A Vision of Employment For All:
From competitive to customized
Ellen Condon
University of MT Rural Institute on Disabilities
GHA & MGA
http://ruralinstitute.umt.edu/transition
condon@ruralinstitute.umt.edu
(406) 243-4134
What if we began with the
vision that everyone will work?
You need to opt out of work
rather than opting in or
demonstrating that you are ‘ready’
or able to work.
Customized Employment:
An individualized approach to providing
access to employment for all students
and adults with complex lives
Customized Employment
According to DOL:
Customized employment means individualizing
the relationship between employees and
employers in ways that meet the needs of
both.
It is based upon an individualized determination
of the strengths, needs, interests and
conditions of the person with a disability, and
is also designed to meet the specific needs of
an employer.
Supported Employment
Offers additional support to enable
people to compete successfully in the
workplace.
Over 150,000 people with disabilities
became employed through the strategy
of Supported Employment.
Supported Employment
1 person 1 job
In the community along side coworkers
without disabilities
Paid (sometimes subminimum)
Ongoing support for the life of the job
Customized Employment
Uses the same base, and some of the same strategies
as supported employment but:
Always starts with the job seeker, not the employer
or the job, and the process of discovery
Initiates and assumes negotiation
Representation of a job seeker is typical
Is an option for anyone
Customization and Complex Lives
Disability Low self-esteem
Age: maturity/youth Cultural
Poverty Health
Homelessness Addiction
Family Lack of education
responsibilities Habits/life routines
Lack of experience Dependence on
or skills benefits
Customized Process
Discovery of the job seeker
Capturing discovery through profiles
Customized, person-centered planning
Portfolio/visual resume development
Job development and negotiation
Job site analysis, accommodations, support
What does this mean for adults & youth
with significant needs?
We presume that everyone can work in
their community,
There are many ways to earn a living
and contribute,
We can define “work” in many ways,
We look for strengths, support needs,
interests, factors that motivate each
person,
What does this mean for youth with
significant needs?
Focus on supporting each person to make a
contribution and maximize their participation
in all activities,
Focus on identifying the conditions needed to
be successful,
Eliminate the prerequisite to get ready and
the need to be competitive.
Features of Customized Employment
Based on discovery of the applicant
more than on evaluative/comparative
processes,
Driven by a customized plan developed
by the applicant’s strengths, needs and
interests,
Focuses on tasks rather than job titles
to negotiate essential responsibilities,
Features of Customized Employment
Specific job duties are negotiated with
employers, voluntarily, to customize the
job,
Occurs in regular community
workplaces or in self-owned businesses,
Involves pay of at least the minimum
wage up to prevailing wage.
If the Post School Outcome is
Employment for Everyone,
How does our time in school change?
Will IEP goals change?
Will work experiences look different for
students with significant disabilities?
Will how we provide support change?
Two Distinct Approaches
Labor Market Job Development:
Responding to the needs of employers
with applicants who are “qualified” to meet
those general needs.
Customized Job Development:
Discovering the “strengths, needs and
interests” of applicants and proactively
negotiating a job description that meets
both the applicant’s and employer’s specific.
Customized Job Development
Job Seeker initiates
Job seeker’s skills, tasks &
Employer Reacts
contributions are emphasized
Considers proposal
Employers are contacted
because their needs might Reviews their unmet needs or
match what the job seeker allows developer to I.D. unmet
brings needs
Job seeker or representative If a match is identified, a new
presents a proposal job description is created.
A position is negotiated
The importance of Discovery
Discovery is the foundation of
customization. The lessons learned
in discovery have a direct impact on
the negotiations with employers and
should be reflected in the customized
job descriptions for job seekers.
People are ready to contribute
It is up to us to determine what they
need for conditions, tasks and
supports to make a contribution.
Categories of Customized Employment
Single source job descriptions based on tasks
derived from a single traditional job
Multiple source job descriptions based on
tasks derived from a variety of jobs
Created job descriptions based on heretofore
unmet needs of a work setting
Contract jobs based on single or multiple
source or created job descriptions performed
under a contract
Categories of Customized Employment
Self Employment based on the unmet
needs of a local market
Business within a Business
Resource Ownership
Customizing a job requires that we
explore these five components from
the applicant’s perspective:
1. Conditions
2. Preferences and Interests
3. Contributions to Be Offered
4. Discrete Tasks to Be Performed
5. Specific Employers to Be Contacted
Customized Jobs in the
Community
When does the negotiation occur?
In order to customize
employment, we must begin by
answering the question, “Who
is this person?”
Interests, preferences, support needs,
conditions where they are at their best,
contributions to an employer, tasks
that the individual can do
Discovery
A process to get a picture of who this person
is ‘where they are most who they are’;
Looks at what they do, how they do it, what
works, what doesn’t work, where they are
most motivated, skills, interests, abilities;
It helps get a picture of where the student is
now so you can build a vision of the future.
