Employment & Career Resources

• Job Boards & Employment Networks

  • Ability Jobs: ABILITY seeks to enable those with disabilities to find employment fit to their unique needs and professional goals.
  • Ability Job Fair: An online platform that connects job seekers with disabilities to inclusive employers through accessible, video-based career fairs.
  • CareerOneStop: Disability resources and information to support your successful employment.
  • Hire Disability Solutions: A national leader in recruiting talented individuals with disabilities for forward-thinking companies, helping them build a stronger workforce.
  • Job Path: The United Spinal Association’s Job Path platform connects individuals with disabilities to job opportunities, training resources, mentorship, and employer networks to support their career growth.
  • Land A Job Service: As an Employment Network (EN) in the Social Security Administration’s Ticket to Work Program, LandAjob Services (LAJS) works with SSI and SSDI beneficiaries that are working or interested in testing their ability to return to work.
  • Making Space: They provide professionals with disabilities with resources for upskilling, leadership development, and high-quality job opportunities, including a job portal, while ensuring that employers can hire skilled individuals from these communities.
  • NTI: NTI is a nonprofit disability organization dedicated to advocating and supporting the employment goals of the disability community and their family caregivers.
  • NYC: ATWORK: An initiative to build partnerships and expand coalitions by connecting people with disabilities who are unemployed or underemployed to meaningful, living wage jobs across the five boroughs. This initiative focuses on creating a centralized pipeline of talented candidates including transitioning youth, college students and graduates and recipients of state vocational rehabilitation services.
  • Social Security Administration Ticket to Work: Social Security’s Ticket to Work (Ticket) program supports career development for Social Security disability beneficiaries age 18 through 64 who want to work. The Ticket program is free and voluntary. The Ticket program helps people with disabilities progress toward financial independence.

• Career Guides & Workplace Rights

  • Career Guide for People With Disabilities: This guide discusses what you need to know about navigating the pathway to employment as an individual with a disability.
  • Disability:IN: is the leading nonprofit resource for business disability inclusion worldwide. Now with over 550+ corporate partners, Disability:IN drives progress through initiatives, tools, and expertise that deliver long-term business impact. Their Disability Equality Index (DEI) tool that assesses workplace accessibility and inclusion, recognizing top-scoring companies as Best Places to Work for Disability Inclusion to help people with disabilities identify supportive employers.
  • Employment for People with Disabilities: This guide from the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation provides essential information, strategies, and resources to support people with disabilities in finding and maintaining employment, including workplace accommodations and legal rights.
  • Employees’ Practical Guide to Requesting and Negotiating Reasonable Accommodations: The Employees’ Practical Guide to Requesting and Negotiating Reasonable Accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act is a summary of some of the most frequent issues that employees have regarding accommodations and the ADA and JAN’s practical ideas for resolving them.
  • Employment Opportunities for Individuals with Disabilities Guide: Information Network to learn about navigating the path to employment as a person with a disability, and find how to evaluate an employer’s standards of accessibility, accommodation and acceptance in order to find the right career fit.
  • Employment Resource Hub: Created by ADA National Network, this hub is a way to introduce new materials and centralize existing information about disability and employment from their regional ADA Centers and other partners. The Employment Resource Hub will make it easier to find information about your rights and responsibilities in the workplace, from job interviews to performance evaluations and everything in between. It has materials designed for every stage of employment.
  • Getting Back to Work: from the Academy of Spinal Cord Injury Professionals (ASCIP) helps people with spinal cord injuries (SCI) return to work or start a new career. It outlines services, such as job training, employment accommodations, and benefits counseling, to support individuals through the process, with state by state instructions on where to get help and services.
  • Job Accommodation Network: The Job Accommodation Network offers invaluable insights, practical ideas, and best practices for accommodating employees with all types of health conditions and disabilities.
  • Jobs For People with Physical Disabilities: Finding Accessible Work and Career Options: Informative article explaining how to fight possible discrimination, and how to request professional accommodations to make working easier, or even possible. We also looked into some of the most popular and accommodating jobs for people with physical disabilities, and provide tips on how to find a job, along with resume and interview tips. If all else fails or they just need additional support, there is also a short list of helpful organizations that they can go to.
  • Pathways to Employment: United Spinal’s Association’s Pathways to Employment program can help you discover new opportunities to pursue rewarding careers, including access to a Job Portal, informative webinars, how-to guides and tips on returning to work after disability.
  • Tips for Applicants with Disabilities Applying for Federal Jobs: The Federal Government is the nation’s largest employer and hires people in many different fields, from accounting to public affairs, health care to law enforcement, engineering to agriculture, and everything in between. Pursuing federal employment and contributing to the lives of all Americans can be personally and professionally rewarding. As a federal employee, you and your family will also have access to a range of benefits available to those who choose federal service.
  • SCI and Work: The Academy of Spinal Cord Injury Professionals (ASCIP) has created a new resource guide for SCI and Employment. This information is intended for rehabilitation professionals and consumers with SCI.
  • The Valuable 500: A global business collective dedicated to driving disability inclusion in the corporate world by encouraging companies to prioritize accessibility, representation, and inclusive leadership.
  • Useful Resources for Disabled Job Seekers: This page from Best Mobility Aids offers a curated list of resources to assist disabled job seekers in finding employment opportunities, career training, and workplace accommodations. It includes links to job boards, vocational rehabilitation programs, and organizations that support individuals with disabilities in building successful careers.
  • What Can YOU Do?: Campaign, spearheaded by the Campaign for Disability Employment (CDE), promotes the hiring, retention, and advancement of people with disabilities through public service announcements and resources that highlight the value they bring to the workplace

