San Francisco panel urges dedicated HR post, baseline survey to boost hiring of people with disabilities

San Francisco—s Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee reviewed a multi-month effort to expand city hiring of people with disabilities on July 16, 2015, as the Department of Human Resources and the Mayor—s Office on Disability outlined recommendations to improve implementation of civil service Rule 115.

Chair Eric Marr convened the hearing to update the committee on a task force reconstituted in December and said the panel—s four priorities are hiring a dedicated HR position to focus on disability employment, gathering baseline data, setting concrete hiring goals and timetables, and formalizing the task force for ongoing oversight and reporting.

Donna Kotake of the Department of Human Resources described steps DHR has taken since the advisory panel resumed, including outreach, revised materials, reasonable-accommodation training for managers, and identifying job classifications and potential internships that qualify for Rule 115 placements. "DHR is committed to this and we're working on a plan to accomplish this," Kotake said.

Ed Wong, who DHR identified as a recruitment and talent-management specialist, described recent outreach to city departments and community partners, attendance at multiple job fairs and engagement with roughly 30 candidates at recent events. He said DHR is working with departments to identify specific positions (for example, clerks, junior engineers, parking control officers and social-work classifications) appropriate for Rule 115 appointments.

Carla Johnson, director of the Mayor—s Office on Disability, framed the recommendations as part of a broader effort to achieve ADA goals on employment. "People with disabilities are only one third as likely to be employed as people who are without disabilities," Johnson said, adding that incomes for many employed people with disabilities "are dramatically lower" and estimated in the hearing at between "$20,000 and $26,000 a year." Johnson said the advisory committee developed 30 recommendations and highlighted the four short-term priorities the committee urged the city to adopt.

Community organizations and advocates who served on the task force urged rapid follow-through. Jonathan Lyons, president of the FDR Democratic Club, told the committee the issue "warrants at least a full time position" in city service to coordinate placements and called for better data collection. Multiple nonprofit representatives — including the Independent Living Resource Center, Lighthouse for the Blind, The Arc San Francisco and Best Buddies Jobs — echoed those points, stressing outreach to community-based organizations, manager training, and the need for measurable placement goals and timelines.

Speakers also described successful local uses of Rule 115: the San Francisco Public Library cited hires at its Deaf Services Center and the library—s braille program; The Arc described placement and retention rates from its programs; and an airport-commission internship partnership was cited as an emerging pipeline into civil-service work.

After testimony and questions about data availability (DHR officials said some figures were not immediately on hand but would be provided), Chair Marr recommended the committee continue the Rule 115 hearing "to the call of the chair" to receive regular updates on implementing the recommendations. The committee continued the hearing without objection.

The committee did not adopt an ordinance or change Rule 115 at this meeting; it recorded direction to DHR and the Mayor—s Office to pursue the four priorities and to return with follow-up information and timelines.