State Exchange on Employment and Disability (SEED) RFI

Department of Labor - OSPE
Market Research: Request for Information (RFI)/Sources Sought Notice
State Exchange on Employment and Disability (SEED)
 

SPECIAL NOTICE: SOURCES SOUGHT & REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI). THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS.  This notice does not represent a commitment by the Government to issue a solicitation or award a contract.  The Government is not obligated to and will not pay for information received as a result of this announcement.  No reimbursement will be made for any costs associated with providing information in response to this announcement and any follow-up information requests to include an invite to further explain/demonstrate aspects of their proposed approach.  Requests for a solicitation will not receive a response.  Information provided in response to this RFI is submitted voluntarily and is not being requested as part of a solicitation for actual pricing.

PURPOSE OF RFI:

Today, more than 23 million working-age Americans live with a disability, yet only 38% are employed, leaving millions sidelined from our strong economy.  The Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) recognizes and values the role that states have in modernizing workforce systems, facilitating public-private partnerships, and adopting effective disability employment policies.  As such, ODEP supports the State Exchange on Employment and Disability (SEED) initiative to provide technical assistance for state policy makers on the development, adoption, and implementation of state policies that help Americans with disabilities secure employment, grow earnings, and build wealth.

This RFI seeks to gather information on the objectives below to manage and implement SEED through the following objectives:

• Provide technical assistance for state legislative and executive branch policy makers on the development, adoption, and implementation of state disability employment policies that aim to increase the number of Americans with disabilities in the labor market.
• Develop high quality, plain language technical assistance resources and policy briefs for state policy makers on disability employment related issues.
• Develop a mechanism to track the adoption, implementation, and impact of state level disability employment related policies.
• Develop and implement a strategic approach for increasing the adoption and implementation of state level evidence-based disability employment policies and practices across the country.
• Partner with national, regional, and state organizations and their membership networks to educate policy makers on state level evidence-based disability employment policies and practices.
• Convene forums and learning exchanges for state policy makers interested in developing and implementing both policies and practices that improve labor force participation rates for Americans with disabilities.   
• Identify evolving disability employment issues and assist in development of responsive policy frameworks.
• Manage communities of practice and/or innovation hubs to share evidence-based employment policies with state policy makers.

 The Government may use the responses to this RFI for market research and planning purposes.

See attached document for more details.