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Employment First in Arizona is a one-hour fully online course that helps participants understand and apply Employment First principles.

Designed by the University of Arizona Sonoran Center for Excellence in Disabilities, this course aims to increase awareness, shift attitudes, and build practical skills to support people with disabilities in finding and keeping competitive integrated employment.

What is Employment First?

The Arizona Employment First Initiative is a statewide effort to promote the belief that all individuals with disabilities can work in competitive integrated employment with the right supports.

Developed to shift away from segregated and non-work settings, the initiative addresses long-standing barriers like low expectations, limited access to meaningful employment, and lack of coordination across systems. It focuses on fostering high expectations, cross-agency collaboration, and culturally responsive practices that support inclusive employment opportunities for all.

Who Should Take This Course?

This course is designed for:

• vocational rehabilitation staff
• educators
• employment providers
• state agency professionals
• families
• members of the public who support individuals with disabilities

What You Will Learn

Participants will benefit by gaining a clear understanding of Employment First principles, learning how to apply them in everyday practice, and discovering practical tools to support individuals in achieving competitive integrated employment. The course fosters a shared language and high expectations that help create more inclusive communities across Arizona.

Course Schedule and Format

The course is completely online and self-paced. It should take about one hour to complete the course. 

What is Included

• Approximately one hour of online learning
• A digital (PDF) Certificate of Completion upon successful completion of the course

About the Sonoran Center for Excellence in Disabilities and Arizona Employment First

Since 2006, the University of Arizona Sonoran Center for Excellence in Disabilities, part of the Department of Family and Community Medicine in the College of Medicine – Tucson, has been hard at work to make its vision a reality – to ensure individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities have the supports they need to fully participate in the vibrant life of our community.

To accomplish this goal, the Sonoran Center has focused on capacity building, infrastructure development, and fostering leadership to establish itself as a recognized leader in disability within Arizona and across the nation.

Arizona Employment First is a coalition of stakeholders across Arizona, working together to move Arizona to become an Employment First state.

The Arizona Employment First initiative is funded through a partnership with Vocational Rehabilitation (VR), providing crucial resources to advance Employment First's mission of achieving competitive integrated employment for all Arizonans with disabilities.