Welcome to the Employment First Florida Website!
People with disabilities, including intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), want to work in their community. The purpose of this website is to provide information about what the state of Florida is doing to make it easier for people with disabilities to work. Explore the other pages on this website to learn more about how the state of Florida is helping people find good jobs in their communities!
This website can help you learn about:
- Current Employment First Activities in Florida
- What is Employment First
- Leadership for Employment First in Florida
- The EmployMe1st Project
- The Employment First Grassroots Group
- Resources for Employment
- Employment Success Stories
Announcements:
- Grassroots Group online meeting summaries and highlights for January 2016 and April 2016 are now available.
- On Thursday, January 21, 2016, Governor Rick Scott signed the Individuals with Disabilities Act that establishes the Employment First Act, the Financial Literacy Program for Individuals with Developmental Disabilities and the Florida Unique Abilities Partner Program.
- Under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), states are required to submit a plan to the US Department of Labor by April 1, 2016. Each state is required to issue a draft plan for public comment. The Florida state plan is available at Career Source Florida. You can submit comments on their webpage. You may also be interested in reading the WIOA State Plans: Guidelines for Review produced by the Institute for Community Inclusion.
- The October 2015 Grassroots Groups meeting recording and materials are now available
- Employment First Florida video directed by Diane Wilkens
As part of Florida's collaborative Employment First efforts, the Florida Developmental Disabilities Council developed the Employment First Messaging Video. The video features leaders from each Employment First partner agency discussing the impact of Employment First.