Empowerment Through Partnership: Enhancing Employment Programs for People with Disabilities
A Toolkit for Centers for Independent Living (CILs)
August 2025
Authored by: Dr. Lidia Fonseca
Access the Toolkit
About this Toolkit
Strong partnerships with community stakeholders such as state vocational rehabilitation (VR) agencies, community organizations, and businesses/employers are crucial to expanding employment opportunities for people with disabilities and ensuring that people with disabilities have access to the support they need to succeed in the workforce. The primary aim of the “Empowerment Through Partnership: Enhancing Employment Programs for People with Disabilities” toolkit is to provide Centers for Independent Living (CILs) with essential tools and strategies to develop and sustain productive partnerships to enhance their employment programs and improve employment outcomes for people with disabilities. You will use different strategies when approaching potential partners depending on the setting and your existing relationship. This toolkit offers practical recommendations for crafting effective elevator pitches, guidance on how to build persuasive and engaging presentations, and tips for establishing memoranda of understanding (MOUs), including editable MOU templates (see page 7 of the toolkit) that you can modify for your own CIL’s use. In addition to these strategies, the final section of the toolkit offers key research and data points that may support CILs in demonstrating how disability-led employment initiatives and disability-inclusive policies can provide value to partners. Each of these tools can be used across the many phases of initiating and maintaining effective partnerships.
About the Author
Dr. Lidia Fonseca is the Executive Director at Valley Association for Independent Living (VAIL), located in south Texas. She has served her community as a disability justice advocate and provides overall supervision, management, development, and implementation of programs at her CIL. The programs that she has developed have helped promote the independent living (IL) philosophy, consumer control, and systems change so that independent living is possible for all people with disabilities. Dr. Fonseca’s efforts relate to workplace inclusion, accessible transportation, and leveraging resources among community partners. Dr. Fonseca has a bachelor’s degree in Rehabilitative Services from The University of Texas Pan-American, a master’s degree in Rehabilitation Counseling from Texas Tech University, and a Doctorate degree in Rehabilitation Counseling from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. She has 13 years of experience in the IL field. Her focus is on disability rights. Her interests are in emergency management, resource development, expansion of employment services for people with disabilities, and training on leadership and advocacy.
Dr. Fonseca serves as the President of TEXCIL, an association of CILs in Texas, which provides technical assistance, training, and resources for CILs across the state. She also serves as the President of the Regional Transportation Advisory Panel (RTAP), in which she educates on the accessible transportation needs in the rural areas that VAIL serves. She also serves as a board member and the Secretary of the Association of Programs for Rural Independent Living (APRIL) Board of Directors.