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Programs broadly available to individuals with disabilities in general (rather than focusing on special groups within the disability population) that provide vocational assessment, job development, job training, job placement, specialized job situations and/or other supportive services that help people with disabilities prepare for, find and retain paid employment.

Programs that provide opportunities for individuals with disabilities to learn and practice work skills in a separate and supported environment. Participants may be involved in the program on a transitional or ongoing basis, and are paid for their work, generally under a piecework arrangement. The nature of the work and the types of disabilities represented in the workforce vary widely by program and by the area in which the organization is located. Individuals participate in center-based employment for a variety of reasons including severity of disability, need for additional training or experience, need for a protected environment and/or lack of availability of community-based employment.

Programs that provide comprehensive support services for displaced homemakers who need assistance preparing for, finding and retaining paid employment. Services may include career readiness workshops, mentoring programs, vocational assessment, vocational counseling, job development, job training, job search assistance and a wide variety of support services such as life skills training, financial management assistance, support groups and referrals for other specific needs. Displaced homemakers are individuals (primarily women) who, in their middle and later years, having fulfilled the role of homemaker, find themselves displaced because of dissolution of marriage, death of a spouse, or other loss of family income. As a consequence, displaced homemakers have a greatly reduced income, a high rate of unemployment due to age, lack of paid work experience and discrimination, and limited opportunities to collect assistance from social security, unemployment compensation, Medicaid and other health insurance benefits, or the pension plans of their spouse.

Programs that provide vocational assessment, job development, job training, job search, job placement, specialized job situations and/or other supportive services for individuals who are unable to continue in a particular job, industry or profession because the needs of society have changed and the person's skills are no longer required. Included are services for people who have been permanently laid off because of plant closings, outsourcing of jobs to other countries, reductions in the work force, declines in business activities and other factors in situations where reemployment within their industry is unlikely.

Programs that provide comprehensive support services for ex-offenders who need assistance preparing for, finding and retaining paid employment. Services may include vocational assessment; guidance relating to resume preparation, job application letters and questionnaires, interview techniques, appropriate dress and personal-social behaviors that will allow them to get along with employers and co-workers on the job; job skills development support; job placement assistance; limited periods of subsidized employment, where necessary; and/or on-the-job support, as required, by a personal case manager who may visit the individual while at work, meet with the person's supervisor and/or co-workers and provide whatever assistance the ex-offender needs to meet the challenges of entering the workforce and retain his or her position.

Programs that provide comprehensive assessment, ongoing case management, work readiness, job training, job development, job placement services, post-placement follow-up and/or supportive services that are tailored to the specific needs of homeless individuals who need assistance preparing for, finding and retaining paid employment. Many programs specifically target outreach and enrollment efforts on homeless individuals or specific groups within the homeless population (e.g., homeless veterans, homeless youth, homeless individuals with serious mental illness, permanent supportive housing residents); and some partner with other organizations working with people who are homeless such as local mental health agencies; the administrative agency for the local Workforce Investment Board; one-stop career centers; community-based nonprofit vocational rehabilitation agencies; case management organizations; housing agencies; and the local public housing authority.

Programs that provide comprehensive support services for immigrants and refugees who need assistance to prepare for, find and retain paid employment. Services may include vocational assessment, job search assistance, professional mentoring programs and other levels of initial and ongoing support. The emphasis is on preparing individuals for the expectations of employment in a new country and in particular, to obtain recognition for professional experience secured in another country and to obtain initial work experience in their new country.

A nationwide, government-subsidized youth training program that provides remedial education, vocational training and useful work experience including on-the-job training for low and moderate-income, disadvantaged youth who have poor job skills.

Programs funded under Title V of the Older Americans Act (OAA) and administered by the U.S. Department of Labor whose purpose is to develop workforce skills in unemployed, low-income older adults age 55 and older with poor employment prospects. Program participants are assigned to paid community service placements with a non-profit organization or governmental entity for purposes of training and acquisition or improvement of skills that may lead to unsubsidized employment or a job that is not subsidized by the program. In collaboration with the participant, the program must develop an Individual Employment Plan, which outlines steps for achieving goals as determined through personal interviews and assessment instruments. Participants may be offered supportive services such as transportation, counseling, work equipment and other items to assist them in participating in the SCSEP and preparing them for a permanent job.

