Reach Independence through Self-Employment
Maryland's RISE Program
Maryland's Division of Rehabilitation Services has been operating the RISE Program since 1997 to offer the choice of pursuing self-employment to all consumers.
“The RISE Program offers our consumer the resources they need to pursue self-employment, ” says Robert Burns, the Assistant State Superintendent in Rehabilitation Services and the agency’s director. “For those individuals with a business plan and a needed product or service, self-employment is yet another avenue toward economic independence.”
Through the RISE Program, over 1,000 program participants have taken part in the exploration and pursuit of business ownership. As a result, there are scores of successful new ventures throughout the State of Maryland that are owned by entrepreneurs with physical, psychiatric, or cognitive disabilities.
The RISE Program has dramatically increased the success rate of new business start-ups through a systematic approach to training and individualized technical assistance that reduces the risk and the guesswork that leads to business failure.
RISE will help you . . .
- Decide if owning a business is a realistic vocational option for you,
- Obtain market information to help you select the right industry
- Develop a comprehensive business plan,
- Access financial resources, and
- Receive ongoing individualized technical assistance.
The Maryland Division of Rehabilitation Services will provide limited funding for a consumer owned enterprise after the business plan has been favorably reviewed by the RISE Program's Advisory Committee and approved by DORS.
For more information, see the RISE Program fact sheet
.
