Podcasts about employment first

Send us a textThis conversation with Heather couldn't have come at a better time! This episode was recoreded early January 2025 and I'm so happy we had this conversation before everything in the US happened in later January 2025. This is not a time to stop fighting for our rights, fighting for DEI and all of our friends, family and neighbors around the country and the world! Thank you Heather for what you do in the disability world to help people get meaningful jobs in our workforce and throughout our communities! Colorado is doing a dang good job and we all can learn from them!Heather's BioHeather Hagen (she/her) proudly serves as the Assistant Director of Employment Services at Developmental Disabilities Resource Center (DDRC) in Colorado. Like many colleagues, Heather fell into the world of supported employment in 2010 by chance and found a passion for helping people pursue their career goals. Heather has had the privilege of experiencing employment services evolve significantly over the past 10+ years and is enthusiastic about Colorado's commitment to Employment First! In her work, Heather is especially passionate about developing highly competent Employment Support Professionals who approach their work with a historical understanding of disability services and a passion to cause “good trouble” in pursuit of equity and true inclusion for everyone. A person with invisible disabilities, Heather is a recipient of the Association of People Supporting Employment First (APSE) Wendy M. Wood Emerging Leader award and DDRC's Charlie Allinson award. Heather seeks to move the needle in the day-to-day work that we do with career seekers, and to ask for big change in state and national policies.Heather enjoys life in the Colorado mountains with her husband, son and two dogs. In her free time, you can find Heather hiking, baking, cross stitching and planning fun vacations with her family!Connect with Heather:LinkedInThis episodes ad break: Join my email list to: get behind the scenes, special videos, book launch date, book tours, discounts, freebies and so much more!www.kateyfortun.com/thebookStay in the loop with the new Different Ability® product I'll be launching!Sign Up Here!Shop new products here!Places you can reach me at:Website:https://kateyfortun.com/https://kateyfortun.com/podcastInstagram:https://www.instagram.com/kateyfortun/https://www.instagram.com/differentabilitypodcast/

Angela Flaman, director of the Alberta Employment First Network and Mirebelle Sawma, communications and marketing lead for the Alberta Employment First Network Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mentor Moments Season Three Story Moments: Everyone has a story to tell. This episode features Leslie Quarles. She is a dedicated rehabilitation and disability advicate who has just about done it all in her career. Enjoy getting to know her a little bit more! Leslie is a Training Associate on the Missouri Employment First team. She provides training and technical assistance to service providers and TCMs in Missouri to improve employment outcomes for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Leslie's previous experience includes employment services and quality assurance, as a Director for MERS Missouri Goodwill Industries and as a Program Surveyor for Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) International. Leslie has previously served on the board of Best Buddies Missouri and the Generation Listen Council with St. Louis Public Radio. She currently volunteers with the Alumni Advisory Board for the Tri Delta chapter at Southeast Missouri State University, assisting in the areas of community relations and DEI, as well as serves on the planning committee for the annual Brain Injury Association of Missouri conference. She also actively participates in Gateway Nexus, a networking platform for providers and employers.  www.communityinclusion.org www.apse.org Welcome to Mentor Moments, the podcast where distinctive journeys shape the individuals we become. Join us for engaging counseling conversations that delve deep into personal journeys while focusing on pressing professional issues. In this season of Mentor Moments, we're honored to feature remarkable individuals who not only introduce you to the world of rehabilitation counseling but also tackle current topics and issues that matter. Each episode invites you into the minds of our guests as they share their unique perspectives. Follow us at: Email: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠mentor.momentsMRA@gmail.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Instagram: @mentor.moments Website: https://www.mraeasternchapter.com/maryvillerc

Fostering a Culture of Inclusion E24 In this episode, host David Steinmetz introduces Jules Hyde, whose journey into supporting employment for individuals with disabilities is shaped by a passion for empowering others to pursue meaningful work. Hyde shares personal anecdotes and insights into implementing the philosophy of Employment First, advocating for individuals with disabilities to […]

Fostering a Culture of Inclusion E24 In this episode, host David Steinmetz introduces Jules Hyde, whose journey into supporting employment for individuals with disabilities is shaped by a passion for empowering others to pursue meaningful work. Hyde shares personal anecdotes and insights into implementing the philosophy of Employment First, advocating for individuals with disabilities to […] The post Fostering a Culture of Inclusion E24 appeared first on Business RadioX ®.

