Tara Bachus, director of special education for Limestone County Schools, received the Governor’s Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities Collaboration Award on Wednesday for her work with students with intellectual disabilities.

The Governor’s Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities is a program of the Alabama Department of Rehabilitation Services. Its primary goals are educating the public about the benefits of hiring people with disabilities and promoting greater independence for people with disabilities.

On a local level, the ADRS provides special education students with vocational and technical evaluations, the technology needed to find students the right position and a jointly shared job coach. Job coaches prepare students for employment by helping them evaluate interests and capabilities, providing them with needed support and coaching them on the ins and outs of finding and applying for a job. They also provide continuous on-the-job coaching and long-term support for the life of the job.

According to Bachus, more than 100 students in Limestone County benefit from the ADRS program, which seeks to place students 16 and older in positions that fit their abilities and interests.

The types of jobs available to students with disabilities, Bachus said, are varied and wide-ranging.

“Some of our students work in businesses doing skilled labor at a high level and may just need some technical assistance,” Bachus said. “Some work in fast food, where their job requirements stay the same and they have job coaches to help them.”

Other students work in group settings, job shadowing until they are ready to work on their own or with minimal assistance, she said.

A 2017 report from Fortune Magazine noted Alabama had one of the worst employment rates for workers with disabilities, providing jobs to only 27.9 percent of that population.

Nationally, only 35 percent of U.S. citizens with disabilities between the ages 18 and 64 had a job in 2015, compared to 76 percent for people without disabilities.

In light of these statistics, Bachus said she is always looking to the future when working with her students.

“They need to be productive citizens outside of the school,” she said. “Our job is to prepare them for the real world at the highest level possible. It takes a lot of collaboration and a lot of people to make that happen.”

Collaboration is a big deal to Bachus, who said her job would be near impossible without the support of the Limestone County Board of Education, Superintendent Dr. Tom Sisk, her staff and other outside organizations such as the Alabama Career Center, Easter Seals and ADRS.

“They are all champions for our kids,” she said. “Last year, we adopted the theme ‘All Kids Can,’ and our whole district has bought into it.”

The governor’s committee award is evidence of that, Bachus said.

Publix in Athens was also recognized as a leader in the state for employing individuals with disabilities at the ceremony, which took place at the Turner Surles Community Center in Decatur.

Bachus was the only director in North Alabama to receive the Collaborative award this year. She is now eligible for the state award, which will be announced at a future date.