Whose Job Is It Anyway? On the
surface, this seems to be a simple question, since all Community Rehabilitation
Programs (CRPs) want to support individuals with disabilities in their job
choices. Service providers must empower their customers with
disabilities to make informed choices and promote active participation in the
decision making process. This fact sheet will provide some answers on how to
support individuals with disabilities when they decide if they want to go to
work in a community business.
Question: The individuals in our 14 (c) program
earn less than minimum wage based on their production and skills. They
wouldnt be able to meet the production standards of a job in the
community. If the staff ask them if they want to work in the community,
wouldnt that be setting them up for failure?
Answer: All people regardless of the type or severity
of their disabilities have unique talents and gifts to offer their communities.
When supports and services are customized, individuals can obtain personal
goals and work in the community earning at least minimum wage. The key is to
focus on the persons abilities and interests rather than concentrating on
his or her disabilities and what he/she cannot do.
Customized employment involves getting to know the person and the unique
skills and talents that he or she can bring to a community business. Once these
skills, talents, and interests are identified, employers can be approached, and
a customized job negotiated that is of benefit to both the job seeker and the
business. Setting a production standard that matches the individuals
abilities is part of the negotiation process with an employer.
For instance, John had an interest in working at an office, making
money, and being able to dress in business clothes. A job was
negotiated for him by taking job duties from the companys receptionist
that had been interfering with her answering the phone, which was her primary
responsibility. She was able to more efficiently perform her essential job
function once John took over the work of assembling sales binders. A production
standard was set that matched Johns abilities, and the employer agreed to
this standard during the negotiation process. John earned minimum wage, and he
got a job that he enjoyed in the community. Negotiating the job based on
Johns interests and abilities, developing achievable performance
standards and providing customized supports and services specific to an
individuals needs are key to a successful job outcome.
Question: What are some general guidelines for
promoting an individuals involvement in deciding what career to
pursue?
Answer: Choice may be encouraged in a number of ways.
Start by always treating the person as the primary decision maker in the
customized employment process. Acknowledge that CRP staff are responsible for
facilitating community inclusion for individuals with disabilities. Never focus
on the individuals disability; instead, affirm personal assets.
A supportive and meaningful relationship is crucial to success. Take
time to develop a helping and trusting relationship with the individual who is
interested in customized employment. Learn how to be a facilitator, rather than
a provider of services. Assist the person in learning more about his or her
personal interests as they relate to the world of work. Be flexible and attend
to each individuals unique abilities and support needs. Understand the
power of supports and learn some basic facilitation skills and other strategies
that can help promote choice. Document the individuals abilities,
preferences, and choices so that they can be used to drive the job negotiation
process.
Question: What can I do if family members do not
support the persons choice to leave the workshop?
Answer: The family who appears over protective may need
time and reassurance before seeing the benefits of community employment. They
may need guidance and strategies on how to facilitate customized employment
outcomes. In these cases, finding out the parents questions and providing
answers to those questions will be critical. Pairing families, who have been
successful in assisting their sons and daughters in identifying career
preferences with families who need guidance or who are unsure, is one
successful strategy. What the service provider perceives as resistance may
simply mean that parents need to learn more about the benefits of customized
employment. A fact sheet on working with parents can be downloaded from
http://www.t-tap.org.
Next, become familiar with person-centered planning strategies that can
assist in identifying the individuals dreams and goals for the future.
Everyone, with or without a disability, has goals and values that are central
to creating a satisfying life experience. Parents also have dreams and goals
for their sons and daughters. The individual who is considering working in a
community job and his or her parents, if desired by the individual, need to be
actively involved in the decision making process. Planning and working with the
person and those who love and know him or her best will result in shared goals
and action plans that result in positive vocational outcomes.
Question: How can someone who does not verbally
communicate express choice or make decisions about going to work?
Answer: Everyone can express choices; however, the way
a person with a disability demonstrates this ability may be very different.
Consider for example an individual who chooses not to participate in a workshop
activity or yells, screams and attempts to run out of the building when
instructed to complete a task. Consider another person who does not regularly
attend the workshop. Some providers may say that the first person has
inappropriate behaviors and is not ready to work. Others may feel that the
second person must regularly attend the workshop program in order to
demonstrate that he or she wants to work in the community. However, if staff
take the time to learn more about the unique styles of expressing choice for
both of these individuals, they may discover that the behaviors reflect the
persons choices and support needs. Providers must take the time to listen
to what people have to say, especially when their communication skills are
limited.
For the person who is not able to communicate or does not know what type
of career or job is desired, finding out what is of interest to the person is
even more critical. This is accomplished by spending time with the person.
Observe what he or she does when given the freedom to choose an activity.
Interview family members and friends about the persons interests and
skills. Provide opportunities for the individual to observe or work briefly in
a competitive job site that reflects the persons interests.
