Employment First as a Community Value—Not Just a Policy
One of the most important parts of building a stronger Employment First approach in Arizona is getting out into communities and listening to the people doing the work every day.
Most recently, members of the AZOEF team spent several days in Mohave County learning about the employment landscape in rural northwestern Arizona. Rather than arriving with a predetermined solution, the goal was simple: listen first.
We asked what is working. We asked where people are getting stuck. We learned about the relationships that are already creating opportunities and the challenges that can look very different depending on where someone lives.
What did we learn? There are people throughout Arizona who deeply believe in employment for people with disabilities and are already working to make it happen.
We also heard how much local relationships matter. In rural communities especially, successful employment efforts are often built through trusted connections—with employers, providers, schools, workforce partners, families, and other community organizations. Being present in a community and understanding its strengths is an important part of building those relationships.
That is why this outreach matters.
Employment First cannot look exactly the same in every community. What works in Phoenix may not work the same way in Mohave County, on Tribal lands, along the border, or in another rural part of the state. Our work is to understand those differences while helping communities stay connected to a shared goal: increasing opportunities for competitive integrated employment for Arizonans with disabilities.
The conversations happening around Arizona are helping us identify where connections can be strengthened, where additional tools or technical assistance may help, and where promising practices already exist that others can learn from.
And we are just getting started.
As AZOEF continues traveling, listening, and building relationships across the state, what we learn in each community will help shape the work ahead—not by creating one solution for Arizona, but by building a stronger statewide network around the people, ideas, and partnerships already moving employment forward.