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Development of a Four Way Partnership Providing AT Services to Farmers with Disabilities

Development of a Four Way Partnership Providing AT Services to Farmers with Disabilities. Presented at National Training Workshop AgrAbility Program October 29 – November 1, 2007. AgrAbility of Wisconsin Partners UW-Extension: Cally Ehle, Ron Schuler

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Development of a Four Way Partnership Providing AT Services to Farmers with Disabilities

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  1. Development of a Four Way Partnership Providing AT Services to Farmers with Disabilities Presented at National Training Workshop AgrAbility Program October 29 – November 1, 2007 AgrAbility of Wisconsin Partners UW-Extension: Cally Ehle, Ron Schuler Easter Seals FARM Program: Holly Allen, Melba Brown, T Ellenbecker, Judith Guttman, Jeff Kratochwill, Paul Leverenz, Bruce Whitmore WI Div. Voc. Rehab.: Manuel Lugo and DVR Supervisors and Counselors WI Farm Center: Paul Dettman, Roger James, and CAP staff

  2. Goals of this session • Share partnership experiences • Provide ideas which may be used to strengthen your partnership • Learn details of one partnership that focused on providing direct assistance to farmers • Provide tools to gain (more) involvement of a state vocational rehabilitation agency in the AgrAbility partnership

  3. What determines a successful partnership with respect to serving farmers/ranchers with disabilities • Establishing challenging goals jointly • Providing information and referral to 100 farmers and ranchers • Providing farm assessment to 50 new clients • Providing VR services to 25 clients • Meeting those goals together • Knowing your partners-capabilities and limitations • Sharing successes • Sharing failures • Appearing to be a single organization to the farmers and ranchers served (They may compliment or criticize the incorrect organization.) • Establishing good communication

  4. Communication The greatest problem in communication is the illusion that it has been accomplished. George Bernard Shaw

  5. Outline • Chronology of events since 1990 • Relationship building • DVR training and its evaluation • Client surveys • Awards and recognition

  6. Chronology • 1990 • Initiate services to farmers with disabilities (Easter Seals and UW-Extension) • Establish an advisory committee (meet annually face to face) • 1991 • Awarded USDA-CSREES Education and Assistance to Farmers with Disabilities project • Placed on the DVR Approved Provider List for serving people with disabilities-Easter Seals ( $60/hr, 2 hr min, $30/hr office work, mileage over 25 miles) • 1992 • Received four referrals from DVR • Received Kraft Dairy Grant • 1993 • Received $62,723 in AT support for AgrAbility clients • Established semiannual meetings with state DVR staff • 1994 • Awarded USDA-CSREES Education and Assistance to Farmers with Disabilities project • 1995 • Established $1500/client fee for service (DVR and Easter Seals Wisconsin) • Developed farm assessment report (primary product of farm assessment)

  7. Farm Assessment Report: • Report: • identifies specific problems areas, • offers recommended solutions, • identifies appropriate vendors, • provides estimated costs • Average 40 hrs/client • Twenty hours for each hour on the farm • Five to ten hours development/research information for report (getting cost information and bids for items over $1500- WI requirement) • Five hours to prepare report, 20 to 60 pages in length

  8. Chronology • 1990 • Initiate services to farmers with disabilities (Easter Seals and UW-Extension) • Establish an advisory committee • 1991 • Awarded USDA-CSREES Education and Assistance to Farmers with Disabilities project • Placed on the DVR Approved Provider List for serving people with disabilities-Easter Seals ( $60/hr, 2 hr min, $30/hr office work, mileage over 25 miles) • 1992 • Received four referrals from DVR • Received Kraft Dairy Grant • 1993 • Received $62,723 in AT support for AgrAbility clients • Established semiannual meetings with state DVR staff • 1994 • Awarded USDA-CSREES Education and Assistance to Farmers with Disabilities project • 1995 • Established $1500/client fee for service • Developed farm assessment report

  9. Chronology • 1990 • Initiate services to farmers with disabilities (Easter Seals and UW-Extension) • Establish an advisory committee • 1991 • Awarded USDA-CSREES Education and Assistance to Farmers with Disabilities project • Placed on the DVR Approved Provider List for serving people with disabilities-Easter Seals ( $60/hr, 2 hr min, $30/hr office work, mileage over 25 miles) • 1992 • Received four referrals from DVR • Received Kraft Dairy Grant • 1993 • Received $62,723 in AT support for AgrAbility clients • Established semiannual meetings with state DVR staff • 1994 • Awarded USDA-CSREES Education and Assistance to Farmers with Disabilities project • 1995 • Established $1500/client fee for service • Developed farm assessment report • 1996 • Conducted three question DVR Survey (learn more about DVR)

  10. Survey of DVR staff in 1996 AgrAbility(Easter Seals) provides: • Farm site assessments-job accommodations, task analysis, job restructuring • Farm site assessment report, described earlier Three questions • Surveyed Workforce Development Area (WDA) office • How many clients do you work with in a year who have been, are, or would like to be employed in agricultural production? • Of these clients, how many per year do you believe would benefit from the services offered by the Easter Seal Resource Center for Farmers with Disabilities?

