Members and Contacts of the California Business Leadership Network are encouraged to participate in Disability Mentoring Day – a terrific opportunity for companies and community-based organizations to collaborate in improving employment opportunities for people with disabilities.

"I will remember my Disability Mentoring Day experience my whole life. I was able to settle on a college major and career objective when I graduate."

-- Anabel Rios,
Student, University of Houston - Houston, Texas

History
Activities
Local Area Coordinators
National Disability Mentoring Day Website
Employer's Toolkit

History

In October 27, 1999, the White House sponsored "Disability Mentoring Day: Career Development for the 21st Century."  It was modeled after a variety of mentoring and job shadow days associated with African American History Month, Hispanic Heritage Month, etc., and national programs like the February Groundhog Job Shadow Day.  That event was done on a very small scale with the White House and federal agencies, and participation in a few areas around the country.  Due to the positive experiences of all involved, Disability Mentoring Day was established, in 2000, as an annual event throughout the country - giving employers and people with disabilities a unique opportunity to learn from one another.

Partnership

To help ensure the ongoing success of Disability Mentoring Day (to take place the last Wednesday of every October), a public-private partnership between the Department of Labor's Office on Disability Policy and the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) has been formed to serve as national sponsors.  This coalition will help in framing the mission and objectives, and providing materials with concrete suggestions to help people get started.  In the coming weeks, detailed information will be made available online at the new www.disability.gov web site.  They will work to help provide an overall framework for Disability Mentoring Day, while maximizing flexibility for local planning to suit local needs and interests.

Disability Mentoring Day is designed not as an alternative to mainstream" job/career days, but rather as a complement to them. Check out www.jobshadow.org, for example, to learn more about the Groundhog Job Shadow day, which is sponsored in part by the Departments of Education and Labor.) Disability Mentoring Day is an opportunity to help people with disabilities in thinking about career opportunities, and to educate the general public about the potential of a massive resource for sustaining our national well-being.  By having participation from all across the country -- and demonstrating partnerships between young people with disabilities, employers, organizations, and schools -- Disability Mentoring Day can play a role in realizing the employment goals of American’s with Disabilities Act.

The ultimate goal of Disability Mentoring Day is to mobilize the employment of people with disabilities.  Ideally, employers can approach the day with a notion of identifying qualified job candidates for future employment, and participants can view the day as an occasion to learn about potential job opportunities and attractive workplaces.  It can also help (year-round) in developing long-term relationships between various disability organizations and employers.  People with disabilities interested in participating should begin thinking now about preparing a resume and about what kind of mentoring experience would be most helpful (i.e. what type of career). Organizations can begin by identifying government agencies and private-sector companies to participate.  Additional guidance will soon be available at www.disability.gov.

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Activities

To-date, activity guidelines are unavailable online; but we “borrowed” the following from Canada’s “Face-to-Face” program:

INFORMATIONAL INTERVIEWING

Informational interviewing provides an opportunity for employers and disabled individual to exchange information about a particular career field. It is not a job interview, but an opportunity for both the employer and disabled individual to ask questions and learn from each other.

For the employer, the Informational Interview provides the chance to:

• access an untapped source of labor;
• get answers to work-related questions about disabilities; and
• gain insight into abilities that might not be available in a more formal setting
• For the disabled individual, the interview provides the chance to:
• learn more about their chosen career field;
• meet individuals who have the authority to hire, or who can refer them to other potential employers; and
• practice their interviewing skills.

TOUR OF THE WORK SITE

As a part of the mentoring program, the employer provides the opportunity for the disabled individual to tour the work site. Throughout the tour, the disabled individual can provide the employer with the following information:

• general tips for making the work environment accessible for persons with disabilities; and
• concrete examples of accommodations that may be required for an employer to capitalize on the skills and abilities of employees with disabilities.

In addition, the tour of the work site provides the disabled individual with information on the type of work environment in his/her field, and the possible accommodations to discuss in an actual job interview.

JOB SHADOWING

In the job shadowing component, the disabled individual is paired with an employee to observe the different tasks involved in a particular job, and to discuss the accommodation that he or she would require in order to do the same job. Job shadowing provides the opportunity for:

• job seekers to better understand the work environment;
• employees at all levels within the company to gain an understanding of the skills of people with disabilities; and
• preparing the work force for a more diverse representation.

NETWORK SHARING

• Network sharing occurs throughout the entire mentoring period; however, it most often occurs during the informal interview. Due to the educational nature of Face to Face, this portion of the program encourages both employers and disabled individual to share useful information about community resources. Some of the information shared may include:
• information about sources of potential employees with disabilities;
• names of community service providers who can assist employers to accommodate both existing and potential employees; and
• contacts in a specific industry which could assist the job seeker with an active job search.

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LOCAL AREA COORDINATORS

The following individuals/organizations in California are willing to assist companies to successfully recruit people with disabilities and coordinate Mentoring Day activities:

Berkeley, CA
Sarah Tom
Student Alumni Mentorship Program
California Alumni Association
c/o Tara Young
University of California, Berkeley
1 Alumni House
Berkeley, CA 94720
VOICE: (510) 666-9647
setom@uclink.berkeley.edu

Hillcrest, San Diego; San Diego County, CA
Louis Frick
Access Center
1295 University Avenue, Suite 10
San Diego, CA 92103
VOICE: (619) 293-3500, Ext. 201
TTY: (619) 293-7757
FAX: (619) 293-3508
www.accesscentersd.org

Los Angeles, CA
Doreen Wong
Western Law Center for Disability Rights
919 South Albany Street
Los Angeles, CA 90015
VOICE: (213) 736-1031
TTY: (213) 736-8310
FAX: (213) 736-1428
Doreen.Wong@LLS.edu
www.wlcdr.org

Sacramento, CA
Rachele Burton
Pride Industries
10030 Foothills Blvd.
Department 1300
Roseville, CA 95747
VOICE: (916) 788-2130
TTY: (916) 783-1846
FAX: (916) 788-2560
rburton@prideindustries.com

San Francisco, CA
Kevin Hickey
Jewish Vocational Services
77 Gary, Suite 401
San Francisco, CA 94108
VOICE: (415) 782-6279
khickey@jvs.org
www.jvs.org

Santa Clara County, CA
Bob Zier
TransAccess
1590 The Alameda, Suite 110
San Jose, CA 95126
VOICE: (408) 278-2002
FAX: (408) 278-2010
bzier@transaccess.org

West Hollywood, CA
Daphne Dennis
City of West Hollywood
8300 Santa Monica Blvd.
West Hollywood, CA 90069
VOICE: (323) 848-6410
TTY: (323) 848-6410
FAX: (323) 848-6565
ddennis@weho.org
www.weho.org

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