DALLAS, Oct. 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- To seek out the best employees to serve its worldwide clients, Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. (ACS) today announced it has successfully recruited more than 135 people with disabilities in a pilot project designed to attract more Americans with disabilities. Since March, ACS has worked with approximately 300 different agencies that support people with disabilities who refer appropriate candidates to ACS for possible hiring. "This program enables ACS to extend our corporate philosophy of giving people a solid foundation to build on and the ability to improve their lives, whether it's developing life skills or providing access to services that lead to a safe and healthy lifestyle," said Lora Villarreal, chief people officer for ACS. Kyle Woodruff, 28, is blind and works for ACS. He is a customer care representative working 40 hours a week and when working with callers, he uses a text recognition system that reads words on his computer screen out loud. The system also translates text into Braille displayed on a special monitor for Kyle. Kyle's professionalism and skills have allowed him to expand his responsibilities to help train new employees. "It's great to work at a company where they look beyond my disability," said Kyle. "To ACS I am a person with skills, not a person with a disability. I have just as much opportunity at ACS as anybody else." ACS has a dedicated recruiting team helping more than 28 ACS locations in the United States to recruit, hire, and promote people with disabilities. In six months, the team of diversity recruiters has established partnerships with state and local vocational rehabilitation agencies and organizations such as community and local government groups, college disability services offices, self-advocacy, independent-living organizations, as well as veterans' organizations and others that provide services to people with disabilities. "ACS' program to recruit, hire and accommodate people with disabilities is a tremendous success," said Sharrieffa Blair, employment specialist with Goodwill Industries of Kentucky, an agency that among other things refers individuals with disabilities to companies for potential hiring. "Goodwill Industries now has a solid partner in our efforts to employ people with disabilities. We know ACS will make every effort to grow the program and continue giving hope and opportunities to a group of people who have not always had them." ACS' hiring practices were recently honored with the 2008 Golden Key Employer of the Year award from the office of the governor of Utah. The Governor's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities presents the award to recognize companies for outstanding contributions and practices that improve employment opportunities for people with disabilities. "As a service company, ACS knows that our people make all the difference and that our commitment to service goes hand-in-hand with our dedication to our communities," said Tom Blodgett, group president for ACS' BPS division. "Our clients reflect their world and our employees are a reflection of their community." ACS is tracking the progress of its recruiting efforts and is continually seeking innovative ways to continue to knock down barriers to employment. The company works with local Business Leadership Networks (BLN) to advance its alternative recruiting efforts and allows ACS to network with other employers whose best practices have helped influence its success. "ACS provides ongoing training to employees and managers regarding hiring, managing, and promoting people with disabilities," said Villarreal. "We participate in National Disability Awareness Month and Disability Mentoring Day. We have a dedicated effort to attract people with disabilities across the broad spectrum of occupations within ACS. Overall, we are committed to becoming an employer of choice for people with disabilities and hope that other employers will learn best practices from us one day." About ACS ACS, a global FORTUNE 500 company with 65,000 people supporting client operations reaching more than 100 countries, provides business process outsourcing and information technology solutions to world-class commercial and government clients. The company's Class A common stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "ACS." Learn more about ACS at http://www.acs-inc.com/. DATASOURCE: Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. CONTACT: Chris Gilligan, Corporate Communications Manager of Affiliated Computer Services, Inc., +1-859-389-2412, Web site: http://www.acs-inc.com/

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