Organization Type Descriptions

• College and University Disabled Student Services: The mission of disabled student services offices is to assist students with disabilities in achieving their academic goals and to ensure equal access to all academic programs, facilities, and other relevant vocational and intellectual opportunities.
• Workability Programs: Workability is a partnership between selected California schools and universities and the Department of Rehabilitation. Workability is designed to increase employment opportunities for students and other community adults with disabilities.
• Independent Living Centers: Independent Living Centers are typically non-residential, private, non-profit, consumer-controlled, community-based organizations providing services and advocacy by and for persons with all types of disabilities. Their goal is to assist individuals with disabilities to achieve their maximum potential within their families and communities.
• Area Boards: Area Boards were created by state law in 1969 to ensure that people with developmental disabilities and their families get the services they need. The mission of the Area Board is to protect and advocate for the civil, legal, and service rights of persons with developmental disabilities, and to ensure that the support and services they receive are of the highest possible quality.
• Regional Centers: Regional centers are nonprofit private corporations that contract with the Department of Developmental Services to provide or coordinate services and supports for individuals with developmental disabilities. They have offices throughout California to provide a local resource to help find and access the many services available to individuals and their families.

• Employment and Disability: The Department of Rehabilitation and other state and private organizations specialize in assisting people with disabilities obtain and retain employment and maximize their ability to live independently. Many of these organizations provide job placement, job training, job support and more.
• California Local Workforce Investment Areas: California's 50 Local Workforce Investment Areas (LWIAs) are designated by the Governor based on population and commonality of labor market. Each LWIA is administered by a Local Workforce Investment Board (LWIB) certified by the state in partnership with local elected officials. The LWIBs are comprised of representatives from private sector businesses, organized labor, community-based organizations, local government agencies, and local education agencies. LWIBs provide policy guidance, designate operators for their area's One-Stop Career Centers, and oversee the job training activities within their local areas.

Contact us if you want your information updated or added to the Disability Resources List.