Presentations:
	Topic: Job Negotiation and Customized Employment Presenter: Pam Targett Rehabilitation Research & Training Center on Workplace Supports
	Topic: Making The Business Connection Presenter: John Luna Dallas MetroCare
Fact Sheets:
Disclosure - A key component of customized employment involves negotiating an individualized employment relationship between a job seeker and an employer in ways that meet the needs of both. The process involves identifying tasks that must be completed to effectively conduct business and matching them to the unique abilities and interests of the job candidate. This will require employers to consider how existing tasks or unmet needs in the workplace can be accomplished in new or different ways than have traditionally occurred. This fact sheet will provide information about some key considerations to achieving effective disclosure in employment settings.
Employment Negotiations - While there is no magic formula for negotiating customized employment positions, there are some basic principles and strategies on how to negotiate. The job seeker may negotiate with employers, or a support person such as an employment specialist or job developer can represent the individual. When a seasoned job developer or employment specialist is asked if negotiating employment is more of an ìart than scienceî, the reply most likely will be ìit is both an art and a science.î Implementing strategies, such as the ones presented in this fact sheet, can lead to an employment relationship that mutually benefits both the job seeker with a disability and the employer who needs an employee.

30-Day Placement Plan Tool - Finding and getting a job of choice can involve many steps. Breaking the job search down into a series of small, well-defined activities gives the job seeker a sense of empowerment over the direction of the job search and a sense of accomplishment when each task is completed. Further, the 30-Day plan is an effective way to track progress towards the overall goal of customized employment.

By Cary Griffin & Dave Hammis, Griffin-Hammis Associates

Consider Klements Lane in Florence, Montana. Florence has about 1,000 residents and the author of this article, Cary Griffin, lives outside the town center on a two-mile long road with 24 mailboxes. On this road are at least 11 families supported by their small businesses. Not one of these enterprises is identified by a sign.

Now, this circumstance is certainly a ringing endorsement for the power of business enterprise in rural areas. But more than that, it should be a source of wonder and optimism for employment specialists and job developers everywhere. Small business in the U.S. creates more jobs than big industry, and of the estimated 20 million businesses in this country, only 14,000 have more than 500 employees. So, where are the jobs? Evidently, they are in these companies scattered throughout the urban, suburban, and rural communities of America.

Read about the Big Sign Syndrome  

As a program sponsored by U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP), EARN would like to assist you in your placement needs by providing you with job postings from employers interested in recruiting people with disabilities. Together, we can leverage the strength of ODEP to work towards our shared goal of increasing employment opportunities for people with disabilities.

Read more about EARN