On October 1, 2024, The Harkin Institute, Kansas Council on Developmental Disabilities, CareSource, and the National Down Syndrome Society hosted a symposium in Topeka, Kansas to celebrate National Disability Employment Awareness Month. Over 25 speakers from around the U.S. addressed more than 70 attendees who came to hear about local and national efforts in employment for people with I/DD. Susan Carter, CDDC Manager of Grants and Finance, attended the event and shared the summary below.

Keynote Address
The keynote speaker was Collette Divitto, Entrepreneur, Disability Rights Activist, and Founder/CEO of
Collettey’s Cookies. She has been featured in People Magazine and Forbes, and on Good Morning
America, Fox News, CBS, MSNBC, and more. Collette was born in 1990 with Down Syndrome, and
after a happy childhood with many friends, she slowly began to feel isolated as she grew older. When she
was upset, she would turn to baking. Over the years, she got good.

Wanting to go to college, she applied to and got into Clemson University, a school known for its inclusion
and diversity. She entered a three-year program and successfully completed it in only two. After leaving
Clemson, she interviewed at numerous places around Boston and was repeatedly told she just wasn’t the
right fit. Leaning on her love and skill of baking, she decided to start her own company. To date, Colette
has sold more than 750,000 cookies and employs other differently-abled people to help her. All her
employees are paid above minimum wage.

Collette’s story is one of making a difference when others think you can’t. Her tenacity and sassiness
came through in her speaking, as well as her sense of humor. Her speech was a great introduction to the
rest of the day.

Driving Competitive, Integrated Employment via the Private Sector
A discussion on driving competitive, integrated employment via the private sector was moderated by Julie
Hocker, Former US Commissioner on Disability. Several companies discussed how they are attracting
people with disabilities to work at their companies and how finding the right fit for the right person is
sometimes all it takes to make an employee successful. Statistics were also shared on how people with
I/DD have better attendance than more traditional employees.

Entrepreneurship as Employment
Entrepreneurship is becoming popular with many people, including those in the I/DD community. Several
speakers talked about their experiences with venturing out on their own, like Max Crawford, who is the
CEO and Founder of Max Spices. He started making spice mixes for gifts, and later turned that into a
company.

The problem with entrepreneurship lies when a person who receive SSI/SSDI goes over the $2,000
threshold in their bank or investment accounts. To avoid any penalties, the company either needs to start
off being profitable or it needs to be in someone else’s name. This is a huge problem, as Ruby “SunShine”
Taylor, the Founder of Financial Joy School, noted. She asked how people are supposed to get ahead if
they can’t earn more money? Former US Commissioner on Disability, Julie Hocker, later discussed how
many of the laws were put into place years ago, and it takes time to get the change needed, although she
feels that change is being made, albeit slowly.

Reforming the Federal & State Policy Landscape to Achieve Workforce Inclusion 

Over six panelists joined in the discussion on Federal and State policies to achieve workforce inclusion.
While progress is being made, there is still a long way to go. Speakers discussed how there must be a
push to get away from 14(c) Certificate holders who still feel people with I/DD can’t work at the same
level as their coworkers. Fortunately, in Colorado, our legislature passed Senate Bill 21-039 in 2021. This
bill calls for the end of 14(c) Certificates in Colorado, to end subminimum wage practices in our state by
2025. Problems and issues aren’t always shared by states, so it’s important to know what each state has to
offer and where improvements can be made.

Lesson to be Applied Moving Forward

Kansas recently had a good example of a self-advocate making a difference. Kathy Lobb, a self-advocate,
had been going to speak to Kansas state representatives about giving people with disabilities a preference
in hiring, promotion, and retention when seeking employment with Kansas state government. After
lobbying for 29 years, Kathy’s Bill (Kansas Senate Bill 333), was signed into law on April 24 th of this
year. Although it took years, Kathy didn’t give up until it was done.

Former US Commissioner on Disability, Julie Hocker, said that many State and Federal representatives
hear only about the problems people with I/DD face. She suggested letting them know when there are
successes also, and how they impact people with I/DD, because stories matter.
An idea was also presented to the audience – ask yourself how you can be an agent for change. One
suggestion was that you can start by prioritizing working and buying from companies that are disability
owned.

“Facing the Fall”

The day ended perfectly with a screening of a short film called “Facing the Fall.” The film is about Cara
Khan, an internationally known disability advocate, who wanted to show young people with a disability
they could accomplish anything they set out to do. The film follows her on an over 250-mile journey that
took 12 days, starting from the rim of the Grand Canyon down to the Colorado River and through the
rapids. Although she suffers from a fatal, muscle wasting disease and is no longer able to walk without
assistance, she was able to live out her dream, although there were many obstacles along the way. The
film will be released on YouTube later this year, but you can see a short trailer on Vimeo now.