24
IDEA 2004 requires schools to
Use age appropriate transition
assessments to guide post school
outcomes and transition planning.
UM Rural Institute, Missoula, MT 25
Discovery and Post School
Outcomes
Discovery is optimistic
Results in robust information
and descriptive information
And crosses all areas of someone’s life
(home, community, school, work)
UM Rural Institute, Missoula, MT 26
Traditional Approaches to
Assessment
Attempt to answer the question
whether or not the person can work,
Or to determine the specific job or
career path the person should pursue,
These approaches lead the job seeker
into a competitive process and narrow
the field of potential jobs.
Testing…
Most tests are standardized and
compare the tester against a norm
Many are checklists or short answer
Yes/no answers
A reflection of one discrete time
Tends to predict success or failure
Don’t offer direction for customization
Discovery and Traditional Procedures
Discovery seeks to identify already-existing
information rather than developing
information solely for the purposes of
evaluation or diagnosis.
Identifying a direction for employment is
based on information obtained from the
person's entire life and not from an
instance of performance.
Discovery and Traditional Procedures
The discovery process focuses more on
ecological validity than predictive
validity. It is more important that the
direction to employment makes sense in
relation to a person's life than to attempt to
predict success based on test performance.
The information of discovery is used only as a
guide for matching and customization
and may not used to systematically exclude a
person from employment.
Discovery and Traditional Procedures
By implementing discovery, we try to identify the
real complexities faced by the individual and
attempt to negotiate and match employment that
fits, rather than putting the burden of resolving
complexities solely on the individual.
The profile strategy seeks to empower and involve
applicants, their families and friends rather than
to exclude them. Natural, common sense
approaches to employment are given priority over
strategies which rely solely on professional judgment
and service.
Let’s Experience Discovery
Ask your partner:
1) What is an activity that you enjoy and
spend time doing at home? Tell me
about it…..
2) Where/when are you at your worst?
3) What supports help when you when
you are at your worst?
Discovery
We think we know someone, but it is
based upon the context in which we got
to know them,
We must validate what we think we
know, and observe in new contexts to
gain a complete picture.
Need for Discovery
Discovery is often assumed, we think
“what we see is what they’ve got.”
People come to us with ‘a past’,
assumptions about behavior and ability,
Information on an individual is often
disjointed, different people have different
parts of the “puzzle.”
Using Discovery to Clarify
Support Needs
Jake does best in an environment
where the rules are clear and enforced
Mostly male
Working around the same few people
daily
Succinct instruction up front
A variety of familiar tasks
Physical tasks
35
Recognize that some youth
have ongoing support needs
That will need to be met in order for
them to work in the community,
They can be met in various different
ways: natural supports, paid supports,
accommodations or adaptations to the
workplace,
And they may be minimized by
increasing the quality of a job match.
Clarifying Support Needs
He needs a 1:1 all the time v.s.
He needs a predictable schedule and a
coworker nearby to remind him to check
his list if he looks lost.
Do to her lack of safety skills with
strangers she needs to be in supervised
setting v.s.
We want her to work with familiar people
in a nonpublic setting.
UM Rural Institute, Missoula, MT 37
Turning ‘issues’ into Conditions
Wanders off
Requires 1:1 all the time to be safe with
women
Needs to stop destroying property
before he goes to work
Off task
Family fear of child being ridiculed
Strategies for Facilitated Discovery
Conversation Participation with
the student in
Interview activities both
familiar and novel
Time together
Finally, Review of
Observation records
Remarkable moments
Remarkable moments refer to the strategy of
focusing on those aspects of the individual of
concern’s performance/behavior that are felt
to be of sufficient significance to merit our
descriptive remarks.
In this way, facilitators who do not have
dedicated time for discovery can find these
moments of time to write up the description
of the behavior/performance.
Intentional moments
Intentional moments refer to the strategy of
planning for a specific time in the near future
for a focus on discovery and descriptive
writing, regardless of whether the
performance is “remarkable”.
We recommend that a 2 – 4 minute focus
period be planned for discovery purposes.
Facilitators should plan for this observation
during times when the individual is likely to
be engaged in performance activity.
Observation Strategies within Activity
Try to remember what you see
Take notes afterwards
Offer the individual the “lead”, subtly
Use an “asking” conversational style
Let the individual speak
Wait for the person, allow periods of
silence
Notice small things while you participate
Create a system to capture information
Developing a Plan for Discovery
What is the intended outcome of
Discovery?
Time-frame?
