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Recruiting Direct Support Workers Through the Web

Darlene (Dee) O’Connor, Ph.D.Director, Long-Term Care PolicyUniversity of Massachusetts Medical School,

Center for Health Policy and Research

(This project is a collaboration among Rewarding Work Resources, UMass Medical School, the New England States Consortium Systems Organization, state and provider agencies, consumers, personal assistants, and Parker & James Communications.)

WWW.REWARDINGWORK.ORG

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Advantages of Web-based Recruitment

• Increases consumer autonomy and self-direction• Allows recruitment resources to be pooled• Assists individual employers with disabilities to locate

workers from an expanded pool of workers• Enables individual employers to locate workers in

other states when they want to relocate or travel• Enables potential workers to get their applications to a

broader network of employers• Increases potential for multi-state collaborations

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WWW.REWARDINGWORK.ORG

• Started with Massachusetts Rewarding Work Campaign

• Expansion to New England--National Model• Rewarding Work Website

– Personal Assistants can register directly– A call center is available for personal assistants who don’t

use the web– Employers with disabilities can search for potential

workers; they can get assistance in searching from an Independent Living Center

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Application (continued)

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Name of applicantDoe, JaneSmith, John

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Join Us

• If your state wishes to join the Rewarding Work Network, contact:

– Jeff Keilson 781-910-7216

JAKeilson@aol.com

or

– Dee O’Connor 508-856-8148

Darlene.oconnor@umassmed.edu