AbilityOne – It Works!
Creating Employment Opportunities for People Who Are Blind or Have Significant Disabilities
People who are blind or have significant disabilities are America’s greatest untapped labor resource. Of the nation’s 200 million working-age adults, more than 15 million report living with a disability.1 Many citizens who are blind or have a significant disability are willing and eager to work, yet nearly 70% do not have jobs.2
In the late 1930s, leaders in the blindness community encouraged Congress to open up government markets to products produced by people who were blind. They were rewarded with the passage of the Wagner-O’Day Act in 1938. Thanks to the program’s success, the law was amended in 1971 as the Javits-Wagner-O’Day Act, allowing people with significant disabilities to participate, and calling for the provision of services to the Federal Government.
An amazingly committed and talented workforce of whom at least 75% are people who are blind or have significant disabilities fulfills AbilityOne contracts.
AbilityOne FAST FACTS:
- Comprises largest single source of jobs for individuals who are blind or have significant disabilities in the U.S.
- Employs more than 45,000 people who are blind or have significant disabilities, 3,000 of whom are military veterans and wounded warriors
- Delivers nearly $3 billion in quality products and services to the Federal Government at fair market prices
- Provides critical support to the U.S. military customers, both for war fighting and disaster/ humanitarian relief operations
- Operates at nearly 1,000 locations representing 40 government agencies nationally, including more than 140 base supply centers
HOW AbilityOne WORKS:
- Leverages a national network of more than 550 community-based nonprofit agencies that train and employ individuals who are blind or have significant disabilities to work on Federal contract projects in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam.
- At least 75% of direct labor hours for each Federal contract’s workforce must be from people who are blind or have significant disabilities.
- Offers a wide range of job opportunities with upward mobility.
- Community nonprofit agencies with AbilityOne Federal contracts are encouraged to pursue contracts with state and local governments as well as commercial contracts in the private sector, which further expands both the number and range of training and job opportunities available to people who are blind or have significant disabilities.
- Administered by an independent Federal agency – the U.S. AbilityOne Commission® – with the assistance of two central, national nonprofit organizations, National Industries for the Blind (NIB) and SouceAmerica®, which provide extensive support for the national network of community-based nonprofits that obtain Federal contracts through the program.
BENEFITS of AbilityOne:
- Employees gain greater independence, self-esteem and confidence; and acquire new skills and work experiences that can lead to opportunities for advancement.
- Federal and state governments and the American taxpaying public benefit from the employment of thousands of people who might otherwise be dependent on public assistance. Three AbilityOne programs alone - commissary, food services and custodial services have led to a net impact of nearly $47 million annually through entitlement reductions and increased tax revenue.
- With the participation of more of its citizens in the workplace, every community benefits from greater cultural diversity and awareness, and a highly motivated workforce.