  11. 1996 DVR Survey Results • Responses received from 26 offices • 198 clients would like to work in agriculture • 119 clients would benefit from AgrAbility • 4000 DVR clients of all areas served per year • Result: DVR and AgrAbility staff became aware of the number of DVR clients who were farmers

  12. Chronology Continued • 1998 • Awarded USDA-CSREES Education and Assistance to Farmers with Disabilities project • Contact 25 % of the WI DVR Counselors • Initiated the AgrAbility client satisfaction surveys for closed cases

  13. AgrAbility Client Satisfaction SurveyDescription • Purpose: • Obtain outcome of AgrAbility services provided • Obtain information for improving services • Annually surveyed clients whose cases were closed during the AgrAbility budget year (1998 - Present) • The Dillman mail process was used in administering the survey

  14. AgrAbility Client Satisfaction Survey • 815 surveys mailed from 1998-2007 • 340 clients responded to survey • 227 (66.8%) clients can do farm work better or more easily than before working with AAW • 185 (54.4%) clients continue farming operation in part or whole – without that help I would not have been able to do so. • 10 (2.9%) clients continue to live on farm but are successfully employed in another occupation • Many positive and appreciative comments were also provided about all three partners • Some not so positive responses were provided about all three partners which provided opportunities to improve • Many clients volunteered to be members of the Farmers Network

  15. Chronology Continued • 1998 • Awarded USDA-CSREES Education and Assistance to Farmers with Disabilities project • Contact 25 % of the WI DVR Counselors • Initiated the AgrAbility client satisfaction surveys for closed cases

  16. Chronology Continued • 1998 • Awarded USDA-CSREES Education and Assistance to Farmers with Disabilities project • Initiated the AgrAbility client satisfaction surveys for closed cases • Contact 25 % of the WI DVR Counselors • 1999 • Contact another 25 % of the WI DVR Counselors • Holly Allen impact study of AgrAbility clients

  17. Holly Allen Impact Study • Goals: • Evaluate programs that serve farmers with disabilities • Determine issues that farmers with disabilities commonly face • Survey population – 413 former AgrAbility clients • Dillman mail system was used to conduct the survey

  18. Results of Holly Allen’s Study • Respondents – 67.1 % • Respondents received services from AgrAbility – 83.7 % • Respondents received services from DVR – 57.8 % • Respondents received services from UW-Extension – 15.0 %

  19. Results of Holly Allen’s Study Assistance provided: • Equipment – 70.0 % • Funding – 60.0 % • Building/equipment modification – 42.1 % • Information and referral – 30.7 % • Counseling and emotional support – 25.0 %

  20. Chronology Continued • 1998 • Awarded USDA-CSREES Education and Assistance to Farmers with Disabilities project • Initiated the AgrAbility client satisfaction surveys for closed cases • Contact 25 % of the WI DVR Counselors • 1999 • Contact another 25 % of the WI DVR Counselors • Holly Allen impact study of AgrAbility clients

  21. Chronology Continued • 1998 • Awarded USDA-CSREES Education and Assistance to Farmers with Disabilities project • Initiated the AgrAbility client satisfaction surveys for closed cases • Contact 25 % of the WI DVR Counselors • 1999 • Contact another 25 % of the WI DVR Counselors • Holly Allen impact study of AgrAbility clients • 2000 • Contact another 25 % of the WI DVR Counselors

  22. Chronology Continued • 1998 • Awarded USDA-CSREES Education and Assistance to Farmers with Disabilities project • Initiated the AgrAbility client satisfaction surveys for closed cases • Contact 25 % of the WI DVR Counselors • 1999 • Contact another 25 % of the WI DVR Counselors • Holly Allen impact study of AgrAbility clients • 2000 • Contact another 25 % of the WI DVR Counselors • 2001 • Contact final 25 % of the WI DVR Counselors

  23. Chronology Continued • 1998 • Awarded USDA-CSREES Education and Assistance to Farmers with Disabilities project • Initiated the AgrAbility client satisfaction surveys for closed cases • Contact 25 % of the WI DVR Counselors • 1999 • Contact another 25 % of the WI DVR Counselors • Holly Allen impact study of AgrAbility clients • 2000 • Contact another 25 % of the WI DVR Counselors • 2001 • Contact final 25 % of the WI DVR Counselors • 2002 • Awarded USDA-CSREES AgrAbility project • Received training and evaluation grant from WI DVR (Easter Seals)

