Employment News

Josiah Fowler, a Rehabilitation Technologist for the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation, thinks of his job like a puzzle. Luckily, he’s good at puzzles. Though the ...

When asked about the RETAIN Employer First Seminar series, Kimberly Wickert figured she’d let a frequent attendee, Judiann Romeo, AVP at CareWorks, speak to the ...

Lakyn Hollandsworth has always believed in helping people where she can. “I grew up in a family where if someone needed something, you helped them,” ...

Anthony Glenn has had a wildly diverse career. Now, he’s a return-to-work coordinator on the RETAIN Kentucky project at HDI, but through the years, he’s ...

For much of his college career, Adam Potter struggled to find the right path. Despite being an avid musician, he didn’t feel like his initial ...

Carolyn Wheeler’s heart broke when she came across a book called Christmas in Purgatory on her mom’s bookshelf. The book was a photographic essay on ...

As Executive Director Dr. Kathy Sheppard-Jones tells it, 2023 was a year of connections for the Human Development Institute. Connections, according to Sheppard-Jones, are a ...

The University of Kentucky Human Development Institute seeks to cultivate a culture of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) with disability as its main focus. In ...

University of Kentucky Human Development Institute (HDI) staff and students attend the 2023 Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD) conference. The theme of this ...

Description: Katie Wolf Whaley is in the studio to discuss Employment First, a policy stating competitive employment should be the first and primary option for ...

There’s an alchemy to coding, a place where art meets science, a perfect fusion of technical know-how and creativity. Jay Hatcher has lived in that ...

What comes next after you graduate high school? When students toss their caps in the air, a whole new world opens up and they’re faced ...

Stock photography lacks disability representation. The photos are often staged and use models without disabilities resulting in misrepresentation and unnatural scenes. Staff from the University ...

In 2020, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear signed an executive order to create the Kentucky Employment First Council, which helps people with disabilities find meaningful employment ...

Supported employment has changed a lot over the years. Both Lori Norton and Margaret Lopresto can attest to that. Both have been involved in the ...

On December 2nd, 2022, Kentucky welcomed Katie Wolf Whaley as the new chair of Kentucky’s Employment First Council.   Employment First practices the idea that ...

Stock photography is a common tool used by almost all businesses and organizations; however, stock photos featuring people with disabilities are often staged using models ...

This past October, the Kentucky Office of Vocational Rehabilitation (OVR) American Sign Language (ASL) Interpreting Team, housed at the University of Kentucky Human Development Institute, ...

The Retaining Employment and Talent After Injury/Illness Network (RETAIN KY) Team recently participated in the Kentucky State Fair to raise awareness about a Department of ...

Interpreters from Kentucky’s Office of Vocational Rehabilitation’s Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services (DHHS) Branch, in partnership with the Kentucky Commission on the Deaf and ...

Congratulations to HDI Staff selected to present at the 2022 National Council on Rehabilitation Education Conference in San Diego, California in March. Evaluating the Stress-Appraisal-Coping ...

The University of Kentucky Human Development Institute (HDI) is pleased to announce the release of its 2022-2023 Strategic Plan. As Kentucky’s University Center on Disability, ...

The University of Kentucky Human Development Institute - HDI congratulates Executive Director, Dr. Kathy Sheppard-Jones, recipient of the Kentucky APSE Willie Byrd Legislative Award 2021 ...

University of Kentucky Human Development Institute (HDI) staff are preparing to present sessions and posters at the 2021 Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD) ...

The University of Kentucky Human Development Institute Digital Storytelling Initiative highlights the stories and lived experiences of people with disabilities. By recording and collecting stories, the ...

The University of Kentucky (UK) Human Development Institute (HDI) launches the Kentucky Supported Higher Education Partnership’s (KSHEP) website. KSHEP is a network of institutions of ...

On May 20, 2021, the University of Kentucky submitted application to the U.S. Department of Education Office of Federal Student Aid to establish a Comprehensive ...

The UK Human Development Institute Executive Director, Dr. Kathy Sheppard-Jones joins Lt. Governor Jacqueline Coleman and UK President Eli Capilouto to announce the state has ...

