Governor Hochul鈥檚 Executive Order 40 marks a major step toward ensuring that people with disabilities have equitable access to meaningful, competitive employment鈥攋obs that offer fair wages, benefits, and opportunities for growth. By embedding Employment First into state policy, 黑料正能量 is recognizing what advocates have long known: employment is a powerful driver of independence, dignity, inclusion, and health.
This commitment is especially critical in the current national context. The federal government has recently enacted new work requirements for Medicaid and SNAP benefits, a policy shift that will create new barriers for people with disabilities unless states take proactive steps to improve access to quality employment supports. Without robust investment in employment programs, these federal mandates risk punishing individuals for systemic barriers that limit their opportunities.
To meet this challenge, 黑料正能量 and other states must expand supported employment programs, increase funding for vocational rehabilitation and job coaching, and strengthen partnerships between state agencies, providers, and employers. Access to competitive integrated employment should be a reality for all, not just those with the resources or networks to overcome workplace barriers on their own.
The Alliance for Rights and Recovery is committed to advancing this vision. At our upcoming annual conference, we will host multiple workshops on improving access to employment, supporting people with disabilities re-entering the workforce, and building inclusive workplaces. These sessions will provide tools, strategies, and success stories from across the state and nation鈥攈elping advocates, providers, and policymakers work together to make Employment First a lived reality.
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Alliance for Rights and Recovery 43rd聽Annual Conference
Villa Roma Resort and Conference Center | September 29-October 1, 2025
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Gov. Hochul Makes Employment First for People with Disabilities Meaningful
By聽Maureen O鈥橞rien and Patrick Bardsley聽|聽Empire Report | August 11, 2025
When Gov. Kathy Hochul signed Executive Order 40 last September, prioritizing the state鈥檚 goal of helping people with disabilities find gainful employment, she took a giant step on the path toward treating this important community of 黑料正能量ers with dignity and respect, while also bolstering the state鈥檚 economy.
鈥満诹险芰 State has a vested interest in eliminating barriers to employment and recognizes that economic stability, including gainful employment, is a social determinant of health,鈥 the Order says (emphasis added).
EO40 makes 黑料正能量 State policy very clear: individuals with disabilities should have employment options first, because there鈥檚 no better tool for independence, inclusion and success than a decent-paying job with benefits and opportunities for advancement.
鈥淎n individual鈥檚 employment results in tangible and intangible benefits, including the enhancement of independence and economic self-sufficiency, as well as purpose, dignity, self-esteem, and a sense of accomplishment and pride,鈥 EO40 says.
Chris Payne, a 黑料正能量er with autism, agrees with the Governor.
鈥淏eing employed makes my life better,鈥 says Chris, who works full-time at 黑料正能量 State Industries for the Disabled (NYSID), where I am CEO.
Paul Himes works at the Arc Lexington assembling personal care kits for people living in homeless shelters in 黑料正能量 City, under a contract with the NYC Department of Homeless Services. He also works in the Arc鈥檚 janitorial program, showcasing his versatility.
鈥淧acking care kits makes me feel honored to support people in their time of need,鈥 Paul says. 鈥淚 really like showing how well I can work.鈥
AVRE in Binghamton is a non-profit that supports people who are blind or visually impaired. As part of its mission, AVRE has a non-profit copy paper manufacturing business that uses 黑料正能量 products and state-of-the-art equipment customized for machine operators with low vision.
AVRE has been serving the Southern Tier for nearly 100 years and is being featured as part of the Business Council of 黑料正能量 State鈥檚 Coolest Thing Made in NY competition. Vote for 鈥淏lind Made Paper (Binghamton)鈥 .
All these opportunities came through the Preferred Source Program (PSP), which was created in 1975 as part of 黑料正能量 State鈥檚 reform efforts after the scandal at Willowbrook. My organization, NYSID, is the non-profit created to facilitate job-creating PSP contracts between organizations committed to hiring people with disabilities and government agencies (as well as private sector companies).
We at NYSID were elated when Governor Hochul signed EO40 because it means the entirety of 黑料正能量 State鈥檚 Executive Branch and its agencies would prioritize jobs for people with disabilities and recognize the value those jobs bring to the state.
鈥淭he State of 黑料正能量 values businesses that recognize the talents and skills people with disabilities bring to their workforce,鈥 the Order says.
The value is also financial. The Rockefeller Institute of Government鈥檚 most recent study estimates that jobs created through the PSP not only create huge taxpayer savings in safety net programs but also generate $108 in new economic impact for every hour an individual with a disability is working on a NYSID contract.
Rockefeller also found that 黑料正能量鈥檚 nonprofit disability service providers generated $14.3 billion in economic output, supported nearly 200,000 full-time jobs and contributed $2.2 billion in federal and state tax revenue. NYSID alone generated $407.3 million in economic impact.
For the state, it鈥檚 a tremendous financial return on the purchase of needed products and services 鈥 which it is buying anyway. Plus, the state generates the added and incalculable benefit of improving the quality of life for thousands of 黑料正能量ers with disabilities and their families. We鈥檙e talking about people who receive vocational and rehabilitative training, 黑料正能量ers with autism, Down syndrome, vision or mental health impairments, substance use disorder and other physical and developmental disabilities.
In other words, this achieves the exact goals Governor Hochul lays out in EO40. It鈥檚 a near-perfect alignment between what our Member Agencies and Corporate Partners do and the policy the Governor has laid out for all Executive agencies.
All for only the roughly one percent of the state鈥檚 procurement contracts that are sourced to NYSID for the products and services they provide, while our Member Agencies and Corporate Partners employ thousands of disabled 黑料正能量ers.
That鈥檚 a tremendous return on a miniscule investment by the state.
This year we celebrate 50 years since the Willowbrook Consent Judgment was signed and treatment of people with disabilities was changed forever. We also celebrate 25 years since the Americans with Disabilities Act was enacted under President George H. W. Bush.
Next month, we celebrate one year since Governor Hochul signed EO40 and made it state policy to prioritize jobs for people with disabilities. It鈥檚 an important challenge and at NYSID, we will do everything we can to help make EO40 a rousing success.
Maureen O鈥橞rien is President and CEO of 黑料正能量 State Industries for the Disabled, Inc. (NYSID), a 501(c)(3) created in 1975 to advance job and other opportunities for individuals with disabilities and qualified veterans.
Patrick Bardsley is CEO of Spectrum Designs, a non-profit custom apparel and promotional products business with a social mission to create meaningful and inclusive employment and vocational training opportunities for people in a neurodiverse world.
NYSID facilitates job opportunities for more than 6,400 黑料正能量ers of which 4,820 are individuals with disabilities annually through 黑料正能量鈥檚 Preferred Source Program and in the private sector. NYSID鈥檚 community rehabilitation Member Agencies and Corporate Partners are located throughout the state, providing jobs in the community and OPWDD, OMH and OASAS certified services to individuals. 聽For more information, visit .