The state of Kansas plans on using $25 million to help Kansans with disabilities enter the workforce. The program is known as End-Dependence Kansas. Phyllis Gilmore, secretary of the Department for Children and Families, announced the program at a Wendy's restaurant in Topeka.
“By them being employed, they are able to end dependency on public assistance. And at the Department for Children and Families that’s one of our missions. It’s certainly one of our charges from Governor Brownback,” says Gilmore.
The program will offer job training and equipment for people seeking jobs. It will also provide incentives for employers who offer jobs to people with disabilities. The program will take advantage of federal dollars the the state hasn’t currently been using.
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The state of Kansas plans to spend $25 million over the next five years to help disabled Kansans find jobs. As KPR’s Stephen Koranda reports, the program was announced Monday at a stop in Topeka.
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The program is known as End-Dependence Kansas. The goals are to get at least 2,000 more disabled Kansans working and reduce the use of public assistance. It will offer job training and equipment for people with disabilities who want to work. Mike Donnelly, with the Department for Children and Families, says it also offers a temporary subsidy for employers who hire Kansans with disabilities.
“It allows them to take less risk in hiring somebody they’re not quite sure may be able to learn the job,” says Donnelly.
Brenna Koch, from Topeka, is visually impaired. She used similar programs to get training on equipment that helped her read and perform other tasks. She graduated college and now she works in accounting.
“I love feeling like I’m contributing to something and that I’m helping somebody. Working in the department I work in I get to feel some kind of accomplishment,” says Koch.
The program will take advantage of federal dollars the the state hasn’t currently been using.