FRANKFORT – Gov. Matt Bevin has appointed Lori Norton of Lancaster as a member of the Employment First Council. Norton is the project director of IPS Supported Employment for the University of Kentucky. She will represent the Division of Behavioral Health and serve for a term expiring June 30, 2020.

The Employment First Council was created to ensure competitive and integrated employment in the community will be considered the first and primary option for persons with disabilities who want to become employed. The Council will act as an advisory body of state government to pursue this purpose and include representatives from the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation, the Office for the Blind, the Department of Education, the Division of Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities, the Commonwealth Council on Developmental Disabilities, Protection and Advocacy, Disability Determination Services, Division of Behavioral Health, KY Autism Training Center, Office of Autism, Human Development Institute, people with disabilities, family members, providers, State Rehabilitation Council, and employers. The Council will be administered by the University of Kentucky’s Human Development Institute (HDI).