Who
Where
What
Marc Gold & Associates
4101 Gautier-Vancleave Rd. Ste. 102, Gautier, MS 39553 (228)
497-6999
The “Who” of Discovery
The person of concern Neighbors with good
Their family and loved relationships
ones Professionals who
Close and trusted care
friends Counselors
Teachers
Case managers
Service providers
The “Where” of Discovery
Home/Living Ethnic group/peer
Context: Discovery group
starts where School
relationships start – One-stop center
where we live
Church
Neighborhood
Places where the
Local Community person is “most who
they are”
The “What” of Discovery
The best aspects of the person
Routines Tasks
Relationships Solutions
Responsibilities Connections
Challenges Education
Associations Location
Friendships Life performance
Shops and Services Community inventory
Itinerary for Discovery
1) what is the outcome for Discovery
right now?
2) who makes sense to be on the team
doing discovery?
Discovery
Identifies interests, skills, tasks,
connections…. All the information
needed to custom tailor a job for
an individual job seeker.
Discovery facts
Average hours required for Discovery =
20 hours (range 16-24 hrs)
Average time frame for Discovery =
4 weeks (range 3 – 6 wks)
We recommend a team effort of 2 – 4
members while learning discovery
20 Steps to Successful Discovery
The following steps will provide you with
a tool to organize the interactions
necessary for discovery. We
recommend that you use the Discovery
Log as a data form to take you through
the sequence of activities.
Step 1. Getting Started
Explain Customized Employment,
Discovery process, and Vocational
Profile to job seeker and family in an
office/school environment.
Step 2. “Paperwork” aspects
Complete identification information from
Profile Form as a part of Step 1, before
visiting the home. Have family confirm
that information is complete and
accurate. Avoid sensitive aspects as
necessary such as specific ages of
family members.
Step 3. Outcome of process
Determine the outcome for this
individual of the Discovery Process --
school based work experience, paid
job experience, a job to be held long
term, a volunteer position, etc.
Step 4. Scheduling visit to home
Schedule an initial meeting with job
seeker and family at the job seeker’s
home (or alternate location if family or
job seeker is not comfortable inviting
you to their home). This is a critical
aspect of discovery and an explanation
of “why” may be necessary.
Step 5. Scoping out the neighborhood
Before or immediately after the visit to
the job seeker’s home, tour the
neighborhood and observe
surroundings, safety, businesses,
culture, transportation, services near
the home, etc. Make a list of
businesses near the individual’s home.
Step 6. First visit to the home
Meet with job seeker and family for 1-1 ½ hours in
their home
interview the job seeker and family about their
routines
ask about formal responsibilities, chores
inquire about community activities
if the job seeker is willing, have them show room you
their room
have them demonstrate how they do chores and
what they do for activities
observe interactions, living context, indications of
interests, current skills
Step 7. Benefits discussion
Provide Social Security benefits
information and explain a benefits
analysis
Ask if the individual receives SSI or
SSDI.
Ask about concerns, issues, questions
about SSA benefits
Ask if family would like you to schedule
a benefits analysis
Step 8.
Interviewing persons who know the job seeker
Ask for names of individuals, both personal and
professionals who the individual/family feels know
the person the best.
With the job seeker’s permission and following the visit
to the home, meet with and interview with these
people (teachers, agency staff, counselors, other
related services staff, friends, neighbors, etc.) to
obtain more information about the job seeker’s
interests, support needs, successful support
strategies, and performance in various activities, as
well as to identify connections.
Step 9. Observation of activities
From the information gathered, identify several
typical life activities that the job seeker
participates in successfully (at school, in a
favorite community activity, church, a familiar
store, etc.) and observe the job seeker as
they engage in these activities to determine
their performance, interests, connections and
other important perspectives.
Step 10. Participation in a familiar activity
Ask the individual and family to determine
a context and an activity outside the
home in which the individual is the
most familiar and most competent.
Accompany the individual as he/she
participates in this activity to determine
skills, relationships, supports, etc.
Step 11. Participation in a novel activity
Based on the job seeker’s interests,
determine an unfamiliar activity that
they haven’t tried before or a place they
haven’t gone before and participate in
this activity with them. Observe to
obtain more information about support
needs, reactions, attention to natural
cues, etc.
Step 12. Return visits to home
Return to job seeker’s home for additional
information, unstructured conversation,
observation, and further interviews. 1 –
3 additional visits are recommended.
These return visits are often more
informal and can be longer, if approved
by the job seeker and family.
Step 13. Review of information
Review files, memorabilia and records of
past and current activities services.
Focus on files that reflect an optimistic,
success-based perspective and avoid
those that dwell on negatives. Seek out
both professional and personal
information for review, including old
photos.
Step 14. Recording information
Record information obtained throughout
Discovery in interview notes and
observation notes as well as with digital
photos. Be descriptive and positive in
your note writing. Take notes following
all discovery interactions. Gather all
written information and notes, including
records, prior to writing a profile.
