Alaska Integrated Employment Initiative (AIEI) AIEI Advisory Board Stakeholder Input Summary November 16-17, 2015

Transcription

1 Alaska Integrated Employment Initiative (AIEI) AIEI Advisory Board Stakeholder Input Summary November 16-17, 2015 Prepared by Rebekah Moras Alex Olah Karen Heath Center for Human Development College of Health University of Alaska Anchorage 1

2 Table of Contents 2015 Alaska Integrated Employment Initiative (AIEI) Stakeholders... 2 Survey Question 1: Prioritizing Grant Activities... 3 Table 1: 2016 Priority Transition Activities... 3 Table 2: 2016 Priority Training Activities... 4 Table 3: 2016 Priority Other Activities... 5 Survey Question 2: Top Choice Rationales... 6 My #1 Transition Activity is most important because... 6 My #1 Training Activity is most important because... 7 My #1 Other Activity is most important because... 8 Survey Question 3: Activities to Sustain Table 4: 2016 Activities to Sustain Survey Questions 4 & 5: Qualitative Feedback Survey Question 4: Upcoming New Directions Survey Question 5: Biggest Employment Barrier i. Systems Navigability ii. Misperceptions About Benefits iii. Employer Misperceptions iv. Lacking Opportunities v. All Feedback Appendix Weighted Averages Stakeholders Twelve people completed the AIEI 2015 Advisory Board Meeting Stakeholder Survey. Of this group, five people identified as agency staff, two as educators, two as family members, two as family members who are also agency staff, and one person identified as a self-advocate. UAA: Center for Human Development, Moras, Olah, & Heath 2

3 Survey Question 1: Prioritizing Grant Activities For the first survey item, stakeholders were instructed: Please rank the importance of grant activities within each of the three activity categories below to assist us in prioritizing our efforts in FY16. The three activity categories were: 1) Transition Activities ; 2) Trainings ; 3) Other Activities. The top three priorities were averaged across stakeholders i.e. if a stakeholder listed an activity in their top three, it was counted as a top priority. Tables 1, 2, and 3 display the top grant activity recommendations for Stakeholders ranked the following as in their top three transition activities: 1) Transition Handbook (10/12 stakeholders) 2) Youth employment presentations (9/12 stakeholders) 3) Project SEARCH maintenance/expansion (7/12 stakeholders) 4) Discovery class pilot project (6/12 stakeholders) 5) Transition fair (4/12 stakeholders) Table 1: 2016 Priority Transition Activities Transition Activities UAA: Center for Human Development, Moras, Olah, & Heath 3

4 Stakeholders ranked the following as in their top three training activities: 1) Certificate in Employment Services Training (9/12 stakeholders) 2) Financial Work Incentive Navigator (FWIN) training (9/12 stakeholders) 3) Discovery training (8/12 stakeholders) 4) Monthly trainings (7/12 stakeholders) 5) Medicaid Buy-in training (3/12 stakeholders) Table 2: 2016 Priority Training Activities Training Activities Certificate in Employment Services Training FWIN training Discovery training Monthly trainings Medicaid Buyin training UAA: Center for Human Development, Moras, Olah, & Heath 4

5 Stakeholders ranked the following as in their top three Other activities: 1) Employment First Implementation/AK APSE Chapter (7/12 stakeholders) 2) Business Employment Services Team (BEST) Employer Engagement Efforts (6/12 stakeholders) 3) DB 101 Alaska Calculator online tool (5/12 stakeholders) 4) Matrix/MOAs with DHSS, DVR, DEED, AJC (5/12 stakeholders) 5) SDS Supported Employment provider COP revisions (4/12 stakeholders) 6) Job Clubs (3/12 stakeholders) 7) Microenterprise Grant increased DD utilization for self-employment (2/12 stakeholders) 8) Rates focus on SE being incentivized as a service (2/12 stakeholders) 9) Job Fairs (2/12 stakeholders) 10) Data system enhancement (0/12 stakeholders) Table 3: 2016 Priority Other Activities Other Activities UAA: Center for Human Development, Moras, Olah, & Heath 5

