By Lynn Moses

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can
change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
---Margaret Mead

Starting Transition Planning Early is Essential

“Today’s preparation determines tomorrow's achievement.”
--Author Unknown

When Zach was still in middle school in Stevensville, Montana, his school chose him to be one of five students to participate in Project WISER, a University of Montana Rural Institute transition project for students with disabilities. As part of WISER, the school would receive training and technical assistance on improving transition outcomes for students with significant disabilities. For Zach’s part, he would receive a Vocational Profile, an Employment Plan, an Employment Portfolio, and the development of customized work experiences that would ideally lead to real, paid employment in the community when he graduated from school. Starting transition planning early for students like Zach typically leads to better employment outcomes in the future.

Zach had his first school-based job when he was thirteen. He started making deliveries for the school latte cart as a part of the School-to-Work program. Zach’s transition team designed an additional school-based job for him in the school’s mailroom sorting mail based on what they learned about Zach by spending time with him and watching him work. This “Discovery process” led to a greater understanding of Zach’s interests, contributions, and support needs. The school and family worked collaboratively to complete Zach’s Vocational Profile. Over the next few years, Zach participated in other school-based jobs, but there still wasn’t a plan for community-based employment.

During his sophomore year in high school, the Bitterroot Valley Education Cooperative joined Zach’s transition team. Coop staff and the Rural Institute Project Coordinator worked collaboratively with Zach, his family, and Riverfront Mental Health Services to update his Vocational Profile. By the time his Employment Planning Meeting was held to develop the plan to get Zach a job, Zach’s team included himself, his parents, his teacher and a para-educator, his youth case manager and therapeutic aide from Riverfront, a Developmental Disabilities Case Manager, a Workforce Investment Act Youth Employment Coordinator, the Bitterroot Valley Education Cooperative Transition Liaison, his riding instructor from Danmore Stables, and the Rural Institute Transition Project Coordinator. The Employment Planning Meeting helped his team clarify Zach’s ideal working conditions, his preferences for types of employment, and his contributions. By the end of the meeting the team had a list of tasks that everyone felt Zach could perform and a list of employers that might need those tasks performed.

Zach’s First Paid Job

”Education is not a preparation for life ... education is life itself.”
-- John Dewey

Near the top of the list of employers generated from his Employment Planning Meeting was Danmore Stables, a local horseback riding facility. Zach had taken riding lessons there before and was interested in working in a familiar environment with some familiar tasks. The stable owner/riding instructor had even expressed an interest in hiring him in the past. She had attended Zach’s Employment Planning Meeting and participated in categorizing his ideal work situations; she agreed to meet with the job developer to further discuss how she could carve out tasks for Zach. As a result of that meeting, Danmore Stables hired him for the summer. Zach worked approximately 6-8 hours a week and was paid minimum wage to help clean tack, feed, and water the animals, “turn out” the horses, and help with other tasks as needed.

Zach has a lot to offer employers, but one of his prime assets is his excellent memory for information and details. He works best when he is treated respectfully and has someone available to ask questions if needed. The job coach explained Zach’s strengths and his support needs to Jan, his new supervisor at Danmore, thereby customizing the supports Jan would provide. Jan was then able to teach Zach his new tasks with “as necessary” assistance from the job coach. “I found him to be extremely detail-oriented,” Jan said. Zach learned the process of how to clean the tack and saddles from start to finish, which horses the tack belonged to, and the names of all the horses in about two days.

Zach had other support needs that were addressed with the stable before he started. For example, it is very important that Zach have a predictable routine and that he be informed of any changes in advance. It is also important for him to have tasks that only belong to him and to have clearly defined expectations. Jan was initially hired to be the Barn Manager and she didn’t have much experience working with students. The job coach encouraged Jan to find ways to help Zach be as independent as possible on the job. “It was very helpful having the job coach there at first—I was so ‘green’ as far as working with students with disabilities,” Jan reported. Once she was familiar with what Zach needed to be successful, she was able to provide those supports in a respectful way and to answer his questions. “I found him to be very flexible (and this is something she was told might be hard for Zach) as long as I presented the information in a calm way.” In this situation, because there was a good match between what Zach had to offer, what the employer needed, and how well Jan worked with Zach, the job coach was able to fade quickly from intensive job coaching and move to just checking in with Zach and the employer occasionally to make sure the job was still going well. Zach worked at the stable all summer.

Collaboration

“A successful team is a group of many hands but of one mind.”
-- Bill Bethel

Since the team knew the stable job would likely only last through the summer, they realized that it was time to recommence job development for school-year employment. Because school staff wouldn’t be working during the summer, the Riverfront mental health case manager became more involved and offered to work with the Rural Institute Project Coordinator to learn more about the process and to help Zach find a job. Toward the end of the summer, they began making job development calls, but kept running into the problem of lack of funding; agencies said they couldn’t afford to hire Zach at that time.

