Advancing equal opportunities for all people with disabilities

For nearly 60 years, the Yang-Tan Institute on Employment and Disability has advanced knowledge, policies, and practice to support people with disabilities in workplaces, schools, and communities.

Our Story

The Long-Lasting Impact of Thomas P. Golden

The impact that former Yang-Tan Institute Executive Director Thomas P. Golden made is felt every day in communities across the United States through the lives of his former students.

Read Golden Impact Story

OPEN DOORS Partnership Assists with Message Against Gun Violence

WIP-C™ Credentialing Program Impacts Thousands of Lives

ILR Grad and Legislator Makes Disability a Priority

Our Work

New Projects

Improving Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Outcomes for Out-of-School Youth Involved in the Justice and/or Foster Care Systems

The goal of this program is to learn how the public VR program can effectively serve out-of-school youth (ages 16-24) with intellectual, developmental, and mental health disabilities who are involved in the justice and/or foster care systems, ultimately contributing to the outcome domain of employment. Improving VR Outcomes Project Details

Convergence Accelerator Phase I (RAISE): Empowering Neurodiverse Populations for Employment through Inclusion AI and Innovation Science

This project aims to incorporate the experiences of individuals with ASD, educational institutions, community employment service providers, and employers into system design that will create deployable Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based tools and platforms. RAISE Project Details

Pro Se: Empowering Justice-Involved Youth and Young Adults with Disabilities through Speech & Debate Training

Pro Se Speech & Debate provides 3-months of virtual one-on-one and group mentoring and educational programming to youth and young adults (ages 14-24) who have current or prior involvement in the criminal-legal system, or multiple systems (e.g., foster care, child services). Pro Se Speech & Debate Project Details

Vocational Rehabilitation – Training, Education, and Development (VR-TED)

The VR TED is a collaboration with the NYS Adult Career and Continuing Education Services – Vocational Rehabilitation agency to provide up to 800 hours of training and professional development to nearly 700 ACCES-VR Counselors and staff across NYS. VR-TED Project Details

Youth Reentering the Community through, Opportunity, Networking, Navigation, Education, Collaboration and Transition Supports (Y-ReCONNECTS)

The ultimate goal is to improve employment and other life outcomes for youth through beneficial, sustainable systems change. Y-ReCONNECTS Project Details

Online Courses and Products

The Workplace Disability Inclusion course discusses the importance of inclusion for people with disabilities and the business case for aligning disability inclusion with a company’s strategic human-capital initiatives.

The Autism at Work course explores emerging Autism at Work employment programs; outlining implications for HR policies and practices in embracing a neurodiverse workforce. Learn More about the Courses

This YTIOnline course is the largest benefits planning program in the nation. Learn about work incentives and earn a WIP-C™ credential with our scientifically-validated curriculum. Learn More about the Credentialing Program

This YTI Online course explores ways to support the ideals of citizenship with and on behalf of people with disabilities who are vulnerable to social exclusion. Learn More about the Leadership Program

The Just-in-Time Program offers intensive training and a personalized toolkit to engage employees in implementing your organization's policies around disability inclusiveness. Learn More about the Toolkits

BenchmarkABILITY® is a self-assessment tool for organizations who are interested in the representation of people with disabilities in their workforce. Learn More about BenchmarkABILITY®