Disabilities and Work Now Hawaiʻi, the Task Force houses various agencies committed to increasing employment opportunities for all individuals with disabilities on the islands.

A few of the involved agencies include the Department of Vocational Rehabilitation, Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, Child and Adolescent Mental Health, Center on Disability Studies, Department of Education, Division of Developmental Disabilities, and the Hawaiʻi Association of People Supporting Employment First.  

Hawaiʻi is considered a core state along with 11 others committed to advance well-needed policy change resulting in increasing work opportunities for individuals with disabilities.

Alongside Hawaiʻi are NEON grantees California, Colorado, Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee and the District of Columbia.

For more information on the NEON initiative, visit: https://www.dol.gov/agencies/odep/initiatives/neon