  24. DVR Staff Training 2002 Agreement with DVR Expected outcomes • Expand the availability of vocational rehabilitation services to Wisconsin farmers • Conduct outreach activities for DVR counselors and other staff • Improve and expand services customized for WI farmers • Train a minimum of 200 DVR staff in: • Viability of farming as a occupation • Most effective use of customized vocational rehabilitation services Four trainings were conducted • Introduction to FARM program and rehabilitation service for farmers • Applications of alternative agriculture to operations of farmers with disabilities and process for managing clients • Two on-farm trainings dealing with on-farm assessments and DVR relationship building with FARM program

  25. Chronology Continued • 1998 • Awarded USDA-CSREES Education and Assistance to Farmers with Disabilities project • Initiated the AgrAbility client satisfaction surveys for closed cases • Contact 25 % of the WI DVR Counselors • 1999 • Contact another 25 % of the WI DVR Counselors • Holly Allen impact study of AgrAbility clients • 2000 • Contact another 25 % of the WI DVR Counselors • 2001 • Contact final 25 % of the WI DVR Counselors • 2002 • Awarded USDA-CSREES AgrAbility project • Received training and evaluation grant from WI DVR (Easter Seals)

  26. Chronology Continued • 1998 • Awarded USDA-CSREES Education and Assistance to Farmers with Disabilities project • Initiated the AgrAbility client satisfaction surveys for closed cases • Contact 25 % of the WI DVR Counselors • 1999 • Contact another 25 % of the WI DVR Counselors • Holly Allen impact study of AgrAbility clients • 2000 • Contact another 25 % of the WI DVR Counselors • 2001 • Contact final 25 % of the WI DVR Counselors • 2002 • Awarded USDA-CSREES AgrAbility project • Received training and evaluation grant from WI DVR (Easter Seals) • Established new fee for service with DVR ($2500/client) • Initiated first set of trainings for DVR counselors

  27. Initial DVR training 2002 • Training objectives • Provide information about AT for farmers with disabilities • Create an awareness of vocational rehabilitation service opportunities for farmers • Create an awareness of the importance of farming in the local and state economy • Training was conducted in nine Workforce Development Areas (WDA’s) • DVR staff provided responses - 94

  28. Initial Training Results 2002 What is your impression of farming with a disability? Prior After Sounds dangerous 0 % 0 % Physical demands too great 10 % 0 % Might be possible, will not last 20 % 5 % Very possible 70 % 95 %

  29. Initial Training Results 2002 • What is the role of the farm economy in WI? PriorAfter Does not have role in my community 19 % 2 % Does not have major role in WI 4 % 0 % Is important but mostly dairy 41 % 5 % Aware of the range of farm products 36 % 93 %

  30. Initial Training Results 2002 Prior to the training: • Did you know about the Easter Seals/DVR partnership? • Not aware of Farm program – 11 % • Had heard about the program – 40 % • Knew about the partnership – 49 % • Did you know about AgrAbility Easter Seals program? • Never heard of it – 5 % • Heard about it but no contact – 34 % • Familiar about program, no contact – 17 % • Familiar about program, worked with them – 43 % • Did you understand purpose of partnership? • Unfamiliar – 23 % • Somewhat familiar – 37 % • Quite familiar – 20 % • Very familiar – 20 %

  31. Chronology Continued • 2003 • Initiated DVR client satisfaction survey (4 questions)

  32. DVR Satisfaction Survey Description • Clients received survey instruments 60 to 90 days after a farm assessment was completed by AgrAbility-Easter Seals staff • Monthly the surveys were mailed • Surveys returned - 55

  33. DVR Satisfaction Survey Results • Clients rate the services as good or very good – 95 % • Clients ‘strongly agree’ or ‘agree’ the staff was knowledgeable about accommodating a disability in agriculture – 88 % • Clients ‘strongly agree’ or ‘agree’ staff helped them better understand the impact of the disability – 93 % • Clients ‘strongly agree’ or ‘agree’ the staff provided needed information – 94 % • Nearly all comments were positive or respondents greatly appreciated the program • DVR concern: The survey focused on the Easter Seals staff and little information was gained on the DVR staff

  34. Chronology Continued • 2003 • Initiated DVR client satisfaction survey (4 questions)

  35. Chronology Continued • 2003 • Initiated DVR client satisfaction survey (4 questions) • Conducted on alternative agr./FARM process training for DVR

  36. Description of Alternative Agr training Purposes of training: • Provide an understanding of the client management process between DVR and FARM program • Provide understanding why and when alternative agriculture practices maybe useful for farmers • Become familiar with alternative agricultural resources Training was conducted in 10 WDA’s Surveys returned - 131

