October 22, 2010 ... The Bergen One Stop Career Center recently recognized National Disability Awareness Month with a launch of a monthly electronic newsletter published by the North Region Disability Program Navigator (DPN) Team. The newsletter was coordinated by Nicholas Ruggiero, Regional DPN.

The newsletter explores engaging topics of interest that highlight disability related programs and services. The purpose of the newsletter is to heighten disability awareness within the One Stop and partner agencies with the goal of ensuring universal access for all persons with disabilities. Articles will highlight topics such as accommodation guidelines, assistive technology, community resources, disability awareness overviews, employer information, legal advice, resources for job seekers with disabilities and training opportunities.

The premier issue highlighted recent activities at the One Stop. For example, Mr. Ruggiero and Kathy Riccardi Tahan recently counseled and assisted a quadriplegic young woman seeking to develop her reading and math skills via TABE Testing (Test of Adult Basic Education Testing) to baseline of her skill sets. Plans are currently underway with the DPN, Bergen Community College, and Division of Vocational Rehabilitation to finalize basic training classes with the ultimate goal of identifying future employment opportunities. In another effort, the DPN identified employment opportunities for a recent college graduate with Autism, working closely with the colleagues from Employment Services, Northern New Jersey Disability Network and Goodwill Industries, Inc. This collaborative job search approach resulted in the young man landing a position with Goodwill in Paramus.

The DPN Initiative is jointly sponsored by the Department of Labor & Workforce Development and the Social Security Administration. The initiative seeks to ensure that all federal and state laws and policies for individuals with disabilities are being enforced at One-Stop Career Centers, in order to maximize employment opportunities for those individuals. The County of Bergen was designated as the North regional lead, and includes the counties of Bergen, Passaic, Union, Hudson, Morris, Sussex, Essex and Warren.