The TennesseeWorks Partnership was launched in 2011 with the goal of increasing the number of young people with intellectual and developmental disabilities who are employed in Tennessee. In 2012, the VKC UCEDD received a federal grant from the Administration on Community Living to fund and grow the group’s reach.
Elise McMillan, J.D.
“TennesseeWorks became and continues to be a highly impactful partnership of state agencies, departments, disability organizations, Medicaid waiver provider agencies, employers, educators, individuals with disabilities, and family members,” said VKC UCEDD director Elise McMillan, J.D.
The activities and collaborations of TennesseeWorks have led to a number of VKC employment-related projects. Transition Tennessee provides training and resources on preparing students with disabilities for life after high school. Two Rehabilitation Research and Training Centers (RRTCs), which provide the opportunity for research, training and technical assistance, and information sharing, were established to focus on supporting youth with disabilities, as well as their parents, as they transition into adulthood and begin to seek employment and adult services. And ASSIST (Advocating for SupportS to Improve Service Transition) is a 12-week training program that helps parents advocate for services for their young adults on the autism spectrum.
TennesseeWorks set a goal in 2012 to try to narrow the employment gap between the percentage of individuals without disabilities who are working and those with disabilities who are working. At the Partnership’s start, the gap was 44 percent, and the aim was to close the gap by 5 percent by 2023. Amazingly, despite the effects of COVID-19, Tennessee closed the employment gap to 39 percent by 2020.
“We will continue to update this goal and increase employment opportunities for people with disabilities across Tennessee,” McMillan said.