Joining Carol Pankow in the studio today is Inge Huband, Program Consultant for the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Small Business and Employment First programs, and Nicky Harper, Vocational Rehabilitation Administrator for Wyoming VR. This year, the National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) has a theme of Disability: Part of the Equity Equation in recognition of the vital role people with disabilities play in making the nation's workforce diverse and inclusive. For our listeners, Wyoming VR does not participate in the Randolph Sheppard program; however, they have concentrated for almost two decades on their small business program that focuses on self-employment. Learn how this focus has attained over a 50 percent success rating for small businesses through partnerships, creativity, education, and community networking.   Listen Here   Full Transcript   VRTAC-QM Manager Minute: National Disability Employment Awareness Month - See how Self-Employment Serves a Critical Need in Wyoming with Inge Huband and Nicky Harper   {Music} Speaker1: Manager Minute brought to you by the VRTAC for Quality Management, Conversations powered by VR, one manager at a time, one minute at a time. Here is your host Carol Pankow.   Carol: Well, welcome to the Manager Minute. Joining me in the studio today is Inge Huband, Program Consultant for the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services, Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, Small Business and Employment First Program, and Nicky Harper, Vocational Rehabilitation Administrator for Wyoming VR. And wow, was that a mouthful? So good to have you both. Inge, how are things going in Wyoming?   Inge: Oh, they're pretty good. We had a very hot summer. We're looking forward to some cool down here.   Carol: Absolutely. And Nicky, how about you? How are things going?   Nicky: I am well, Carol, thank you for having us. Life is good in Wyoming.   Carol: Excellent. Well, you're some of our favorite people, that's for sure. So this year, the National Disability Employment Awareness Month, or NDEAM, has a theme of disability: Part of the equity equation in recognition of the vital role people with disabilities play in making the nation's workforce diverse and inclusive. So this past year, my colleague Alison Flanagan and I had the opportunity to participate in the Wyoming VR on site monitoring review by RSA. And during the week we spent together, Alison was sitting in the session discussing your small business program in Wyoming and was completely blown away. She told me immediately, She's like, You got to follow up with them and get a podcast together. So for our listeners out there, Wyoming VR does not participate in the Randolph Shepard program. However, they have had a focus for almost two decades on their small business program that focuses on self-employment. The Bureau of Labor Statistics states that over 10% of US workers are self-employed, and self-employed workers also represent many of the country's entrepreneurs who are responsible for creating jobs for other workers. So let's dig in. So I'm really excited about your small business program, and I wanted to talk a little bit more about that. So Nicky, can you give us a little context about Wyoming does not participate in the Randolph Shepard program?   Nicky: That is correct, Carol. We don't have a Randolph Shepard program for a couple of reasons. Primarily, incidents of visually impaired individuals is very low. So when the cafeteria programs went away, oh gosh, several years ago, it was set up that funding was coming into vocational rehabilitation. So at that time, my predecessor and I believe the field services administrator took a look at that and said, well, there's still funding coming in. So instead of a cafeteria program, can we still continue to look at the vending program and how can we get some legislation and statutes written so that vending income could be utilized to still support individuals with disabilities wanting to develop small businesses? So instead of doing vending cafeteria with Randolph Shepard, we kind of went a slightly different avenue.   Carol: So Wyoming has their own take on this. So you actually have your own legislation that governs what you're doing.   Nicky: We do, yes.   Carol: Excellent. I was very curious about that. So how does the funding work for this program?   Nicky: So the legislation or the statute allows for us to go out for bid for individuals in the communities. They don't necessarily have to be an individual with a disability, but I do believe this score additional points on an RFP, if they have a disability to set up vending machines in state owned buildings. So they set up the vending machines with understanding that a percentage of the earnings come to vocational rehabilitation. So we then use those earnings as match dollars when we set up a small business so that we use federal dollars obviously, and that vending income is used as a non-federal match portion.   Carol: Gotcha. Thank you for clearing that up. So do you partner with the Wyoming Small Business Administration?   Inge: Not directly. So I would call that an indirect partnership. We put a couple of years. We have partnered with the Wyoming Women's Business Center and they receive part of their funding through the Small Business Administration. So what we have started doing is to refer some of our clients. Not all of them will work for this program. Some of them can be referred with the approved loan amount, and then they will actually have to go through a loan process through the Wyoming Women's Business Center. The amount that DVR has approved for their small business is the loan amount that they're applying for, and we are able to pay that loan and the client will have to provide us with showing that they actually purchase what they have. So that's another layer of responsibility for the clients. It's no longer just gives me money. It's like, Oh no, I have to fill out a loan application and I have to talk to the loan officer and put everything out there and they have to have a. That's account ready. They have to have their legal entity already registered before they can even receive those funds. So it puts everything in another level of reality. And then they have the responsibility of purchasing all the approved items and approved that they did purchase them. And they have to send that also to the Women's Business Center as well as to us. So that's kind of how we keep track of all of that. But it does help with the diverse things that clients need. It's sometimes very difficult for, say, to purchase certain items through the process that we have. And so that makes it a lot easier, a lot more efficient than quicker for the client to obtain those needed items.   Carol: I know your state is very you know, you have the rural component. There's sort of a little bit of the bigger city areas and such. But what are some unique challenges that people face in Wyoming with creating a small business?   Inge: It is probably infrastructure. Internet sometimes is an issue, just being in very small communities and very rural, having to drive to places and it causes a lot of issues. But as I said, people are very resourceful when they buy into their idea and they see their idea growing from, Oh, here's that concept that I have in my head and through the process of business planning, it becomes a tangible idea of something that really makes sense and we help them really understand, okay, where you're at in this particular situation, does it really make sense to have a ginormous warehouse? For example? Would it not be better to utilize drop shippers or whatever we're considering in that situation? And then the idea grows from this big monstrosity to something small, functional and doable, and the client is able to just move forward with it. And also, I think giving them the future outlook of you can always grow your business, you can always change. And Wyoming has a really great network of support for small business. We work with local economic development chambers. I encourage the clients to work with all of these entities to really get into the nitty gritty of their small business idea and figure things out.   So it's not uncommon that I ask clients to do surveys, talk to their community and say, Do they really want this service? Because being online works sometimes, but not all the time. It's difficult. It's a big market out there. So when you have a following in your local community and get started, it's a lot easier to transition online or go into a warehouse. So for example, in a small town here in Wyoming called Buffalo, we have a saddle maker and he was visited by our governor. And because of that, we had another visitor from a local retailer who wants to help him with some free space. And so now he's able to move from his own property into a free rented location down the road. We'll probably have to pay rent, right now it's free and he'll have a little retail location. So what he can offer are smaller items. So he doesn't just rely on saddles and so he's really excited and things are moving.   Carol: Well, that sounds like a super smart approach, especially when you talked about having some of the Internet issues that can happen in rural areas too. So you want to have somewhat of a following in that community because people may not be able to get to you online either. That makes some sense. So you talked about this saddle maker. So what are some of the other interesting businesses that have been pursued?   Nicky: Oh, my gosh, quite a few. We get really, really creative. And Inge is a really good job with ensuring that the business is viable and they can be successful. The clients have to put together a pretty detailed business plan. The one that I kind of laugh about is we call it the pole dancing business.   Carol: Do tell!   Inge: This one was a client who just came to me and said, Well, I'm this athletic person. I teach pole dancing. I want to do that as a business. And I wasn't sure if we could do that, being tied to federal funding and all of that. So sure. And I didn't understand the idea of that being just physical exercise and all of that. So there were all these other things with it. But she opened up a studio and a really small town. It worked really well. She had a nice clientele. She was big enough to open a second studio in adjacent small town that worked also well, and then her injury got worse. Unfortunately, she had to sell to local studios. She moved and she's still selling her choreography and her merchandise online. And so that one was a really fun one to work with because it was so out of the ordinary, something different.   Nicky: We have done some really cool ones like. On supporting horses for Wyoming that works out. There's a lot of rodeo and that kind of stuff happening, and individuals may not always have the capacity to transport their animals across state lines. So we've done that kind of business and sometimes even to some micro-businesses kind of thing. One that comes to mind that was pretty cool was the latest craze of like essential oils and that kind of business. So we have really supported from large businesses, from mowing companies to moving horses to one was a t shirt company. This guy, he would get this product and then resell it. I think in his second year of business he cleared like 70,000. Well, that was.   Carol: Well that is cool though, because you guys have been super creative and it's worked for Wyoming, you know, and what people have needed there, because I know you definitely have a lot of challenges with the geographic nature of your state.   Nicky: Absolutely.   Carol: Very, very cool. So how do your outcomes look and how did the pandemic impact your customers and their businesses?   Inge: So our outcomes on general, when we check our numbers, they're about 50% success rate, which is pretty good because nationwide, when you look at all the small businesses that start in the first year, you have a 90% failure rate. And of those 90% within five years, you have another 50% failure rate of those remaining business. So it's very tough. So we are doing pretty good. The pandemic really didn't do that much to us. I was as busy as before the pandemic actually even busier. People were really hunkering down, thinking, well, what can I do? How can I support myself? And we did a lot throughout the pandemic. So the pandemic itself did not. We're seeing a slowdown right now. That is because there are a lot of jobs available. I believe right now the unemployment is at about 3% in Wyoming.   Carol: Oh, excellent.   Inge: So there is that natural slowdown that happens with that. So when work is available, micro slows down a little bit. When it's not available, we get really busy. And so we have that here. But yeah, the pandemic itself was a busy time for me.   Carol: Good. That's good to hear. So how do you partner with the VR counselor in making all of this happen?   Inge: Yeah, so that is a really good relationship. The counselor works with our clients. Sometimes clients get to refer to me right away. Sometimes they have good working with a VR counselor for some time before they even come my way. And then the counselor reaches out. Here's the client, here's what they want to do. So I provide services to our counselors as well as to our clients. I encourage our counselors to contact me if they have a client that has, let's call it a harebrained idea that may not work. So we do research with the client together to figure out is that even a decent idea or these pyramid schemes that people sometimes get involved with. We research stuff like that. So when a counselor isn't sure, I encourage them to contact me. When we're ready, the client gets referred to me and I start working and that looks different for different clients. So sometimes they're very proactive. Other clients, they want their counselors with them. So we just schedule phone calls again, virtual meetings or something to work together and then make sure that the client has all the support that they need. Usually, once the client is comfortable with working with yet another person, they are okay with working with me. That helps lead the process up a little bit because we don't need to coordinate all of our calendars and so we can solve this on that. Again, it depends on the client, but in general, the client can get a bland easy in three months.   They have to do financial projections. So at minimum we have to do a one year, month by month financial projection to see what is your projected income, your expenses, what's the bottom line looking like? How much money do you want to take out of that business? Where is all going to go? That's kind of what determines the whole process and everyone is of a different level. So some people you will have to explain everything to them. You have to teach them entrepreneurship, you have to guide them through the process while others come in with some knowledge already. Sometimes I get completed business class before I even have met the individual, and then once a plan is approved, the client goes back to their VR counselor and then they work together on finalizing the business. They start up their business. The VR counselor meets with them regularly to ensure that everything is on par, and if not, I hope that they will contact me and let me in. And that works pretty well that way. Working with the Women's Business Center. Has been really tremendous because that long counseling that they're receiving is just another way to make sure that everything that we try to teach them, try to put into this plan and process is being reinforced and someone else tells them, know some of the same things that we have went through with them already.   Carol: So that sounds like a great partnership that you have.   Inge: Yeah, it took me a long time to get that build out because outside of vocational rehabilitation, we're considered a brand and to educate those partners, it's not a grant and it's a different kind of process and program and people have different kinds of needs. We need to sometimes slow it down or speed it up, depending on where they are on that continuum, then that's where we need to be. And so that's not always easy. So it took me a long, long time to get through and it took a food truck business who needed a loan, couldn't get a loan through a bank, and the Women's Business Center was able to make a loan. So that client, they finally understood our process. And then I was approached for a contract. We actually entered a contract to make sure that everything is being all the confidentiality and all of that of oversight. And there's information that I cannot share and they cannot share because of lending rules and all of that. So we do have to have all of that information and continually work together.   Carol: So how does that work when you close a case? Because I understand that you're opening a case for the consumer in some situations. So how do you determine when you're closing in the case and consider it successful?   Nicky: Usually it's part of the business plan. They have to be able to demonstrate self-sufficiency, you know, and sometimes we might support them for a good couple of years just following them along for additional supports, just like a regular rehab closure, so to speak. We want to ensure that they are earning adequately, that they can self-sustain their business, that they don't have any additional supports from the division that they need to sustain business. We usually ask for regular paystubs and that kind of stuff to track that. They are doing well and by the time we are looking at closing the case, they have also established a working relationship and develop their credit through the Women's Business Center, which is where we funnel the funds through, so to speak. So they have established credit and I think each closure is very individualized, just like every case is so individualized, the counselor and the client and Inga works together to ensure that things are going well. The client does believe that they can self-sustain by themselves. And we did have a recent success story, which was really cool. We helped an individual set up a small business. I think it was like car detailing, if I'm not mistaken, and because the division helped him and he became really successful, this client then started hiring other V.R. clients to work for him, which was just really neat.   Carol: Wow. That is good stuff right there. Yeah. So what are you most proud of regarding this program?   Nicky: Oh, wow. Most proud of. That's a difficult question. I think it's the fact that we have some flexibilities in the program because we have a client who would essentially be eligible for VA services and considered to have a significant disability can potentially qualify. And if it is a viable business idea, we are always open to exploring it. And I think I really like is that we don't just say, okay, here's a set of funds now what do we walk them through that process? And then our recent engagement with the Women's Business Center, where the clients then get the opportunity to start developing their own credit as well, because we all know a lot of individuals with disabilities have challenges in that area where they don't necessarily have good credits or try to borrow in the future becomes difficult. Trying to borrow from the state small business might be challenging, so this really sets the client up for success and we're not necessarily doing for them, we're doing with them. And I think that's what I like to see, that we just don't say, Well, here's a set amount of dollars. Just like our individualized plans. Business plans are very individualized too. So depending on the need and the business, sometimes it might be 5000, sometimes it might be 50,000. I like that we can individualize it and work with the clients to help them out and help them out in their communities. Most recently, we sent a client to Nashville. He is super talented in the music industry and as a counselor, I was always hesitant to support someone to get a music degree right. But this individual, we sent him to Nashville. He's doing amazingly well. And one of the final things we are going to assist with is so the v r program is going to purchase the vehicle and the small business program will purchase kind of a mobile studio that he can. Around recording, and he already has multiple offers for recording contracts in Nashville. So that's really.   Carol: Cool. Wow, that is super cool. Well, and it speaks to what Inge said earlier about the percent of people that are successful because most small businesses, 90%, fail in that first year. But you guys are seeing a success rate well over 50%, which is good stuff. And that just speaks to what you're talking about with all of that support that you're giving to individuals the entire way through.   Nicky: Absolutely. And it's kind of a comprehensive support group of the counselor working with them, the area manager, getting involved when needed, the community support. I mean, it really does take a village, right, to support folks. And we have some really good success stories.   Carol: I love that. I love that. So, Nick, is there anything else you'd like to share with our listeners out there about your small business program or if they're considering something like that? I know most of the states have a Randolph Shepard program, but you have expanded obviously out to working with other people with other types of disabilities.   Nicky: I think sometimes we just get so stuck in bureaucratic, can we do this? Can't we do this? Is it allowable just giving clients and counselors the flexibility and the freedom to get creative, but then also having someone like Inga on staff who really have the expertise to determine if that business actually has the viable to be successful in your state, in that community, being able to do some fiscal projections for that said business, like I said, you know, the pole dancing thing, we were like, Wait a minute, worked. But they were very successful in that community. There was a lot of research that happened, went in to determine that there was a need for specialized exercise kind of thing and that there wasn't anyone providing it. So we do a lot of research and it is time consuming. But I think I go back to our staff, just us can be very creative and we need to believe in our clients too. So giving people the opportunity, being realistic, saying they want to start a small business to mirror Elon Musk might not be feasible, but being realistic and working within your boundaries, but sometimes stretching comfort zones and being curious and exploring options. So that's what I would suggest.   Inge: I would just say, know your local economy, get to know the people, talk to local people. Because if you hear for the third time that you want to have another woodworker opening up shop, you really need to know can that community support another business?   Carol: Yeah. Good stuff. Well, thank you so much for joining us today and I really appreciate you highlighting what's happening in Wyoming and helping us to celebrate National Disability Employment Awareness Month. Best of luck to you all.   Nicky: Thank you so much. Yep. And like you said, the beauty of what we do is just giving opportunities for individuals with disabilities to do what they think maybe that they were not going to be able to do to be contributing members of society. Again, we contribute to their families and we all come together. We can all make a difference.   Carol: Thanks much.   Nicky: Thank you, Carol.   Inge: Thank you, Carol. I appreciate it.   {Music} Speaker1: Conversations powered by VR, one manager at a time, one minute at a time, brought to you by the VR TAC for Quality Management. Catch all of our podcast episodes by subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts. Thanks for listening!      

