Program Recognizes Companies Creating Diverse Jobs in CT
Posted on July 19, 2010
The Connect-Ability initiative is recognizing six companies who have made a concentrated effort to create diverse jobs in CT.
According to a press release, the State of Connecticut’s Connect-Ability initiative recognized Dee’s One Smart Cookie (Glastonbury), Green Demolitions (Norwalk), Russ McDaniel Carpentry (Old Lyme), St. Francis Hospital Food & Nutritional Program (Hartford), Target (Meriden store), and Walgreens Distribution Center (Windsor) as recipients of the fifth annual Connect-Ability Top Employer Award for their aspirations, leadership and dedication to removing barriers to hiring and promoting people with disabilities.
The Connect-Ability Top Employers received recognition for their best practices on maintaining a diverse workforce that includes people with disabilities. Some of their best practices include: developing and sustaining aggressive work programs aimed at attracting and retaining people with disabilities and including people in recovery, creating a universal design work environment, participating in on-the-job training with the state’s Bureau of Rehabilitation Services and participating in Disability Mentoring Day.
The Connect-Ability Top Employer Awards were presented during the June 24th Employment Summit, an annual event that brought together hundreds of employers, advocates and workers to discuss the business case for diversity. Department of Social Services, Deputy Commissioner Claudette Beaulieu, whose agency is administering the Connect-Ability initiative, and Amy Porter, Director of DSS Bureau of Rehabilitation Services to deliver Connect-Ability Top Employer Awards.
Deputy Commissioner Beaulieu congratulated recipients and noted, “These Top Employers are shaping the way we should see the abilities of our Connecticut residents. By recognizing these recipients we hope we can encourage employers statewide to learn more about recruiting, hiring and retaining employees with disabilities.”
The Connect-Ability Top Employer Awards are a result of an independent survey by DiversityInc., a national publication on diversity and business. The company conducts an annual DiversityInc. Top 50 competition to determine the most diverse companies in the United States based on a variety of factors that illustrate a company’s culture and dedication to a diverse workforce including hiring practices, mentoring and management.
Connect-Ability is an initiative connecting Connecticut employers with the state’s talent pool of people with disabilities. Connect-Ability is intended to open minds by helping employers see the ability, not the disability. The initiative will bring together more resources than ever to increase employment opportunities for people with disabilities. Addressing the fundamental barriers to employment, it is one of the first initiatives of its kind in the nation and a model for other states planning similar efforts. Connect-Ability is funded by a four-year federal grant from the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and managed by the Connecticut Department of Social Services. Visit at www.Connect-Ability.com or call toll-free 1-866-844-1903.
