CESSI Creates Opportunities

By Joan Leotta

For many employers, hiring someone with a disability may seem daunting. How do you make ADA-appropriate accommodations? Where can you find information on disability policies? Who can supply data on research studies that will help you plan what you need?

To the CESSI Division of Axiom, offering “accessible solutions” for employers and individuals alike is more than just a catchphrase. CESSI specializes in bringing the electronic office within reach of persons with disabilities, improving productivity and job satisfaction, and giving expert counsel on disability and accessibility laws, regulations, and policies.

The brainchild of Colonel Fred Cherry, a retired U.S. Air Force fighter pilot and disabled Vietnam veteran, CESSI was founded in 1992. By hiring employees with disabilities—about 25 percent of their 50-person work force—CESSI proves firsthand that there aren't barriers to employment when an organization has the will to make hiring decisions based on qualifications and not disability.

By acting as a consultant for various government agencies, CESSI touches the lives of thousands of Americans with disabilities. Major contracts that CESSI handles include the Employer Assistance & Recruiting Network (EARN) program, an initiative of the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy. Since 2003, CESSI has operated EARN, advancing opportunities for people with disabilities in the workplace.

EARN program

Designed to connect clients with jobs or employers with job candidates, EARN leverages a network of over 6,500 disability employment providers. CESSI maintains the www.EARNWorks.com website and a call center that offers free support for employers, employment service providers, and jobseekers.

Says Jane Rath, CESSI's Program Manager, “EARN's primary role is facilitating the connections among employers, service providers, and jobseekers. We provide customers with a recruiting service supported by our job board, which they use to promote or search for job opportunities.

“Through our call center, we provide them with answers to their questions and support in their efforts,” Rath continues. “We also offer consulting services to assist employers in preparing their organizations to be inclusive of people with disabilities and in establishing or expanding their disability employment outreach efforts.”

For employers who want to hire workers with disabilities, EARN offers a place on its website for posting jobs and gives them disability-employment assistance. Rath states, “EARN's network of employers is diverse, including over 2,000 small medium and large private and public sector companies across various industries and Federal, state, and local government agencies.” She notes that their client list includes CVS/Pharmacy, Bender Consulting, Raytheon Missile Systems, AT&T, Georgia Southern University and Baxter Healthcare.

For employment service providers and jobseekers, EARN supplies job leads as well as assistance on how best to market their consumers or themselves and engage businesses. EARN also assists in connecting jobseekers and service providers.

According to Rath, EARN's offerings are constantly revised to meet evolving customer needs, particularly in response to innovations and advancements in the recruitment and employment fields. “One of the things that we are planning for the future is a revision of the EARNWorks website,” she notes. “We are updating the look and feel and improving navigation to make it even easier to use.”

The new EARNWorks will also allow prospective employees more autonomy in their job searches. “In the past, jobseekers had to connect with the employers through service providers,” Rath explains. “We are now creating a module that will include a resume database, so that jobseekers can apply directly to jobs found on the site.”

Other CESSI Endeavors

Says Rath, “EARN is one of the many programs we manage. CESSI has a strong focus on disability-oriented support and employment programs. Our role is often one of establishing effective disability employment practices with non- and for-profit businesses and government, as well as marketing these practices to these stakeholder groups.”

Through EARN and other programs, CESSI carries out a goal of supporting universal design and accessibility for all. Other examples of CESSI's program-management and accessibility-related contracts include the Ticket to Work Program with the Social Security Administration, the Interagency Committee on Disability Research for the Department of Education, and the ADA program assistance for the Department of Education.

In 2005, CESSI became a division of Axiom Resource Management, Inc., a like-minded firm that is itself an award-wining workplace. Operating as an independent division, CESSI continues to fulfill its mandate of working with technology and persons with disabilities, maintaining current projects and undertaking new endeavors in each of its lines.

Information

Axiom Resource Management, Inc.
Axiom is a professional consulting firm providing program management, operational support, accessibility, management training, and IT solutions.
5203 Leesburg Pike, Suite 300 | Falls Church, VA 22041 | 703-998-0327
www.axiom-rm.com

CESSI Division is a nationally recognized provider of accessibility services to state, federal, and private sector clients. CESSI specializes in bringing the electronic office within reach of persons with disabilities, improving productivity and job satisfaction, as well as providing expert counsel on disability and accessibility laws, regulations, and policies.
6858 Old Dominion Drive, Suite 250 | McLean, VA 22101 | 703-448-6155
www.cessi.net

EARN
The Employer Assistance & Recruiting Network (EARN) is a free service that connects employers looking for quality employees with skilled job candidates. Discover what employers across the nation have learned: hiring people with disabilities is a great business strategy. EARN can be reached on the web, by calling 866-327-6669, or by emailing earn@earnworks.com.
www.earnworks.com

Edited by Mary-Louise Piner.