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January/February 2010 IssueAsk the NavigatorSubmitted by Margaret Mulligan Q: I’m looking for training about employment and people with disabilities. Money and time are tight. Any suggestions? A: Yes! JAN, the Job Accommodation Network, has recently posted its 2010 schedule. No need to leave your office or open a checkbook! These 1-hour webinars are offered at no cost, and JAN webinar registration is quick and easy! I recommend you sign up early, as there are a limited number of spaces and they usually go quickly. Sign up for one or for all! February 9, 2010 - Current Events in Accommodations March 9, 2010 - Accommodation Ideas for Employees with Traumatic Brain Injuries April 13, 2010 - Employer Best Practices May 11, 2010 - Accommodations for Individuals with Mental Health Impairments June 8, 2010 - Assistive Technology Update July 13, 2010 - ADA Update August 10, 2010 - Employer Best Practices Don’t forget that your Navigator is still around and available to provide training and technical assistance! Also, check our Calendar of Events for additional training opportunities. Have a question for the Navigator? Submit it to navigator@mdworkforcepromise.org. New Resources for BusinessesSubmitted by Leigh Jones Accommodating Employees in STEM Fields Poster Series Tax Incentives
Work Opportunity Tax Credit Website Essential Workplace Skills Webinar SeriesSubmitted by Sara Muempfer In April of 2008, the Office of Disability Employment Policy, U.S. Department of Labor provided the Maryland Department of Disabilities (MDOD) with grant funding to participate in The National Technical Assistance and Research Leadership Center to Promote Employment and Economic Independence for Adults with Disabilities (NTAR Leadership Center). NTAR is part of a national effort to improve employment for adults with disabilities. In addition to receiving leadership guidance, technical assistance and resources through NTAR participation, MDOD provided Harford Community College with funding to create a series of 6 webinars focused on essential workplace skills. These webinar trainings will work towards increasing the success of employed individuals with disabilities and are available at no cost. Below are the dates and topics that will be covered in the Essential Workplace Skills webinar series. All of the webinars will be from noon - 1 p.m. January 22, 2010 - Communication of Accommodation Concerns January 28, 2010 - Effective Interpersonal & Communication Skills February 12, 2010 - Resolving Conflict for Job Success February 23, 2010 - Human Resources, Your Supervisor and You Part I February 25, 2010 - Human Resources, Your Supervisor and You Part II TBD - Strategies for Overcoming Barriers to Employment Success March 11, 2010 - Goal Setting for Job Retention & Advancement Through Maryland’s Community College network, this series will be made available to businesses interested in providing this training to their existing workforce, to include employees with and without disabilities. In addition, these trainings will be marketed to the workforce development community for utilization in One-Stop Career Centers, Division of Rehabilitation Services field offices, community service providers, community college career services offices and other interested organizations who would like to provide their job seekers with Essential Workplace Skills training. Webinars will be archived for future use. To register for one or all of the webinars, visit mdodevents.webex.com and click on “register” next to the title of the webinar you wish to attend. For more information regarding this webinar series, visit MDOD's website or contact Sara Muempfer (smuempfer@dllr.state.md.us or 443-248-3583). No Spare Marylander: Anne Arundel CountySubmitted by Sara Muempfer On December 16, 2009, the Maryland Department of Disabilities (MDOD) and the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation (DLLR) held the latest “No Spare Marylander” Workshop for job seekers with disabilities at the Anne Arundel Community College in Arnold, MD. This full day Workshop was a collaborative effort between the staff of the Anne Arundel Workforce Development Corporation (AAWDC), DLLR, MDOD, Maryland’s Disability Program Navigators, and the Division of Rehabilitation Services. In addition, Anne Arundel County community members and the Executive Director of the Eastern Shore Business Leadership Network participated in Workshop panel presentations and break-out sessions. Executive Director of the AAWDC, Kirkland Murray, welcomed Workshop participants and provided the group with a brief economic overview of the Anne Arundel County region; to include the many, diverse job opportunities due to Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) at Ft. George G. Meade. Next, MDOD Secretary Catherine Raggio led personal discussions with each of the Workshop participants about their perceptions, goals and ideas about employment. George Failla, Deputy