6 Survey Question 2: Top Choice Rationales Survey question one instructed stakeholders: Please describe why you chose your top choice (#1 activity) on page one in each category. Stakeholders then provided written feedback about why they chose their top transition activity, training activity, and other activity. Quotes are grouped together below by activity, and some responses were excluded if they were not informative; not all stakeholders offered written feedback for every activity. My #1 Transition Activity is most important because Stakeholders were invited to offer feedback about the following training activities: 1) Transition Handbook; 2) Youth employment presentations; 3) Project SEARCH maintenance/expansion; 4) Discovery class pilot project; and 5) Transition Fair. Below are all of the individual comments from stakeholders. 1) Transition Handbook In rural remote village the other options would be difficult and the handbook would be most helpful. Believe this would help parents, teachers, families, agencies - reach and assist many. We discussed a series of handbooks with information geared to provider, parents, individuals, & FAQs. It would help the student, parents and employers [know] what accommodations are available and how they can be best used to help the individual and employer. 2) Youth Employment Presentations UAA: Center for Human Development, Moras, Olah, & Heath 6

7 They are 1st person success stories. 3) Project SEARCH Maintenance/Expansion It is a concrete example of youth with disabilities working; it can serve as a motivator for both transition age youth and employers. Project SEARCH is an approach that works well. 4) Discovery Class Pilot [There was no qualitative feedback for this activity.] 5) Transition Fair Biggest impact for the transition age group and partnering with parents and providers during the fair with parallel strands of key information. I believe it will reach the most people. I work in TVR, benefit my transition consumers. My #1 Training Activity is most important because Stakeholders were invited to offer feedback about the following training activities: 1) Certificate in Employment Services Training; 2) Financial Work Incentive Navigator (FWIN) Tier 1 benefits training; 3) Discovery training; 4) monthly trainings; and 5) Medicaid buy-in training. While ranked in the top most important activities, there was no qualitative stakeholder feedback for either monthly trainings, or Medicaid buy-in training. Additionally, while parent training was not a top training activity identified across stakeholders, one person ranked it as the most important: It all falls apart if we can't educate & support parent efforts & support employment. Below are all of the other stakeholder comments, grouped together by activity. 1) Certificate in Employment Services Trained qualified providers are essential in helping people get and keep jobs. UAA: Center for Human Development, Moras, Olah, & Heath 7

8 Certificates provide self-achievement and is personalized. Possibly could meet other requirements with WIOA. Best fit for rural areas. Makes sure all providers have level of knowledge. Formalize those providing the support. It is most important because it will provide job coaches, and supported employment coaches with better understanding with how to serve [an] individual with disabilities in the workforce. 2) Financial Work Incentive Navigator (FWIN) The community needs accurate information about employment and benefits; misinformation is a significant barrier. Benefit training so important for parent/ educator. 3) Discovery Training Direct service to those beginning the employment journey to build the early momentum. My #1 Other Activity is most important because Stakeholders were invited to offer feedback about the following training activities: 1) Employment First Implementation/AK APSE Chapter; 2) Business Employment Services Team (BEST) Employer Engagement Efforts; 3) DB 101 Alaska Calculator online tool; 4) Matrix/MOAs with DHSS, DVR, DEED, AJC; 5) SDS Supported Employment provider COP revisions; 6) Job Clubs; 7) Microenterprise Grant ; 8) Rates focus on SE being incentivized as a service; 9) Job Fairs; and 10) Data system enhancement. Below are all of the comments from individual stakeholders; please note not all activities had stakeholder feedback. 1) Employment First Implementation This is a new law and it is important to get it right the first time as UAA: Center for Human Development, Moras, Olah, & Heath 8

