Betsy Hopkins Director DVR Maine Debbie Gilmer Executive Director Syntiro Gail Fanjoy CEO KFI Maine National APSE Conference Philadelphia PA June 23 2015 Maine has a strong foundation ID: 336601
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Slide1
Moving Employment First Forward in Maine
Betsy Hopkins, Director, DVR, Maine
Debbie Gilmer, Executive Director,
Syntiro
Gail Fanjoy
, CEO, KFI
, Maine
National APSE Conference, Philadelphia, PA
June 23, 2015Slide2
Maine has a strong foundation
2000 DHHS Vocational Policy developed
2001 DHHS and VR require Employment Staff Certification
2000-2008 reduction, then elimination of funding for sheltered workshops by DHHS
2006
Legislation to create Section 29
waiver for Developmental Services
2010 Employment for All conference sponsored by Maine APSE Slide3
Maine foundation
2010 DHHS sponsors Employment Summit unveiling updated Employment Policy
2010 Maine Business Leadership Network launched
2010- ongoing DHHS and
DOL
BRS meet quarterly focused on employment outcomes for
all people with
disabilities
2011 diverse Maine group attends Alliance for Full Participation Summit in Washington DCSlide4
Our Vision: EVERYONE can work!
Maine is committed to supporting career development and meaningful employment for all working aged individuals with disabilities.
Employment is part of the natural course of adult life and provides opportunities for economic gain, personal growth and contributing to one’s community.Slide5
“Employment First Maine Act”
The Act (LD 1352) defines:
Customized Employment
First and preferred service or support option
Integrated community-based employment
Processes for program monitoring and quality assurance
First and preferred service or support option
Coordination of efforts and
information
Establishes the Employment First Maine Coalition
Passed into law, June 22
nd
, 2013!Slide6
Who is the Coalition?
Representatives from :
State Agencies, Providers, Advocacy organizations, Individuals with Disabilities, Business Groups, Commissions, Councils, etc.
Anyone who has an interest in supporting and promoting the work of the Coalition and EFMSlide7
The Coalition Shall..
Promote coordination and collaboration among state agencies;
Review state policies, plans, programs and activities in order to determine whether these policies, programs, plans and activities effectively meet the employment needs of persons with disabilities to acquire integrated, community based employment or customized employment;
Serve as a conduit for information and input to aid in the implementation of the Act for advocacy groups, commissions and councils that focus on issues facing persons with disabilities in Maine;Slide8
The Coalition Shall:
Make recommendations to the Governor, the Legislature and state agencies regarding ways to improve the administration of employment services and employment outcomes for persons with disabilities;
Review and comment on proposed legislation affecting the employment of persons with disabilities; and,
Propose and promote rules and policies to state agencies that provide services and supports to persons with disabilities to improve integrated, community based employment and customized employment of persons with disabilitiesSlide9
Since passage…
Solidifying the Coalition – expectations of members, meeting dates, and other organizational role coordination
Outlined specific project plan process
Wrote and approved by-laws, established work groups and regular meeting schedule
Elected chair and vice-chair of the Coalition and work group chairsSlide10
High-Performing FrameworkSlide11
Coalition Work Groups
Legislative/Policy
Data and Outcomes
Transition of Youth
Capacity Building/Systems Development
Business Engagement
CommunicationSlide12
Legislative Policy Work Group
The charge: To review and make recommendations for changes to rule, regulation and/or statutes that eliminate barriers to integrated, community-based and customized employment
To date: Drafted and submitted legislation to phase out the use of sub minimum
wage (14c in the Fair Labor Standards Act) in
Maine
Submitting a
1915 (i) waiver application that includes employment services for Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Slide13
Data Work Group
The Charge: To obtain existing data from stakeholders that is aligned with the tenets of the EF Maine and make recommendations based on review of this data
To Date: Formed some baseline data collection points
Consulted with National SMES to assist with this goal
DHHS
, DOL and DOE ensure that individuals with disabilities are on pathways to employment and barriers are addressed in person-centered planning process using quality data indicatorsSlide14
Transition Work Group
The Charge - Determine and address needs of youth, educators, families and others in order to improve better transitions to and outcomes in competitive, integrated employment by collaborating with DHHS, DOE and DOL to recommend and support best practices in employment
To Date:
Maine DOE to use the “Discovering Personal Genius”/Career Planning model in
transition
In collaboration with DHHs, developing new transition handbook based on Massachusetts Rehab Commission’s “Family Guide to Transition Services in Massachusetts”
Using research on “Barriers to School-to-Work Transition (
Riesen
et al, 2014) to frame recommendations to go to DOE, DOL and DHHS CommissionersSlide15
Capacity Building/Systems Development
The charge: To review systems and make recommendations regarding the professional development and training needs of the provider community in order to realize the goals of EF Maine
To Date
:
Developing
an Employment First 101 curriculum and widely disseminate
Establishing
a Job Coach
credential
Designing
a mentoring program to support agency leadership in their transformation to employmentSlide16
Employer Engagement
The Charge: - To gather information that informs recommendations to expand the engagement of companies and the outcome of employment for people with disabilities
To Date
: E
mployer survey informing efforts to expand
and
strengthen
Business engagement across
Maine, including Maine Business Leadership NetworkSlide17
Communication
The charge: To establish, coordinate and maintain a clear, consistent and accurate message about Employment First Maine and the work of the coalition by promoting coordination and collaboration among state agencies to advance integrated, community-based employment and customized employment
To Date: Monthly meetings and support of Coalition action items.
