CSG joins ODEP, Cornell University, San Diego State University and the National Association of Workforce Development Professionals for additional work on the Center for Advancing Policy on Employment for Youth to promote inclusion.
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor announced the award of a $7.5 million, five-year cooperative agreement to continue support for a policy center aimed at boosting disabled youth employment.
Administered by the department’s Office of Disability Employment Policy, the agreement will provide $1.5 million annually for the agency’s Center for Advancing Policy on Employment for Youth (CAPE-Youth). ODEP created the center in 2019 to enhance national, state and local workforce systems, focusing on improved outcomes for youth with disabilities, especially those from underserved communities. The Council of State Governments oversees the development and management of CAPE-Youth.
“We are extremely excited that we have been given the opportunity to continue working on this amazing project,” said Lindsay Lucas, CAPE-Youth project manager at The Council of State Governments. “With the workforce rapidly changing due to technological advances, it is critical that we make sure youth and young adults with disabilities and the systems that support them can adapt to the changing landscape.”
As states strive to promote workforce inclusion, youth with disabilities are a key part of the solution. Over 1.3 million young people between the ages of 16 and 24 have a disability. Through research, partnerships and shared best practices, CAPE-Youth works to improve employment outcomes for youth and young adults with disabilities by helping states build capacity in their youth service delivery and workforce systems.
CAPE-Youth is a collaboration between ODEP, CSG, the K. Lisa Yang and Hock E. Tan Institute on Employment and Disability at Cornell University, San Diego State University Interwork Institute and the National Association of Workforce Development Professionals.
“Our partners have a wealth of experience and knowledge in this arena, and we are looking forward to continued collaboration and new work from the center,” Lucas said.
About The Council of State Governments
The Council of State Governments is America’s largest organization of state officials and the nation’s only nonpartisan, not-for-profit organization serving all three branches of state government. Founded in 1933, CSG is a region-based forum that fosters the exchange of insights and ideas to help state officials shape public policy to help communities across the nation and advance the common good.