A University of Kentucky (UK) Human Development Institute (HDI) Fund for Excellence award has been given to Christina Espinosa Bard and Patti Singleton to offer ...

HDI Program Education Assistant, Morgan Turner, recently presented at the Dignity of Work International Forum sponsored by the Institute on Community Integration. In his presentation, ...

In concert with the University of Wisconsin and other committed partners, the University of Kentucky (UK) Human Development Institute (HDI) is part of the new ...

The UK Human Development Institute (HDI) houses the Kentucky Post School Outcome Center (KyPSO) to increase the capacity of local school districts, teachers, parents, and ...

Kentucky has been awarded a Visionary Opportunities to Increase Competitive Employment (VOICE) Technical Assistance Grant by the US Department of Labor Office of Disability Employment ...

When people leave the labor force because they become sick or have an injury, it can be detrimental—for them, their families, employers and the economy ...

Preliminary examination of return to work interests among unemployed individuals with multiple sclerosis by Rongxiu Wu, Amanda Corbin, Penina Goldstein, Chithra Adams, Phillip Rumrill, Malachy ...

Employment is an expectation. Passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 furthered that expectation for people with disabilities across the country. In Kentucky, ...

Finish school and get a job—that’s the plan for most students from the time they start kindergarten. But for a significant portion of Kentucky’s young ...

Education and early intervention, self-advocacy, employment, housing, transportation, childcare, and community supports were all listed as areas of need by service providers, family members and ...

By Amanda Kelley Corbin What are your hopes and dreams for your son or daughter’s future? It’s something every parent has pondered. And while the ...

By Jeff White Noted self-advocate Robert M. Hensel is frequently quoted as stating, “There is no greater disability in society, than the inability to see ...

by Kellie McCain of the DD Council Kentucky’s Commission on Services and Supports for Individuals with Intellectual and Other Developmental Disabilities (also known as HB ...

"As an employer, I've been fortunate to have employees with intellectual disabilities who meaningfully contribute to our programs, and as a mother, I have been ...

by Amanda Kelley Corbin Self-advocates, families, and professionals gathered for a community conversation to discuss employment opportunities for individuals with significant disabilities on Monday, December ...

Come join us on Monday, December 3 from 6:30-8:30pm at Down Syndrome of Louisville's Sublett Hall to engage in conversations about setting employment priorities for ...

by Tony Lobianco, Principal Investigator / Project Director KentuckyPost School Outcomes Center KentuckyWorks tracks its progress through data from the Kentucky Post School Outcomes Center ...

Kentucky’s Employment First Council assembled for its first meeting on Thursday, October 4. The 27 member group is comprised of people with disabilities, family members, ...

by Larry Taylor, Ed.D., Executive Director Kentucky Autism Training Center The Kentucky Autism Training Center and the Kentucky Office of Autism collaborated to offer the Regional Parent Summit ...

By Amanda Kelley Corbin Sean Roy (right), who is the Youth Employment Solutions (YES!) Center’s state liaison to Kentucky and a training associate with TransCen ...

Come join us on Tuesday, July 17, 2018 for youth with intellectual disabilities, families, and professionals to discuss what families and youth need to prepare ...

On May 15, 2018, Governor Matt Bevin signed Executive Order 2018-328 to add Kentucky to the growing list of states with Employment First policies for ...

KentuckyWorks and Kentucky E3TC held a joint community conversation on March 20 in Jackson, Kentucky. The goal of the activity was to bring together a ...

A Community Conversation held in Morehead, Kentucky on February 27, 2017 identified two major projects local volunteers determined would provide significant initiative to promote the ...

Employment for people with intellectual disabilities and KentuckyWorks were recently featured in an article by Valarie Honeycutt Spears in the Lexington Herald-Leader. The article highlights the ...

HDI has recently launched a new website and learning modules for teachers, people with disabilities, employers, families, and employment professionals at kentuckyworks.org. The purpose of this website ...

A free screening of the Bottom Dollars film, an original documentary by Rooted in Rights about the work exploitation of nearly 250,000 people with disabilities, ...

“Today’s military has almost all the occupations found in the business community. With businesses struggling to find qualified employees, veterans with and without disabilities can ...