Step 15. Determine format for Profile
Based upon the audience for the Profile
determine if this information should be
captured in a visual Profile, narrative
profile or other format such as through
discovery meeting notes, vignettes, etc.
Step 16. Develop the Profile
Develop a written, visual or alternative
format profile of the job seeker
following the format provided in the
profile training. This activity should take
from 3 – 5 hours.
Step 17. Disseminate Profile
Provide a copy of draft Vocational Profile
or other format to job seeker and family
for their review, suggestions and
approval. Any Profile format must be
approved by the job seeker/family prior
to the Customized Planning Meeting.
Step 18. Schedule Planning Meeting
Schedule a Customized Planning Meeting
with input and assistance from the job
seeker/family within two weeks of the
completion of the profile.
Step 19. Hold CE Planning Meeting
Hold a Customized Planning Meeting to
develop a plan for job development.
This meeting should be held between
1 - 2 weeks after Discovery and Profile
are completed.
Step 20. Develop a Portfolio
Develop a representational portfolio for
the job seeker using visual and
narrative information developed during
discovery and the Customized Planning
Meeting.
Parent Interviews
Routine Map
Person Places Map
Itinerary for Discovery
Who should you interview
What activities should you observe?
Which familiar activities should you
participate in with the job seeker?
What novel activity?
Features of Discovery
Discovery is optimistic
Non judgmental
Results in robust information
and descriptive information
When we describe how someone does
something we take our perspective out
of it.
UM Rural Institute, Missoula, MT 73
Descriptive Writing Scenario
To help understand the distinction between
descriptive writing and evaluative writing,
consider the following traditional evaluative
scenario of a young person who is cooking
brownies in his kitchen:
Damian can cook simple items with assistance. He
cannot set the oven temperature independently and
care should be taken to assure that he does not burn
himself. He cannot read the directions on the box.
Damian required one-to-supervision to mix and
prepare the brownies and to put them into the oven.
He cannot be trusted to cut the brownies with a
knife. Marc Gold & Associates
4101 Gautier-Vancleave Rd. Ste. 102 Gautier, MS (228) 497-6999
Descriptive Writing Scenario
When writing descriptively, we focus solely on the performance of
the individual, using action verbs in the active tense. Here is an
example of the same scenario written descriptively:
Damian selects the brownie mix from the pantry, finds a
mixing bowl from the cabinet and removes a mixing
spoon from the utensil drawer, after being reminded
by a staff person. As the staff person reads the
directions he opens the box, pours the mix into the
bowl and continues to blend in ingredients. When he
completes the mixing he pours the mixture in a glass
pan following a gesture by the staff person. The staff
person says, “What’s next?” and Damian points to the
oven thermostat. The staff person says, “Which
button is for bake?” and Damian pushes the Bake
button.
Marc Gold & Associates
4101 Gautier-Vancleave Rd. Ste. 102 Gautier, MS (228) 497-6999
Descriptive Writing Scenario
Descriptive writing scenario, continued:
Damian then begins to turn the thermostat and the staff
person says, “Stop at 375.” As Damian nears 375, the
staff person says, “That’s it.” and he stops at a nearby
indicator. The staff person says, “One more click.” and
Damian completes the setting. The staff person asks,
“How long do we cook them?” and Damian says 30
minutes. Damian sets the timer similar to the oven.
When the timer goes off, Damian puts an oven mitt on his
right hand and opens the oven with his left. As he reaches
in the staff person says, “Careful, everything is hot.”
Damian grasps the pan and slides is out of the oven,
keeping the container level. When the brownies had
cooled, Damian removes a serving knife from the utility
drawer and cuts the brownies into small squares with
hand-over-hand assistance from the staff person.
Marc Gold & Associates
4101 Gautier-Vancleave Rd. Ste. 102 Gautier, MS (228) 497-6999
Observational notes
Tyler collated the 7 different Social Security
Fact sheets and created 30 folders in 20
minutes. Upon completion of this task there
were 3 of one of the fact sheets left over while
the rest were all gone. Tyler flipped through
each of the 30 packets looking for any packet
that did not have 1 copy of each of the fact
sheets. After checking all 30 he walked to his
supervisor’s office and told her he was done
and that he had a few extra fact sheets.
Features of task observation:
Motivation indicated
Supports offered/used
General Performance: Pace, correctness,
consistency, stamina
Specific Tasks: what is it, does general
performance vary with tasks
Connections
Concerns
Marc Gold & Associates
4101 Gautier-Vancleave Rd. Ste. 102, Gautier, MS 39553 (228) 497-6999
Discovery helps reframe what may be
perceived as barriers to employment and
community membership into
“Ideal Conditions for success” and
“Support needs”
Focus on how someone can
participate not why they can’t