Cooperation & Collaboration in the Successful Employment of People with Disabilities

By B. Roger Shelley, Organizational Consultant at The Rural Institute

The implementation of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA) promises an integrated employment service for all people seeking satisfying employment. The purpose of the program is to offer seamless employment services and resources to employment seekers. This choice-based system will coordinate existing service groups in their efforts to facilitate employment for people with disabilities. The primary partners in the system include:

• state Vocational Rehabilitation agencies,
• Department of Labor personnel,
• adult education providers,
• Job Corps, and
• local community rehabilitation organizations.

The WIA system provides for three levels of services:

• core services,
• intensive services, and
• ITAs or individual training accounts.

Each of these levels provides for its own stage of services and funding. The job seeker’s choice, as well as the supports or training he/she needs to attain his/her employment objective, determines the levels of services.

Core Services

Core services may include access to local Department of Labor employment counselors, automated employment search networks, assessment, and employment referral. Any applicant may access these services from a local one-stop or state employment office.

Intensive Services

Intensive services require application and participant enrollment for the WIA program. Once in intensive services, a person will be eligible for funding that may provide:

• training for employment,
• supported employment services,
• equipment or tools necessary for employment,
• temporary subsistence (rent, medical, utilities, etc.),
• transportation, and
• services necessary for self-employment.

At this level, the various partners in the system coordinate services to facilitate employment choice and support for people with disabilities. Funding for employment objectives may be provided by state Vocational Rehabilitation agencies and Department of Labor personnel and programs as well as deployment of services from adult education facilities and local Job Corps installations. Blending of funding and cooperation and communication among the WIA partners in order to most fully serve people at this level is critical. Funding from one partner should not be contingent upon funding or services from another. The goal of this level is to use resources in the most cost effective and comprehensive manner to facilitate employment. Resources also may include the use of existing employer networks, small business development centers, business organization contacts, and other entities, which do not require allocation of partner money. Most people who access intensive services are currently entering the system after Vocational Rehabilitation authorization. Philosophically, however, point-of-entry into WIA program services may occur through any of the partners for a person with a disability.

Individual Training Accounts

Individual Training Accounts (ITA) provide specific schooling and resources for employment that are not available at the intensive level. The ITA may provide funding for:

• tuition,
• books and fees,
• transportation,
• clothing for training, and
• tools or equipment necessary during training.

The training provider must be a WIA-recognized institution and the course of study/training must be approved. Schools or institutions that are not currently listed as WIA providers may apply for acceptance and be funded to provide training for WIA participants.

The most important aspect of the WIA system is the ability for any of the partners to be able to serve people with disabilities, while supplying necessary accommodations and supports. Any partner may provide point-of-entry into the system. Through communication among the partner organizations, resources will be shared and applied in order to facilitate employment. Communication among the organizations, their ability and willingness to share information concerning fundable services each can provide, and the extent to which they are able to blend resources and employment networks remain vital for success. For many people with disabilities, point-of-entry into the system remains local Vocational Rehabilitation authorization. This situation is predictable, given the fact that this agency has been responsible for the employment of people with disabilities for many years. Access to the system through any of the partners remains one of the critical issues for people with disabilities.

TWWIIA

The Ticket to Work and the Work Incentives Improvement Act (TWWIIA) addresses Social Security policies that have been disincentives for people with disabilities returning to work while facilitating added employment resources, policies, and models. Ticket to Work was established to provide expanded alternatives for employment and support services, and Vocational Rehabilitation services to people receiving Title II or Title XVI Social Security benefits. The “Ticket” allows the selected Program Manager and Employment Networks to be created that will facilitate employment for SSA beneficiaries. The Program Manager administers the program—recruiting and selecting the Employment Networks, over-seeing their operations, integrating with state Vocational Rehabilitation agencies, and paying for services. Employment Networks will serve SSA beneficiaries in certain geographical areas, and may be composed of the WIA one-stop partners. In addition to those public entities, other Employment Network partners are considered. These may be:

• employers in the community,
• for-profit and not-for-profit companies providing employment services and supports for people with disabilities,
• local technical or vocational schools,
• independent living centers involved in supplying employment services, or
• any entity or person involved in providing services or supports to the job seeker through an individual work plan or individual plan of employment.

