One-Stop Career Centers

Abstract

One-Stop Career Centers emerged in the early 1990s as an initiative of the Employment and Training Administration of the U.S. Department of Labor. They were intended to be a single location where an applicant would find all the information needed to choose an occupation, find access to training, be placed in a job, and have entry to public services needed to continue employment. As required by the passage of the Workforce Improvement Act of 1998, One-Stop Career Centers will be available in each state by July 1, 2000. What remains to be answered is whether people with disabilities will be able to effectively use One-Stop Career Centers to receive the support and training that is needed to become employed or reemployed. This article provides a discussion of the strengths of and issues faced by One-Stop Career Centers that may influence their becoming a viable resource for people with disabilities.