Welcome to the Department of Rehabilitation - Employment, Independence, & Equality

California Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities

Committee Activities | Membership | Membership Applications | Terms and Conditions | Background | Contact Information

On January 1, 2012, the Governor's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities (GCEPD) will be transferred from the Employment Development Department to the Department of Rehabilitation. Along with the transfer, the name has been changed to the California Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities (CCEPD). With strong support of the California Health and Human Services Agency and the Department of Rehabilitation, the new committee will build upon the legacy of the Governor's Committee to further advance employment opportunities for people with disabilities in California.

The California Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities is established in California statute to advance the employment of people with disabilities in the state. Policy-related responsibilities of the committee were first defined in the Workforce Inclusion Act (Aroner, Statutes of 2002) and amended as part of the Budget Act of 2011, under Assembly Bill 119. The primary function of the committee is to consult with and advise the Secretary of the Labor and Workforce Development Agency and the Secretary of the California Health and Human Services Agency on all issues related to full inclusion in the workforce of persons with disabilities, in order to:

  1. Bring individuals with disabilities into gainful employment at a rate that is as close as possible to that of the general population.
  2. Support the goals of equality of opportunity, full participation, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency for these individuals.
  3. Ensure that state government is a model employer of individuals with disabilities.
  4. Support state coordination with, and participation in, benefits planning training and information dissemination projects supported by private foundations and federal grants.

Committee Activities

The Committee will meet at least four times per year to the extent funding is available, providing a forum through which the disability community, business leaders, state departments, boards, councils, local service providers collaborate to:

  • Develop a comprehensive strategy to identify goals and activities that result in an increased rate of employment for people with disabilities.
  • Coordinate an annual event for youth with disabilities.
  • Facilitate, promote, and coordinate dissemination of information on employment supports and benefits, including the Ticket to Work program and health benefits, to individuals with disabilities, consumers of public services, employers, service providers, and state and local agency staff.

Membership

The Committee consists of appointed and mandated public and private members and receives primary administrative and staff support from the Department of Rehabilitation. Committee membership will include:

  • Four (4) individuals with disabilities representing disabled persons, one each appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules and the Speaker of the Assembly and two appointed by the Secretary of California Health and Human Services
  • Three (3) business representatives with experience in employing persons with disabilities, to be appointed by the Secretary of California Health and Human Services
  • The Directors of the Employment Development Department, State Department of Health Care Services, State Department of Mental Health, State Department of Developmental Services, State Department of Social Services, and Department of Rehabilitation, and the Chair of the State Independent Living Council
  • A representative from the California Health Incentive Improvement Project
  • A representative from the California Workforce Investment Board who is nominated by that board
  • A representative from a local one-stop or local workforce investment board, to be nominated by the California Workforce Investment Board
  • At the discretion of the Secretary of California Health and Human Services, representatives from any other department or program that may have a role in increasing the capacity of state programs to support the employment-related needs of individuals with disabilities

Membership Applications

Applications for membership has expired.

Terms and Conditions

Committee members shall serve without compensation, but receive reimbursement for travel and other necessary expenses actually incurred in the performance of their official duties.

Appointments made by the Secretary of the Health and Human Services Agency will generally serve a 3-year term with consideration for re-appointment.

All Committee members are expected to attend four open meetings per year in conjunction with the California Health Incentives Improvement Project (CHIIP). If a member misses any three meetings in a fiscal year, the Secretary of the Health and Human Services Agency may terminate the member's appointment.

Background

In 2002 the Workforce Inclusion Act required the Governor's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities (GCEPD) to consult with and advise the California Health and Human Services Agency and the Labor and Workforce Development Agency, using existing resources to create a sustainable, comprehensive strategy to increase employment and access to healthcare for people with disabilities.

The GCEPD partnered with CHIIP which received funding in 2005 from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services to develop a comprehensive strategy to enhance the State's ability for bringing the employment rate of people with disabilities as close as possible to that of the general population. Through this and other collaborations with organizations, an extensive body of public input was gathered. The Committee adopted the California Comprehensive Strategy for the Employment of People with Disabilities in 2006.

Subcommittees and workgroups of the GCEPD subsequently advanced many goals of the comprehensive strategy, including:

Contact Information

Department of Rehabilitation
External Affairs
CCEPD@dor.ca.gov
916-558-5874
721 Capitol Mall
Sacramento, CA 95814