Common Work & Financial Questions featuring Melanie Honsbruch, CPWIC, Curriculum Developer and Trainer at the Colorado Office of Employment First (OEF)– What the “Employment First” philosophy is (1:55);– Where “Employment First” is implemented in the United States (6:30);– How can someone get involved in Employment First advocacy (9:45)– Learn about job equity and “Competitive Integrated Employment” (16:03)– CO DB 101 – Colorado Disability Benefits 101 (23:00)Acronyms used in this episode: SSI = Supplemental Security Income; SSDI = Social Security Disability Insurance

Benefits Counseling featuring Shantelle Rockman, Executive Director of Integrating Supports Colorado– What a benefits counselor/planner is (2:37)– The importance of understanding your benefits (4:27)– Advice about staying safe from benefits trafficking (6:20)– How to locate and get started with a benefits counselor/planner (7:14)- You can access co.db101.org or the CO Office of Employment First website, www.employmentfirstcolorado.org (10:04)Acronyms used in this episode: SSI = Social Security Income, SSDI = Social Security Disability Insurance, SNAP = Supplement Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly Food Stamps), DVR = Division of Vocational Rehabilitation

Netta Ganor is an extremely gifted artist, who speaks about being diagnosed with Transverse Myelitis at C4-C5 at the age of 15, which left most of her body paralyzed from the shoulders down. She also speaks about being a mother, wife, IT professional and much more. It's an interview you do not want to miss! Netta's Links:Main Website with links to her books: HereLink to Netta's IG page: HereThe Mouth and Foot Painting Artists Association (MFPA): HereLinks for The Landscape PagesLink to The Landscape FB PageLink to The Landscape Instagram PageLink to sign up News LetterLink to The Landscape LinkedIn

This episode, we are discussing the Compass Project which is a developmental disabilities or ODDS System Change designed to make the system more person centered. Specifically, today we're going to talk about a few changes that are happening for the employment and day support of activities or DSA part of the system change. This will focus primarily on eXPRS and plan of care changes and this podcast will hopefully be most helpful for case management entities. This podcast and conversation is going to focus primarily on eXPRS and plan of care changes and hopefully will be most helpful for case management entity team members looking for a high level overview of what is coming. Joining me today is Gene Rada and Stephanie Ronkel, both talented subject matter experts for the Employment First and special projects team at ODDS.Download full script by clicking here.Links:The Compass Projecthttps://www.oregon.gov/dhs/Compass-Project/Pages/index.aspx

