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September 16, 2008 DOL Home > ODEP > Technical Assistance Services > Customized Employment |
Customized Employment Q and A Question: What is Customized Employment? Answer: Customized Employment is a process for individualizing the employment relationship between a job seeker or an employee and an employer in ways that meet the needs of both. It is based on a match between the unique strengths, needs, and interests of the job candidate with a disability, and the identified business needs of the employer or the self-employment business chosen by the candidate. This is a business deal. Question: Is Customized Employment real employment? Answer: Yes-Customized employment is real work. It is based on identifying tasks that an employer needs done to effectively conduct his or her business and matching those to the job candidates abilities and interests. The 21st Century workplace cannot be thought of in the same terms as that of the preceding century. The emerging global economy is creating jobs that can't be accomplished under the old 9 to 5 model or dont necessarily need to be performed in the employers workplace. Further, workers are demanding more autonomy, more freedom, more customization of the terms and conditions of their employment. The world of work is changing to merge the demands of the new workplace and the needs of the workforce. One approach that has emerged is customized employment. Question: What is the Customized Employment process? Answer: Customized employment starts with the development of an employment plan based on an individualized determination of the strengths, needs and interests of the job candidate with a disability. Once the candidates goals are established, one or more potential employers are identified. A preliminary proposal for presentation to the employer is developed. The proposal is presented to an employer who agrees to negotiate an individualized job that meets the employment needs of the applicant and real business needs of the employer. Participation in this process by an employer is always voluntary. If the individual has chosen self- employment, the job description would be for the role he or she would play in the business, based on a review of job descriptions of persons already doing that job or similar work, if available. A personal agent or a job developer usually develops the plan, assists the job candidate throughout the process and provides follow up services when appropriate. Question: How does the personal agent or job developer determine the needs of the individual? Answer: Conducting an individualized assessment involves listening to the person with a disability describe his or her experiences, interests and abilities. Through understanding the person, the personal agent or job developer can determine potential employment goals. For example, Mr. X dreams about working in the medical field like a majority of his relatives. They wear white coats and Mr. X wants to wear one also. A job in a hospital transporting patients might be appropriate. The individual assessment will lead to the identification of a set of tasks the person can perform that are the raw materials of a customized job description. The tasks, and employer research performed by the personal agent or job developer, become the basis for developing a proposal to be presented in negotiations with an employer. The applicant must agree with the terms of the proposal. Question: How do you identify potential employers? Answer: Potential employers can be identified by looking for a match between the job candidate's expressed interests and skills and the nature of an employer's business. The person with a disability should be asked about employers he or she knows and those family, friends and neighbors know. Other employers can be identified through the business section of the local paper, local business associations or through community knowledge of the job developer. The initial survey of potential employers should be broad and include any employer who might have one or more of the proposed tasks performed or needed in their business or who might have a suitable environment for the candidate. Question: What is involved in voluntary negotiations? Answer: Once an employer has agreed to discuss an individualized job description for the candidate, the agent or developer will present the job proposal. The job proposal must include a task or tasks that the employer recognizes as adding value to his or her business. The employer may accept the proposal, discuss modifications to it, or reject it. If the original proposal is not accepted, a discussion with the employer may result in a different job description that is satisfactory to both the employer and the applicant. If no agreement can be reached, the agent or job developer should consider approaching other employers. Negotiation strategies may include job carving, self-employment, or other job development or restructuring strategies. Customized employment assumes the provision of reasonable accommodations and supports necessary for the individual to perform the functions of the negotiated job. Question: What is a customized job? Answer: A customized job is a set of tasks that differ from the employers standard job descriptions but are based on tasks that are found within that workplace. A customized proposal unties the tasks that exist in a workplace and makes them available to be rearranged in a customized job description. For example, the customized job may include only a subset of the tasks from one of the employers job descriptions or a mix of tasks taken from several existing job descriptions. It may include new tasks that are not currently being performed but that fill a need for the employer. The customizing process often causes the employer to think of existing tasks in a new way. For self-employment, the customized job would be based on tasks to be performed by the individual in the business, including any accommodations or disability-related assistance the individual may need. Question: How are customized job descriptions developed? Answer: There are several ways to customize a job description:
Question: Is it necessary to reveal the individual's disability during negotiations? Answer: It is helpful, but not essential, since one of the main ingredients in customized employment is negotiation. Voluntary disclosure, authorized by the job candidate, allows the employer to understand why the job developer may want to customize a job description on behalf of an individual. The disclosure must be a voluntarily act by the job candidate, who must give clear authority to disclose the disability during the negotiations with employers. The permission should be in writing. This guidance is limited to the implementation of customized employment strategies. If you have any questions about this factsheet, please contact: Katherine Inge Information for this FAQ sheet came from T-TAP: Training and Technical Assistance For Providers; Michael Callahan, Marc Gold and Associates; and the Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP). For additional information, contact ODEP at (202) 693-7880.
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