BOSTON — With $17 million from the federal government, the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission plans to reimagine the ways that it tries to connect people with disabilities to job skills and employment opportunities.
MRC said the Innovation Grant it received from the Rehabilitation Services Administration will allow it to “implement a new approach to vocational rehabilitation that will support youth to develop the skills they need to ensure access to equitable, accessible and inclusive employment opportunities after high school.”
In the last year, MRC has partnered with community colleges and network technology company CISCO on a program through which people who receive services through MRC can be trained for jobs in the growing cybersecurity fields and earn a certificate from CISCO. The agency also worked with Springfield-based Viability to launch a virtual reality program that helps people acquire interactive “soft skills” essential for employment.
“The Administration recognizes the need for transformative efforts and support for individuals with disabilities to attain their employment goals. With this new funding, MRC will strengthen traditional systems and provide innovative services for employment to our most vulnerable residents,” Secretary of Health and Human Services Marylou Sudders said.
As of 2019, about 80% of individuals without disabilities in Massachusetts were employed while just 38.2% of people with disabilities were employed, the WorkAbility subcommittee of the Joint Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities found in a report released earlier this year.