• Vocational Training & Rehabilitation

  • Adult Career & Continuing Education Services – Vocational Rehabilitation (ACCES-VR): is a New York State program that assists individuals with disabilities in achieving and maintaining employment, as well as supporting independent living through training, education, rehabilitation, and career development. They offer services such as vocational counseling, tuition assistance for college training, and guidance in developing Individualized Plans for Employment (IPEs).
  • Disability and Employment Community: This site is an online resource destination for the American Job Center network, people with disabilities, and employers. In addition, this is a resource for all key stakeholders who partner with the workforce system to provide services and programs to people with disabilities and other barriers to employment.
  • ICD-Institute for Career Development: A nonprofit organization in New York City dedicated to empowering people with disabilities and other barriers to employment through career training, job placement, and support services. Their programs focus on vocational education, workplace readiness, and personalized coaching to help individuals achieve financial independence and long-term success.

Self-Employment & Entrepreneurship

• • Disabled Businesspersons Association (DBA): The DBA is a volunteer nonprofit that is staffed by existing and retired business owners with disabilities who share their expertise through educational workshops, on the internet, and through group mentor activities with clients and job counselors. Their specialty is working with those who have severe and catastrophic physical and/or psychological medical challenges.
  • Plan for Achieving Self-Support (PASS): PASS is a work incentive program that helps people with disabilities start and operate a business. If you qualify, it can be a source of funding, and you can set aside income and/or resources over a specific period of time to fund necessary goods and services to establish a business or to become a partner in an existing business. The Social Security Administration reviews written PASS and business plans before authorizing a PASS.
  • Self-Employment & Entrepreneurship: A list of self-employment and entrepreneurship resources provided by the Office of Disability Employment Policy for people with disabilities. Resources include a guide specific to youth entrepreneurship; the Assets for Independent Program; articles about business mentorship; and other business development resources.
  • 2Gether-International: They support entrepreneurs with disabilities by harnessing their innate entrepreneurship skills to help them achieve their employment goals. By working on their own startup, disabled entrepreneurs learn various aspects of the workforce and gain firsthand experience in building, managing, and growing a company.
  • Vocational Rehabilitation Self-Employment Guide: The VR Self-Employment Guide is a multimedia website designed to help people with disabilities and vocational rehabilitation counselors understand the self-employment process. It provides a way for consumers and counselors to assess self-employment readiness, and guides them through the process of developing a business plan. The website is self-directed, and can be used by individuals on their own or with the guidance of a vocational rehabilitation counselor or mentor.

Government & Legal Resources

• Government Employment & Disability Benefits

  • American Disabilities Association (ADA) is a thorough resource regarding mobility devices and the laws surrounding them.
  • DisabilityInfo.gov: Managed by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP), this website is dedicated to providing in-depth online access to disability-related information. There are extensive resources on this site, including details on how to apply for disability benefits, find a federal government job, and other resources on disability laws, services, education, and healthcare.
  • Ticket to Work Program: Social Security’s Ticket to Work (Ticket) Program supports career development for people ages 18 through 64 who receive Social Security disability benefits and want to work. The Ticket Program is free and voluntary. It helps people with disabilities move toward financial independence and connects them with the services and support they need to succeed in the workforce.
  • The ADA: Your Employment Rights as an Individual With a Disability: The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) makes it unlawful to discriminate in employment against a qualified individual with a disability. The ADA also outlaws discrimination against individuals with disabilities in State and local government services, public accommodations, transportation and telecommunications. This booklet explains the part of the ADA that prohibits job discrimination. This part of the law is enforced by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and State and local civil rights enforcement agencies that work with the Commission.

