Ducey aims to employ more people with disabilities in state agencies
Nov 17, 2017, 4:57 AM | Updated: 4:25 pm
(Flickr/Flazingo Photos)
(Flickr/Flazingo Photos)
PHOENIX — Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey signed an executive order on Thursday ordering state agencies to partner with private vendors in an effort to expand job opportunities for people with disabilities.
According to a press release, the order will apply to agencies that provide services to individuals with disabilities, including the Department of Economic Security.
Those agencies will be directed to work with stakeholders to review their policies, identify best practices and partnerships and expand programs to increase employment opportunities, the release said.
Ducey said he signed the order in an effort to guarantee that those agencies’ policies are “focused on helping individuals with disabilities prepare for and find quality employment.”
There are an estimated 418,000 Arizonans with a disability and the state said that those with a disability are up to 50 percent less likely to be employed compared to those without a disability.
In a statement, Ducey said opportunities are “few and far between for individuals with disabilities. We want to change that.”
“This executive order focuses on empowering all Arizonans, and our hope is that it will mean more and better jobs for individuals with disabilities,” he added.
The announcement comes days after Ducey issued an executive order to instruct state agencies to remove a question on job applications that asks prospective employees about their criminal history.
That order was implemented to provide a “second chance and increased employment opportunities to Arizonans who have served their time and been released,” a press release said.
