Lt. Governor Jennings Promotes Employment for Persons with Disabilities 

Lt. Governor Toni Jennings joined by the Able Trust President Sharon Griffith, Director of the Florida Agency for Persons with Disabilities Shelly Brantley and business leaders, announced an additional six local chapters of the Florida Business Leadership Network in communities in the state. Business Leadership Networks encourage employers to recruit and hire qualified individuals with disabilities. The additional sites are: Jacksonville/First Coast area, Panama City, Orlando, Brevard County, Tampa, and West Palm Beach. The existing chapters are located in Broward County, Miami-Dade County, Polk County, the Panhandle, Emerald Coast and the Big Bend.

"Businesses across these Florida communities can build on the successes of over 1,000 Florida businesses the recruit, hire, train and retain qualified persons with disabilities," said Lt. Governor Jennings. "By fostering employment opportunities for persons with disabilities, we can empower them to live the American dream. Individuals can become more active in their communities, and employers benefit from hiring qualified and hardworking employees.

As of January 2006, the unemployment rate in Florida is just 3 percent, the lowest in three decades. Yet nationwide, among working age persons with disabilities, 65 percent are unemployed but two-thirds want to work.

It is estimated that over 2.2 million Floridians have a disability. By employing persons with disabilities, employers can effectively position themselves to develop products and services that are more likely to sell to a diverse customer base, resulting in a significant increase in long-term profits.

Employer-to-employer networks, BLNs communicate with prospective employers to eliminate common myths about employing people with disabilities. Local BLN chapters are members of the Florida BLN, organized by The Able Trust, and the United States BLN.

"Florida leads the nation in organizing local BLN chapters that emphasize opportunities for businesses to come together and address disability employment issues within their own communities." Said Katherine McCary, president of the USBLN. "When an employer talks about the benefits of hiring candidates with disabilities, other employers are eager to do the same. The USBLN has seen this business principle breed success for BLN chapters across the country and look forward to modeling Florida's local chapter expansion approach to foster more employment opportunities for citizens with disabilities."

Database of College and University Job Candidates

The Workforce Recruitment Program (WRP) is a joint initiative between the Department of Defense and the US Department of Labor. Each spring semester, recruiters from federal agencies interview students with disabilities who are seeking summer or permanent employment. While the program is designed for federal jobs, private and state and local governments have access to this pool of screened job candidates by contacting the Employer Assistance & Recruiting Network (EARN) at 1-866-327-6669 or earn@earnworks.com. Visit their website at http://www.earnworks.com.