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Kessler Foundation reports employment gains for people with disabilities

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Kessler Foundation and University of New Hampshire release July nTIDE Report – Monthly Update highlights C2C Project of SDSU, CSU, and UC Berkeley.

The July nTIDE Report (National Trends in Disability Employment), from the Kessler Foundation and University of New Hampshire highlights Bridging the Gap from College to Career, funded as a Signature Employment Grant by the Kessler Foundation, based at SDSU, CSU-Fullerton and UC Berkeley.

Excerpt from the release:

Social Security data indicate that half of college graduates with disabilities are unemployed within 5 years of graduation. In California, Bridging the Gap from College to Careers (C2C) program is changing those odds for students with disabilities at San Diego State, California State University and the University of California Berkeley. The C2C program comprises a Professional Development and Disability course, mentoring, internships, job placement services and a C2C LinkedIn Alumni Group. The program, which is supported by Kessler Foundation, reports a 67 percent placement rate at an annual average salary of $62,000.

“Talented students are taking advantage of the comprehensive services offered by the C2C Program and transitioning from college to careers,” said Elaine E. Katz, MS, CCC-SLP, senior vice president of grants and communications at Kessler Foundation. “This program helps people with disabilities overcome the negative attitudes of employers and compete successfully in the workplace.” The C2C transition model is under consideration for replication at colleges in Florida, New Jersey and Wisconsin, and has garnered the attention of organizations in England, Japan and Germany.

In July 2015, among workers ages 16-64, the 4,235,000 workers with disabilities represented 3.0 percent of the total 141,340,000 workers in the U.S.

 

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