The Center for Disabilities and Development (CDD), Iowa’s UCEDD, has been serving as the backbone for Blueprint for Change, the state’s grant program funded through the Disability Innovation Fund (DIF). Iowa was one of 14 states awarded a DIF grant; in Iowa, the Blueprint for Change focuses on improving employment outcomes for individuals with disabilities, and supporting systems change to promote ongoing competitive integrated employment for all.
Iowa’s Blueprint for Change is founded on the collective impact model. The program aspires to help Iowans with disabilities obtain and maintain employment that leads to their economic security. Early on, a diverse coalition of stakeholders, now knows as the Collective, was established to work together developing and implementing support services such as apprenticeships and transition programs.
Program Manager Judy Warth has been leading the project at the UCEDD, through a contract with Iowa Vocational Rehabilitation Services (IVRS). Working with IVRS and other Collective stakeholders, she has helped build a team at CDD, which just added a new staff member to support Individual Placement and Support (IPS) for job seekers with severe mental health conditions. Recently, Warth participated in an episode of Iowa Public Radio’s “River to River” program, about making the workplace work better for people with autism spectrum disorder. Brad Biren, an attorney with the state of Iowa who is on the autism spectrum, and James Williams of IVRS, also participated in the episode.
IVRS hosted a group of stakeholders at the State Capitol to talk to legislators about the issues facing Iowans with disabilities, and the importance of Community Integrated Employment opportunities. Ultimately, the Blueprint for Change aims to align public policies, funding, and practices that support competitive integrated employment as the first and preferred outcome for all Iowans with disabilities.
Read the Spring 2024 issue of the Iowa Blueprint for Change newsletter to learn about the collective impact IBC is having on community integrated employment opportunities in Iowa: https://links.iowacompass.org/4aUe9qj
If you have questions about Iowa’s Blueprint for Change program, get in touch with Judy Warth at [email protected].