On this episode of Manager Minute, we are delighted to discuss Colorado's Employment First initiative. On the panel, we have: Patricia Henke, Colorado Office of Employment First (COEF) Director Meghan Greene, CIE Manager, CO VR Katie Taliercio, Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF); Colorado's State Medicaid Agency Katie Oliver, Colorado Department of Education Cheryl Carver, Colorado VR They are involved with a very innovative and successful collaboration in Colorado pertaining to their Employment First initiative.  We believe it's an outstanding model illustrating how multiple agencies can effectively partner in an Employment First initiative to serve their consumers better. We have the pleasure today to understand how this is working in Colorado, so you may be able to move in a similar direction.   Here are some useful links discussed in the podcast: Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Colorado Colorado Office of Employment First Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Finance Colorado Sequence of Services for Students and Youth with Disabilities   Listen Here   You can find out more about VRTAC-QM on the web at: https://www.vrtac-qm.org/   Please stay up to date by following VRTAC-QM on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @VRTAC_QM   About VRTAC-QM Partnering with State Vocational Rehabilitation Agencies (SVRAs) to enhance service delivery and maximize outcomes through quality program and resource management. The purpose of the VRTAC-QM is to provide training and technical assistance that will enable State VR agency personnel to manage available resources, improve effective service delivery, and increase the number and quality of employment outcomes for individuals with disabilities. The VRTAC-QM provides TA and training in VR program and performance quality management, fiscal and resource quality management of the VR program, and general quality management of organizations. You can request technical assistance from the VRTAC-QM by contacting your TA Liaison directly, contacting any member of the Center you wish, or by filling out the information on our main website and clicking on submit. While on the main website, join our mailing list to receive updates on training and new activities occurring within the Center.     Full Transcript   Leveraging Employment First initiatives to improve consumer services across agencies in Colorado.   {Music} Speaker1: Manager Minute brought to you by the VRTAC for Quality Management. Conversations powered by VR, one manager at a time, one minute at a time. Here is your host, Carol Pankow.   Carol: Well, we're delighted to have a whole crew from Colorado with us this morning in the studio. We have Patricia Henke Colorado Office of Employment First. Meghan Greene with Colorado VR. Cheryl Carver also with Colorado VR. Katie Taliercio, CEO with the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing. And Katie Oliver, Colorado Department of Education. So welcome to you all. I appreciate you being in the studio today. These fine ladies are involved with a very innovative and successful collaboration in Colorado pertaining to their Employment First initiative. We believe it's an outstanding model, illustrating how multiple agencies can effectively partner with their Employment First initiative to better serve their customers. We have the pleasure today to understand how this is working in Colorado. So you may be able to move in a similar direction. So let's get a little background on Employment First. Employment First is really a framework for systems change that is centered on the premise that all citizens, including individuals with significant disabilities, are capable of full participation in integrated employment and community life. This national effort, formerly originated from the Office of Disability Employment Policy, when on August 8th 2018, they hosted 15 federal offices, including representatives from the departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, Housing and Urban Development, Veterans Affairs and Justice, the National Council on Disability, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Social Security Administration to learn about and discuss the newly launched Employment for State Leadership Mentoring Program. Today, many states, such as Colorado, have adopted Employment First initiatives through formal state legislation and dedicated state funding appropriations in an effort to establish this framework so this objective can be met. So let's dig in. Meghan, I'm going to have you start us off with a little background about why the importance of partnering is so critical and a little more about your state Employment First legislation and the state's competitive integrated employment focus.   Meghan: Thanks, Carol. Yeah. So as you can see from all the different Colorado partners here, we love partnering together and it yields really great results for our state. Kind of, along with the background that you just gave in Colorado, priority is really that competitive integrated employment for all working age persons with disabilities. All people are capable of full participation, employment and community life. With the WIO definition of CIA as a shared goal and a shared vision of the supportive employment process across all of the Colorado State systems, with an emphasis on the use of those evidence based practices like customized employment or individual placement and support or benefits counseling to support that competitive integrated employment for the people that we serve in Colorado. This is really shown in the work that we all do that has been completed utilizing a state level systems framework and by aligning employment related policies, service delivery practices and service funding structures between our state agencies. Some of the examples of this alignment and collaboration is in. 2016 Senate Bill 16-77 was passed, which effectively prioritized Employment First in Colorado and required state agencies to convene and develop the Employment First Advisory Partnership between the Department of Education, Department of Human Services, Department of Labor Employment, which is where DVR sets and our state Medicaid agency, health care policy and financing in 2017. This Employment First Advisory Partnership was fully established and in 2018 the Employment First Advisory Partnership developed and publish some strategic recommendations for all of our state agencies and partners to work on and support Employment First in our state. And this also supported our Senate Bill 18 one four five, which was a passing into law which effectively created requirements for training and supported employment providers standards. So really a great outcome and support across our agencies for the people we serve. Of all of us coming together to move those services and support for employment for so long. And in 2019, Colorado State Legislature approved a budget appropriation which effectively developed our Colorado Office of Employment First, and you'll hear later from Patricia Henke and more about that. She is the director of our Colorado Office of Employment First, and it utilized our State Council Cash Funds and DVR match to support these efforts. Federal funds are prioritized for training and our certification of support and employment service providers, and any remaining funds are utilized to provide vocational rehabilitation services to eligible individuals with the most significant disabilities. So all of these partnerships coming together to really support Employment First across Colorado and leveraging different funding sources and different initiatives together, we've had several different examples of what this yielded and one of them was. For employment, first, full time employees within the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation that focused on evidence based practices for supporting people with most significant disabilities with their employment and career goals, this legislation and these efforts supported two positions within our Medicaid agency to start a pilot for performance based services, and we'll hear more about that from Katie Taliercio hear later. We also again have established the Colorado Office of Employment First to support employment efforts in our state, so lots of wonderful things happening from all this partnership and work together.   This also establishes and supports the focus of competitive and integrated employment and shows really the passion and collaboration and partnership among all of us around the value of Employment First within our state and all the initiatives that we're working together on to support Employment First. One of the things that has been a real big focus for the division of Vocational Rehabilitation is that we've set a long term dream goal of increasing the prosperity gap for individuals with disabilities by 10 percent and 10 years, and this is a huge goal for us. And in order to really achieve this, it's imperative that we support all Coloradoans with achieving those goals. We really want to make sure we're supporting Employment First efforts and really engaging with all of our partners on these goals to make this happen. That Employment First advisory partnership that I mentioned earlier that was created through legislation, it continues to meet in perpetuity, actively working on these recommendations that they set forth a couple of years ago to support competitive integrated outcomes in our state for employment and always looking at new recommendations for Colorado and Colorado agencies to support the continued work. So that's kind of a big bird's eye view overview of kind of some of the work and legislation and collaboration that happens in Colorado to really support our shared priority of employment. First for all, Colorado.   Carol: Meghan, this is really exciting to hear. I had come from an Employment First state and we did not. We didn't have that same level of support. I think legislatively for all the things that you guys have been able to create here in Colorado, I think that's super exciting in the partnerships that you've been able to develop and to sustain and carry on. I think that's very cool. So, Patricia, we're going to swing to you. Can you tell us more about the Colorado Employment First initiative and what successes have you had to date and what's the partnership like with VR?   Patricia: Absolutely, Carol. And thank you so much for having Colorado on the podcast today, and thanks, Meghan, for that description of how Employment First initiatives have really evolved in our state. It is pretty amazing and impressive to hear it all over again of all of the amazing work that's been happening for so many years to move these initiatives forward. So as Meghan mentioned, the Colorado Office of Employment First was envisioned by the Employment First Advisory Partnership, and we are just a little over two years old now, so we're still pretty young in our operations and existent really proud about what has been accomplished thus far. And so our team actually is employed by the University Center of Excellence Developmental Disabilities, which is Colorado's, UCEDD and is housed at JFK Partners at Colorado University. I think that's a differentiation I wanted to make because a lot of folks in our state and nationally think that we're state employees and in fact, maybe employed by the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation. So I wanted to differentiate that it's a contractual relationship with VR and Colorado University and that we're all housed and employees of CU. It was really important, although we are housed at the UCEDD it was really important for the disability community and the Employment First Advisory Partnership that our work have across disability representation, and this was very eminent when the legislation was coming together in 2016. And so I want to communicate that that we are very much across disability organization and that we work on behalf of all individuals with various disabilities. And so our vision for the Colorado Office of Employment First is essentially to create a culture of inclusive, meaningful and competitive employment for all people. We are charged with changing perspectives on what it means to work, and we are working every day towards demystifying processes for families, for individuals with disabilities who are interested in employment. We are promoting barrier reducing policies and practices. We highlight and create awareness about options for support towards competitive integrated employment. We're continuously researching innovative strategies and technologies and ultimately helping employment providers and job seekers know about strategies that are going to lead to those competitive integrated employment outcomes. So we do this by really three bucket areas, which is our mission statement. And this is leading Colorado toward. Unemployment reaching all people with disabilities through one collaboration, which we're talking about today and why that is so important to systems innovation, we're continuously looking at kind of our existing systems and asking questions about what's working well and what can we work towards changing if needed and three training excellence and technical assistance. As Meghan mentioned, Senate Bill eighteen one forty five was key legislation that really move the needle on expectations around training and provider qualifications in our state to provide competitive integrated employment services. I'm going to transition to talking about some general successes of the Office of Employment. First, it was hard to choose whether there has been a lot of accomplishments over time and these accomplishments that have occurred in collaboration with everyone here on this call and other partners in our state. I want to mention that Colorado Office of Employment First does not do any of our work in silos that we model effective partnering and continue that movement forward to affect change and progress in our state. So I wanted to mention how the Colorado Office of Employment First has worked towards creating an employment for community in this state. When we got started in 2019, I was hired in November 2019. We had six months in our first year and although there was a pandemic that occurred three months into our start date, we were able to reach 3,000 people in 6 months through training, technical assistance webinars, other opportunities to start the conversation about employment. First, create that awareness and essentially try to move the needle and change mindsets in our state. In Year two, which was a full year, we doubled that number and reach 6,000 individuals and we continue to reach more and more people to engage in the conversation around Employment First and really create that employment for community and movement. So we're really proud of that. We do this in partnership with HCPF and the individuals here on the call today, as well as the advocacy community and families and job seekers and service provider organizations. Another area I wanted to mention, which I think really does illustrate the collaboration and partnership and what can occur when individuals come together towards a common goal and a shared vision. And this is really an emerging area for Colorado that we're really excited about, and we think it's really important. And what I'm speaking to is benefits counseling and disability benefits. One, as we know, many individuals are fearful of going to work, or it's not so much going to work, but are fearful around what's going to occur to their benefits or health care. And this can create a barrier to competitive integrated employment. And the Colorado Office of Employment First was charged specifically with bringing disability benefits one hundred one to Colorado. This was a key part of the budget appropriation that the disability community strongly advocated for. And so this was an 18 month long project, and it's just one example of how partners have come together towards the shared vision and commitment. Colorado has been unique from other states that have implemented disability benefits one on one and that we've had an in-house subject matter. Expert Melanie Hornibrook, who I have to mention on the Colorado Office of Employment First Team and through the Employment First Budget Appropriation, the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation also had allocated staff person to work on behalf of benefits counseling, which provided the foundation to bring over 20 additional subject matter experts together to develop the content for Colorado's Disability Benefits 101. The core partnership with the Colorado Office of Employment First and the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation has also supported creating awareness about benefits counseling and DV 101. To want to elevate this conversation even further or this movement around benefits counseling kind of under the umbrella of employment? First, as we acknowledge and recognize that we needed to increase capacity with having certified benefits counselors in our state. So we are partnering with DVR to provide the opportunity for nearly 50 individuals statewide that represent urban and rural communities to become certified and benefits counseling. We are partnering with Cornell to create two Colorado cohorts to support this effort, and the individuals that are interested in becoming certified benefits counselors is vast. We have educators, service providers, family members, independent contractors and many of them are already providers of DVR and health care policy and financing. The Colorado Office of Employment for us is also looking at. How to braid these services across education, DVR and Medicaid and other state organizations so that we can continue this practice of grading services, partnering and making it seamless for the customer, the job seeker, and we really see this as a key intervention and necessary service to continue to move the needle about knowing that employment is possible and that work can interact with your benefits and you can actually earn more money in doing so. And there are so many other ways I could talk about collaboration and partnership and that our other partners on the call are going to speak to. So with that, I'm going to just say thank you and we appreciate this opportunity, and I will now transition it back to you, Carol.   Carol: Well, thanks, Patricia. You really packed a lot into that into those few minutes. I loved that you brought up benefits counseling. We actually are going to feature that in our podcast next month with another state and some pretty interesting initiatives. So I was excited to hear what you folks are doing in that area as well. I also was struck when you talked about demystifying processes. We've been talking a lot about that without using those words. Exactly, but I liked how you said that and very excited about what you're doing. So now we're going to transition over to Meghan and Katie T to discuss the DVF partnership with the MOU and the roundtables and your sequencing of support and employment initiatives.   Meghan: Thanks, Carol. I'll kick us off and then Katie is going to jump in here in a minute. But DVR and our Colorado Medicaid agency, I would say a really long standing at this point partnership where we are actively working together for innovative ways to support Employment First and the people we serve, employment goals in Colorado and some of the things that have really helped. Aside from just us being good partners to each other with this is formal interagency agreements. So our interagency agreement is a really great example of helping to foster that partnership and in it has some great information about mutually developing processes to capitalize on our partnership and to support the people we serve. We've designated supported employment leads that really interact and ensure that we're actively meeting and developing processes together ongoing. Our interagency agreement really also outlines that we develop and update our statewide best practices together in partnership and maximize seamless service delivery to individuals with services. We provide training and guidance jointly. You had mentioned Carol, our roundtables, so in our interagency agreement, it states that we will every year go out and provide some roundtables to our providers, our community center boards, our DVR local offices to support the active practices and best practices of supported employment in reaching competitive integrated employment. We just completed some roundtables this last year with our local DVR offices and are jointly talking and having frank conversations about best practices and how to really partner together. Katie Taliercio, who will talk here in a second and DVRs Darby Brumley. We're really integral in making those happen and having really great conversations and training together and doing that in partnership really models that partnership that needs to happen at the local level. I also really talks about how we can support people who have been within subminimum wage and how to help them reach those employment goals and get to competitive integrated employment and provide information and resources about career pathways and is really committed to doing that and agree to work collaboratively with all of our partners across the board, as well as share pertinent training opportunities and really making sure that it's outlining those partnerships that really make the sequencing of services that we're known for in Colorado, that Katie is going to talk about here in a second, as well as our partnership opportunities happen so that AIA is a really good foundational document and then our just general partnership and the importance that we both as agencies place on our partnership and actively meet and support that it has been really integral to furthering competitive integrated employment in Colorado and modeling the partnerships that happen across the state. I will kick it over to Katie to really talk about those specific logistics and partnership outcomes that have happened.   Katie Taliercio: Thanks for having me be a part of this podcast. And of course, as you hear people talk, you think of a million more things you want to maybe touch on. So I will try to be brief and try not to duplicate what's already been talked about. One of the more exciting pieces that's just come to my mind as I hear people talk. And another outcome for this partnership and collaboration, I think across the board is that in 2021, Colorado passed Senate Bill two one 0three nine, then is the elimination of minimum wage in Colorado. Is very exciting for us. But while people are transitioning out of minimum wage, we also get to introduce some new services through the Medicaid waiver. And I think the reason that this passed is because of the collaboration and partnership with all the state partners. And I think it's coming from a federal level to. State level and then to all the people that are doing the work and all the people that are looking for jobs, it's kind of all coming together. But the neat thing about the new legislation is we were able to tackle some of the barriers that can happen within the Medicaid waivers for people to get competitive, integrated employment. And so we're increasing the amount of job development and job coaching people can receive, and we are introducing benefits counseling services into our waiver, which is very exciting. And another thing that we're pretty excited about is the Medicaid buy in, which is going to allow people who are in their developmental disabilities waiver and intellectual and developmental disabilities waiver utilize buy in. So people who are currently having to say no to raises or work more hours or things like that is all due to change coming up really quickly here in Colorado. And that I do feel like as a partnership, we've all come together to figure out what can Medicaid do to partner best with other services around Colorado that are available? Another aspect that's coming to mind a lot, and Patricia talked about this a little bit, but the braiding of services and the sequencing of services has really become a neat tool. And the more we talk about it, I think we've learned that the language we use is really important. Certain things that all the acronyms that Medicaid have is are different than the acronyms that vocational rehabilitation has. So how do we talk about that better? And I think maybe Katie might talk about that too. I think that's been one big lesson that we've been learning is how do we communicate with Medicaid case managers and counselors and others providing services? But also, how do we make sure that people looking for jobs are aware of what's available to them? And the better we do, the more people can be advocates for themselves and say, Hey, I want to do this, and here's what I know is available to me. I think we've been learning a lot about that. And then I just want to mention, too, that any thing that's happened, I think across with the milieu and setting up the roundtables together and doing a lot of collaborative work with all of the state partners and advocacy agencies and job seekers themselves has been that we've learned how to do this virtually, and I think that's really helped inform the work going forward and what Medicaid needs to do. And sometimes I joke around with some of my team internally that I've worked more with state partners and I have with my internal team. And I just think that really speaks to the level of how we're all putting these puzzles together. And when we come up against the barrier, we can pull together a bunch of people that say, OK, can I do this? Can Medicaid do that? How can we make it work together? And ideally so that we're providing enough services that it's seamless for the person receiving the services? So I hope that I tackled most of the things that we're excited about and some of the outcomes in Medicaid. And pass it back to you, Carol.   