Veterans’ Employment & Benefits

• VetConnectPro: NYC Launches First-in-the-Nation Veterans Employment Tool! The VetConnectPro – is an employment tool designed to help NYC veterans find jobs & advance their careers. The site features a military skills translator, a dashboard w/ job postings from NYC agencies, info on civil service exams, & more.
• Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (VR&E): Veterans may receive Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (VR&E) services to help with job training, employment accommodations, resume development, and job seeking skills coaching. Other services may be provided to assist Veterans and Service members in starting their own businesses or independent living services for those who are severely disabled and unable to work in traditional employment.

Higher Education & Scholarships

• College Preparation & Accessibility Resources

• •  Accessible College: The mission of Accessible College is to provide students with physical disabilities and health conditions and their families with supports to ensure a successful transition to and through higher education.
  • ​Association on Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD): The leading professional membership organization dedicated to promoting equity and inclusion for individuals with disabilities in higher education through professional development, resources, and advocacy.
  • Career Opportunities for Students with Disabilities (COSD): COSD’s mission is to assist you, a college student or a recent graduate with a disability, in gaining the tools and knowledge necessary to secure the career of your choice.
  • College Resources for Individuals with Disabilities: List of resources for people with disabilities including Support, Advocacy and Assistive Technology to Facilitate the Transition to Higher Education.
  • Guide to Wheelchair-Friendly Higher Education: The Wheels on Campus guide by United Spinal Association is a comprehensive resource designed to help students with mobility disabilities navigate college life. It covers key topics such as accessibility, accommodations, campus resources, and self-advocacy to ensure a successful and inclusive college experience. The guide also provides insights from students with disabilities and practical advice for adapting to academic and social life on campus.
  • Navigating and Transitioning to College with Paralysis: This guide from the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation offers practical advice and resources for students with paralysis transitioning to college, covering accessibility, accommodations, campus life, and self-advocacy.
  • Think College: A project of the Institute for Community Inclusion at the University of Massachusetts Boston, funded in part by an AIDD Project of National Significance grant, dedicated to providing information about college options for people with disabilities.
  • Wheels on Campus: section of New Mobility provides valuable insights and resources for college students with mobility disabilities. It features articles on accessibility, self-advocacy, campus life, and firsthand experiences from students navigating higher education. This resource aims to empower students with disabilities by offering guidance on achieving independence and success in college.

• Scholarships for Students with Disabilities

  • 180 Medical Scholarship Program: The 180 Medical Scholarship Program is open to full-time college students living with specific medical conditions, including spinal cord injuries, spina bifida, transverse myelitis, neurogenic bladder, or an ostomy. They offer seven $1,000 college scholarships annually to seven recipients.
  • Accessing Education: Scholarships for Students with Disabilities: This guide offers 35 scholarships  for students with disabilities, you can apply for, as well as insights and resources to help you secure the financial support you need.
  • Bryon Riesch Paralysis Foundation: A $1000 to $2000 scholarship shall be awarded to two to three individuals with neurological disabilities, or the child of that person, for post high school education both spring and fall semester. Individuals suffering from a direct spinal cord injury or disease resulting in paralysis such as spinal tumors, strokes or aneurysms affecting the spinal cord, or spina bifida are given first priority.
  • College Scholarships for Students With Disabilities: This guide features a list of scholarships for students with disabilities. The scholarships represent only a small sampling of financial aid programs available to students with disabilities such as autism and blindness. The guide also highlights resources, such as federal agencies and advocacy organizations, that students with disabilities may find useful in their search for financial assistance.
  • Ramp Less Traveled: Ramp Less Traveled provides scholarships and mentoring opportunities to assist those who have sustained spinal cord injuries in the pursuit of higher education. They pair scholarship recipients with experienced mentors who help guide students and their parents along the path to college success.
  • Scholarships Available For People With Disabilities: United Spinal help desk list of Scholarships Available For People With Disabilities.
  • Scholarships and Resources for Students with Disabilities: STEPS  guide to find funding, advocacy organizations, networking opportunities, and other support that make paying for and getting through college easier.
  • The Fully Accessible Guide to Paying for College for Students with Disabilities: This guide, designed to work with assistive technology, can help find these resources. Aspiring students with disabilities can use our table of contents to find the best scholarships for them. At the bottom of the page, we also list some tips on how to get federal and private aid.

If you would like your resource link featured on our website please fill out this FORM

Disclaimer:
Linking to publications, materials or websites of other organizations or entities does not constitute endorsement by Mount Sinai of such publications, materials or websites. Mount Sinai provides these references and links because they may be of value to persons interested in SCI.