  37. Client Process: • DVR Counselor sends Purchase Order to AgrAbility-Easter Seals Staff • AgrAbility-Easter Seals conducts on-farm assessment • A statement of findings is sent to counselor from AgrAbility-Easter Seals • A Report is sent to the DVR Counselor from AgrAbility-Easter Seals • The Counselor sets an appointment to review Report on the farm with the farmer and AgrAbility-Easter Seals • Roles are assigned to achieve the goals

  38. Results of Alternative Agriculture training • Understand the correct order of the client processing step – 74 % • Understand the potential of alternative agriculture for farmers with disabilities – 94 % • ‘Strongly agree’ or ‘agree’ they know where to find information on alternative agriculture – 99 % • ‘Strongly agree’ or ‘agree’ they know where to go for assistance in determining financial viability of farms – 95 %

  39. Chronology Continued • 2003 • Initiated DVR client satisfaction survey (4 questions) • Conducted on alternative agr./FARM process training for DVR

  40. Chronology Continued • 2003 • Initiated DVR client satisfaction survey (4 questions) • Conducted on alternative agr./FARM process training for DVR • 2004 • Conducted on-farm training for DVR staff

  41. Description of on-farm training • Purpose: • Gain a better understanding of successful vocational rehabilitation practices for farmers • Become aware of the tasks completed by farmers on a routine basis • Become familiar with AgrAbility- Easter Seals farm assessment report • Surveys returned – 133 • Training was conducted in all 11 WDA’s

  42. Results of DVR On-farm Survey -2003-04 • Feel they have a better understanding of farmer’s view of accessing DVR services – 95 % • Have a better sense of how farmers access the DVR resources – 93 % • Have a better understanding of farming as a series of tasks, rather than a single job – 96 % • Respondents feel that the Easter Seals program reports are • ‘just right’ in length – 94 % • ‘just right’ in terms of detail – 92% • Understand how the Easter Seals program creates the plans/reports – 98 % • Expressed the importance to followup with farm clients to ensure the equipment meets the farmer’s need – 96 %

  43. Chronology Continued • 2003 • Initiated DVR client satisfaction survey (4 questions) • Conducted on alternative agr./FARM process training for DVR • 2004 • Conducted on-farm training for DVR staff

  44. Chronology Continued • 2003 • Initiated DVR client satisfaction survey (4 questions) • Conducted on alternative agr./FARM process training for DVR • 2004 • Conducted on-farm training for DVR staff • 2005 • Revised DVR client satisfaction survey(7 questions)

  45. Description of revised DVR satisfaction survey • Survey was designed to provide more information about the DVR counselor support and relationship with AgrAbility-Easter Seals Staff • Clients received survey instruments 60 to 90 days after a farm assessment was completed by AgrAbility-Easter Seals staff • Monthly the surveys were mailed to the clients • Surveys returned - 114

  46. DVR Satisfaction survey results • ‘Strongly agree’ or ‘agree’ that: • AgrAbility-Easter Seals program staff understood disability issues as they relate to farming – 97 % • AgrAbility-Easter Seals program staff listened to my needs and desires – 94 % • I was satisfied with my involvement in the process – 87 % • DVR counselor and AgrAbility-Easter Seals staff worked as a team – 88 % • DVR counselor allowed some or complete control to change or add information to the plan – 78 %

  47. DVR Satisfaction survey results, continued • DVR Counselor permitted flexibility to make purchasing decision – 78 % • How do you think your DVR plan is working? • A good match – 57 % • Some things work right – 25 % • Isn’t working – 5 % • Not enough time to tell – 13 % • Is the equipment working as you hoped? • Working well – 61 % • Working okay – 15 % • Does not work well – 1 % • Have not been able to use – 19 % • No opinion – 4 %

  48. DVR Satisfaction survey results, continued It is easier to complete chores and tasks around the farm: • Strongly agree – 64 % • Agree – 18 % • Neither agree or disagree – 4 % • Strongly disagree – 7 % • No opinion – 7 %

  49. Chronology Continued • 2003 • Initiated DVR client satisfaction survey (4 questions) • Conducted on alternative agr./FARM process training for DVR • 2004 • Conducted on-farm training for DVR staff • 2005 • Revised DVR client satisfaction survey(7 questions)

  50. Chronology Continued • 2003 • Initiated DVR client satisfaction survey (4 questions) • Conducted on alternative agr./FARM process training for DVR • 2004 • Conducted on-farm training for DVR staff • 2005 • Revised DVR client satisfaction survey(7 questions) • Conducted second on-farm training for DVR staff

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