Volume IV, Issue 3 • Fall 2018
This issue of Bridges highlights Employment
To view a pdf version of this issue, please click here
Employment is the one sector (of the ADA) we have not been able to move the needle on, after all these years. The unemployment rate is still the same as the time we started, 27 years ago.
- Senator Tom Harkin
Self-advocates, family members, government officials, business partners, and community representatives gathered for the Roc EmployABILITY summit at The Strong on October 4. Participants were challenged to brainstorm strategies to decrease poverty and increase employment for people who have disabilities in our community. Senator Tom Harkin, author of the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), was the keynote speaker. A prevalent theme of his speech was the need to raise expectations for people who have disabilities.
Senator Harkin cited the national 33% disability employment rate and Rochester’s 25% disability employment rate as “a national disgrace.” According to the Rochester Area Community Foundation’s 2015 poverty report, “the poverty rate was almost 10 points higher for people with disabilities in Rochester, making Rochester’s disabled community the poorest in the nation when compared to the 75 largest metropolitan areas.” The City of Rochester’s low graduation rate for students with disabilities “perpetuates the cycle of poverty.”
Senator Harkin proposed two solutions to help counter the dismal statistics: youth preparedness and private sector commitments to offer more competitive integrated employment. He described the need for early work experiences and how people with disabilities don’t usually apply for competitive employment because they often have been “battered with low expectations.”
Senator Harkin shared a story of his brother, Frank, who was deaf. Harkin described his brother’s transition from working as a baker, a job he disliked, to a machine production shop worker, his dream job. A bakery customer,who happened to own a machine parts company, discovered that Frank liked to work with machines. The customer offered Frank a job, and Frank immediately took off his apron as a means of accepting the job offer.
Voices — A View from Where I Sit
by Jeiri Flores
Searching for and obtaining a job as person with a disability is like trying to play an impeccable game of Tetris, the puzzle video game. You have to be the best candidate for the position; your work environment has to be accommodating; and most importantly, you have to be able to create some sort of balance between the services you receive, your health, income, and health insurance. If at any time, any of these pieces land in the wrong place on your Tetris board, you stand to initiate a ripple of destruction. But honestly, for an opportunity to play our best game of Tetris, we’d all take that chance; we’d dream bigger and strive to make all the pieces fit together.
Voices — Interview with Jonathan Payne
Interview conducted by Jeiri Flores
Q: Tell me about yourself.
A: I’m a poet, scholar, gentleman and a creator. I am 21, Black, Puerto Rican, European, little bit of Jewish, African, and Native American.
Q: Who is a part of your support circle?
A: My support circle is mainly God, my mother, my grandpa, my grandma, my brother, and definitely my dog.
Q: What is your current title?
A: I am a receptionist clerk at Strong Center for Developmental Disabilities (SCDD).
Q: How did you find this position?
A: I found it through ACCES-VR who connected me to Project SEARCH®. My first internship with Project SEARCH® was as an office assistant. I loved it so much that I went to the director of SCDD, Dr. Hetherington, and told her, “I would like to work here for you,” and she said, “Bring me a resume and I’ll interview you.” And so I did by the following week, and then I had to wait a couple months. I finally started August 14, 2017. A whole year has passed and I still feel the same as day one. I feel great. I feel like I belong here. I don’t think I’d want to work anywhere else but here because I have a personal connection to working here, considering that we’re doing the right thing for those with disabilities, and my brother and I have autism.
Barriers to Employment
What gets in the way of employment? A panel addressed this at Roc EmployABILITY summit. Here’s what the panel identified as barriers to employment:
- Attitudes towards people with disabilities; businesses are not always aware of the disability experience
- Lack of conversation between disability community and business community
- Legislation that needs to be updated
- Transportation
- Funding for job readiness programs and employment initiatives
- No easy pathway off of Social Security
- Job search process itself can be overwhelming
- Discriminatory language on job applications
- Medical conditions
- Challenge of getting first job when you don’t have any work experience on your resume
Employment Goals on the IEP
Did you know that your child’s IEP includes a section for postsecondary goals, including employment?
The IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) requires transition services on the IEP (Individualized Education Program) to be in effect when the child turns 16, or younger if determined appropriate by the IEP Team, and updated annually. The IEP’s Transition Services must include:
- Appropriate measurable postsecondary goals based upon age appropriate transition assessments related to training, education, employment, and, where appropriate, independent living skills; and
- The transition services (including courses of study) needed to assist the child in reaching those goals.
Examples of measurable postsecondary goals in the area of employment.
- After graduation, Paulo will work 20 plus hours a week at the local grocery store and use temporary supports through Vocational Rehabilitation.
- Given a whole task instruction and a task analysis for bagging groceries, Paulo will demonstrate the steps in the task analysis with 80% accuracy and no more than one verbal prompt weekly by (specific date).
Source: Center for Parent Information and Resources http://www.parentcenterhub.org/transition-goals/#postsec
Employment
What is a Reasonable Accommodation?
Under Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a reasonable accommodation is a modification or adjustment to a job, the work environment, or the way things are usually done during the hiring process. These modifications enable a person with a disability to have an equal opportunity not only to get a job, but successfully perform their job tasks to the same extent as people without disabilities.
Examples of reasonable accommodations:
- Physical changes: Installing a ramp or modifying a rest room; modifying the layout of a workspace
- Accessible and assistive technologies: Ensuring computer software is accessible; providing screen reader software; using videophones to facilitate communications with colleagues who are deaf
- Accessible communications: Providing sign language interpreters or closed captioning at meetings and events; making materials available in Braille or large print
- Policy enhancements: Allowing a service animal in a business setting; adjusting work schedules so employees with chronic medical conditions can go to medical appointments and complete their work at alternate times or locations
Source: U.S. Dept. of Labor, Office of Disability Employment, https://www.dol.gov/odep/
Employment Gap for People with Disabilities
According to a 2016 report of the National Conference of State Legislatures, “a striking employment gap persists between Americans with and without disabilities. At nearly 20 percent of the population, people with disabilities are one of the nation’s largest minority groups. Yet the most recent U.S. disability employment statistics show that only 20 percent of people with disabilities are participating in the workforce, compared to 69.1 percent of people without disabilities.”
Source: http://www.ncsl.org/research/labor-and-employment/employing-people-with-disabilities.aspx
October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month
Reflecting a commitment to a robust and competitive American labor force, the 2018 National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) theme is “America’s Workforce: Empowering All.” Observed each October, NDEAM celebrates the contributions of workers with disabilities and educates about the value of a workforce inclusive of their skills and talents.
Source: https://www.dol.gov/odep/topics/ndeam/
October is also Down Syndrome Awareness Month
From the Editor
Why is employment important to people who have disabilities? The best way to answer this is to ask why work is important to anyone. In addition to a paycheck, what can work offer? Work provides:
- A wider circle of social interaction beyond our family and friends
- A chance to use our strengths and pursue interests
- The satisfaction of pursuing and achieving a professional goal, however small or big that may be
- Being a part of a community working toward a common goal
- An opportunity to learn new skills as the job progresses or as the need comes up
- An opportunity to mentor co-workers
- A challenge for us, either physically or mentally
- The experience of seeing the impact we have on our customers or clients
– Maria Schartel