Autism at Work employment program launched
The state of Delaware Department of Finance recently began collaborating with The Precisionists Inc., a Wilmington-based organization focused on employment for adults with disabilities.
The pilot program, about to celebrate its first anniversary, uses the talents of a team of autistic adults from TPI’s workforce to tackle critical business needs within the Department of Finance’s Division of Revenue.
“When properly assessed and trained, people with autism are extremely high-performing employees working in critical and challenging jobs such as administrative business functions, including scanning documents and data entry, software testing, website QA, and data analytics," said Ernie Dianastasis, CEO of the Precisionists. "When you consider that more than 80 percent of people with autism in the country are either unemployed or underemployed, we are making a true difference in engaging a significant, untapped labor force. We are thrilled to partner on this project with the State of Delaware Department of Finance, which continues to demonstrate leadership and commitment to the community.”
TPI identified, assessed, and trained its employees participating in the pilot program. Since January 2020, a TPI team consisting of several data analysts and a project lead have been fully integrated with the Delaware Department of Revenue team in Wilmington to support its personal income tax returns processing and business license processing functions. For personal income tax returns, TPI team members receive, resolve, and process exceptions to tax return filings. For business licenses, TPI team members receive new applications and renewals for data entry into the system and processing.
“The Precisionists has created an innovative model focused on helping organizations excel by bringing the talents and strengths of people with diverse abilities into the workforce,” said Rick Geisenberger, Department of Finance secretary. “Our department is thrilled to be part of this effort that aligns so well with our values under the leadership of Gov. Carney, and strengthens our ability to continuously improve the services we provide to our customers and the state’s taxpayers.”
“The work being done by the TPI associates has provided needed support and continuous improvement to the Division of Revenue. The resources they have provided have enabled us to better manage our day-to-day operations. The employees from the Precisionists are reliable contributors to our team,” said Jennifer Hudson, Division of Revenue director.
Those participating in the pilot go through a comprehensive four-week training program. As part of the pilot program, the state of Delaware hopes to identify additional opportunities to expand this employment model to other parts of the business, further supporting the Precisionists’ goal of employing 10,000 people with diverse abilities in the United States by 2025.
