AUCD Profiles New “Putting Faith to Work” Manual

The Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD) published a news story  this week profiling the newly-released manual for faith communities published by the “Putting Faith to Work” project. The project is a collaboration of four University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities: Vanderbilt Kennedy Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (TN UCEDD) and its partners at the Human Development Institute (KY UCEDD), the Texas Center for Disability Studies (TX UCEDD), and the Institute on Community Integration (MN UCEDD). The manual equips faith communities to replicate the model developed during the two-year Putting Faith to Work project, a model that addresses the high unemployment rate for people with disabilities by engaging faith communities in helping people with disabilities connect with jobs. As the project describes its work, “The Putting Faith to Work (PFTW) model empowers faith communities to support people with disabilities as they find and maintain employment aligned with their gifts, passions, and skills. This pathway to work is forged by tapping into the personal network, creativity, and commitment existing within any congregation.” ICI’s involvement in the Putting Faith to Work project is directed by Angela Amado.