Carol: Thanks, Katie. It really strikes me as I'm listening to you all talk about what you've done. I mean, this has really been a journey, and it feels like that foundation that was built back in 2016, and you guys keep kind of brick by brick building more upon that foundation. So it's just taking you into such a great direction in such a broader, whiter, deeper collaboration. I think that is super cool. I did have one kind of follow up question. I was just wondering, I'm going to kick it to you, Meghan, just to ask, how did the pandemic affect the work you were doing? Because we know kind of put lots of states in a tailspin. I just wondered if you guys were able to pivot quickly using technology and stuff. I was thinking about the roundtables you were holding and all of that. Do you have any thoughts about how the pandemic impacted your work the last couple of years?   Meghan: Yeah, absolutely. That's a great question, Carol. So I would say it absolutely affected people's attitudes towards work and their comfort level towards work. It affected how we approached our work as state agencies and had some, I would say, pros and cons to how we pivoted, right? So like Katie mentioned, we kind of had to pivot virtually in that virtual world, and our roundtables in previous years were people driving around the state and meeting in person, which is always wonderful to me to take time. And you might not be able to reach as many people in person. Whereas one of the benefits of pivoting virtually, especially with that specific initiative or meeting with local CVS and DVR offices together, is we were able to really see increased attendance and rural areas really able to be a part of those conversations more than they had been previously. And I think that extended beyond just those roundtable events, but really also the services that we're able to provide. One of the examples that I use is benefits counseling and benefits planning across our state. People have been able to pivot to provide that service virtually as well, and maybe we can reach more people in rural areas now that that service can be provided in a virtual way. So that's just one very specific example that DVR and service providers were able to pivot. And so really leaning into that virtual world has been a challenge and that we're learning how to do that well and effectively, right? It's a new mode of completing services, but also has some positives in that we really are able to reach people that maybe we weren't able to reach before, but it also really highlights the need and importance of assistive technology and technology. In general and how we make the people we serve and job seekers comfortable with technology and learning that so they can truly access services in a more virtual world and support them with their job goals. So that's been a real focus and highlight for how do we make sure that people are comfortable with that and then it can open doors, right? So if we're really, truly supporting competitive integrated employment, it really opens some opportunities for people who may not have thought about some of the work goals or competitive integrated employment they could do before that. Now they could in a more virtual world and may have more virtual options for employment as well. So it's been very interesting road that I think has opened lots of different opportunities and mindsets and brainstorming for new innovative ways to do services in that virtual world.   Carol: It's a little bit of a silver lining out of all of that kind of craziness of the last couple of years. I love that you said that really kind of that comfortability of the individuals and using technology in that focus and really opening new doors. So I think that is wonderful. So now we're going to pivot a little bit and talk to Sheryl and Katie O about the education partnership with DVR. And I understand that you have an MOU and you do some joint training and there's something called the sequencing services tool and you have a whole sequencing of services development process. So do tell me more.   Cheryl: Thank you, Carol, and you're absolutely right things that we are so excited about, and it is so nice to see them actually coming to fruition now. Since we've been working on the sequencing of services for the past three years now, I think it is to actually have an outcome and Katie O is going to speak to that a little bit greater in detail. I want to talk more about how DVR and our Colorado Department of Education partner as a whole, similar to the interagency agreement that Meghan and Katie spoke about between DDR and health care policy and finance. Colorado has an interagency agreement, but also a cooperative services agreement between CTE and DVR, both of which have been in place and grown and expanded and shifted over the last 30 years. Our interagency agreement at the state level allows DVR and CDC to model our expectations at the local level when collaborating to provide services to transitioning youth, which is something we have upheld as being key to being successful in those partnerships. The interagency agreement itself helps to ensure that CTE and DVR are collaborating for all activities related to transitioning youth to provide technical assistance, support training, even program review to our local education agencies and our district DVR partners, as well as some of our external partners when we can pull them into those activities. The technical assistance, support and training, as well as the program review, also apply to any and all of our school to work initiatives such as Colorado School to Work Alliance program that supports district transition goals through the provision of pre-employment transition services and VOC Rehab Services. Our project search sites, which is a transition program for high school students with more significant needs, as well as our pipeline project, which is promoting career technical education to students with disabilities so that they can begin to see that as a viable career pathway. And currently we have an enhanced services pilot going on with our school districts, which focuses on using the discovery process to develop customized work based learning experiences and will buy next school year offer benefits counseling, which Patricia mentioned earlier. Our interagency agreement has been the precipice for pilots new initiatives, the development of tools and cross system trainings not only between DVR and CDE, but also other partners across the state. Our federally mandated agreement, which here in Colorado is the Cooperative Services Agreement, gets a little bit more into details, right? It talks about our roles and responsibilities of each of our systems. It gets into discussing the financial responsibilities of each agency. It includes a dispute resolution process, talks about how education and VR should be collaborating in the provision of services, how we will work together on the transfer or sale of assistive technology from education to VOC rehab when it's appropriate, and it covers the policies of each system that affect transition, our cooperative services agreement is the model that we have used in the past to develop a template for local working agreements. Those local working agreement templates are currently being recreated, and that is all thanks to the push of sequencing of services. But it will specifically define the transition responsibilities between education and VR partnerships in order to minimize duplication, ensure access to services for youth and support ongoing and effective working relationships. Again, all of this aligns so perfectly with our Sequencing of Services project and our drive to create useful tools for more efficient grading of services with the appropriate providers at the right time for students to improve outcomes, raising those expectations in employment for those students. And the key piece to this, of course, it requires increasing agency coordination and collaboration with an understanding of one another systems. So since I've mentioned it frequently and everybody else has alluded to it, PTO is going to kick us off talking about the process of how we got to sequencing of services and do an overview of that tool.   Katie Oliver: thank you, Sheryl. Just really exciting to be here to talk about the work that's been doing, and I know that Colorado has always been proud of their relationship in, particularly with VOC Rehab, but we've also had a very strong relationship with other state agencies, hence a lot of our presence here today. So we've really embraced our relationships. We cross-train, we kind of talk to each other systems. We've learned so many things over the years due to our partnership and those interagency agreements, whether they're actually formalized on paper or that we've just been together for so long trying to figure out our common missions and visions and having those conversations and building those relationships with other state agencies. It's just been a real pleasure and it's been a lot of fun over the years. We have obviously identified lots of gaps as most states do as well. We want to make sure that we're increasing our outcomes for students with disabilities, ultimately getting them employed and self-sufficient and involved in their communities. And so we know that that has been such a forefront for our partnership over the years. And we've talked about this. We've had different models. We've had different partners at the table for years before and we really had kind of a transition continuum. And so we were still missing the boat somewhere. So we sat down had some conversations back in 2019, and particularly it started a little bit more with the folk rehab and the Department of Education. And we said, OK, for some reason, no matter how much our best laid plans and transition planning, we're still not getting the outcomes we want for our students with disabilities. We're still missing them. So how do we make these connections? We're trying to have that smooth transition process handing the baton to the next system, whether that's other adult services, whether it's post-secondary education or employment. We're still dropping the baton somewhere. We're all speaking different languages. We're not coordinating, we're not braiding and blending funds. Let's start talking about this and let's really beef this up so that we can have more of a presence and more consistency across our systems so that our family and ultimately the youth are knowing what's happening next and really emphasizing and enhancing that coordination and that planning for those students. So back in 2019, prior to the pandemic, we came together and started talking about how we would like to proceed with some sequencing of services. So we created a Colorado transition team or partners for students with disabilities. We have representatives, obviously here today from VOC Rehab from Colorado Office of Employment. First, we had the Department of Labor and Employment, the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing Department of Higher ED, our Office of Behavioral Health. We had career tech ED and community college representatives. We had council representatives from the council, the Developmental Disability Council of Colorado. We've had parents from our peak parent center. We've also had some transition coordinators as well be involved with this work. So we pulled together and started kind of brainstorming about how can we create a shared vision? How can we create consistent language and ultimately help our families and students navigate the world outside of K-12? And so we created a shared state vision, which I think is something really important to share. You know, for years, we've been saying all means all. And so in Colorado, we've adopted that at our department and other departments. But you know, we are still missing very key people and that we're missing those students that we're really not capturing every student. So we changed our shared state vision to represent a little bit more of. Individual presents, so we say each and every student, regardless of their disability, has a right to transition to the adult life that includes, of course, partners at this table. Education, employment, independent living. We want full community participation and the right to make decisions in and about their own lives. So we also know when we recognized why we were creating this work that we needed to start partnering at younger ages, not just in high school. We want to start trading down to the middle school level. We know that there are students that drop or lose engagement around eighth to ninth grade transition. And so we want to keep those engagement efforts happening and keeping those students eye on the prize of that ultimate goal of employment someday and being successful. We know that we needed to create high expectations and create that self-determination for those students. Cheryl mentioned increasing that agency coordination collaboration. Absolutely. We have so many different members and state members at the team, and then we have one hundred and seventy eight school districts out there in Colorado with other partners and their local community. And so how do we infiltrate some of the state level work into the local so that we can create that coordination and having those really rich discussions and focusing on that individual students so that student level planning and of course, creating consistent messaging. So with the assistance of Jennifer Stewart and the Colorado Office of Employment, first, we were able to create kind of a framework and pull these two partners together, as well as partners from our national technical assistance that are on transition, Ruth Allison and Jackie Hiatt. They have been very instrumental in helping us facilitate this process and kind of put it to paper and make sure that all of our voices are heard and that we're moving forward. Hearing what other states are doing, too has been really a cool experience, but we created a framework and so we created six course student outcomes that we all, as state level department partners agreed upon and how that looks. So we have. Building self-determination and leadership skills was a certain outcome that we thought was really important to achieve postsecondary success, build skills, to safely navigate community and access the services, understand post-secondary options, develop competence and computer and digital literacy, having that expectation of competitive employment and understanding disability and health management. And we have a beautiful logo that kind of pulls it all together on our website, which is open to anybody to check it out. It is WWW.CDE.state.CO.US/SequencingOfServices, or you can Google and you can put Colorado sequencing of services and it should get you where you need to. I know that's quite lengthy, but again, that's WWW.CDE.state.CO.US/SequencingOfServices. You will be able to see that framework. The core outcomes from that framework. We actually created ages that these activities should be happening. We talked about who is responsible, having those conversations that we agreed upon at the state level. So what is DBRS role? What is the school's role? What is ticpods health care policy and financing role or the local community center board? And having those conversations and breaking them down into examples of those skills that we would like to see or be attained by the students? What are the parents responsibilities? And having that coordinated conversation that really could help drive that IEP planning process. So that's been really good. So I even lean to my other partners if there's anything else that they would like to add from a partner perspective about this tool before I kind of talk about our next steps and what we've been doing with our pilot. Anybody else have anything else to jump in at?   Cheryl: Not yet, Katie. You're doing great.   Katie Oliver: Perfect. All right. I just wanted to be inclusive because it's their work too. So from there, currently we have the state template. We have a local template. We have currently for pilots here in Colorado that are pilot the piloting this work intensively with our partners, Mesa School District on the western side of Colorado, we have our Denver, our largest school districts. We have Weld County, which is a more rural community up north. And then we have another rural community down on the south side of Colorado Pueblo. And so we've been really focusing on building those internal and external champions at the local level. So we have some people who have identified these goals and particularly most of these pilots started with education personnel wanting to create more interagency collaboration. And so we took these champions who are very excited, have personal goals about it for their district and for their families and their students, and we started discussing roles and responsibility. What are the roles in the community? What other community providers are in your community that we want to bring to the table and have conversation so that we're creating this template, this kind of map or tool that can help these discussions with community members. So despite turnover, you know, oftentimes there's been so much turnover, whether it's in special education or other state agencies is there has been so much turnover, but information does get lost or it's inconsistent. And so that was another focus of our area was we let's get this in writing in our community and put our templates in so that if Joe Smith wins the Powerball next week that we're going to have the same information and the person that's replacing them will have this the same information and understand the partnership so that we can make sure that's consistent, which has been a big hiccup with several different local players as we're a local control state. And so we've we started that. So right now we have the four pilots. That's where the intense work is being done. However, we as a state team want to continue the vision of creating interagency teams around the state of Colorado and other communities that it may not be as intense that we're doing right now. However, we want to continue to build those conversations, making sure the right people are at the table. We do have some sites already, some areas in our communities that already have established interagency teams. So how can we make sure that they have the right tools to make sure that their partners stay at the table, also not just show up to the table, but stay at the table? So that was really the intention is that our families are getting the information or they're able to share that information or be present to share that information for families and students getting ready to go on to whatever system or how do we overlap and so that there is no baton dropping in the future? So that has been a lot of exciting work, and we're currently working on an individual template for a student to work through or maybe an individualized education program at an IEP meeting. They could talk about it and really drive the planning process so that elements of the academics or the school is infiltrated into those conversations so that the course of study is being aligned. The goals are being aligned with what their goals are. And it's been really a lot of great work. We have one pilot ready to do a student level one, and I think once that student level show is filled out that template, then I think everybody is going to really start to see how that connection and planning from all the partners of the table were responsible for the success of that student. So that's what we're really excited about here in Colorado is that all that work that's been done?   Carol: Well, thanks Katie and Meghan. All right, Katie and Cheryl, I should say sorry. And Meghan and Patricia, everybody and the other Katie. But I can tell I get that great sense from you. Each talking, everyone's super excited. You bring a lot of energy to this topic, and I appreciate you sharing that website. I was writing down notes if you all would see my page, I have just dozens of notes about things that you've spoken about and I know others are going to be interested in. I know our listeners are probably going to want to reach out at some point to different folks that are on our panel today to talk about this. But I am going to turn it to Meghan to give us the last words and really to kind of tie a bow on it for our listeners out there. What advice would you give your VR colleagues and how to make this really work in their state because you all didn't just do this overnight? It's very evident the long journey you've been on. But for those folks that are just starting out, what advice would you like to give them? And Meghan, that's to you.   Meghan: Thanks, Carol. My advice, as you can see, is really leaning into the value of the partnerships and the value of the ideas and wonderful work that happen across your state and really trying to build those partnerships and relationships with advocates in your state, state agency partners, the people you serve and really try to bring everyone together and having everyone at the table and those partnerships and relationships be a part of the solution and working towards the solution. As you mentioned, Carol brings a level of energy, a level of excitement and having everyone be a part of that solution to support people with their employment goals really kind of kicks things off and gets those next steps. And what that could look like for your state could be very different or individualized, depending upon those conversations, those rich conversations that happen when everyone's at the table. So really just setting the table and making sure that people are there and then talking about how to keep people there and building that and spending the time on those relationships and partnerships and publicly doing that together really can lead to those coordinated legislative updates, coordinated initiatives between state agencies and coordinated services at a local level for the people that we serve. And just I'm leaning into that. The importance of those partnerships really leads the way.   Carol: So, Meghan, if somebody wants to reach out, what would you suggest? What's the best way for someone to contact or is there a website they should go to or what do you think?   Meghan: We have several different websites and I think they all kind of link together, which again shows that public partnership between all of us. But I think anyone on this call would be happy to receive a reaching out and support. But our information I know Sheryl and I as information is listed on our Colorado DVR website and we can always give you our email contact information, Carol. For people to have that, I know CD's website has lots of. Great information, and Katie mentioned the sequencing of service tool, and I know they have a sequencing of service email, you can email for any specific information related to that. And the Colorado Office of Employment First, as Patricia talked about, has a wonderful website and has lots of great rich information in the email that you can do there. And so we'd be happy to share all those websites and email information as well for you to have along with the podcast.   Carol: Thank you. I really appreciate that you all have been so generous in sharing aspects of this model with us in the past, which we've also greatly appreciated. And I really hope today's conversation helps the VR community think more proactively about how the various employment and first initiatives can be leveraged to achieve to improve partnerships, improve outcomes for our common consumers across our agencies. So thank you all for joining this very important discussion to help us empower one manager at a time, one minute at a time. And I wish you just continued success and all you do. Thanks a lot.   {Music} Speaker1: Conversations powered by VR, one manager at a time, one minute at a time. Brought to you by the VRTAC for Quality Management. Catch all of our podcast episodes by subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts. Thanks for listening!

