Purchasing from People with Disabilities

The Texas Purchasing from People with Disabilities program is dedicated to furthering the state’s policy of encouraging and assisting persons with disabilities to achieve maximum personal independence by engaging in useful, productive employment activities. Under the program, individuals with varying levels of disabilities produce products or perform services through a Community Rehabilitation Program as part of Works Wonders, commonly referred to as the State Use program. Formerly under the direction of the Texas Council on Purchasing from People with Disabilities, legislation passed by the 84^th Texas Legislature transferred oversight of the program to the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC).

TWC has the statutory authority to oversee the Works Wonders program. TWC contracts with a Central Nonprofit Agency (CNA) to administer the day-to-day operations of the program. Since 1978, WorkQuest, Inc. formerly TIBH Industries has been contracted as the CNA by the state of Texas.

Statutory and contractual responsibilities of a CNA include:

• Recruits Community Rehabilitation Programs (CRPs) for inclusion in Works Wonders and assists them in negotiating price and specification provisions for state purchasing contracts.
• Facilitates the distribution of agency purchase requests among CRPs, based upon factors including: ability to perform the contract requirements, resources and location of the CRP
• Processes agency orders and provides advanced payment to CRP for goods and services sold.
• Promotes increased employment opportunities for persons with disabilities by working closely with CRPs to research and develop new products and services for CRPs and Works Wonders.
• Markets products and maintains customer and public relations with state agencies and other political subdivisions.

State law requires agencies to purchase from Works Wonders unless the needed products or services meet certain exceptions. Agencies should report exceptions based upon amounts encumbered for purchases whenever a purchase order is issued. State agencies may purchase outside the mandatory purchasing provisions of the Works Wonders Program under the following exceptions.

• When the product or service available through Works Wonders does not meet the reasonable requirement of the agency including an inability to meet product specifications or to deliver the needed product within a certain period of time.
• The inability to provide temporary services with certain regions of the state.

• State Use Reports on Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts Website

Complaints regarding matters pertaining to the Purchasing from People with Disabilities Program shall be made in writing and addressed to the Purchasing from People with Disabilities Manager for forwarding to the TWC Deputy Executive Director. The written complaint must include the name and address of the person who filed the complaint and the subject matter of the complaint. Within 5 business days of the receipt of a written complaint, a response acknowledging receipt is sent to the individual filing the complaint and to everyone who is a subject of the complaint. All complaints will be thoroughly investigated and researched to ensure timely resolution.

Submit complaints:

Texas Workforce Commission
1117 Trinity Street #214T
Austin, Texas 78701
Email: PurchasingfromPeoplewithDisabilities@twc.texas.gov