Secretary Director of MDOD, led an interactive “Jeopardy” game about the history and timeline of disability laws and their important impact upon employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities. Following this discussion, three employed individuals with disabilities shared their personal success stories. All of these individuals showcased each of their unique personal histories and how they used resources, tools and plain old perseverance to achieve their goals. During lunch, a panel consisting of local agency leaders talked about Workforce Center, DORS and Benefits Counseling services for people with disabilities within their respective agencies. In addition, participants were informed about the Schedule A hiring authority that assists job seekers with disabilities to potentially obtain federal employment noncompetitively. Finally, the Executive Director of the Eastern Shore Business Leadership Network, a business-led organization working to increase employment opportunities of individuals with disabilities on the Eastern Shore, spoke to Workshop participants about employer expectations, helpful hints in landing a job, and tips to keeping a job. The afternoon activities consisted of break-out sessions to include a “ready-to-go” resume, federal job application and employment education and tips, mock interviews and benefits counseling for job seekers wanting to work while maintaining health benefits. Participants walked away from the Workshop energized to continue their job search… with a flash drive to include their updated resume and several other job readiness resources and a professional portfolio to keep track of their job search documents. March/April 2010 IssueSubmitted by Margaret Mulligan Q: I’m fairly new at my One-Stop and was happy to discover this newsletter! I’d like to gather some resources for our customers with disabilities. What are your thoughts on that? A: Excellent idea! And we can make that very easy for you. Have you visited our website? You can find us at www.mdworkforcepromise.og. Here you will find lots of great information, including a series of fact sheets for jobseekers with disabilities. You can order hard copies of the fact sheets direct from the Maryland Department of Disabilities (MDOD). They are free of charge, printed on nice glossy paper, and will be shipped right to your door! Print out the order form from our website, fill in the shipping details and the number of fact sheets you are requesting, and then fax the form to MDOD. I work with Frederick County Workforce Services and we keep a supply of the factsheets in the Resource Room, alongside all of the other resources for jobseekers. Below are titles and descriptions of some of the fact sheets for jobseekers. To see all that are available for ordering, visit the jobseeker page of our website. You can also access large print and text only versions of the fact sheets from this page. Assistive Technology – Defines assistive technology, explores funding sources, and offers helpful tips for choosing assistive technology. Career Options – Discusses options for education after high school, assistance for individuals who are interested in starting their own business, and One-Stop Career Centers. Disclosure – Reviews the advantages and disadvantages of disclosing. Employed Individuals with Disabilities (EID) Program - Provides an overview of Maryland’s Medicaid Buy-in. Employment Options – Reviews different employment settings and questions to ask about the setting best suited for the individual. Getting the Job You Want – Answers a variety of questions regarding job readiness, retention, expectations, and skills. Where the Jobs Are – Provides ideas about where to start a job search and discusses networking and informational interviews. Additional titles coming soon include Asset Development, Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC), Credit: Why It’s Important, Exit Document for Transitioning Youth, Expungement, Security Clearances, Travel Training, and Universal Design in Housing. We will post these on our website when they become available for ordering. FYI, we also offer a series of fact sheets for your business customers. These fact sheets and the order form for them are on the Business page of our website. Campaign: Think Beyond the LabelOn February 1, 2010 a new nation-wide campaign was launched to encourage employers to re-think their attitudes towards hiring individuals with disabilities. Think Beyond the Label uses humor to dispel many of the mistaken notions that employers hold with respect to individuals with disabilities in the workforce. Advertisements will be running in all national media formats - television, radio, newspapers and magazines. View the first television commerical. For more information on this national campaign, visit the Think Beyond the Label website. Workers on the RiseSubmitted by Jackie Gast Co-written by Missy McLaughlin, Wicomico Works Our school systems are a great resource for recruiting