9 adjustments down the road may be difficult to implement. Ideally believe this will have a big impact on the employment of individuals w/ disabilities. Without Emp 1 st / nothing will happen. 2) Business Employment Services Team (BEST) Most effective for increasing employment opportunities for IWD's [individuals with disabilities]. Need employers & parents on board. 3) DB 101 Alaska Calculator Tool The online tool and website can become a great place for all parties to begin and get connected with what they might need or what questions they need to ask. 4) Matrix/MOAs with DHSS, DVR, DEED, AJC Matrix identifies agencies and services available and the agreement ensures type of cooperation/collaboration efforts statewide. 5) SDS Supported Employment provider COP revisions The cops need to create a policy environment that works for providers and the individual they serve - will have long-lasting effect. SDS support employment provider cop revisions - the care coordinator and job coach come together to look at the individuals goals and come up with plan to be most effective. Seeking clarity on the funding sources expectation of the service being provided. UAA: Center for Human Development, Moras, Olah, & Heath 9

10 Survey Question 3: Activities to Sustain On the third survey item, stakeholders were asked: What are the 5 most important AIEI activities outlined on page one to sustain and how can we best sustain each? Table 4 below shows the top rated activities to sustain, followed by qualitative feedback describing recommended activities. Table 4: 2016 Activities to Sustain 5 Activities to Sustain Below are tallies of Activities to Sustain identified by multiple stakeholders (two or more), along with their responses to the secondary question, How can it best be sustained?. 1) Transition Fair (4) Four stakeholders identified the Transition Fair as an activity to be sustained. One suggestion was to blend funding from all stakeholder sources. Another person wrote: We need to get the state of Alaska and organizations to commit to get transition resources off the ground and available to individuals and parents. UAA: Center for Human Development, Moras, Olah, & Heath 10

11 2) Online calculator (4) Four stakeholders identified the online calculator as an important activity to sustain. Suggestions included: Continue the contract with current vendor and collect feedback after the launch ; State agency subscriptions - annual updates ; inform & train groups of availability and use of this tool. 3) Employment First (3) Three stakeholders listed Employment First as one of their top five activities for sustaining. One stakeholder commented: If done properly, the implementation will not need to be sustained; it should be self-sustaining. 4) Job Clubs (3) Three stakeholders identified the job clubs as an activity to be sustained. Suggestions were to: 1) combine funds ; 2) Approach agencies that provide Group Projects/ present or provide Scope of Work to request consideration of funds to support. Long-term funding could be sought after successful Best Practices. Include rural remote areas to participate or suggest what would work for their area. ; and 3) Support through - conversation, education of youth, parents, educators, employers service agencies. 5) Matrix/MOAs (3) Three stakeholders recommended the matrix/moas as a top activity to sustain. Their comments were: 1) While the Matrix/MOA should be reviewed regularly, this is another activity that, if done properly, will not require ongoing attention by AIEI. ; 2) continue meeting after grant expires. ; 3) Request agencies to identify MOAs in place with a short summary. Up-date periodically. UAA: Center for Human Development, Moras, Olah, & Heath 11

12 6) Business Employment Services Team (BEST) (2) Two stakeholders identified BEST as a top activity to sustain. Comments about BEST included: 1) Continue collaboration ; 2) keep informing & educating Business - education & exposure ; 3) BEST, self administered 7) Rates focus (2) Two stakeholders recommended a rates focus in their top activities to sustain. One person recommended: Talk to SDS encourage Expansion for jobs. 8) Certificate in Employment Services Training (2) Two stakeholders recommended sustaining a certificate in employment services training. Their comments were: 1) Research National Programs available for self-paced training modules. Make available on-line and to agencies working with targeted group. ; 2) There needs to be funding in place for employers and service providers to get trained. 9) Project SEARCH Expansion (2) Two stakeholders recommended sustaining Project SEARCH Expansion. The one stakeholder comment included was: I am not fully versed on its funding source, but I would use the model as a place to start with other state funded models that are using Sped money for the transition program instead of other services that seem more like a "holding tank" for students before they age out of the system. UAA: Center for Human Development, Moras, Olah, & Heath 12

