Introduction to Supported Employment

The trainee will gain knowledge of:

• the factors which led to the emergence of supported employment, the difference between supported employment and traditional vocational services and the unique characteristics of supported employment.
• the values that are contained in the legal definitions of supported employment.
• the history of the employment of people with disabilities.
• the importance of social inclusion in the facilitation of supported employment.
• the impact of legislation and regulations affecting supported employment.
• available funding, eligibility and rights for supported employment services.
• the role of the employment specialist, family and friends, and employers in providing and facilitating supported employment opportunities.
• the process of supported employment, including career planning, job development, work support, and career advancement.
• how work incentives can be used to maximize social security benefits and minimize loss of insurance and financial support.

Tools of Supported Employment

The trainee will gain knowledge of:

Career Planning

• the importance of and the techniques to use in supporting each job seeker to self-determine their career planning
• the critical aspects of an individual's life that relate to the development of a successful career
• the basic process of personal futures planning, developing circles of support, and their relationship to career planning
• how to understand and support family needs in supported employment
• the techniques of developing a personal career profile, a desired personal career future statement, and a functional career plan for an individual

Marketing & Job Development

• how to design a basic marketing plan for job development services to employers.
• the ways to develop effective working relationships with employers.
• how to develop jobs through personal relationships and targeted networking.
• how to be comfortable with face-to-face interactions with an employer and act as a resource for competent, reliable labor while representing individuals with disabilities.
• how to help job seekers make informed choices about disclosing their disability to an employer.
• how to act as a facilitator of matching workers with career goals to employers with labor needs.
• the work incentive provisions available to employers for hiring employees with disabilities.

Job Support and Training

• the elements of a comprehensive job analysis.
• the use of job carving as a work design strategy.
• key social components of job design.
• how to develop on-the-job training strategies.
• strategies for developing natural supports on the job.
• ways of analyzing work cultures to better understand social relationships at the worksite.
• the features of job design and support related to the Americans with Disabilities Act's mandate for reasonable accommodations for workers with disabilities.
• techniques of facilitating coworker-supported training.
• the use of systematic training, including task analysis, natural cues and reinforcers, error correction procedures, and self-instruction techniques.
• how to build support so human service support is minimized through fading.