Employment Initiatives

Many people with significant disabilities want to work. They have skills, talents, and experience to offer employers, but face barriers to employment that prevent them from reaching their full potential. They fear losing their health care coverage and often struggle to understand the complex and uncoordinated array of benefits and employment services available.

Employment initiatives are designed to address the barriers to employment and community living faced by many individuals with disabilities. With input from key stakeholders including consumers, advocates, and policy makers, these employment initiatives involve identifying current systematic barriers and designing creative ways to address them. The goal is to test innovative solutions to existing problems and incorporate them into the overall consumer-driven, systems change movement in Wisconsin.

• Guiding Principles for Competitive Integrated Employment for People with Disabilities in Long-Term Care, P-01786 (PDF)
• 2017 Wisconsin Act 178: Employment First Initiative
• Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR):
  • DVR Service Provider Information page
  • DVR Technical Specifications
• Interagency Competitive Integrated Employment (CIE) Plan and Report: 2017 Wisconsin Act 178
• Interagency Memo of Agreement (MOA) (PDF) between the Department of Workforce Development-Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DWD-DVR) and the Department of Health Services (DHS)
• Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) Settings Rule: Compliance Assessment Information for Nonresidential Providers
• Family Care Integrated Employment Initiatives
• Health Employment Counseling Program (HEC)
• Medicaid Purchase Plan (MAPP)

Contact information

If you cannot find the answer to your question, email DHSLTCEmployment@dhs.wisconsin.gov or call our main office at 608-267-7286.