13 Below are additional stakeholder recommendations for activities to sustain. These are the stakeholder recommendations that could not be grouped together because only one stakeholder recommended them as activities to sustain. Policy changes: Monitoring implementation - recommending/ making changes as needed. Supporting & training parents: (no comments) SDS cops: Once complete and on regulation this helps create solid foundation to moving forward. Tier 1 benefit training: (no comments) Supporting & developing employers: (no comments) Youth employment presentations: It has to be started first. Employers need to be made aware and asked if they're interested. FWIN: By embedding this training into a currently established curriculum/course of study. Data system enhancement: Trust work group - monitor implementation. Monthly CE, SE, and WI trainings: If these trainings are required to maintain a license or a particular certification, such as rep payee, guardian, care coordinator, etc. Trainings should be digitized so that they are available to all. Financial work incentive navigator training: WIPPA funds APSE: Continue collaboration. SDS supported employment provider COP revisions: We are going to need care coordinators, supported employment specialists, parents of individuals, and funding from the state, and then all come into agreement. UAA: Center for Human Development, Moras, Olah, & Heath 13

14 Survey Questions 4 & 5: Qualitative Feedback The last two survey questions sought qualitative feedback from stakeholders. Four out of twelve stakeholders responded to question number four: Are there any new directions or ideas that you have for ongoing or upcoming grant activities? Eight stakeholders responded to the last survey question, number five: What is the biggest current barrier to employment for Alaskan youth and young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities? Below are summaries of feedback, followed by all individual responses to each question. Survey Question 4: Upcoming New Directions Stakeholders offered feedback on new directions. Two comments were around training and technical assistance. Specifically, parent training, and assistance for providers in the process of transforming their services to meet the new home and community based setting roles. Below are the four stakeholder comments about new directions. 1. Technical assistance funds to help provider agencies transform their services to meet required home and community- based setting regulators 2. Parent training 3. Increase village travel and support subsistence plans, cultural camps and group projects. 4. Get non-profit organizations involved. Sponsorship from businesses, special education directors and care coordinators. UAA: Center for Human Development, Moras, Olah, & Heath 14

15 Survey Question 5: Biggest Employment Barrier Four overarching employment barriers emerged across stakeholder responses. These barrier themes are listed below, including stakeholder quotes as examples; the themes and examples are followed by a list of all qualitative stakeholder feedback. i. Systems Navigability First, the complexity and difficulty of understanding and using public systems was identified as a big employment barrier e.g. Social Security Insurance (SSI), Medicaid, and Home and Community Based (HCB) Waivers. One stakeholder shared: Families believing that significant employment [is] attainable and that navigating the complex system of SSI, Medicaid, and HCB Waivers is possible with support from those who specialize. So the challenge is where, when, and how to get that specialized support. ii. Misperceptions About Benefits The second overarching employment barrier identified was the family, parent, and self-advocate misperceptions about employment and maintaining benefits, as well as a lack of belief that competitive, integrated employment is an achievable goal. A stakeholder expressed the barrier this way: Incorrect expectations: If I work, I lose benefits. My child has a disability and can t work. iii. Employer Misperceptions Third, the barrier of employers misperceptions about employing youth with disabilities emerged. This barrier is expressed by this stakeholder feedback about common employer misperceptions: " It will cost me a lot to UAA: Center for Human Development, Moras, Olah, & Heath 15

16 accommodate workers with disabilities Workers with disabilities are not as productive. iv. Lacking Opportunities Two stakeholders commented on the lack of employment opportunities as an employment barrier: 1) lack of employment opportunities, not aware of resources available, few educational environment and lack of resources to travel outside of community to experience-get involved-discover possibilities. ; 2) Criminal backgrounds, on the job supports, life/job coaching. v. All Feedback Below is a list of all qualitative feedback to question five, What is the biggest current barrier to employment for Alaskan youth and young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities? : 1. Families believing that significant employment attainable and that navigating the complex system of SSI, Medicaid, and HCB Waivers is possible with support from those who specialize. So the challenge is where, when, and how to get that specialized support. 2. Incorrect expectations: If I work, I lose benefits. ; It will cost me a lot to accommodate workers with disabilities. My child has a disability and can t work. ; Workers with disabilities are not as productive. 3. Non-supportive policy 4. Lack of understanding of possibilities. 5. Stereotyped, misunderstanding, community support, lack of employment opportunities, not aware of resources available, few UAA: Center for Human Development, Moras, Olah, & Heath 16

