By Lynn Moses, Carla Albert, and Kim Brown

Background:
Nichole graduated in June 2004 from Hamilton High School in rural Montana. Nichole also has some significant support needs. When her school was contracted to be one of the Transition Project sites, Nichole was selected as one of the five pilot site students. Initially, she told her teachers she didn’t want to work and she didn’t need money for anything. She would get visibly frustrated if people tried to talk about jobs with her. Because the Transition Project model focuses on customized employment for students with significant disabilities and promotes paid jobs for students upon graduation, the related services staff started her Vocational Profile in the summer before her junior year.

Nichole continued to state that she didn’t want to work, so the team focused on what environment, supports, and types of activities worked and didn’t work for her instead of focusing solely on employment. They were also curious to learn what it was about the word “work” that Nichole was opposed to. First, Lynn Moses and Carla Albert, her occupational and physical therapists, visited her home to learn more about Nichole, even though they knew her from working with her at school for the last several years. When classes resumed in the fall, they completed more Discovery activities by spending time with Nichole in the community; interviewing teachers, staff, and others who knew Nichole well; and finally, reviewing files for other relevant information. After gathering all this material, the therapists drafted a Vocational Profile document and gave it to Nichole and her family for their approval. (In this school, the related services staff was trying the Profile as an alternative to their traditional assessment tools.)

Nichole’s first Employment Planning meeting was held that fall. (The school piloted replacing the typical three-year re-evaluation with the Planning meeting, a more positive and employment-directed approach.) The school principal facilitated the meeting, to which school staff, agencies, family, and friends were all invited. They were given the Profile to read before the meeting and were asked to come prepared to help identify Nichole’s ideal working conditions, preferences, contributions, and job tasks that she could perform. The team felt they needed more information to help Nichole find a customized job that would be a good match for her. Based on what was discovered through completing her Vocational Profile and given that Nichole was unsure about employment, the team determined it might be good to start with a school-based job to enable her to learn the connection between work and earning money.

Nichole’s team asked her if she would help the principal and his secretary with some school-related office tasks - they would pay her for her time. The School-to-Work Coordinator conducted the job analysis and provided job coaching for the job. Nichole’s responsibilities included taking mail out to the mailbox, sorting mail to go into teachers’ boxes, and decorating and putting articles on the bulletin boards in the hall. As Nichole completed these tasks and earned money she could spend, she grew more comfortable with the idea of working.

Over the summer between her junior and senior year, Nichole’s team thought they had learned enough about her to approach marketing Nichole for paid employment in the community. The information on her Vocational Profile and Employment Planning meeting notes was updated and a second Planning meeting was held. Nichole’s unique interests, contributions, and ideal working conditions were marketed to several local employers. These were businesses that had been identified during the meeting as possibly having a need for someone to complete the kinds of tasks that Nichole could complete. A nearby bakery agreed to let Nichole do a paid work assessment with them - the duties and supports would be custom-tailored to what we by then knew would work for her.

Collaborative Funding and Employment:
The team recognized Nichole would be eligible for Developmental Disability Program (DD) assistance, but she faced several years on a waiting list for any type of services. Nichole had been referred to Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) early in the summer and had received word she qualified. Nichole’s team contacted her VR counselor, who agreed to pay for the community-based work assessment at the bakery with the idea that if it worked well for her and the employer, she might be hired. Nichole’s family utilized Ravalli Services, a local employment services vendor, to oversee the assessment. Since the Ravalli Services Employment Consultant didn’t know Nichole as well as the school staff, they contracted with Carla, her school physical therapist, for job coaching.

Nichole worked an hour a day, three days per week, and was paid minimum wage (funded by VR as part of the assessment). Each work day, Nichole was given a list of assignments for that shift. Her job coach helped initially, but Nichole quickly learned how to complete the different tasks expected of her. She was responsible for stocking the coffee station with cream, sugars, cups, straws, napkins, etc. She also loaded the cooler with different types of drinks and made sure the chip dispenser was filled. As she learned what needed to be done in the bakery, Nichole gradually started to help in other ways and new tasks were added to her list.

The work assessment was successful in demonstrating Nichole’s ability to be employed and identified the kinds and levels of supports she needed. At this point, the bakery agreed to hire her. Nichole’s hours and duties stayed the same, but now she was an employee of the bakery. Her job coach (one of the school paraprofessionals since school was back in session) methodically faded supports. The job coach stayed on-site for a while, but remained in the background. She transported Nichole to and from work, but the natural supports provided the on-the-job assistance…just as for any other employee.

