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II. Becoming an Inclusive Corps: Steps to be Inclusive

This section of the toolkit is designed to give national service programs practical, step-by-step guidelines on how to implement the philosophy of inclusion into existing and future projects. Over the course of the past three years, as a participant in The Corps Network Inclusion Project, the UCC has learned many valuable lessons about how to create an inclusive program. This experience has led to the development of a “Model for Inclusion of Corpsmembers with Disabilities”. The rest of this section highlights, in detail, how programs can address each component of this model as they take intentional steps to build more inclusive programs. Information about additional resources that national service programs can access to support their inclusion efforts are also provided for each component of the model.

The “Model for Inclusion of Corpsmembers with Disabilities” is divided into two main parts: 1) Pre-Season Program Preparation, and 2) In-Season Implementation. A flow chart for each part of the Model is presented as a quick reference to the overall process of building an inclusive program, followed by a detailed explanation of each step in the flow charts.

A Model for Inclusion of Corpsmembers with Disabilities:

Pre-Season Program Preparation

  1. Organizational Accessibility Self- Assessment
  2. Partners and Projects
  3. Develop Project Schedule
  4. “Essential Functions” of the Job
  5. Recruiting and Marketing
  6. Hiring Corpsmembers
  7. Program Modifications and Reasonable Accommodations
  8. Development of Disability Awareness Training
  9. Staff and Crew Leader Training
  10. Pre-Service Meeting

Proceed to: “Pre-Season Program Preparation”