By Tim Anderson
Concerned about a steady decline in the proportion of state workers who are disabled, Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton is ordering agency heads to do more. His executive order also includes a workforce goal — that by 2018, 7 percent of the people employed by Minnesota’s state agencies be individuals with disabilities.
In 2013, about 3 percent of the state workers in Minnesota were disabled. In his August announcement, Dayton pointed to neighboring states that have higher rates — 5.8 percent and 4.4 percent in Wisconsin and Iowa, respectively. State agencies will get guidance on how to recruit and hire people with disabilities. They must also promote employment opportunities for this population and, four times a year, report progress on meeting the state’s new goals.
Minnesota is not alone in establishing new initiatives to expand work opportunities for the disabled. Michigan, for example, issued a “Better Off Working” plan in August that identifies policy changes to help individuals with disabilities find work. One of the recommendations is to improve the state’s own hiring process. In 2012, Ohio Gov. John Kasich launched the Employment First Initiative, the goal of which is to deliver “meaningful employment opportunities for people with disabilities.”