17 educational environment and lack of resources to travel outside of community to experience-get involved-discover possibilities. 6. Parent & guardians understanding how it works, how to organize & manage [illegible] their individual into work & having access. [Know] what they need to do when. 7. Criminal backgrounds, on the job supports, life/job coaching 8. We need to come up with a plan to directly handle the situation regarding social security income for people with disabilities. UAA: Center for Human Development, Moras, Olah, & Heath 17

18 Appendix Alaska Integrated Employment Initiative (AIEI) November 16-17, 2015 How do you identify your role on this project? (please circle one): Self-advocate family member agency staff employer educator 1) Please rank the importance of grant activities within each of the three activity categories below to assist us in prioritizing our efforts in FY 16: Transition Activities (rank from (1) most important to (5) least important): ( ) Transition Fair ( ) Transition Handbook ( ) Youth employment presentations ( ) Discovery Class Pilot Project ( ) Project SEARCH Maintenance/Expansion ( ) Other not listed Trainings (rank from (1) most important to (5) least important): ( ) Certificate in Employment Services Training ( ) Monthly Customized Employment, self-employment, & work incentive trainings ( ) Financial Work Incentive Navigator (FWIN) Tier 1 benefits training ( ) Medicaid Buy-In Training ( ) Discovery training ( ) Other not listed Other Activities (rank from (1) most important to (10) least important): ( ) Business Employment Services Team (BEST) Employer Engagement Efforts ( ) Job Fairs ( ) Job Clubs ( ) DB 101 Alaska Calculator online tool ( ) Employment First Implementation/AK APSE Chapter ( ) Data system enhancement ( ) Matrix/MOAs with DHSS, DVR, DEED, AJC ( ) Microenterprise Grant increased DD utilization for self-employment ( ) Rates focus on SE being incentivized as a service ( ) SDS Supported Employment provider COP revisions ( ) Other not listed UAA: Center for Human Development, Moras, Olah, & Heath 18

19 2) Please describe why you chose your top choice (#1 activity) on page one in each category: My #1 Transition Activity is most important because My #1 Training Activity is most important because My #1 Other Activity is most important because 3) What are the 5 most important AIEI activities outlined on page one to sustain and how can we best sustain each? (e.g., what funding, other resources, moving it to another organization, etc.): #1 Activity to sustain: How can it best be sustained? #2 Activity to sustain: How can it best be sustained? #3 Activity to sustain: How can it best be sustained? #4 Activity to sustain: How can it best be sustained? #5 Activity to sustain: How can it best be sustained? 4) Are there any new directions or ideas that you have for ongoing or upcoming grant activities? 5) What is the biggest current barrier to employment for Alaskan youth and young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities? UAA: Center for Human Development, Moras, Olah, & Heath 19

20 Weighted Averages Weighted Averages: Transition Activities Transition Handbook Youth presentations Project SEARCH Discovery Class Pilot Transition Fair Weighted Averages: Training Activities Certificate in Employment FWIN Discovery Monthly Medicaid Buy-in Services Training training training trainings training UAA: Center for Human Development, Moras, Olah, & Heath 20

21 Weighted Averages: Other Activities Employment 1 st 6.83 BEST 6.66 DB Matrix/ MOAs 5.91 SDS Supported Employment 5.75 Job Clubs 4.83 Microenterprise Grant 4.50 Rates focus 4.14 Job Fairs 4.00 Data System 2.83 UAA: Center for Human Development, Moras, Olah, & Heath 21