Jean-Michael Giraud – The Truman Charities Podcast: A Community of Caring with Jamie Truman Episode 41 Jean-Michael Giraud.  Jean-Michel Giraud has advanced the entire homeless services system in the Washington, DC Metro Area by drawing on over two decades of clinical experience in human services, expertise in psychiatric rehabilitation and recovery, and commitment to person-centered programming. He is a pioneer of innovative program models and, since joining Friendship Place in 2006, has overseen the launching of 10 new programs based on the state-of-the-art Housing First service model, transforming the organization from a small neighborhood provider serving 300 people a year into a major regional provider serving more than 3,000 people annually. Jean-Michel's focus on cost-effective, permanent and rapid solutions to homelessness has been lauded by the DC government, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and countless homeless service advocates. He is a recipient of the Meyer Foundation Exponent Award for visionary nonprofit leadership (2010), served on the DC Interagency Council on Homelessness from 2009 to 2017, and is a member of the Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association. Jean-Michel speaks at national conferences and presents field workshops on empowerment, organizational transformation, systemic change, veterans services, Housing First, Employment First, Rapid Rehousing, LGBTQ, racial equity, and senior homelessness. Jean-Michel Giraud holds a Master's Degree and Doctoral Qualification (DEA) in American Studies from Montpellier University in France, undergraduate degrees in Translation from La Sorbonne Nouvelle and Paris X University, and a Master Certificate in Business Administration from Tulane University in Louisiana.  Listen to this uplifting Truman Charities episode with Jean-Michael Giraud about his work with Friendship Place.  Here is what to expect on this week's show: How Jean-Michael is helping people get off the streets and rebuilding their lives.  The fact that 40% of homeless youths are from the LGBTQ community, and why this community is at such a high risk.  Jean-Michael's youth work and the “Five Mothers” Holistic Approach.  Connect with Jean-Michael: Guest Links: Website- https://friendshipplace.org Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/FriendshipPlaceDC?ref=hl Instagram- @friendshipplace Twitter- @FriendshipPlace LinkedIn- https://www.linkedin.com/in/friendship-place Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Two MN APSE board members come together for this next conversation. Host Chris Davies is joined by Ajani Lewis-McGhee, Corporate Associate for Allianz. Chris and Ajani discuss inclusion efforts with large organizations, the tough questions about inclusion and Employment First values.

