Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and other state leaders announced $13.9 million in federal grants to help people with disabilities find employment and post-secondary education, according to a Wednesday news release.
The two five-year grants from the U.S. education department, which will begin this month, allocate $9.4 million to develop a tool that connects Maryland students with “accessible services, including vocational rehabilitation and long-term support” and $4.5 million for the state’s disabilities department.
U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and members of the state’s Congressional delegation said in a Wednesday news release that the grants will help Maryland residents with disabilities enter their careers of their choice.
The grants come as part of a $251 million series of national grants that aim to ensure individuals with disabilities are “paid real wages for real jobs, while creating pathways to some of today’s most in-demand fields,” the education department wrote in a September news release.
“‘Leave no one behind’ is not just a talking point for us, it’s a governing philosophy,” Moore wrote in Wednesday’s news release. “Today’s action reaffirms Maryland’s commitment to building a state where every person is seen and supported.”
Moore wrote that people with disabilities are more than twice as likely to face unemployment than individuals without disabilities in a proclamation that supports naming October as the National Disability Employment Awareness Month.
Employment is a “critical element of independence,” secretary of the Maryland Disabilities Department Carol Beatty wrote in Wednesday’s news release.
“Both grants underscore our unwavering commitment to advancing opportunity, access and choice for individuals with disabilities,” Beatty wrote.
