Promising Practices: The Importance of Outreach to Underserved Populations

Underserved groups have been handicapped by barriers that have resulted in low participation rates in the job market, especially if they have a physical or mental disability. It is often times difficult to get the attention of these underserved groups without making extraordinary efforts to reach out to their communities. Understanding the barriers that cause the low participation in our programs is the first step in removing these barriers. This overview is not intended to be all-inclusive, but simply to discuss a few of the barriers that have caused this lack of participation and how specific projects have taken steps to address them