Meet Suad Bisogno, Vice President of California APSE (Cal APSE). Suad is the Executive Director of an organization providing employment, and other supports to people with disabilities. In this podcast episode, Suad talks with National APSE's Kari Tietjen about Cal APSE's efforts in supporting the 5-year elimination of 14(C) or sub-minimum wage for people with disabilities. Cal APSE has organized to be an efficient chapter, hear how tools like Slack have supported the chapter to be responsive to legislative advocacy, HCBS changes, and Employment First in the state of California! The post APSE Conversations: Suad (CA) appeared first on Association of People Supporting Employment First.

Cal talks with Teresa Nguyen about the very human experience of living with a disability, advocating for oneself in a world that is not often aware of your needs, and what every human can do to become more aware of the needs of other humans. ********** Teresa also appeared on this episode of "Terrible, Thanks for Asking": https://www.ttfa.org/episode/2021/03/16/data-points ********** And here is an article about navigating a relationship with a disability: https://www.thesunmagazine.org/issues/551/relationship-tips ********** About Our Guest: Teresa Nguyen is from Denver, Colorado. She identifies as a Vietnamese-American woman with a disability and her pronouns are "she, her, hers". Teresa received her Master of Public Health from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, and her work is focused around health care policies and systems improvement, for vulnerable populations. She has experience in both Federal and State level health program and policy development, and is currently a curriculum developer at the Colorado Office of Employment First, training on the intersection of work and health for people with disabilities. In her free time, Teresa enjoys cooking and traveling with her dog, Mylo!

For National Disability Employment Awareness Month, there is no better organization to have on than APSE. This episode covers what Supported Employment is, the meaning and progress of Employment 1st, how APSE supports states, details about their national conference and more.National APSE Representatives: Erica Belois-Pacer - PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT DIRECTORKari Tietjen - CERTIFICATION DIRECTORAPSE Links:Main Website HERESubscribe to APSE Podcast HERELinks for The Landscape PagesLink to The Landscape FB PageLink to The Landscape Instagram PageLink to sign up News LetterLink to The Landscape LinkedIn

Hello, and welcome to the Oregon Employment First podcast. I am Angela Yeager, communications officer with Employment First and the Office of Developmental Disability Services. Today, we are discussing National Disability Employment Awareness Month, which happens in October every year. I am joined by statewide Employment First coordinator, Acacia Maguire Anderson, as well as Kim Alejo for workforce and business coordinator with Vocational Rehabilitation and Morgan Rincon, business relations coordinator with the Oregon Commission for the Blind.

Season 5, Episode 2 — 31 August 2021 About this episode Dale Verstegen, state liaison for the YES! Center, talks with Keith Banner, Katie Blumhorst, Stacy Collins, Alex Corwin and Kelly Schuck, part of the team behind Ohio's multi-agency Employment First Provider Transformation Initiative. They discuss how they have created an integrated approach for transformation...

Rachel and her employment team discuss her job success at Cadence Academy Preschool in Portland. Download full script by clicking here.

It was a great honor to close the Project SEARCH international Conference by interviewing these two thriving and charming graduates of the program.  The interview was recorded at West Tennessee Healthcare, which is a hospital in Jackson, TN. As you'll hear in the interview, David currently works at Starbucks at the hospital, and David is a surgical sterilization technician. There were a handful of people watching us record live and almost 600 others virtually from different countries, although over 1000 attended some part of the conference. We recorded via Zoom and therefore I will also be posting the video recording on all social media outlets, as well as on YouTube; and my favorite part of the recording is we have American Sign Language translators throughout. Of course I will add a link to the video below.Susie Rutkowski is the co-founder of Project SEARCH and gave an outstanding interview early in season one of my podcast, which covers the history of the program, her motivation, and some stories into her early life, which molded her into the force she's become. It is my 2nd most downloaded episode and I'll add the link to that below as well. Links:Zoom Recording of This InterviewInterview with Project SEARCH Co-Founder Susie RutkowskiProject SEARCH HomepageLinks for The Landscape PagesThe Landscape FB Page The Landscape Instagram Page News Letter The Landscape LinkedIn

  Hi and welcome to the Oregon Employment First podcast. I'm Angela Yeager, communications officer with Employment First. This episode our guest is Diane Ashley, a Vocational Rehabilitation counselor in Eastern Oregon. Diane is discussing trainings she has developed for job development in rural areas. Download full script by clicking here.

Doug Crandell is a national subject matter expert in Supported Employment, with expertise working with individuals with severe mental illness; and developmental disabilities. Doug is also and award winning author with both fiction and non-fiction books published. In this episode he speaks about his work helping states shape and improve their supports of individuals with disabilities, his writing and more. Doug is passionate, creative, informed and a great story teller. It's an important episode for disability advocates across the board, but especially individuals in the supported employment field, from state leadership, to DSP's and employment specialists. Link to Griffin-Hammis Associates: HereLink to UGA Institute on Human Development and Disability: HereDoug's Literary Page: HereTell the Valued Story: HereLinks for The Landscape PagesLink to The Landscape FB PageLink to The Landscape Instagram PageLink to sign up News LetterLink to The Landscape LinkedIn

Hi and welcome to the Oregon Employment First podcast. I'm Angela Yeager, communications officer with Employment First. This episode we are discussing the transition from iLearn Oregon to Workday Learning, happening June 16, 2021. Joining me on the show today is Steve Hastings, Organization and Employee Development Unit Manager with the Oregon Department of Human Services, Kristine Duffy, Quality Improvement Analyst, and Gene Rada, Training Coordinator and Policy Analyst with the Office of Developmental Disabilities Services. Download full script by clicking here. Links: https://www.oregon.gov/dhs/SENIORS-DISABILITIES/DD/PROVIDERS-PARTNERS/Pages/iLearn-to-Workday.aspx https://www.oregon.gov/dhs/BUSINESS-SERVICES/Pages/iLearn2Workday.aspx

Hi and welcome to the Oregon Employment First podcast. I’m Angela Yeager, communications officer with Employment First. This episode we are discussing new training, tools and resources available for the service called Discovery. Discovery is an employment service funded by the Office of Developmental Disabilities Services. Joining me on the show today is Julie Huber, policy analyst with the Office of Developmental Disabilities Services. Download full script by clicking here. Links: https://www.oregon.gov/dhs/EMPLOYMENT/EMPLOYMENT-FIRST/Pages/policy.aspx

On this episode host Angela Yeager, communications officer for the Office of Developmental Disabilities Services and Employment First, is joined by Gene Rada, training coordinator and policy analyst with the Office of Developmental Disabilities Services. This episode we are discussing 32 new on-demand trainings developed by the Office of Developmental Disabilities Services. Download full script by clicking here. Links: https://www.oregon.gov/dhs/EMPLOYMENT/EMPLOYMENT-FIRST/Pages/policy.aspx https://www.oregon.gov/dhs/SENIORS-DISABILITIES/DD/Documents/Department-Approved%20Employment%20Service%20Provider%20Training%20Courses.pdf https://www.oregon.gov/dhs/EMPLOYMENT/EMPLOYMENT-FIRST/Policy/Employment-Professional-Qualifications-Training-Worker-Guide.pdf

On this episode host Angela Yeager, communications officer for the Office of Developmental Disabilities Services and Employment First, is joined by Becky Simpson, CEO with Pathway Enterprises out of Medford, Oregon and Peter Hice, who received services from Pathway Enterprises. This episode, we are talking to people with intellectual and disabilities who have received a vaccine for COVID-19 and providers who support them. Download full script by clicking here.

