York, PA – The Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry’s (L&I) summer employment program for high school students with disabilities – MY Work – is officially underway, with more than 1,000 students expected to participate in the life-changing program this year. Created by L&I’s Office of Vocational Rehabilitation (OVR), MY Work connects students with meaningful, paid work opportunities in their local communities. For many of these students, this is their first real work experience and their first paycheck. This year, there are more than 250 MY Work employer partner sites across all 67 Pennsylvania counties – a first for the program.
“We know that students with disabilities who have a paid work experience before graduation are four times more likely to become employed in the competitive workforce. That’s why OVR is committed to creating opportunities like MY Work – helping students earn their first paycheck, build workplace skills, and prepare for future success,” said L&I Secretary Nancy A. Walker. “We are fortunate to have leaders like Governor Shapiro and First Lady Shapiro who understand the importance of investing in and advocating for OVR’s impactful programs that expand opportunity and strengthen our workforce.”
Governor Josh Shapiro and First Lady Lori Shapiro believe all Pennsylvanians deserve the opportunity to chart their own course, and know individuals with disabilities bring invaluable skills to the workforce. Earlier this month, the First Lady joined Secretary Walker in Philadelphia to highlight OVR’s InVEST project, which helps individuals with disabilities transition into competitive integrated employment.
“Josh and I have seen firsthand how OVR’s work is making a real difference in so many lives – through InVEST, MY Work, at the Commonwealth Technical Institute at the Hiram G. Andrews Center, and the many other impactful programs OVR offers,” said First Lady Shapiro. “In Pennsylvania, we know that people of all abilities bring unique strengths to everything they do, and those strengths make our communities stronger and more vibrant. Together with Secretary Walker and OVR, we will continue working to ensure that Pennsylvanians with disabilities have the opportunities they deserve to bring their unique talents and perspectives to our workplaces."
The Governor’s proposed 2026-27 budget calls for an additional $1 million investment in OVR, which helps people of all ages with disabilities find employment through personalized services such as vocational counseling and guidance, goal setting, training, and job placement.
Each year, OVR engages with more than 76,000 students and adults with disabilities across all programs. Last year, nearly 18,000 students with disabilities received Pre-Employment Transition Services – including paid work-based learning experiences like MY Work – and OVR placed more than 6,400 individuals into competitive integrated employment.
This summer at the York Fresh Food Farms MY Work site, students are spending eight weeks weeding, planting, harvesting, cleaning, and sorting produce and herbs.
Visit L&I’s YouTube Channel to learn more about the program’s impact on the students and community.
In 2016, OVR started the MY Work program in Allegheny County with just 50 students in its first year. In 2021, the program was expanded statewide, and since then has connected more than 2,600 high school students across Pennsylvania with paid summer employment opportunities – with wages fully covered by OVR at no cost to municipalities.
Since taking office, Governor Shapiro has prioritized investing in Pennsylvania’s workforce and ensuring all Pennsylvanians have access to real opportunities. In addition to calling for a $1 million increase in state funding for OVR, key workforce development-focused highlights of the Governor’s 2026-27 budget proposal include:
- Investing an additional $18 million in CTE and apprenticeship programs;
- Doubling Schools-to-Work funding to $7 million; and
- Increasing Industry Partnership grants by $3.5 million to $6.3 million.
For more information on the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry, please visit the website or follow L&I on Instagram, Facebook, X, and LinkedIn.
Note: The Pennsylvania Vocational Rehabilitation program receives 78.7 percent of its funding through a grant from the U.S. Department of Education. For federal fiscal year 2025, the total amount of federal grant funds awarded was $163,789,270. The remaining 21.3 percent of the costs ($44,329,243) were funded by state appropriations or another non-federal allowable source.
# # #