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2026 Agenda

Using CareerOneStop to Support Job Seekers

By Claudia Barrios

NENA Board Member

As workforce professionals, we're always on the hunt for resources that don't cost our clients or our organizations. CareerOneStop, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor, is exactly that: a free, public toolbox EN staff can use directly alongside clients, especially those navigating a job search with a disability.

• https://www.myskillsmyfuture.org/: Helps a beneficiary translate skills from a past job into new career options, useful for clients changing fields after the onset of a disability or a long employment gap.
• Salary Finder & Compare Salaries: Let's clients set realistic expectations before they apply.

For Job Search & Applications

• Job Finder: Localized job listings by zip code and occupation. 
• Practice Job Application: A low-stakes way for clients to rehearse online applications and build confidence before the real thing.

For Connecting to Local Support

• Local Help / American Job Center Finder: Locates the nearest AJC — often a Ticket to Work Partnership Plus site. 
• State Resource Finder: Surfaces state-specific training and assistance programs.

Resources Built for Workers with Disabilities CareerOne Stop’s People with Disabilities page links to the Employer Assistance and Resource Network (EARN) and to disability-focused job boards such as AbilityJOBS and Disabled Person. This is a quick way to broaden a client's job search.

How ENs Can Use This

• Pull up Job Finder or mySkills myFuture together with a client during a placement session. 
• Print Resume Guide tips as a handout for intake appointments.
• Bookmark the Workers with Disabilities page for quick reference during benefits counseling.

All of it is free and public-facing, making it an easy resource to layer into your existing service plans at no added cost to your EN or your Ticketholders.

Explore it yourself at careeronestop.org.

New DOL Toolkit Supports Accessible Apprenticeships

The U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) has released an Apprenticeship Accommodations Toolkit — a one-stop hub of tips, strategies, and resources for making apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship programs accessible to people with disabilities, organized for apprenticeship sponsors and trainers, apprentices and career seekers with disabilities, the American workforce system, and service providers and community organizations alike.

For Ticketholders exploring skilled trades, manufacturing, healthcare, and other apprentice able occupations, ENs can point clients to the Apprenticeship Job Finder to search Registered Apprenticeship opportunities by occupation and location, JAN's How to Ask for an Accommodation guide before requesting on-the-job supports, the Situations and Solutions Finder for real-world accommodation examples across industries like manufacturing, construction, and technology, and Disability Self-Disclosure and the ADA for guidance on when and how to disclose a disability; ENs coordinating with VR can also reference the Blending, Braiding, and Sequencing (BBS) Resources guide for combining funding streams to support apprenticeship and employment programs. Explore the full toolkit at beta.dol.gov/programs-initiatives/apprenticeship-accommodations-toolkit

In Memoriam: Susan Webb

NENA mourns the passing of Susan Webb, former Ability360 Executive Director. Susan was a co-founder of NENA and an active member from 2007–2013, during which she chaired the Regulatory and Policy Committee.

Susan dedicated more than 35 years to advancing disability public policy at the local, state, and national levels. She held multiple appointments in disability policy roles across Presidential, Congressional, and State administrations. In 1988, President Reagan appointed her to the U.S. Access Board, where she chaired the task force that developed the first Accessibility Guidelines later mandated and incorporated into the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Susan served as Ability360’s Vice President of Employment Services until her retirement in July 2019. She recognized that even after the passage of the ADA in 1990, people with disabilities continued to face unemployment and underemployment due to work disincentives within the Social Security Disability Program. This inequity fueled her passion for economic empowerment and national policy reform. As a Board Member of the National Council on Independent Living (NCIL), she advocated for the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act (TWWIIA), which President Clinton signed into law in 1999. TWWIIA created opportunities and incentives to remove barriers to employment and reduce reliance on entitlement programs for the thirteen million Americans navigating the Social Security disability benefits system. In 2000, Susan was one of twelve citizens appointed by President Clinton and Congress to the TWWIIA Advisory Panel.

Susan was also a founder of ENAC and a member of its Coordinating Committee since 2014. ENAC represents Ticket to Work Employment Networks (ENs) on regulatory and statutory matters related to the Ticket to Work Program.

While Susan is no longer with us, her contributions to improving the lives of people with disabilities will continue to resonate for decades. Her commitment to the independent living movement and its philosophy will not be forgotten. Our thoughts are with her friends and family during this time.

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