National Expansion of Employment Opportunities Network (NEON) Initiative

National Expansion of Employment Opportunities Network (NEON) Initiative is sponsored by U.S. Department of Labor Office of Disability Employment Policy. Supports state agencies in expanding job opportunities and improving financial well-being for individuals with mental health conditions, including those with co-occurring disabilities.

National Expansion of Employment Opportunities Network (NEON) | U.S. Department of Labor Office of Disability Employment Policy Federal Contractor Requirements Recruitment and Retention Self-Employment and Entrepreneurship Stay at Work/Return to Work Tax Incentives for Employers Workforce Recruitment Program Flexible Work Arrangements Personal Assistance Services Direct Support Professionals Financial Capability, Asset Development, and Work and Tax Incentives Competitive Integrated Employment Blending, Braiding, and Sequencing RESEARCH AND EVALUATION Back Disability Employment Statistics Median Annual Earnings Map Advancing State Policy Integration for Recovery and Employment (ASPIRE) Campaign for Disability Employment (CDE) National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) National Expansion of Employment Opportunities Network (NEON) Stay at Work/Return to Work (SAW/RTW) NEWS AND PUBLICATIONS Back Publications for Order and Download Americans with Disabilities Act National Expansion of Employment Opportunities Network (NEON) In 2016, the Advisory Committee on Increasing Competitive Integrated Employment for Individuals with Disabilities (ACICIEID) submitted a Final Report to Congress.

The committee recommended to increase the capacity of employment service providers to provide Competitive Integrated Employment (CIE) through both organizational restructuring and staff professional development. To address this need, the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) established the National Expansion of Employment Opportunities Network (NEON) initiative in 2019.

NEON assists National Provider Organizations (NPOs) and their affiliated Local Provider Organizations (LPOs), State Intermediary Organizations (SIOs) and State Government Agencies (SGAs) in advancing CIE. Advancing CIE Policies Within State Systems: NEON Core States Returning Core States for fiscal year (FY) 2025 include government agencies in Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Kentucky, Missouri, New York, Oregon and Tennessee.

In addition, the District of Columbia. Illinois, Iowa, Montana, New Jersey and Ohio will receive first time assistance through NEON in FY 2025. States plan to develop policy in the areas of employer engagement, Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) implementation, benefits counseling and increasing access to customized employment.

Regardless of which area a state is focusing on, all have the goal of increasing CIE. Effective Approaches to Benefits Planning – This webinar takes a closer look at benefits planning from a state-systems perspective and highlights a model of implementation from Missouri that can be emulated by states and providers.

It also covers how benefits planning can assist all job seekers to understand how their benefits are affected by work activities and how providers and state agencies each contribute to creating a successful system.

Exploring Networks of Financial Support for Provider Transformation: An Update from California – This webinar revisits Bakersfield ARC (last featured in November 2021) and its transformative efforts to end subminimum wage practices and close its sheltered workshop. It explains how Bakersfield ARC took advantage of state funding and grant opportunities to advance its transformation.

In addition, California state officials discuss how these grants were distributed and how their efforts can be replicated with success in other states. Statewide Collaborative Efforts to Increase CIE: Lessons from Colorado – This webinar highlights the combined efforts of state and local organizations to expand CIE throughout the state of Colorado.

The Colorado-based presenters detail the development and sustainment of partnerships and policies that go back more than six years, the fundamentals for successful statewide collaboration and the role each stakeholder plays to maximize success. Policy Alignment Within SGAs: Partnership with SIOs The work of the Core States complements existing partnerships between NEON and six SIOs that joined the initiative in FY 2023.

The SIOs will work with their state network and the Core States to realign policy in response to key issues that impact state governments’ abilities to increase CIE at the national, state and local levels.

Some proposed areas of focus include: Revise provider qualifying standards, Address workforce issues, Modify Medicaid waiver service options, Adopt alternative financing methodologies and Include value-based payments for employment services through the use of funding strategies.

National Association of Medicaid Directors National Association of State Directors of Developmental Disabilities Services National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors Realigning Providers’ Business Models: Partnership with NPOs NEON collaborates with NPOs to increase CIE for the people they serve through provider transformation.

The provider transformation process realigns disability service provider agencies business models from providing work opportunities in segregated settings or at subminimum wages to providing CIE for people with disabilities. NEON works with NPOs to increase CIE for the individuals they serve, including those with significant disabilities and those who have faced barriers to employment.

NEON currently provides technical assistance to five NPOs using a pool of national subject matter experts (SMEs) who serve as peer mentors in provider transformation and customized employment. NEON also provides one-on-one technical support to LPOs that are members of each NPO.

In addition, NEON offers its participating organizations an opportunity to network with one another and to learn about effective strategies through peer-to-peer mentoring.