Disability Benefits Information

1. Learn about resources that are available to individuals with disabilities. Each Disability Pathway page includes a short video to introduce the resources within the page. An interactive map is also available to search for Illinois workNet partner sites that offer services to the general public. Ensure that your site has identified services it offers to individuals with disabilities.  Contact your Illinois workNet Coordinator   if information needs to be updated.

• The Work Incentives page provides information about a program that is available to anyone who gets Social Security disability benefits (SSI/SSDI) and wants to return to work.
  
• Review the Disability Benefits Information page to learn about the state and federal benefits available to individuals with disabilities.
  
• Use the Your Rights and Advocacy page to help your customer communicate reasonable accommodations needed to complete their daily tasks. Workforce professionals can also visit the Special Accommodations page in the Workforce Professionals Pathway to view a list of examples.
  
• Use the Youth in Transition page to find resources to assist parents or guardians of youth with disabilities to plan for the milestone of going from school life to work life.

2. Use the Find a Job or Find a Program search to guide customers with disabilities to career and training opportunities.

3. Use the Prepare Your Resume and Prepare for an Interview tools to help customers with disabilities reach their employment goals.

Note:  Link your site to the Illinois workNet Disability Pathway using the link to us image.

1. Learn more about hiring individuals with disabilities.

• Review the Disability Benefits Information page to learn about the state and federal benefits available to employees with disabilities. There are also Tax Incentives available for businesses that hire people with disabilities.
  
• Use the Your Rights and Advocacy page to learn about the reasonable accommodations that employees with disabilities may need to complete their daily tasks. Workforce professionals can also visit the Special Accommodations page in the Workforce Professionals Pathway to view a list of examples.

2. Use the Recruiting tools to search for potential employees with disabilities.

Follow this link to go to Think Beyond the Label - A partnership of health and human service and employment agencies with federal grants; coming together to build a uniform national infrastructure and approach that connects businesses to qualified candidates with disabilities.

Note: Link your site to the Illinois workNet Disability Pathway using the link to us image.

Regional and statewide resources for assisting individuals with disabilities, with a focus on successful employment.  Link your site to the Illinois workNet Disability Pathway using the link to us image.

Disability Benefits and Resources

• Division of Mental Health (Illinois Dept. of Human Services) - The Division of Mental Health (DMH) provides a wide variety of services at all levels for adults and children throughout the state.
  
• Division of Rehabilitation Services (Illinois Dept. of Human Services) - This site offers resources for job seeking, independent living, disability benefits and more.
  
• Social Security Disability Insurance Program - The Social Security disability insurance program (sometimes referred to as SSDI) pays benefits to you and certain family members if you worked long enough and paid Social Security taxes.
  
• Illinois Disability Rights Bureau (Attorney General's Office) - The Disability Rights Bureau enforces State and Federal laws that protect the rights of people with disabilities.
  
• Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities (City of Chicago) - The Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities (MOPD) seeks to meet the diverse needs of the more than 600,000 people with disabilities who live and work in Chicago.
  
• Illinois Pro Bono: Assisting services and technology resources - This site links to organizations that offer Assisting Services and Technology.
  
• Health Benefits for Workers with Disabilities (HBWD) - The goal of this program is to help people with disabilities work with full Medicaid healthcare benefits.

Work Incentives Planning and Training

• Illinois Work Incentives Planning and Assistance (WIPA) Program - This program helps individuals who receive SSI or SSDI and are interested in getting a job understand how working will affect their benefits.
  
• Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency Program - The Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency Program is an employment program for people with disabilities who are interested in going to work.
  
• TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT NOTICE NO. 28-09 - Announcement of Employment and Training Administration’s new video and information brief on promoting the employment of disabled veterans through the One-Stop Career Centers.
  
• Disability and Employment Community of Practice - Watch videos and podcasts focused on helping people with disabilities obtain meaningful and effective employment opportunities.

Job Transition and Placement Resources

• disabilityworks.org - an online resource designed to break down barriers that prevent people with disabilities from finding a valuable and rewarding work experience.
  
• Find a Job (Illinois workNet)
  
• State of Illinois Jobs
  
• City of Chicago Jobs
  
• Job Accommodation Network (JAN) Resource for finding information concerning reasonable accommodations.

Rights and Advocacy

• Equip for Equality Resources, including Protection and Advocacy for Beneficiaries of Social Security (PABSS)
  
• American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) - AAPD strives to be a national voice for change in implementing the goals of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
  
• Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
• Illinois ADA Project
• Illinois Accessibility Code - intended to ensure that the buildings and facilities in the State of Illinois, are designed, constructed, and/or altered to assure the safety and welfare of all members of society and to be readily accessible to, and usable by, environmentally limited persons.

Find a Location Nearby

• Use the interactive map to find Illinois workNet partner sites that offer services to the general public.
• Illinois Work Incentives Planning and Assistance (WIPA) Program

Flyers
State-level Marketing Flyer (PDF): This flyer summarizes the pages on the Disability Resources Pathway. It is available to all, and cannot be altered.

State-level Marketing Flyer - Large Print (PDF): This flyer summarizes the pages on the Disability Resources Pathway. It is available to all, and cannot be altered.

Locally Customizable Flyer (PDF): This flyer also summarizes the pages on the Disability Resources Pathway. It is customizable in three (3) locations; the box that reads "Make the Connections to Succeed!", the area for Organization Name and Address, and the small type in the footer.

Disability Resources: Photo 1 ; Photo 2 ; Photo 3 ; Photo 4 ; Photo 5 ; Photo 6 ; Photo 7 ; Photo 8

Disability Resources Pathway Icons with description:

• Work Incentives Planning Assistance
  
• Disability Benefits Information
  
• Your Rights & Advocacy
  
• Youth in Transition
  
• Find a Location Nearby

Note: Link your site to the Illinois workNet Disability Pathway using the link to us image.

Think Beyond the Label Marketing Materials

• Think Beyond the Label logo - black
• Think Beyond the Label Logo - white (note: right click on the upper left corner of page to download white logo)
• Think Beyond the Label Style Guide: use this guide to learn how to treat the message and/or logos when creating personalized marketing materials.