May-Jun 2010.indd - Commissaries.com

Phillip
Gregg, store
associate
at Fort
Sill, Okla.,
overcame
a severe
brain injury,
earning his
bachelor’s
degree in
elementary
education.
Gregg
represented
DeCA last
year for
Department
of Defense
disabled
employee
honors. U.S.
Army photo:
Jeffrey
Crawley
A
wheelchair appears to be no hindrance
for a DeCA employee using a handheld
terminal to scan prices in the cereal aisle.
Another’s hearing aids can’t be seen as he
helps a customer place a special order. Still another
employee uses a laminated checklist to follow each
step of delivery in-check, since she has a mental
disability that affects her memory capabilities.
All different, yet all alike in that DeCA welcomes
their skills and accommodates their disabilities in
the workplace.
“DeCA management proactively accommodates
employees with disabilities,” said Claudie Grant
Jr., diversity manager for the equal employment
opportunity office. “They look at their needs on a
case-by-case basis.”
Such accommodation provides the ladder to
success for individuals with targeted disabilities,
or IWTDs, who represent 1 percent of DeCA’s
peoplealways
Accommodating disabilities:
Talent search includes all
workforce, with a mandate of 2 percent set by the
Department of Defense. Targeted disabilities include –
but are not limited to – hearing or vision impairments,
missing extremities, and partial or complete paralysis.
They also include conditions such as convulsions,
mental retardation, mental or emotional illness, and
severe distortion of the limbs or spine.
Tools for success
Grant explained that EEO interfaces with the
Computer-Electronic Accommodation Program,
a DoD organization that secures computer and
electronic assistance technology for employees with
disabilities. Some of DeCA’s many accommodations
have included:
▪ For deaf employees, the agency can provide
written instructions, special telephones, and
interpreters during special events;
▪ Blind employees may need computer
magnification devices or reader service assistance and
▪ Employees with mental challenges could benefit
from a mentor to help them become accustomed to
routine workplace stress.
Hiring process
Store directors have access to a number of
resources to help in the hiring process, or more
specifically, the “finding” process, which may seem
like an insurmountable challenge.
“There are several sources that are helpful in
identifying people for possible employment,” said
Grant. “These include state vocational rehabilitation
agencies, ARC (a community-based organization
for people with intellectual and developmental
disabilities), Department of Veterans Affairs, VA
hospital centers, veterans organizations and disability
advocacy groups.”
And, that’s not all: Grant provides technical
assistance to DeCA hiring authorities in identifying
qualified individuals with targeted disabilities,
contacting state and national organizations. “Technical
assistance is provided on a one-on-one basis,” he said.
The following pages highlight a few success stories
from store directors who embarked on a talent
search and found welcome additions to their staffs.
Do you have a success story to share? Forward your
narratives to your zone manager and region public
affairs officer for possible inclusion in a future issue
of Vision.� �
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