Join Amanda as she speaks with Kitty Jones, Director of Employment Opportunities, who helps place individuals with intellectual disabilities in the workforce. Learn about what this looks like from a parent/guardian role as well as from the company's perspective. The bottom line is that supported employment is a win-win-win situation for all involved. Learn more about Supported Employment by visiting Puzzle Pieces. Kentucky (Amanda's hometown state) is an Employment First state, which means they value the idea that everyone, including people with significant disabilities, can work in competitive, integrated employment. Check out Employment First Kentucky to learn more. Amanda was appointed to the Employment First Governor's Council in 2020 alongside other professionals and advocates to ensure employment for those with disabilities is priority. Connect with a Vocational Rehabilitation Agency in your state by clicking here Check out ASPE a national organization that believes in Employment First; real jobs for real pay for all people with disabilities. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/fuel-your-purpose/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/fuel-your-purpose/support

On this episode host Angela Yeager, communications officer for the Office of Developmental Disabilities Services and Employment First., is joined by Chelas Kronenberg, Case Management Services and Supports Manager for the Office of Developmental Disabilities Services. They will be discussing the COVID-19 vaccine rollout for Oregonians with intellectual and developmental disabilities, their family members and support staff. Download full script by clicking here. Resources: https://www.oregon.gov/dhs/SENIORS-DISABILITIES/DD/Pages/ODDS-COVID-19-Information.aspx

Roughly 70% of individuals with a disability are unemployed. One of the main barriers is the fear of employment causing them to lose their disability benefits. Todays guest, Raymond Cebula, has spend his professional career educating people that going to work is possible, and almost the only means to get out of poverty.  Raymond Cebula, who is a program director at Cornell University's Yang tan Institute for unemployment and disability. Raymond has dedicated his professional career educating on how employment impacts benefits, and advocating for individuals with a disability, both in court and in Washington DC. You won't want to miss any part of this interview. After listening to the episode, find more information at any of the links below. And please make sure to share this episode with individual with a disability, families and professionals that support individuals with a disability who are interested in going to work! Disability Work Incentives General Information: HereThe Red Book -  A 60 page summary guide to employment supports for people with a disability on SSI/SSDI: Here Information on Ticket to Work: HereInformation on 1619(B) and the threshold for each state: HereLinks for The Landscape PagesLink to The Landscape FB PageLink to The Landscape Instagram PageLink to sign up News LetterLink to The Landscape LinkedIn

On this episode host Acacia McGuire Anderson, Statewide Employment First Coordinator, is joined byAngela Yeager, communications officer for the Office of Developmental Disabilities Services and Employment First. They will be discussing a new website that the Office of Developmental Disabilities Services launched, called Impact Oregon, found at ImpactOregon.careers. Download full script by clicking here. Resources: https://impactoregon.careers/  

Born with a vision impairment, Kevin is a former world champion in the shot put and discus who has so much to offer. Kevin is inspired to speak about mental health issues, the underemployment of the disability community, and living a full life. In this episode he speaks about suicidal ideations while in elementary school due to bullying, coping mechanisms, individuals who supported and pushed him to be his best, and the underemployment of the disability community, which needs to change. Kevin is honest, direct and spot on throughout the entire episode. Kevin's website: Talks By KevinKevin's TEDx Talk: Enable the DisabledLink to The Landscape FB PageLink to The Landscape Instagram PageLink to sign up News Letter

Jeff Davis, Director of the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities (DODD), and Kevin Miller, Director of Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities (OOD), discuss how the agencies partner to serve Ohioans with developmental disabilities. Director Miller explains how the agencies work together to implement the Employment First Partnership, which helps adults with developmental disabilities start careers. “Employment First is a partnership between OOD and DODD, but it’s bigger than that. It’s the philosophy that for individuals with developmental disabilities, employment should be the first option we talk about.”Transcripts and MP3 files are available at https://ood.ohio.gov/Podcast.

In this episode, Isaac interviews Teresa Nguyen of the Colorado Office of Employment First about health care and housing. A full transcription of the episode is located here. For more info or to get involved visit www.thekelsey.org

On this episode host Angela Yeager will focus on Taran and his employment success with Palm Harbor Homes in Albany. Taran is a good example of someone who started with a carved job and is now working 40 hours per week. Joining Angela on todays podcast is Taran, employee at Palm Harbor Homes, his supervisor, Freddie; Darcy with Home Life; and Vocational Rehabilitation counselor, Kelly. Download full script by clicking here.

Download full script by clicking here. Host, Angela Yeager is joined by Acacia Maguire Anderson, statewide Employment First coordinator, and Andre Harboe, research and data analyst with Employment First. They will be discussing data and outcomes for employment of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) in Oregon.

Download full script by clicking here. Host, Angela Yeager is joined by Tim Acker, project manager, with Employment First, and creator of the Road Map, and Phil Matthews, a vocational rehabilitation counselor with the South Salem VR Branch. They will be discussing the new Employment First Road Map, called Road to Work and how this web tool can be used.

Listen in as Rep Neal Collins discusses the Employment First Initiative Act and why it is so important for advocates in the special needs and autism arena to act now and contact their state representatives to get bill #4768 passed. The deadline is approaching this May. You can find out more about Mr. Neal Collins at www.collinsforsc.com Our new website has launched at www.tosharollins.com Here you will find all episodes to the Autism in Action Podcast, Autism Resources, and more information about working with Tosha Rollins. Please check out the Autism in Action Facebook group for more autism resources, and connect with other families affected by autism. https://www.facebook.com/groups/2433480950016553/ You can also email me at toshadrollins@gmail.com or find my handle on Facebook @tosharollinslive PLEASE share this podcast using #AutismInAction and leave a comment or review to help us grow and spread the word about all the services available for families affected by autism. Our new book has been published: Autism Unspoken Until Now (An emotional collection of memoirs from moms to moms with children on the Autism Spectrum. You can find your copy at Amazon.com --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/autisminaction/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/autisminaction/support

Hidden Voices explores employment options for people with disabilities and the Employment First movement. The storytellers in this episode are part of the larger Storytelling Project. Read their full stories below. Nanditha Isaac: https://story-collection.gcdd.org/nandi-isaac Chad Roberts: https://story-collection.gcdd.org/chad-roberts Tira harper: https://story-collection.gcdd.org/tira-harper Learn more about L'Arche Atlanta at https://www.larcheatlanta.org 

Download full script by clicking here. The Oregon Transition Podcast explores Employment First in Oregon this episode. In Oregon, we believe anyone can work with the right supports. Students, professionals and others will explore what it means to say “everyone can work.”

Justin Blumhorst, operations manager at Capabilities, talks about barriers to employment for people with disabilities in Ohio, supporting a positive culture for the direct support professionals employed at Capabilities, and Employment First.

Download full script by clicking here.

The Association's statewide work is dedicated to promoting mental health and the equity of access to mental health care through advocacy, education, research, service, and housing. Since 1955, we have worked toward this goal. We have fought for essential access to community-based services. We have stood side-by-side in the face of tragedy and despair. We have leaned on each other through support groups and pro bono counseling services. Mental Health Initiatives The Importance of Employment Support If you or a loved one is impacted by mental illness, a job can be the first step towards improved health, sobriety, and fulfillment. That's why, along with housing, we believe employment should come first. How can you achieve both housing and employment first? Our employment services work alongside other in-house and community services, assisting you wherever you may be on your path to recovery. Just like Housing First, Employment First seeks to remove your barriers while also prioritizing your choice and self-determination. Creating Connections We offer socialization opportunities, support, skill building, and volunteer or employment opportunities for people experiencing mental illness and co-occurring disorders in Tulsa County and the Oklahoma City area. Support Groups Our support groups in Tulsa and Oklahoma City offer participants a place to come together with others going through the same issues. They share stories and experiences with people who understand what they are going through. Referral & Counseling Exploring options for support and services helps people build strength and resilience. This is at the heart of our SunBridge Referral & Counseling program: Screening, referral, and pro bono counseling. Events We host events and conferences to spread awareness about mental health, ending homelessness, reforming the criminal justice system, and celebrate the people we know, love and serve. Programs for Schools We are here to help diffuse a problem and help youth and their families connect with resources. We promote wellness, prevent suicide and connect youth and their loved ones with community-based care. Mobile Medical Intervention Our Mobile Medical Intervention Team provides primary patient care for the Association's tenants and people living on the streets impacted by serious mental illness, a substance use issue and homelessness. Peer Recovery Services We help access community resources, housing programs, employment options, money management, social/recreational outlets, self-maintenance techniques, transport, and other social services. Mental Health Research As an advocacy and education related organization, supporting the advancement of brain research is an integral part of our mission. You can help make a difference by getting involved. Alongside supporters like you, we have watched individuals overcome incredible hardships to flourish, grow and succeed. Get Involved - https://mhaok.org/join-us

Download full script by clicking here.

Download full script by clicking here.

Download full script by clicking here.

What is Employment First and why does it matter to people with disabilities? Employment First is a value that every person with a disability has a FIRST employment option in an integrated workplace earning competitive wages. Employment First is a mindset, an outcome, and a commitment to ensuring that people with disabilities are working in real jobs for real pay. In celebration of National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM), learn about Employment First and how the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) work together for people with disabilities in the workforce. Speaker: Jenny Stonemeier, Executive Director - APSE National More Information and Transcripts available at https://www.adalive.org/episode61

The first ever SC Employment First podcast. Listen to Val and Jennifer talk about how agencies work together in South Carolina to move students into employment. Examples are shared on how young adults can work regardless of their disability.

Joyce welcomes Josie Badger, a national disability rights leader and chair of the #IWantToWork campaign and Karen Priore, co-lead of the campaign for Giant Eagle, Inc. Tens of thousands of Pennsylvania teenagers and young adults with disabilities want to work. While the state's unemployment rate is close to 5%, 65 out of 100 Pennsylvanians with disabilities can't find jobs, or have given up looking for work. At the same time, Pennsylvania has a workforce shortage crisis with more the 200,000 unfilled jobs on any given day. Josie will explain how the #IWantToWork campaign is the opportunity to help Pennsylvania move from rhetoric to action by joining 22 other states in adopting Employment First legislation and implementing policies that lead to more hiring of people with disabilities and providing qualified, motivated workers for Pennsylvania businesses. She will also share with listeners what they can do to support the campaign.

Join Cary Griffin for an interesting conversation with 4 representatives of State Developmental Disability Councils from Idaho, Wyoming, Tennessee, and Utah. Recorded at the Annual Best Go West Rendezvous last August at Idaho's Lochsa Lodge, we discuss the role of Councils, their importance in exploring and promoting policy and systems change, and their commitment to Employment First.