employees for entry level jobs but also for skilled labor through the Career Technology Education programs, formerly known as Vocational Education. What many may not be aware of is that there is another career education program for students that prepares them for the workforce. It is called special education. Many special education high school teachers over the years have gone the extra mile to contact employers asking them to give their students with disabilities an opportunity to work in their companies. Many companies have been hiring students from these classes for years. Recently, Wicomico County's Board of Education developed Wicomico Works which is giving this effort extra emphasis. Below is an early success story of the program. Leandra is a 15 year old sophomore at a local high school participating in a Certificate of Completion Program and is a member of the Wicomico Works program. She enjoys being with young children and volunteers at the day care facility at the YMCA. However, she had never had an opportunity to work with adults in a workplace setting. Jeff is the manager of a Salisbury's Hampton Inn North; the hotel chain had never participated in any type of internship program with public high school students. He was eager to learn more about Wicomico Works--a job development program that assists high school students become valuable employees by learning on the job skills in an intern/volunteer capacity--and have his business participate. Robin is the executive housekeeper at the hotel chain; she had never supervised a student worker/intern but was open to participating in Wicomico Works. All three took a chance to learn more about each other. Leandra would learn how to complete tasks independently in the workplace, and Jeff and Robin would learn how to support the work habits of a student with a disability, more specifically a communication disability. After three months, the relationship between intern and supervisor is a positive one. Leandra is taking directions from Robin, independently completing her tasks on time and willing to do more. The employees have taken Leandra under their wing, learning how to effectively communicate their needs to her. Leandra enjoys her days at work and is becoming a valuable intern. For more information or if you are interested in recruiting from this valuable source, contact Missy McLaughlin at the Board of Education's main office, 410 677-4400. Focus On Prince George's CountySubmitted by Sara Muempfer In order to highlight best practices occurring in One-Stop Career Centers around the State of Maryland, we have a feature called Focus On. In this newsletter, we are focusing on Prince George's County One-Stop Career Center. Prince George’s County Invests in Disability Awareness and Etiquette Training for New Staff Due to an influx of new staff at the Prince George’s County One-Stop Career Center, leadership decided to invest in disability awareness and etiquette training. Several members of the new staff who attended were core staff and partners of the One-Stop who did not necessarily have access to information and resources regarding how to effectively provide services to job seekers with disabilities. Therefore, the Prince George’s County Disability Program Navigator (DPN), Sheila Cuomo, organized this training for 16 staff on December 4, 2009 at the One-Stop Career Center in Largo, MD. For more information about this Disability Awareness and Etiquette Training, contact Maggie Leedy at mleedy@montgomeryworks.com. Collaboration Leads to Job Seeker Success Due to a collaborative effort between the Prince George’s County One-Stop Career Center, the DPN and the Division of Rehabilitation Services (DORS), a 48year old female job seeker with developmental and mental health disabilities is successfully employed! Since graduating from high school, this job seeker worked for her parent’s printing business for more than 28 years. She worked as a customer associate performing customer service duties, packing and collating bulk mail and performed other mail related duties. Unfortunately, her parent’s business folded and she was without employment for over a year. The customer had never conducted a job search on her own but endeavored to find competitive employment. She accessed the One-Stop Career Center in Largo where she learned about the wide variety of services she could receive. She participated in several of the free job seeker workshops, including those about resume development, interviewing and introduction to computers. Over a 5 month period, she worked hard at the One-Stop, receiving staff assistance with fine-tuning her resume, performing job search on the computer, completing online job applications, and interviewing with perspective employers. As a result, she was hired as a mail clerk at a Maryland State agency. What a great outcome as a result of collaboratively serving a shared customer! Resources of InterestTips for Designing Accessible Websites DO-IT (Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking, and Technology)
