Customized Wage & Self Employment

1. Customized Wage & Self Employment Molly Sullivan, Associate Griffin-Hammis Associates START-UP USA msullivan@griffinhammis.com 503-703-3650

2. Customized Employment • What is customized employment • What are the steps of customized employment

3. What the Numbers tell us about Employment

4. Evolution of Employment Services • Old way of thinking: • People with disabilities can’t work, don’t have viable skills to contribute in a job • Sheltered Workshops/Day Activity Centers • New way of thinking: • People with disabilities have skills and abilities to contribute in a job that is beneficial to the employer • Supported Employment • Customized Employment

5. What is Customized Employment? Basic Concept: • Individualizing employment relationship • Individualized determination of interests, strengths & needs of the person • Individualized determination of employer’s needs • Matching the two to create a mutually beneficial relationship

6. What is Customized Employment? ADDITIONAL CHARACTERISTICS: • Starts with information about job seekers • Methods may include; job carving, entrepreneurship, other job development techniques • Negotiations with employer

7. What is Customized Employment? ADDITIONAL CHARACTERISTICS: • Occurs in integrated environments • Results in pay at least prevailing wage (no subminimum wage) • Utilizing multiple funding sources to provide supports

8. What are the steps of Customized Employment? • Create a blueprint for employment • Assistance, not assessment • Discover interests, strengths & conditions for employment • Summarize findings and identify task list and environment , wage or self-employment

9. What are the steps of Customized Employment? • Job/Business development • Network—(wage employment) get to know business community to identify possibilities, (self-employment) get to know market, customers and competition to develop business plan • Negotiate—(wage employment) once a potential match is identified, negotiate with employer to determine if, (self employment) for business plan development negotiate location, suppliers, contracts, etc

10. What are the steps of Customized Employment • Job Training Plan and Resource Plan • Identify training supports, tools/equipment/start-up expenses, other supports person will need and costs associated • Identify funding possibilities and who to seek help for what with

11. What are the steps of Customized Employment • Secure funding and Implement • Submit requests for funding • Receive funding • Implement

12. Resources on Customized Employment • Department of Labor Office of Disability Employment Policy • www.dol.gov/odep • Self-Employment Technical Assistance, Resource and Training (START-UP USA) • www.start-up-usa.biz • National Center on Workforce and Disability • www.onestops.info

13. Resources on Customized Employment • University of Montana, Rural Institute Transition Projects • http://ruralinstitute.umt.edu/transition/ • Griffin-Hammis Associates • www.griffinhammis.com/customized_employ.asp# • Training and Technical Assistance for Provider • www.t-tap.org/strategies/factsheet/ceqa.html