Innova&ve Prac&ces in Voca&onal Services for

Individuals with ASD and/or IDD BobPutnam Sco-FontechiaMayIns6tute UniversityofSouthFloridaCarolSchall SharonSmithVirginiaCommonwealthUniversity Work,Inc

February21,201916thInterna6onalConferenceon

Posi6veBehaviorSupport

Naviga6ngtheCliff

• Overthenextdecade,500,000youngadultswithASDwillageoutofpubliclyfundeddayandresiden6alspecial-educa6onprogramsna6onwide

Roux,A.M.,Sha-uck,P.T.,Rast,J.E.,Rava,J.A.,&Anderson,K,A.2015.

Transi6oningIntoAdultServices

• Overthenextdecade,500,000youngadultswithASDwillageoutofpubliclyfundeddayandresiden6alspecial-educa6onprogramsna6onwide

SomeNumbers

CentersforDiseaseControlandPreven1on(2018)•  1in59

• 56mesmorelikelyinboysthaningirls-1in42boys-1in189girls• Occursinallracial,ethnic,andsocioeconomicgroups

• Canyoubrieflydescribeyourorganiza6on?

WORKInc.SharonSmith,MSW,MBASeniorVP/COOWORKInc.25BeachSt.Dorchester,MA02122

HowcanWorkInc.achievebreakthroughimpactforitstargetpopula6on?

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Baseline

IdealOutcome

WhatcouldWorkInc.dothatwouldmovethedialthemosttotheright?

WORKInc.StrategicPlanning12/1/2016

StrategicPartnershipsPartnershipshavethepowerfulpoten6altoleveragetheexper6seoforganiza6onstoworktogethertodriveemploymentoutcomesforindividualswithdisabili6es

•  PathwaystoCareer-PartnershipwithSourceAmercia•  MeaningfulJobsIni6a6ve-PartnershipwiththeMayIns6tute

MJITraining•  IntegratedteamworkbetweenClinicalServices(Psychologist)andEmploymentServices(CareerNavigator)(CN)

•  Directlyteachescoping,social,andbehavioralinterviewingskillstopar6cipants

Goals:•  Toscreen100applicants•  Toplace10individualsinfull-6meemploymentwithHF-ASDinthesecurityfield

•  Toplace10individualsinpart-6meemploymentwithHF-ASDinthesecurityfield.

•  Todevelopatoolkitthatcouldbeusedbyothervoca6onalorganiza6onstoenhancetheemploymentofindividualswithHF-ASD.

MeaningfulJobsInitiativeOutcomes•  85candidateshavebeenscreened •  46par6cipantshavea-endedtraining•  33par6cipantscompletedtrainingwithajoboutcome

•  Averageclassesa-ended=14•  33JobPlacements

•  14par6cipantshiredinfull-6mejobs •  19par6cipantshiredpart-6me•  1par6cipanthad3jobs•  1promo6on-wageincreaseto$20/hr.•  11jobsareintheSecurityIndustry

•  Averagewagerate$13.12•  12par6cipantsearing$15/hr.andabove

PathwaystoCareersThePathwaystoCareersIni6a6veatWORK,Incprovidesstate-of-the-artcustomizedpaidinternshipandemploymentopportuni6estojobseekerswithcomplexlives.

Keyelements:•  Discovery–20-30hourslearningaboutawholepersoninlieuofassessmentorevalua6on,

•  PaidInternships–allpar6cipantsareofferedpaid($11/hr.ormore)internshipsupto12weeks,

•  CustomizedEmployment–genuinelycustomizedemploymentbasedonDiscoveryandexpandeddiscoveryprocesses

•  ExtensiveSupports–advancedonsitejobfacilita6onandsystema6cinstruc6on,benefitscounselingandfinancialliteracyassistance,.

MassachusettsWorkforceDevelopment MASSHIRES

Theseini6a6veshelptointegratepeoplewithdisabili6esintothemainworkforcedevelopmentsysteminMassachuse-s.

•  WORKInc.isanAccessPoint(DorchesterCareerAccessPoint,orDCAP)toassistpeoplewithdisabili6esandBostonresidentsnavigatetheworkshops,jobfairsandotherservicesavailablethroughtheworkforcedevelopmentsystem.

•  TickettoWorkprogram.Anyindividualwhoreceivescashen6tlementsthroughtheSocialSecurityAdministra6oncanreceiveemploymentservicesiftheyarewilltoworktowardsworkingenoughtoeliminatetheircashbenefits,(earningover$1,180onSSDI,“zeroingout”the“earntwo,loseone”policyofSSI.)Whilethisprogramprovides“directedjobsearch”ac6vi6es,thisprogramcanu6lizeotherprogramfundingtoenhanceservices.

