Start-Up NY is one of three self-employment demonstration projects funded as part of the national Start-Up USA initiative. Other projects exist in Alaska, and Florida, with a central technical assistance center located at Virginia Commonwealth University. Start-Up NY is unique among its counterparts as the only County-operated Start-Up USA project.
Self-Employment Technical Assistance, Resources, & Training (START-UP / USA) is a partnership between Virginia Commonwealth University and Griffin-Hammis and Associates, LLC. START-UP / USA is funded by a cooperative agreement #E-9-4-6-011 from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP). Congress designated the cooperative agreement funds to ODEP for the further development of self-employment as an employment outcome for individuals with disabilities. ODEP's mission is to provide national leadership by developing and influencing disability-related employment policy and practice affecting the employment of people with disabilities.
A primary focus of the project will be to provide technical assistance and disseminate resources nationally to individuals interested in pursuing self-employment. This includes a live web cast series during year one of the project with successful entrepreneurs who will share their secrets for success.
START-UP / USA also will be providing assistance to three sub-national projects, START-UP / Alaska, START-UP / Florida, and START-UP / New York. These projects are charged with the generation of data and information to validate systems capacity-building strategies and systems change models for successfully increasing self-employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities. The information generated through these model programs will be disseminated nationally for replication through technical assistance and support.
To learn more about START-UP USA, please visit http://www.start-up-usa.biz.
