Public Sector Employment Programs

O’Neill and Associates has considerable expertise in assisting a variety of government employers in the state of Washington to recruit, train and retain employees with developmental disabilities. These employers include the State of Washington, King County, Clark County, Clallam County, Spokane County, the City of Seattle and the City of Vancouver.

Our approach offers:

• A detailed analysis of potential job opportunities

• Assistance with modifying job descriptions

• Disability and diversity awareness training

• Recruitment and initial screening of potential job candidates

• Connecting departments/divisions with selected support agencies

• Training coworkers and supervisory staff

• Developing training plans for newly hired employees

• Providing ongoing support to ensure quality, stability and satisfaction of both the employer and employees

Employment Assistance Project

O’Neill and Associates was awarded a demonstration grant by the United States Department of Education’s Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS). Under this grant, O’Neill and Associates created the first public sector supported employment program in the nation.

Focusing on a wide variety of public sector jobs, O’Neill and Associates assisted King County, the City of Seattle, the Port of Seattle, Lake Washington School District and the City of Redmond to employ persons with developmental disabilities in meaningful, well paying positions with excellent benefits and career advancement opportunities.

In partnership with King County employment service agencies, the project secured job commitments by assisting these public sector employers to identify potential positions, how the positions would be funded, job creation or modification techniques, and utilizing job classifications and manager and coworker training and support.

At the conclusion of the grant, the King County Developmental Disabilities Program chose to contract with O’Neill and Associates for ongoing work in the public sector. Presently, there are over 75 persons with developmental disabilities employed by King County and over 50 in the City of Seattle .

Learn more about the hiring process, human resource development, customized consultation and training services, and read FAQs from employers and a discussion about the myths and facts about persons with developmental disabilities. Or, if you would like to discuss any aspect of developing a public sector employment program, please contact us for information.