Telework/Telecommuting Pilot Project

Project summary:

The primary goal of this project is to identify and describe the key elements of telework, including types and numbers of jobs as well as characteristics of jobs, employees, and work environments, which are necessary if telework is to be an effective strategy for returning persons with disabilities to the workforce. This goal will be accomplished primarily through the literature review and a national survey, and tested in two pilot projects. The pilot project sites are located in the Midwest and represent vastly different geographic regions. The Twin Cities is a large urban location with over 3 million residents. St. Paul is the state capital, the central core of all government departments, and the region has a broad range of employers encompassing the fields of technology, medical, manufacturing, insurance, and financial services. West central Wisconsin, on the other hand, represents a rural area with towns ranging from 1,000 to 50,000 in population. This area includes public sector workers, employees of federal government divisions, and state and county public workers who are widely dispersed.