Ongoing
communication
activities, including news blasts and maintenance of dynamic Employment First WebsiteSlide18
One Provider’s Perspective
Hired a Customized Employment Coordinator to supplement KFI’s existing employment staff
Made employment everyone’s business at KFI
Involved ALL managers at KFI to participate on teams of people focused on employment outcomes
Geographically selected Lead DSP’s for employment-related training & certification; involved other staff who showed interest and commitment to employment on behalf of people they support
Ensured person-centered plans addressed employment in ways that participants were encouraged to begin or continue on a path to employment.Slide19
One Provider’s
Perspective:
Looking Back
We were committed to the end result even if we didn’t know how to get there.
We were comfortable not knowing all of the answers.
We were willing to take risks.
Relationships were messy…but always respectful.
We never knew when an opportunity was going to emerge; they don’t wait for systems to catch up with forms and policies.
Employment doesn’t happen in a vacuum or in a neat orderly fashion.
Sometimes we felt challenged to answer the question, “What is work?”
Working with two systems can be challenging, but ALL of the players wanted the best outcome for the people who would become employed.Slide20
One Provider’s Perspective: Looking Ahead
KFI will begin supporting high school kids with intellectual disabilities to have paid work experiences
KFI
wants to
gain experience supporting someone to develop
a “business within a business” or
a “resource
ownership” opportunity
We want to experience writing a successful PASS plan
KFI
looks forward to being a resource to more people and providers in
Maine and around the country
“Work
is on the mind.” There’s a “buzz” about people
working – it’s contagious; we look forward to more people wanting something more than a leisure life.Slide21
One Provider’s Perspective: Lessons Learned
Understand that
change
takes longer than you anticipate.
Paying
better for the things you want than
for the
things you do not
want incentivizes change; i.e. higher salaries for staff involved with employment, change in allocation of resources.
Ensure attitudes
, policies, forms, etc. make it easier to achieve the desired outcomes and
not
re-enforce the old ways
.
Decentralizing service delivery, supporting the needs of the whole person, paying attention to where people live and how much control they have over their daily rhythms and routines are critical to successful employment outcomes.
Consider aligning all business practices to be community-based versus adding one service to a facility-based model.Slide22
Employment First Maine: Looking Back…
We have undertaken a significant amount of work: both policy and practice (i.e. capacity building, adding Career Planning/DPG to all the waivers, 1915 (
i
) SPA)
We are grateful to ODEP’s EFLSMP support
This is hard work and requires the steadfast commitment of all parties
Not everyone shares the same urgency
Work with those most willing to change first
Not everyone shares the same beliefs that everyone can work
We need to work with families and schools at a much earlier ageSlide23
Employment First Maine: Looking Ahead…
We are leveraging resources (i.e. BIP) to expand our capacity building efforts
We are planning a MAJOR statewide event for November that will continue to tackle the challenging issues of bringing providers and others along consistent with our vision
We will continue to collaborate with ODEP to assist with our policy and practice changes
We will continue to put forth policy and legislative changes consistent with our visionSlide24
Employment First Maine: Lessons Learned
Clear Communication is the KEY to keeping
Coalition
work moving forward
Not
everyone will agree on process - That’s
okay but
we still need to figure out how to reach our
goals
It is easy to feel “stuck” so it is important to celebrate even the baby steps when we can – success stories, one person at a time, etc., look at the big picture
!
We have come a long way, but we have a long way to go before we truly realize the goal of EF first in Maine!Slide25
High-Performing FrameworkSlide26
Employment First Maine Information
www.employmentfirstmaine.orgSlide27
QUESTIONS?
Presenter Information:
Betsy Hopkins
, Director, Maine DOL Division of Vocational Rehabilitation,
Betsy.Hopkins@Maine.gov
, 207-623-6745
Debbie Gilmer
, Executive Director,
Syntiro
, 207-852-0992
debbie@syntiro.org
Gail Fanjoy
, CEO, KFI, Maine
gfanjoy@kfimaine.org
, 207-723-9466