Over time Nichole’s enthusiasm for this particular position wore off. She and the employer mutually chose to end her employment. However, this first job proved extremely valuable in that the team learned a great deal more about Nichole, her capabilities, her needs, and how to support her on the job. Nichole gained practical work experience and earned wages for the first time in her life.

Another Assessment Opportunity:
At this point, Nichole and her family chose to work with MontanaWorks, another employment services vendor. In order to learn more about Nichole’s commitment to and interest in working, as well as her ability to stay with a job over a period of time, her new Employment Consultant, Susanne Meikle, joined Nichole and her family in advocating to VR that they should fund a second community-based work assessment. VR agreed and from January through June 2004, Nichole worked four hours per week at a local senior living center. She cleaned the tables after lunch, stocked them with cream, sugar, and condiments, and set the tables for supper. Previously, the center cook had been responsible for these duties; Nichole’s work freed some of the cook’s time to do ordering and other tasks.

This was an ideal employment environment for Nichole - calm, quiet, laid back, very few people coming and going during the day, and co-workers willing to provide natural supports. Susanne and Carla taught the school job coach to use systematic training techniques and supply the minimal support necessary. They also provided back-up for times when the school coach wasn’t able to be on-site. This training and support enabled Nichole to quickly learn to perform her job independently. She interacted with other staff and enjoyed the work. When the VR-funded assessment ended, the business wasn’t able to hire Nichole due to funding constraints. However, she had gained additional employment experience, earned wages, and secured a reference she could use when applying for jobs in the future.

Next Steps:
VR was unable to fund another community-based work assessment for Nichole. Due to her disability, Nichole has good days and bad days, and on the bad days she needs prompting to help her through her work routine. Because of this, VR determined her to be in need of long-term supports – a service for which she’ll have to wait until her name reaches the top of the waiting list. MontanaWorks offered some alternative suggestions for employment services: the family could pay out-of-pocket for follow-along employment supports or start using some of Nichole’s Habilitation Aide hours from the Child Development Center (CDC) to fund job development and/or supports through MontanaWorks. Once she turns 22 and ages out of CDC services, Nichole might be eligible for Community Supports dollars through the Developmental Disabilities Program; these funds can then be used to provide follow-along assistance to Nichole as she works in her community. In the meantime, Nichole’s family and team continue to pursue employment options.

Is Transition Planning Worth the Effort?
School and agency staff, as well as Nichole’s grandmother, Shirley, report that her work experiences have made a big difference in Nichole’s life. They’ve seen her undergo tremendous growth since she started working and succeeding outside the school walls, and this has translated into more meaningful educational goals and greater progress toward reaching those goals. After one of Nichole’s Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings, Shirley commented at how amazed and pleased she was to see that Nichole’s IEP had finally been changed to become more reflective of her interests and transition needs.

Nichole is motivated to find and keep a job – in fact, Shirley describes her as a “shopaholic” who “loves to spend money now.” She enjoys purchasing items off E-Bay and having money in her pocket. Shirley describes quite different reactions between Nichole’s first and second work experiences. It took Nichole much longer at the bakery to adjust to the environment and her responsibilities. Although she was very apprehensive about interviewing at the senior center, once she got past that initial fear and started the job, Nichole quickly became more comfortable and at ease, and was able to learn her duties with little assistance from the job coach. As Shirley notes, “Anything new is tough for Nichole. It takes time and multiple opportunities for her to relax and begin to find pleasure in what she’s doing. We need to allow students with disabilities to take little steps, sometimes lots of them, so they feel at ease and can settle into their new work routines.”

With sound planning efforts and dedicated team players, good job customization can take place and young people can make positive contributions to their places of employment. It is essential to start making linkages early, though, while students are still in school and have the benefit of entitlement services. Once they graduate, they enter the adult world of waiting lists and may not be able to receive the services they need to continue pursuing their employment dreams without interruption. Family members may be the only ones available to advocate for and coordinate essential supports. Nichole is motivated to work, she has experience under her belt and on her résumé, and her team has identified the kinds of on-the-job support she needs in order to succeed. For now, though, she waits for adult services to kick in. The job development and marketing team that worked so closely with her while she was in school is no longer available to her (at least until she becomes eligible for funding). Nichole and her family are still committed to the goal of community employment – a job where her interests and preferences are taken into account, her skills valued, and her support needs met. They caution other families, however, that the “bridge” from school to adult life is sometimes pretty shaky or nonexistent, and encourage maximum effort to obtain paid, customized employment before graduation, when school supports are still in place and can help families make transition as seamless as possible.

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Collaborative Funding And Team Roles - Who Did What?