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CMHA Waterloo Wellington Dufferin. Presentation January 21, 2014. www.cmhawwd.ca. CMHA Waterloo Wellington Dufferin Assessment to Outcome: Working with People with Disabilities CANNEXUS 2014. www.cmhawwd.ca. Introductions.
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CMHA Waterloo Wellington Dufferin Presentation January 21, 2014 www.cmhawwd.ca
CMHA Waterloo Wellington Dufferin Assessment to Outcome: Working with People with Disabilities CANNEXUS 2014 www.cmhawwd.ca
Introductions • Sally Michener Potts – team lead for Bridging Employment Supports and Links to Work • Stephanie Jenkins Moss – employment counselor and planner with Bridging Employment Supports • Thea Trussler – referral coordinator with Bridging Employment Supports • 3 www.cmhawwd.ca
Bridging Employment Supports • Canadian Mental Health Association, Waterloo, Wellington, Dufferin • We are an Employment Ontario initiative under the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities • We are a service that supports individuals with physical, learning and/or mental health disabilities return to meaningful and sustainable employment • 4 www.cmhawwd.ca
Individuals must be work ready, have recent contact with the work force (e.g. three years) and a minimum age of 16 • Bridging Employment Supports is a specialty service and often partners with other agencies in various capacities from consultation to funding assessments • 5 www.cmhawwd.ca
Agenda for today 15 minute introduction to our intake and referral services by Thea Trussler 20 minute overview of our in depth planning process with Stephanie Jenkins Moss 15-20 minute break away to discuss real life scenarios 15 minutes to share group findings Question and answer period 6 www.cmhawwd.ca
Specialty service As a specialty service for individuals living with disabilities, we are able to purchase a variety of assessments including: Functional ability evaluations Psychological assessments including psycho-vocational, psycho-educational and neuro-psychological 7 www.cmhawwd.ca
Initial assessment & appropriate referrals Initial conversation to encourage the individual to share their story through prompting questions such as: • “tell me what brought you to our services” • “what is the common challenge for you in the workplace?” • “how was your experience in school?” • “what do you identify as your disabilities or barriers to work?” • 8 www.cmhawwd.ca
Look, listen and ask for more than their employment story • To effectively support an individual with disabilities one must ask about their life. • The goal is to find meaningful and sustainable employment. • It is important to find the right match for both training and employment goals to ensure sustainability • Allow for time in an initial meeting to help establish a relationship. • 9 www.cmhawwd.ca
Questions to consider • Housing situation? • Social support network or isolated? • Legal supports needed? • Is there a criminal record for which a pardon has not been granted? • Do they have a family doctor? • Counseling or emotional supports? • Financial or debt counseling? • Have they had any formal assessments done? • 10 www.cmhawwd.ca
Referral process • Determine if the individual requires assessments and where those can be completed • Do you require more information…are they suited to services in your agency or somewhere else? Is employment or training at the top of their list • 11 www.cmhawwd.ca
Are they ready for job development with a clear job goal or do they require in depth planning to explore options including potential training? • Who is the best service provider for job development and can you partner with other service providers to heighten success potential? • 12 www.cmhawwd.ca
Seamless transitions • Ideal to transfer an individual to other services and departments with you in attendance for that first meeting • Flow of information with signed consents to share information • Be available for communicating after a transfer …an individual may not share everything with each person • 13 www.cmhawwd.ca
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In Depth Planning Process • The person’s barriers may impede success for direct job entry • Upgrading or training may be the next step • In depth planning takes a holistic approach to their training and employment goals • Remember: You are key to assisting a person to find meaningful and sustainable work…take the time required • 15 www.cmhawwd.ca
Planning Template Areas to explore ideally should include: Education experience Work/volunteer/transferrable skills Interests, talents and values Employment vision as they now imagine it Current life circumstances Employment goal with barriers and solutions Labour market research 16 www.cmhawwd.ca
Functional Abilities Evaluation • Video: Functional abilities evaluation • This is an example of one of the many assessments one can consider for persons with disabilities. • This video demonstrates testing someone’s physical abilities to perform many daily tasks • 17 www.cmhawwd.ca
Assessments • Discussions during meetings may indicate an assessment would be helpful • Struggles with learning, mental or physical health are important to explore further • Provides documented clarification for the individual and planner on how to move forward • 18 www.cmhawwd.ca
Internal assessments can be done such as the STRONG, or Myers Briggs, Interest Inventory • External assessments can include language benchmarks, literacy, numeracy • An assessment is a tool that can increase a person’s opportunity for success • 19 www.cmhawwd.ca
Psychological Assessments • Video: Psychological assessments • This is a video outlining what benefits and uses a psychological vocational, psychological educational and psychological assessments can be • Psychological assessments can possibly be funded through your organization or seek funding options within your community • 20 www.cmhawwd.ca
Employment Action Plan • Now is the time to create the to do list with the individual • Create time lines and commitments • Set realistic goals to be adjusted if task is beyond the individual’s abilities • Ensure all assessments are completed with the employment/education goal in mind and they are aligned as realistic • 21 www.cmhawwd.ca
Next Steps Typical paths for a participant: Connect with an employment service to implement Employment Action Plan Apply for training funds Acknowledgement that withdrawal from labour market can be viewed as a success 22 www.cmhawwd.ca
Participants supported through each step of their journey until closure of file • The individual is now moving ahead on their own • 23 www.cmhawwd.ca