PUBLIC LAWS
Second Regular Session of the 122nd

CHAPTER 570
H.P. 1351 - L.D. 1910

An Act To Create Employment Opportunities for People with Disabilities

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:

PART A

     Sec. A-1. 5 MRSA Pt. 29 is enacted to read:

PART 29
EMPLOYMENT OF INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES
CHAPTER 611
DUTIES OF THE STATE

§23001. Duties of State

     In order to provide equal opportunity in all aspects of State Government to qualified individuals with disabilities, each department, agency and instrumentality of the State shall:

     1. Periodic review. Review, on a periodic basis, the adequacy of hiring, placement and advancement practices within that department, agency or instrumentality of the State with respect to individuals with disabilities;

     2. Plan. Develop by January 1, 2007 and update annually thereafter a plan to increase the opportunities for individuals with disabilities to be employed by that department, agency or instrumentality of the State. This plan must include a description of the extent to which the special needs of employees who are individuals with disabilities are being met;

     3. Outsourcing; leases. In its contracts governing functions and duties that are outsourced and in its contracts governing leased space, include provisions that encourage the employment of individuals with disabilities;

     4. Outreach. Expand its outreach efforts, using both traditional and nontraditional methods, to make qualified individuals with disabilities aware of available employment opportunities within that department, agency or instrumentality of the State; and

     5. Accommodate. Increase its efforts to accommodate individuals with disabilities.

     Sec. A-2. Disability employment services activities and functions. The Department of Administrative and Financial Services, Bureau of Human Resources, based on the availability of financial resources, shall reinstate the activities and functions previously associated with the position of Disability Employment Services Coordinator to provide oversight and facilitation of the duties of the State relative to the employment of workers with disabilities in all state agencies and to continue certification and appointment policies for such employees pursuant to existing state policies and rules.

PART B

     Sec. B-1. Report. The Department of Labor jointly with the Department of Health and Human Services shall submit, no later than January 1, 2007, to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over labor matters a report regarding employment opportunities for individuals with developmental disabilities. The departments shall produce the report in consultation with the Maine Jobs Council's Standing Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities, established in the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 26, section 2006; Speaking Up For Us of Maine; the Maine Developmental Disabilities Council; the Disability Rights Center of Maine; the Maine Association of Community Service Providers; the Brain Injury Association of Maine; and other interested parties. The report must address the following issues:

     1. Ways to enhance access to employment opportunities for adults with developmental disabilities and a strategy to make supportive employment services the primary form of support services available to adults with developmental disabilities, especially when they graduate from high school;

     2. Data on the number of individuals who receive freestanding day habilitation funding versus supportive employment funding and the amount of funding involved, including state grant funds, state seed funds and federal funds. The report also must address data on the number of newly graduating high school students who received services through the freestanding day habilitation entitlement in each of the past 2 years, the cost associated with this entitlement, the projected cost of this entitlement in fiscal year 2006-07 and fiscal year 2007-08 and the location within the budget where funds for this entitlement are located;

     3. The possibility of using currently earmarked freestanding day habilitation funds for supportive employment, including the possibility of converting the state match for the current day habilitation services to a new jobs program under a new Medicaid waiver;

     4. The relative merits of administering state supportive employment services to individuals with developmental disabilities through the Department of Labor as opposed to the Department of Health and Human Services;

     5. The extent to which individuals who receive supportive employment services have a plan for achieving self-support approved by the Social Security Administration;

     6. A review of other states' policies regarding supportive employment, including the State of Washington;

     7. The reasons for and against implementing a new state policy modeled after the State of Washington policy that mandates supportive employment services for the class of 2007 high school graduates; and

     8. The resources that need to be available to existing providers of supportive employment and day habilitation services in order to successfully shift their emphasis to job development for adults with developmental disabilities.

PART C

     Sec. C-1. Report. No later than January 31, 2007, the Maine Jobs Council's Standing Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities, working jointly with the Department of Labor and the Department of Economic and Community Development, shall submit to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over labor matters a report identifying the resources necessary for the development and implementation of a media campaign designed to increase statewide awareness of employment-related issues affecting individuals with disabilities and an employer outreach campaign designed to engage employers in discussions and information exchange about issues, services and support systems related to the employment of individuals with disabilities, including, but not limited to, the following:

     1. Presentations to business groups and associations, including chambers of commerce. These presentations must include participation by individuals with disabilities who are successfully employed and local service provider agencies that can assist employers in recruiting, training and retaining individuals with disabilities in employment;

     2. Information sessions and training workshops presented at conferences and other meetings where employers are in attendance and employment issues are addressed;

     3. The planning and convening of other business-oriented events that focus on the needs, benefits, supports and opportunities related to the employment of individuals with disabilities; and

     4. The development of a library of business-oriented promotional materials to be used in public information and awareness sessions and available to employers by request at any time.

     The report shall include recommendations for funding and implementing the 2 campaigns.

Effective August 23, 2006.

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