The Michigan Employment First Initiative sponsored the creation of two training resources to build the capacity of educators, employment professionals, and advocates on how to better engage families around employment. The crucial role families play in the lives of youth and adults with developmental disabilities is emphasized. Engaging families and self-advocates have proven to improve employment outcomes for individuals with developmental disabilities.
Lighting the Way: Helping Families See Possibilities in Competitive Employment is aimed at employment professionals who work with youth and individuals with developmental disabilities. The presentation focuses on helping professionals understand the experiences and motivations of families so that community-based employment outcomes can improve.
Both the presentation and additional resources are appropriate for staff of employment programs, vocational rehabilitation counselors, educators (including transition and work experience coordinators), and other professionals who participate in the employment process.
Numerous resources and tools have been developed to transform provider agencies, increase access to high-quality workforce services, and achieve competitive integrated employment (CIE) for people with developmental disabilities.
The Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) released a report in December 2019 titled, "Provider Transformation Efforts" which outlines Provider Transformation work and systems change to facilitate improvements in CIE outcomes.
ODEP and the LEAD Center created a "Provider Transformation Assessment & Action Planning Technical Resources Tool." The tool helps providers assess their strengths and gaps, identify where additional technical assistance is required, and formulate an action plan for addressing a specific number of strategic objectives for transforming their business models to support an Employment First framework. The tool can be found on page 11 of ODEP and the LEAD Center's Employment First Technical Brief #3.
The LEAD Center has also created a Provider Transformation Manual 2.0 to support providers during transformation with modules that offer an in-depth look at specific areas of organizational change. Modules cover many topics related to transformation, including:
Rate Restructuring: Part 1 is an introduction to innovative outcomes-based payment strategies to complement an Employment First approach. It presents a history of the ODEP initiative in Michigan, the rate restructuring initiatives implemented in Michigan, and an explanation of how outcomes-based payment systems work.
Rate Restructuring: Part 2 is an overview of the Oakland County Health Network's experience with Rate Restructuring.
In Potential Partnership Service Delivery and Funding Model Strategies, the State of Tennessee shares several possible partnership scenarios. This handout presents policymakers and practitioners with alternatives and impacts of building working reimbursement strategies and their potential revenue implications for a program.
As Community Rehabilitation Providers (CRPs) provide pre-employment transition services (Pre-ETS) to students with disabilities, they need to understand how to deliver services to younger students and develop effective processes to collaborate with multiple partners.
A CRP Pre-ETS Guidebook has been developed in response to these needs using evidence-based practices with examples across each section.
The Positive Personal Profile (PPP) is a tool for youth relevant to their job search, employability, job match, retention, and long-range career development. Here are a few helpful tips to remember when using the PPP tool:
Person-Centered Planning (PCP) is the process of planning and supporting the person, not just the person's written plan. The PCP approach identifies a person's strengths, goals, medical needs, desired outcomes, and more. The PCP approach is a useful tool to help identify a person's preferences for vocational training and employment. Below are some supplemental resources that can be used in coordination with the PCP approach.
Employment as a focus of Person-Centered Planning (PCP) has traditionally varied for people with disabilities. A transition to competitive, integrated employment for all individuals will not occur unless frequent and targeted discussions occur about employment.
Below, you will find 'Path to Employment' resources to assist providers with discussions related to competitive, integrated employment. These resources are intended to help people with disabilities make informed decisions to explore, pursue, secure, and advance in employment.
Charting the LifeCourse is a framework created to help individuals and families of all ages and all abilities develop a vision for a good life under the belief that all people have the right to live, love, work, play, and pursue their own goals. Individuals and families can use their vision for a good, quality life with the LifeCourse framework to help plan for the present and the future.
The LifeCourse framework also includes resources specifically related to the transition from school to work. Charting the LifeCourse: Daily Life & Employment is a guide to help transition-age youth and their families figure out what daily life could look like after high school. The guide includes activities and resources to assist youth to consider jobs, careers, or continuing education as an adult.