Pathways from School to Work for

Youth with ASD Carol Schall, PhD

Assistant Professor Director of Technical Assistance

VCU Autism Center for Excellence Virginia Commonwealth University

Noconflictsofinteresttoreport

VCU Research on ASD and Transi&on

•  10yearsofresearchontransi6onforyouthwithASD

• NumerousPublica6onsonemploymentinterven6onoutcomes

•  TwolinesofInquiry•  Transi6ontoEmployment•  EmploymentReten6on

• Outcome:Compe66veIntegratedEmployment(CIE)

InternshipsSupportedEmployment

CustomizedEmployment

PathwaystoEmployment

Project SEARCH + ASD Supports ProjectSEARCH•  Businessled•  9-monthinterven6ondeliveredonbusinesssite

•  Collabora6onandfundingbetweenschool,DDorVRagency

•  Collabora6oninstaffingbetweenschoolandemploymentservicesorganiza6on(JobCoaches)

•  Totalworkplaceimmersionviathree10-12weekinternships

•  Graduatesagreetoacceptjobifoffered•  Graduatesreceiveintensivefollow-alongtoensureemployment

+ASDSupports•  BehavioralConsulta6onwithBehaviorAnalyst•  ConsistentStructuretoSeeminglyUnstructuredInternships

•  BehaviorallyDefiningIdioms,SocialSkills,andWorkExpecta6ons

•  VisualSupportstoIncreaseImplementa6onofStrategies

•  SelfMonitoringChecklistsandReinforcementPrograms

•  Role-PlayingandPrac6ceforRequiredSocialSkills

•  OngoingIntensiveInstruc6onandMonitoringofStudentSuccess

Supported Employment

4Phases•  JobSeekerProfile

•  Assessmentphase

•  JobDevelopment•  Jobsearchphase

•  JobSiteTraining•  Follow-Along

•  Cri6calforIndividualswithASDandIDwhorequirePBS

KeyImplementer:EmploymentSpecialist• MustUnderstandASD• MustlearntoimplementEBPs• Mustunderstandbusiness

Customized Employment

KEYWAYTOEMPLOYMENTFORINDIVIDUALSWITHASD•  FlexibleProcessforJobDevelopmentandAcquisi6on

• MeetNeedsofBusiness• MeetEmploymentRequirementsofPersonwithASD

•  JobSeekerDirectstheJobSearch•  Between63–80%ofJobsforIndividualswithASDwereCustomized

Also4Phases• Discovery:Learnstrengths,interests,andpreferences

• CustomizedJobDevelopment:nego6atewithemployertermsandtasks

•  IndividualizedJobSupports:fadefrom100%-20%of6meon-site

•  LongTermSupports:maintainmonthlyContact

Findings

• PeoplewithASDacrossthespectrumofabili6escanworkiftheyhave:

•  higherintensityservicesandsupports(some)•  theuseofABAininstruc6onandbehavioralsupports•  Personalizedvoca6onalassessmentandtraining•  Seamlesstransi6ontoadultservices

•  Adultserviceprovidersneedsupportandtrainingtogaintheseskills

The Learning Academy

at the University of South Florida

Scott Fontechia, M.S. Employment Specialist

The Learning Academy 30 Week Transition Program

•  Located at USF Tampa Campus •  10 Years; Grant-Funded to Self-

Sustaining •  15 Students Aged 18-25 •  Competitive Application &

Interview Process

•  USF Student Mentor •  Applied Learning Experience •  Self-Exploration & Advocation •  Employment-Related

Assessments & Training •  Independent Living Skills

The Learning Academy

Outcomes•  Over95%Gradua6onRate•  74%ObtainedEmploymentaqerGradua6ng

•  62%CurrentlyEmployed•  23MonthAverageLengthofCurrentEmployment

•  $10.51AverageWage($8.46minimumwageinFL)

•  51%Post-SecondaryEduca6on•  41%VolunteeraqerGradua6on•  Basedon38%responserateof105graduatesin8cohorts

Learning Academy Employment Services

•  Employment Services •  Supported Employment Services •  Discovery & Customized

Employment •  Self-Employment (CBTAC) •  On-the-Job Training (OJT)

Employment Services •  14 County Coverage •  Vocational Rehabilitation Vendor •  Intentionally Small •  Individualized Services •  Job Readiness & Preparation •  Job Development

Learning Academy Employment Services

NowandLater•  CommunityPartners

–  Collabora6ons•  Training

–  Businesses,any–  In-person,remote,etc.

•  ProgramDevelopment– Whereisthereneed?

•  Research–  Concretejob-seekingskills

•  Publishing–  i.e.JARC,HRFlorida

•  Replica6on– Modelthatworks

• Describeyourcurrentprac6cestoimproveemploymentwithindividualswithdisabili6es?

• Whatwouldyousuggestarebestprac6cesintransi6oningindividualsfromschoolfundedservicestoemploymentservices?

• Whatarethebestprac6cesinsuppor6ngindividualstosustainemployment?

• Whatisthefutureofvoca6onalservices?