For more than 30 years, NYSID - a not-for-profit member agency organization - has been meeting the purchasing needs of state and local government agencies while advancing employment for New Yorkers with disabilities. Under the legislatively-mandated New York State Preferred Source Program, NYSID acts as a "virtual storefront" for a statewide network of 148 community rehabilitation agencies and private sector business partners to employ skilled people with disabilities in both facility-based settings and community-based jobs. Through more than 1000 contracts that bring work to NYS communities, NYSID member agencies deliver quality goods and services at OGS-approved prices to fulfill individual government agency missions. In Fiscal Year 2006 alone, 3.3 million hours of work were performed by more than 6,258 people with disabilities, earning them over $35million in wages. Everyone benefits from Preferred Source purchasing: NYS government purchasers get the goods and services they need without costly, time-consuming bidding. NYSID workers with disabilities throughout the state acquire marketable skills through productive jobs and wages that promote self-esteem and financial independence. New York State gains from reduced public assistance as disabled workers become economically independent and increased government tax revenues from employed vs. dependent individuals.