Friday, May 2, 2025
5/2/2025
RRTC: Equity Center in Employment Domain - Langston University (LU), a land grant historically Black college/university (HBCU), in partnership with the Institute for Community Inclusion at the University of Massachusetts Boston, Institute for Health and Disability Policy Studies at the University of Kansas, In the Beginning Business Incubator and Fund Company- a Black woman with a disability-owned small business, Gallaudet University- disability-serving institution, Center for Transition and Career Innovation for Youth with Disabilities at the University of Maryland, College Park, Rural Institute for Inclusive Communities at the University of Montana, Kessler Foundation, Institute on Disability at the University of New Hampshire, Urban League of Greater Oklahoma City and affiliates, Oklahoma Department of Rehabilitation Services, and the National Association of Multicultural Rehabilitation Concerns are proposing the RRTC on Advancing Employment Equity for Multiply Marginalized People with Disabilities (hereafter referred to as LU2E-RRTC). The collaborative research, training, technical assistance (TA) and dissemination project is to be funded by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR) for five years at approximately $933,000 per year. The project will generate new knowledge leading to a reduction of disparities in employment outcomes among the heterogenous population of people with disabilities (i.e., developmental, cognitive, sensory, psychiatric, physical, and multiple disabilities) whose identities intersect with those of other historically underserved populations (i.e., Black, Indigenous, and people of color [BIPOC], LGBTQIA+ status, poverty status, rural locale). The LU2E-RRTC will conduct five major studies and related linked activities informed by Advocates-In-Residents from these underserved populations that address the following themes: (1) Conduct a proof-of-concept study to develop a new “Intersectional Framework for Employment Equity among Multiply Marginalized People with Disabilities” that will help guide, monitor and evaluate the LU2E-RRTC’s linked research, research-based training, TA and dissemination activities as well as NIDILRR’s Long-Range Plan equity efforts across the employment outcome domain; (2) Explore U.S. Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey (COVID-19) and National Survey on Health and Disability (NHSD) data to provide detailed information about intersectional employment disparities and barriers experienced by heterogenous population of people with disabilities across subpopulations as defined by race, ethnicity, LGBTQIA+ status, poverty status, and rural locale prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic; (3) Test a new innovative proof-of-concept prototype for a “Multiply Marginalized Persons with Disabilities Small Business Incubator Model (M2-PWDI)” that connects In the Beginnings Business Incubator and Fund Company- a Black women with a disability-owned small business, Gallaudet University- a disability-serving institution, Urban League of Greater Oklahoma City and affiliates, Oklahoma Department of Rehabilitation Services and minority-serving institutions (e.g., HBCUs, HSIs, TCUs, AANAPISIs), and trains and peer-mentors entrepreneurs with disabilities from traditionally underserved populations (i.e., BIPOC, LGBTQIA+ status, poverty status, and rural geography) to birth small businesses that help close the wealth gap; (4) Conduct a community-driven exploratory study to document how Native American/American Indian (NA/AI) communities define employment solutions for members harmed by the opioid epidemic, identify strategies for implementing solutions, pilot a disability employment solution, and identify model components. Framed by the Collaborating for Equity and Justice Model, the goals include: a) create an opportunity for tribal members with lived experiences to tell their stories of recovery and economic well-being; b) create a model for partnership
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).