During Discovery, Zach’s team learned he had been very interested in law and law enforcement for several years. In his IEP meetings, he would state that being a policeman was his goal. Zach had participated in “ride-alongs” (where the student rides with officers as they respond to calls) and had toured the Ravalli County Sheriff’s Department and jail. At the beginning of the 2003-2004 school year, team members knew the time had come to develop a customized job for Zach with some type of law enforcement organization.

People unfamiliar with the option of customizing employment for individuals with disabilities had difficulty conceptualizing how someone could have a role in a police department if they couldn’t perform all the duties of a typical policeman. Zach heard more than once that his goal was unrealistic. Zach was now 17 and a high school junior. He acquired a new school case manager, Kathy, who was also interested in helping Zach find employment. Kathy was new to transition, but took immediate interest in the customization process. She joined the job development team on calls to employers whenever she could.

Because so many of the offices and agencies visited weren’t able to offer Zach even a few employment hours a week, the next step was to ask if they would be willing to serve as a work experience site. This would allow Zach to participate in some of the job duties for educational purposes over a limited time period. The team knew that job coaching would be covered by the school, but needed to find a way to pay Zach’s salary. Zach had already been referred to the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) Youth Program and was on the waiting list for a work experience (WIA can pay work experience wages for up to 250 hours), but that agency had recently experienced budget cuts and was unable to enroll any new students.

Midway through the first semester, Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) was contacted to see if they would conduct Zach’s VR intake a bit early so he could complete a paid work assessment with a law enforcement agency. VR agreed, and subsequently determined Zach eligible for a VR-funded work assessment. Zach and his family selected Ravalli Services, a local employment provider, to be the vendor to oversee the work assessment. After several job development calls, the Hamilton Police Department agreed they had some tasks they needed completed that matched what Zach had to offer.

Customized, Community-Based Assessments Give the Best Information About Performance

“Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work.”
—Aristotle

Zach started his work assessment at the police department in April 2004. Zach’s main task is assisting the officers by keeping the insides and outsides of the cars clean, something the officers often don’t have time to take care of themselves. (Cleaning, organizing, and quality control/inspecting were tasks that were identified at his Employment Planning Meeting – these matched the task of cleaning and maintaining the patrol cars.) Many of the officers have told Zach they really appreciate having a clean car to work with. On days when the weather isn’t as good or there aren’t any cars to maintain, he works in the office shredding paper or making copies. (Making copies had also been identified as a potential task he could complete for an employer.)

Zach still has so much more he could offer an employer - his team identified numerous additional tasks at his Employment Planning Meeting. These include such things as sorting, delivering, taking pictures, stocking, doing inventory, and handling various assignments on a computer. Bob Nicholls from Ravalli Services is working with the staff at the police department to identify other unmet needs. It is important for Bob to observe Zach doing a variety of tasks in a variety of situations so that he can accurately assess Zach’s contributions and potential support needs. For example, it was initially believed that Zach needed a very structured, unchanging schedule because change was frustrating for him and would impact his performance of job duties. Now it has become clear that Zach is actually quite flexible. The best strategy remains to give Zach as much warning as possible when the schedule is going to change, but even when he doesn’t know ahead of time, he is able to adapt well to the new schedule or tasks that he needs to perform.

VR is funding the wages for the work assessment (Ravalli Services actually cuts the check for Zach through their payroll system). The Stevensville School is providing transportation and some initial job coaching. Ravalli Services is providing some job coach mentoring to the school, will oversee the assessment, and complete the final report. Because this was designed to be a short-term work assessment, the team was careful to make sure Zach knew how long he would be employed at the police department so he won’t be disappointed when the assessment period ends.

The Future and Dreams

“Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die,
life is a broken winged bird that cannot fly.”
-- Langston Hughes

The next step for Zach’s team is to help him find his dream job, a job that matches who he is and what he is interested in, utilizes the unique contributions he brings to an employment setting, and features an employer willing to tailor duties and supports to address Zach’s unique needs. He must have a plan that will help him transition from the school life he knows now into the adult working life that will be a reality for him in just one year.

After his work assessment is successfully completed, Zach will be eligible for Job Placement Services through VR. Since he is still in school, the opportunity for continued collaboration between the family, the school, and the adult agencies is ideal for helping him find meaningful, customized employment before he graduates. Zach’s mother, Jeanette, reflected on her son’s team, “All of the people who have been working with Zach have done a great job. There has been one agency after another. We couldn’t do it by ourselves.”

When Zach turns 18 he will be eligible for Supplemental Security Income. If he is working upon graduation, he will also be eligible for a PASS plan that could support his employment goals.

For most people who know Zach well, they would probably agree that his dream job would still involve working in the field of law enforcement or agriculture. In a setting that he enjoys and using his gifts, Zach will make a wonderful employee. He just needs the support of his transition team to help him find “The Job.”

“How long should you try? Until.”
-- Jim Rohn

Note: The Bitterroot Valley Education Cooperative was the Year Two WISER and the Year One Linkages site. The Coop has had physical and occupational therapists, as well as mental health staff trained in the customized model to enable them to assist their schools in supporting successful transition.

---

Collaborative Funding And Team Roles - Who Did What?