For instance, one young woman who was unable to express her work
preferences really enjoyed spending time in the park watching other people with
their pets. This information was gathered during interviews with her family and
friends. Part of trying to identify a job of choice for her included setting up
brief, two-hour experiences at a veterinarians office and a pet store. It
is important to emphasize that these experiences are brief and are not intended
to judge whether the person is ready or able to work in
a community job. The experience is designed to provide opportunities so that
the individual can express work preferences and choices. Once these are
identified, then customized supports to assist the person in being successful
in the workplace can be identified and provided.
Question: What if the person is not qualified for
the career that he or she chooses?
Answer: This is a common question that is asked when
providers begin to ask individuals with disabilities about their dreams and
goals for work. Think back to when you were asked, What do you want to do
when you grow up? Typical answers include becoming a doctor, airplane
pilot, lawyer, nurse, and so forth. In many instances, your goals and dreams
were modified or changed as you gained experiences and have opportunities to
experience different career paths. Perhaps, becoming a doctor meant that you
wanted to have the prestige and money associated with the profession. But when
you discovered the qualifications that were needed, you selected another career
that still provided the same rewards as becoming a doctor.
These experiences should not be any different for the individual with a
disability. Providers and the support people in the lives of individuals with
disabilities need to carefully consider the aspects of the career that are
perceived as beyond the individuals capabilities. What is the person
trying to communicate when he or she says that being an airplane pilot is the
job of choice? What interests and abilities does the person have that can
result in a customized job that is reflective of the persons vocational
goals? Is the person really trying to say that he wants to work at an airport?
Or, is the person trying to say that he likes airplanes but not necessarily
flying them? This is when opportunities to observe and be exposed to the career
of choice are important. Then, armed with information, the provider can begin
to represent the persons vocational goals and negotiate with employers to
identify work in the community that can satisfy these goals.
Question: What if the person says he or she wants
to stay at the workshop and does not want a job in the community?
Answer: The important question to ask in this instance
is whether the person is making an informed choice to stay at the workshop. Has
the individual had opportunities to participate in community experiences? If
the persons only work experience has been within the community
rehabilitation program, then perhaps the decision is based on where he or she
is comfortable. Is fear of the unknown preventing the person from
taking a chance? Does the person associate attending the workshop with friends
and fear of losing those friends keep the individual from leaving?
Or, has the person tried a community job and had a bad experience? Was
the failure based on the providers inability to successfully customize a
job that reflected the persons interests and abilities? Were the
workplace supports identified successful? Does the individual need to have more
help in identifying a job or career of choice?
The emphasis here is to not blame the person for not being
successful or not wanting to leave the workshop. Rather, the focus is on
identifying the persons support needs that can be provided to promote
success in a community job. One strategy to learn about these support needs is
to provide volunteer opportunities in various community settings. Be certain
that any volunteer opportunities are consistent with Wage and Hour Guidelines
if these are unpaid experiences.
Question: These are all great ideas, but our
program is not funded to provide the services that are described in this fact
sheet. Can you give suggestions on how to fund the staff time needed to get to
know the persons interests and abilities?
Answer: Talk with the primary funding agencies about
providing support to assist an individual to explore personal employment
preferences and options. Individuals who choose jobs that match their interests
have a better success rate than those who take any job that is available.
Funding agencies that provide support for exploring personal options and
interests will save money in the long run through better employment outcome
rates. Educate your funding agency on the advantages to a more involved
exploratory process.
Another strategy is to involve family members, mentors, friends, and
others to identify the persons interests and vocational goals. The
employment support person does not need to be present during each experience in
the community. Assist the person with a disability in identifying business
sites and other places that may be of interest. Work with the support team to
facilitate these visits and get feedback on what is learned when the person has
an opportunity to participate in new experiences. This information can used
when the individual begins to decide what he or she would like to do for a
career or job in the community.
Finally, there are multiple funding streams that are potentially
available to individuals with disabilities. Funding should be flexible and
should be mobile enough to follow an individual. If a person is eligible for
the Medicaid Home and Community Based Services Waiver, for example, funding
could be redirected into support for community exploration. You might need to
work within your program to redirect funding to support these activities or you
might need to explore other available options. The point is that even though a
CRP has not been funded traditionally to use a person-centered approach, it is
important that options be explored. Redirecting funds must be part of an
organization development movement towards expanding use of integrated
employment outcomes.
Summary:
Choice and decision-making are important components of self determined
behavior. Without learning or getting support to facilitate these skills, some
individuals will never be empowered. Unfortunately, in some instances people
with disabilities have had too few opportunities to acquire such skills, have
had limited access to experiences to apply them, and/or have been bound to the
expectations and perceptions of others about the inabilities of individuals
with disabilities. However, the good news is that when given the chance to
learn these skills and practice in the course of everyday life, the skills to
make informed choices can be acquired.
Information for this FAQ sheet came from T-TAP: Training and Technical
Assistance for Providers. Contributors for this issue include Dr. Katherine
Inge, Project Director; Pam Targett, Training Associate; and Grant Revell,
Director of Training. For additional information, you may contact ODEP at (202)
693-7880 or T-TAP, kinge@atlas.vcu.edu
or (804) 828-5956. For more information on T-TAP, please visit
http://www.t-tap.org.
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