Visit DO-IT's website for more information or additional resources. June 2010 IssueAsk the NavigatorSubmitted by Margaret Mulligan Q: I’m hearing rumors that the Navigator funding has come to an end. Is this true? I hope not, but if it is, can you leave us with your top ten list of resources? A: Well, no rumor there; what you hear is true, at least for Maryland. Please read the article below which addresses your first question. I’ll tackle your second one here. So, a top 10 list, huh? Here you go:
There you go! Our top ten list of resources! It’s been a pleasure working with you and answering your questions… Fairwell to the Disability Program Navigator InitiativeSubmitted by Maggie Leedy In October of 2002, the Department of Labor (DOL) and the Social Security Administration (SSA) announced a partnership to establish the Disability Program Navigator (DPN) Initiative, a program designed to improve the capacity of One-Stops to effectively serve job seekers with disabilities. The program was deemed necessary because the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) made a strong commitment to universal access for all job seekers and a majority of One-Stops seemed unprepared to provide their services to people with disabilities. The feeling of unpreparedness was not the fault of One-Stop personnel. Lack of experience working with this group of job seekers caused uncertainty for many excellent employment services staff regarding how to engage and work with people with disabilities. It was also a systemic issue as employment services for job seekers with disabilities had historically been provided by “rehabilitation specialists” who worked either for the state, in the Division of Rehabilitation Services (DORS), or a community service provider. The implications for both job seekers and job counselors were that only “specially trained” people could provide these services and they could not be provided in a mainstream location such as the One-Stop Career Centers. In Maryland and nationwide, the DPN Initiative focused on improving access to One-Stop Career Centers for job seekers with disabilities and providing a better understanding of their abilities for One-Stop staff and partners. The Maryland DPN Initiative started with a DPN assigned to each Local Workforce Investment Area. Each DPN provided direct technical assistance to staff and information on physical and programmatic accessibility, resources and training. They reached out to community partners and located disability resources and services to provide One-Stop staff and customers with needed information and referral options. As staffs began to realize that unemployed people with disabilities had the same needs as all unemployed people, they became much more comfortable serving these customers. As staff comfort levels increased, the DPNs began conducting outreach to the disability community on how the One-Stop’s employment and training services could provide added resources for their job search. The DPN Initiative saw many successes. One-Stop staff and partners received training and technical assistance that allowed them to feel more comfortable and better prepared to serve job seekers with disabilities. Each One-Stop was assessed and assistive technology such as screen reader software on computers, scanners, Braille printers, devices to magnify written text, etc. was recommended and purchased under the program. Community partnerships and coordination were improved with businesses, local schools, colleges, DORS, disability service providers and other One-Stop partners. Job fairs and outreach events have included the disability community and accommodations such as sign language interpreters were advertised and provided. The DPNs collaborated with their local Business Services Teams to educate them and assist with marketing and business outreach. The scope and funding for the Maryland DPNs decreased as the One-Stops became more adept at including customers with disabilities and a core group of DPNs with specific expertise evolved. Their areas of expertise were Mental Health, Business/Employer Services, Youth, and Assistive Technology. The DPN Initiative that began in 2002 will come to an official end on June 30, 2010. Over the years there have been a few constants in the requests for technical assistance, training and resources. Based on that information, the DPNs have spent a large part of this year developing a web-based e-learning series aimed at alleviating those often expressed concerns and at ensuring that relevant staff training will continue to be available after the completion of the DPN Initiative. For One-Stop staff and partners the following e-learnings will be available electronically in July: Serving Customers with Mental Health Issues; Universal Customer Service; and Assistive Technology in One-Stops. The DPNs have also developed an e-learning for customers titled One-Stop Career Centers – An Overview. There