How Do I Recruit People with Disabilities to My Program?
Reach out to disability communities with recruitment practices and materials that are accessible and welcoming to people with disabilities.
1. Reach out to disability organizations.
- Let it be known that you want to engage the abilities of people with disabilities.
- Begin to establish relationships and collaboration. Present at each others' staff meetings. Exchange materials. This may be an opportunity to get feedback on accessibility of materials and practices from disability specialists.
- Examples of disability organizations:
2. Include welcoming messages in program materials.
- Include active, positive images of people with visible disabilities in promotional materials. (Get feedback from the National Service Inclusion Project or other disability professionals.)
- Equal opportunity/non-discrimination statement.
- "Individuals with disabilities can make reasonable accommodations requests by calling [name of contact] at [telephone/TTY]"
- "Available in alternative formats." Be prepared to deliver alternate formats when requested. Depending on the extensiveness of the request, you may need to request a two-week notification in order to fill them.
3. Review, adapt, and/or use accessible materials developed by other programs and grantees.
- CNCS Disability Outreach Grantees
- NSIP mini-grants (MS Word document)
4. Hold recruitment events and activities in accessible locations.
5. Contact the disability coordinator in your state for information in relation to CNCS programs.
- Can they recommend disability contacts? Are they available to speak with potential applicants with questions regarding disability?
6. Contact disability outreach grantees funded by CNCS.
- Find out what they are doing. Have they produced PR materials that would be useful for your program? Ask NSIP for recommendations of disability organizations to contact. Contact the National Service Inclusion Project.
©The National Service Inclusion Project is a cooperative agreement (#01CAM0016) between the Corporation for National and Community Service and the Institute for Community Inclusion at UMass Boston in collaboration with the Association of University Centers on Disabilities.