Programs that find paid, meaningful work in a variety of community-based settings for people who have disabilities and which assign a "job coach" to work side-by-side with each client to interface with the employer and other employees, and provide training in basic job skills and work-related behaviors, assistance with specific tasks as needed and whatever other initial or ongoing support is required to ensure that the individual retains competitive employment. Included are individual placement models in which a job coach works on-the-job with a single individual and group models such as enclaves (which are self-contained work units of people needing support) and mobile work crews, in which a group of workers with disabilities receives continuous support and supervision from supported employment personnel. In the enclave model, groups of people with disabilities are trained to work as a team alongside employees in the host business supported by a specially trained on-site supervisor, who may work either for the host company or the placement agency. A variation of the enclave approach is called the "dispersed enclave" and is used in service industries (e.g., restaurants and hotels). Each person works on a separate job, and the group is dispersed throughout the company. In the mobile work crew model, a small team of people with disabilities works as a self-contained business and undertakes contract work such as landscaping and gardening projects. The crew works at various locations in a variety of settings within the community under the supervision of a job coach.

Agencies or instrumentalities of a state (or political subdivision), or private entities that have been accepted as an Employment Network (EN) under the Social Security Administration's voluntary Ticket to Work/Self Sufficiency program whose objective is to help people with disabilities obtain work without endangering their disability benefits including health care coverage. Employment Networks can be a single entity, a partnership or alliance of entities (public and/or private), or a consortium of organizations collaborating to combine resources to serve Ticket-holders. Included may be Workforce Investment Act (WIA) One-Stop Centers and Workforce Investment Boards (WIBs), disability and rehabilitation service providers, staffing companies, state and local government agencies, community-based employment support services providers, public and private sector schools and colleges, faith-based groups, multicultural organizations, public and private hospitals, foundations, disability management and insurance companies, Native American tribes, state vocational rehabilitation agencies, employers and small business development and micro enterprise entities.

A voluntary employment program that increases the choices and opportunities for eligible Social Security disability beneficiaries to obtain employment, vocational rehabilitation and other support services from public and private providers, employers and other organizations without endangering their disability benefits including health care coverage. Beneficiaries receive a Ticket which they may use to obtain services and jobs from state vocational rehabilitation agencies or organizations that have been designated as Employment Networks (EN) by the program. Once a beneficiary assigns his or her ticket to an EN or vocational rehabilitation agency, the provider works with them to develop a written individual work plan which documents desired employment goals and helps the individual return to work or work for the first time. The Employment Network or state rehabilitation agency bills the Social Security Administration (SSA) using the ticket claim account number. The SSA determines eligibility for the program.

Programs funded through the U.S. Department of Labor that provide training and reemployment assistance and, if necessary, limited support payments for workers who have lost their jobs or had their hours or wages reduced as a result of increased imports; or who have been affected by the shift of production from the U.S. to Canada or Mexico. Workers must be engaged in employment involving production of some type of article in order to qualify, so this program does not apply to workers in service industries whose jobs have been outsourced to other countries.

Programs that provide resume preparation assistance, career counseling, vocational assessment, job development, job training, job search, job placement and/or other services for unemployed veterans who need assistance re-entering the workforce. Programs for homeless veterans may also provide supportive services such as clothing; access to temporary, transitional and permanent housing; referrals for medical and substance abuse treatment; and transportation assistance. Veteran employment programs may be configured for recently separated veterans, homeless veterans, veterans with service-connected disabilities and other special populations or may be broadly available to veterans in general.

Programs operated by state agencies or local jurisdictions that offer employment training and supportive services (such as child care, transportation costs, ancillary expenses and personal counseling) for people who are receiving public assistance through the TANF program in an effort to help them become self-supporting. Private organizations, often under contract with a public agency, may be involved in both the provision of training and on-the-job work experience (including volunteering in nonprofit agencies). Public assistance recipients are required to participate in designated program activities a minimum number of hours per week in order to receive their monthly income support payment and supplemental payments for support services.

Programs funded through the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014 that provide work-readiness training for youth age 14 through 24 from low-income households or are at risk of dropping out of school; and adults age 18 and older who are low-income and/or receiving public assistance and are unemployed. The goal is to prepare youth for high school graduation, post-secondary education and, ultimately, a career. Specific components of the WIA program may focus on special populations with unique employment problems including Native Americans, veterans, migrant and seasonal farm workers, dislocated workers and people who are homeless.

Programs that provide vocational assessment, job development, job training, job search, job placement, specialized job situations and/or other supportive services for unemployed and/or underemployed youth who need assistance preparing for, finding and retaining paid employment. Services may include summer jobs at community worksites; internships, job-shadowing and entrepreneurial projects; and work-readiness training that focuses on resume preparation, job application letters and questionnaires, interview techniques, appropriate dress and personal appearance, work ethic values and other "soft skills" that are required for job retention. Youth employment programs may be configured for at-risk youth, students, low-income youth and other special populations or may be broadly available to youth in general.