will be a WIFI sent out to the One-Stop Career Centers announcing when the e-Learnings are available and how to access them. Because of these efforts and the great work of the One-Stop staff and partners, many, many Marylanders with disabilities have benefitted from the array of One-Stop Career Center services and are now employed and contributing members of the workforce. It has been a pleasure working and getting to know so many committed professionals in Maryland’s workforce system. Thank you from your DPN Team, Sheila Cuomo, Jackie Gast, Leigh Jones, Maggie Leedy and Margaret Mulligan. With limited carry-over funding, for a short term, Maggie Leedy (mleedy@montgomeryworks.com) and Sara Muempfer (smuempfer@dllr.state.md.us) may be contacted with any disability related questions, concerns or needs. Focus On...Submitted by Sara Meumpfer and Leigh Jones In order to highlight best practices occurring in One-Stop Career Centers around the State of Maryland, we have a feature called Focus On. In this newsletter, we are focusing on Susquehanna Workforce Investment Area and Western Maryland One-Stop Job Centers. The Harford Leadership Academy, a Community Development Program, is co-sponsored by Harford Community College and the Harford County Chamber of Commerce. The Academy is designed to promote the development of existing and emerging leaders and to create a committed, involved, and diverse network of leaders in Harford County. This year’s class participated in a learning session on June 2, 2010 about Alternative Hiring Strategies. Over 40 Harford County leaders learned about innovative workforce solutions by employing untapped pools of talent, such as job seekers with disabilities. Sara Muempfer, Project Manager for the DLLR/Maryland Department of Disabilities Partnership Initiative, began the session with sharing a commercial from the national Think Beyond the Label awareness campaign. This campaign encourages our country’s employers to evolve their workforce by hiring individuals with disabilities. It busts several myths and shares the business case for hiring individuals with disabilities, as well as connects employers to individual State hiring resources. Sara reviewed the EarnWorks Business Case and gave national and State employer examples to support the 6 areas of the Business Case. In addition, she shared several financial incentives available to employers for hiring individuals with disabilities and the resources to find these incentives. Sara’s presentation ended with showing Maryland’s dedicated web portal for employers interested in hiring, retaining and promoting the employment of individuals with disabilities, www.mdworkmatters.org (see the New Disability-Focused Web Portal for Employers article in this newsletter issue for more information). Staff Development Day On April 29, 2010 Leigh Jones and Margaret Mulligan, DPNs for Frederick County and Western Maryland, participated in the Staff Development Day for staff from the Allegany, Garrett, and Washington County One-Stop Career Centers. Because of the influx in job seekers that all One-Stop Career Center staff are seeing, the topic of the presentation was Stress: Yours, Mine and Theirs. Ms. Jones and Ms. Mulligan reviewed with the staff what behaviors they may be seeing from the job seekers that were coming into their Center, how to handle those behaviors and when it might be a good idea to refer job seekers to an outside source that can help with the emotional issues job seekers may be struggling with. The second portion of the training was focused on techniques to assist the staff in dealing with all of the stress that they are seeing and/or feeling due to the influx of job seekers. Staff were given practical ways to deal with their own stress as well as resources. The training was ended by Ms. Mulligan walking the staff through a relaxation exercise. Although this was not the most uplifting of topics, staff reported that the training was necessary and came at a perfect time. For information on healthy tips for dealing with stress, visit the Live Your Life Well website. New Disability-Focused Web Portal for EmployersSubmitted by Sara Meumpfer Business Services Staff….check out www.mdworkmatters.org, a new web portal specifically designed for employers interested in and committed to hiring, retaining and promoting individuals with disabilities. Through this web portal, employers can discover how to create a diverse working environment by learning about the benefits of hiring individuals with disabilities, creative and innovative workforce solutions, strategies about how to replicate these solutions, hiring resources and access to several other helpful tools and resources to get started. In addition, employers can join the Work Matters Business Partnership, which provides employers with technical assistance and connectivity to a myriad of resources and information about employing individuals with disabilities.
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