Increasing community employment in your program

1. Increasing community employment in your program Ellen Condon condon@ruralinstitute.umt.edu

2. Why Change? • Facility-based services have not proven to be an effective preparation for community employment; • People who have been in facility-based employment earn less, work fewer hours, and cost more to place than those people who went straight to work; • People earn more and cost less (over time) in community employment.

3. Why Change? • Medicaid Waiver funding is moving away from funding facility-based services; • Young people want to work and expect to work after high school; • Parents of youth exiting school expect them to work in the community; • States are identifying paid community employment as the preferred activity for people receiving financial support from DDS.

4. Why Change?We know that people with a significant impact of disability can work when an individualized approach to employment is taken and ongoing supports are matched to the person.

5. People with a significant impact of disability can contribute to employers

6. Effective strategies from leading states and employment agencies

7. By December of 2013 XYZ will serve 65% of our consumers in community employment. • By December 2015 XYZ will provide 100% of services within community settings. Establish a Clear Goal.

8. In Vermont • By 2000 the state I/DD services committed to stop funding new entries to sheltered work shops; • They committed to closing all workshops in 2002; The last workshop closed in 2003; • Vermont’s Integrated Employment rate for people with I/DD is twice the national average (40%).

9. Communicate the goal and expectation of employment often and to all. • Walk the Talk • Shut the front door • Hire people with disabilities • Support people with disabilities to be competent members of the agency

10. Communicate the goal and expectation of employment often and to all. • Agency Image in the community and message to employers • Name • Fund raising • Advertising • Presence in the community

11. Is our agency supporting people to be competent community members?

12. Celebrate Success

13. Celebrate Success • W.I.S. E. • www.theinitiative.ws • MT Emerging Leader project • On MT-TIRC face book • http://ruralinstitute.umt.edu • WVA Job Squad Blog • http://jobsquadinc.blogspot.com/

14. Adoption of Employment First Policies • Expectation that community employment is the preferred and prioritized outcome for working-age youth and adults with disabilities. • Many states have adopted or are in the process of adoption an Employment first policy.

15. Communicate the goal and expectation of employment often and to all. • How to communicate that employment is important? • Capture and share success stories • Put Work on the agenda at Individual’s Annual meetings • Communicate the culture change at your agency.

16. Outreach to schools, youth and families to communicate the importance of Work.

17. Communicate the goal and expectation of employment often and to all. • How do you get stakeholder buy in? • Families • People with disabilities • VR • Business • Facility-based staff • Case managers • schools

18. Invest in staff development • Different skills are required to support community employment • Discovery • Job development • Systematic instruction • Assistive technology • Benefits analysis • Facilitating natural supports • Mentoring and ongoing supported implementation; • Employment staff need time to get to know the businesses in their community.

19. Evaluate the use of your resources to support Employment • Does existing staff structure support employment? • How are staff spending time? • Do you have enough staff doing job development? • How much time is spent in job development? And in what activities? • Are facility based staff involved in employment?

20. Are you tapping into all resources to support employment? • SSA work incentives (PASS Plans); • Family and friend network; • Ticket to Work; • Relationships with schools; • Use your agencies connections and social capital, board members, and staff connections.

21. Factors associated with Success in increasing Employment • Benefits counseling for consumers and families; • Peer mentoring for job seekers and families. • VT has a strong self advocate network • Peers help share the vision that work is possible • Close collaboration between VR and I/DD • VT VR allocates grants to vendors rather than billable hours /person.

22. Factors associated with Success in increasing Employment • Rate setting that emphasizes the value of community employment over sheltered; • Tennessee • Flexible contracting methods to enable agencies to finance employment; • OK negotiated payment for hours a job seeker works vs hours of service

23. Identify and Utilize Partners with Resources • Vocational Rehabilitation • Schools • SSA benefits planners • Workforce investment • Residential and day services • Economic development programs • Families • Use the agency’s social capital

24. Don’t wait for all the stars to align to begin…. • Proactively get to know job seekers; • Begin placing people and figure out changes in structure and policies that are needed; • Set time lines, benchmarks, & review progress frequently;

25. Other tips • Down size your space; • Track your progress; • Emphasize employment is important by tracking hours, wages, longevity; • Consider the person’s life beyond employment; • Involve all stake holders.

26. Resources: • http://www.dshs.wa.gov/dpf/adsa/ddd/policy4.11.pdf Working Age Adult Policy • www.communityinclusion.org ICI • Closing the Shop Murphy & Rogan; Brookes Publishing, MD • Marc Gold and Associates • http://www.marcgold.com/

27. Resources: • Employment First GA website • www.employmentfirstgeorgia.org • GHA website • www.griffinhammis.org • Rural Institute website • www.ruralinstitute.umt.edu/transition • Articles and products & archived webinars

28. Resources: • Office of Disability Employment Policy • http://www.dol.gov/odep/topics/EmploymentFirst.htm • National Council on Disability report, 08/23/12, Subminimum Wage and Supported Employment.