People with disabilities who receive “Ticket” funding may also receive funding for service through other public agencies such as the Department of Labor, state Vocational Rehabilitation agencies, or any of the other WIA partners. While using a “Ticket,” the person is also allowed to use Social Security Work Incentives to provide additional funding for employment-related expenses. A Plan to Achieve Self Support (PASS) may be written to provide these necessary resources.

In effect, a person with a disability seeking employment may be able to receive funding and resources from four different places:

1. State Vocational Rehabilitation (VR),
2. Department of Labor (DOL) Workforce Investment Act (WIA) program funds,
3. Ticket to Work, or
4. Social Security Work Incentives, including PASS.

For those seeking self-employment, additional sources may be Small Business Administration loans or Department of Commerce micro-business loans. The Social Security Administration may employ and pay an Employment Network for working with a beneficiary when the person achieves a “certain level of work,” and the person may be able to access funding through both DOL and VR to assure success in the employment venture. The goal is to establish a coherent system using all available resources to achieve a chosen employment objective for the person with a disability. In this system, all of the public funding partners achieve their designated “outcome” for the person whom they are serving. State VR personnel are able to close the person as successfully employed. Department of Labor counselors receive a successful termination, and Social Security sees financial savings when the person no longer receives a benefit payment check.

Montana/Wyoming Careers through Partnerships Project

During the past three years, Montana Job Training Partnership in collaboration with the University of Montana and the University of Wyoming and with funding from the U. S. Department of Labor (USDOL), has operated a demonstration project whose goal was to increase rural western communities’ capacities to employ people with disabilities. To date, 207 people have been served through the project in both states. Approximately half of the people have secured typical employment positions and half have started businesses. Two-thirds of these people have received both local VR office and USDOL project funds for their employment goals. A small proportion have applied for and received funding through Social Security PASS plans for additional resources. A few have had VR and USDOL funding and supplemented these resources with micro-business loans through the Montana Department of Commerce.

This strategy of employing resources from several different public organizations came about because of successful relationships formed among the public entities and the persons with the disability at the local level. In some instances DOL personnel or VR personnel facilitated these relationships; in some cases local employment provider personnel or the university consultants led. Point-of-entry into the process was not limited. Operatives communicated among themselves and negotiated the resources and funding each would supply in concert with the person and his/her choice. Other sources of support, both funded and unfunded, were then facilitated as necessary through the partners’ networking and direction. Examples of resources that did not require expenditures of funds included:

• referral to SCORE volunteers for technical assistance and business marketing,
• gaining acceptance to local professional groups that linked people directly to customers and contractors,
• local business owners, family members offering business management services or business partnerships and employment development, and
• PASS writing services.

The project became successful, not only in that it expanded the rural communities’ capacity to employ citizens with disabilities, but also that the partners working for people with disabilities became adept at bringing together their resources and networks to enable real choice and supports.

The following examples outline instances where resources were used in combination for successful employment.

Example 1. John Entwhistle

Example 2. Larry McMurtry

Example 3. Dana Redhorse

Example 4. Brian Peterson

Example 5. Beth Jacobs

These examples are meant to serve as illustrations for what can be accomplished when service agencies partner to facilitate choice and employment supports for people with disabilities wishing to work. They are by no means all of the examples available.

What We Have Learned

• Funding and supports, as well as employment success, must be directly linked to the occupational choices of people with disabilities
• Pooled resources lead to better outcomes, including non-paid resources from the community
• The Workforce Investment Act partnerships seem to work because of communication and shared investment at the local level
• Social Security Work Incentives (and partnership with Social Security) is important to facilitate successful employment outcomes.