2/20/2017. Benefits. Focus Group Questions. What is customized employment? Why customized employment? RRTC Customized Employment Research Study

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1 What is customized employment? Customized Employment as an Evidence based Practice to Improve the Employment Outcomes of Transition age Youth with Physical Disabilities Katherine J. Inge, Ph.D., O.T.R., Project Director VCU RRTC on Employment of People with Physical Disabilities Customized employment meets the needs of the job seeker and the needs of the employer. Customized employment is not labor market driven. Customized employment is not the same as a customized job. Why customized employment? Benefits Many people with physical disabilities are unemployed or underemployed. Difficulty performing the essential functions of existing job descriptions. Environmental barriers Physical limitations Perceived abilities (low expectations!) Employer is more aware of how the individual contributes value to the business. Criteria for evaluation are individually determined Applicant is not directly compared to other applicants. Competition is minimized with other job seekers without disabilities. RRTC Customized Employment Research Study Phase I: Focus Groups Conducted via toll free conference calls. First rounds of calls were with nationally recognized experts. 3 focus groups including 14 experts Second rounds of calls included individuals recommended by the national experts as implementers. 2 focus groups including 14 implementers Focus Group Questions What are the underlying values of customized employment? Could one person give us a case study example? What are the specific strategies used in customized employment? Do you want to add anything related to the process of working with an individual? Do you want to add anything related to the process of working with business/employers? Do you want to tell me anything that I haven t asked. 1

2 Data Collection & Analysis Eleven Themes Transcripts were recorded and transcribed. Transcripts were analyzed to develop themes from the qualitative data. Data was coded by one researcher. Another team member checked for agreement. Majority of the dialogue focused on Discovery. The act of finding something that had not been known before. The noun discovery means the finding or uncovering of something. The process of learning something that was not known before, or of finding someone or something that was missing or hidden. Core Practices Eleven themes or core practices emerged from the data. 1. Physically meet at the location of the individual s choosing. 2. Build rapport and get to know the individual. 3. Mindfully listen to the person. 4. Identify his/her interests, skills, and abilities. 5. Conduct in depth interviews. Core Practices 6. Observe the person in a number of different environments. 7. Arrange for the person to observe at local businesses. Core Practices (continued) 8. Observe the person engaging in job related tasks. 9. Conduct informational interviews. 10. Assist the person in selecting brief work experiences. 11. Collaborate with the person, family, and friends to confirm the person s interests, job preferences, skills (employment themes). Importance of Observation What you see may be very different than what is said or what you hear. Observing people in places where they are comfortable can uncover skills and abilities that you may not discover otherwise! 2

3 Discovery True or False? Discovery takes a long time. Discovery is an assessment. Discovery is individualized. Discovery helps the person find their ideal conditions for employment. Discovery requires an open mind. Learning who the person is. I just finished working with a woman who painted with her mouth and everybody in her life thought that she should be an artist, and that wasn t what she wanted to do. So, holding your assumptions at bay is incredibly important. Not everyone can articulate what they want to do or has an idea of what they want to do. You can t just ask some people what do you want to do and they sit there and look at you then it s like you go back to the old bad practice of let me go see if I can figure out some job that I can put you in because you don t know what you want to do. We had a gentleman who had an interest in doing things, mechanical things, and he takes apart computers but I don t have the knowledge of whether he did that correctly we had someone that was a computer technology guy who build computers for people he had him come in for a couple of hours and was able to give us that professional feedback that he does indeed have some skills there. Discovery Importance of Networking I went to one church I happened to know the pastor I started talking about what this person can do, very slow data entry The pastor identified that they were in the process of transferring all the information onto the computer of their history. He didn t care how quickly it went the other thing when this person was a little girl, unbeknownst to me, she went to that church and the pastor remembered her. She got hired at $10 an hour Discovery is capacity based, not deficit based. Discovery is not spending time administering assessments, taking notes, using checklists, ranking competencies. Discovery is a fluid process. 3

4 Phase II Transition age youth ages Wait list study design Customized employment intervention Outcomes Customized Employment: Case Studies Stephanie Lau, B.S., MAT Discovery Dream Job is to be a Radio DJ Very Personable Good Computer and Research Skills Eager to Work Interests Translated to Social Media Customizing the Position New Ownership No Consistency in Social Media Posts Write video scripts Shoot videos with staff Edit and upload videos Job Site Training Adding Value to the Business 4

5 Discovery Very Shy Likes to be Helpful Learning Delay Good with Computers Customizing the Position Observed Customer Service and Parts Receiving positions Identified tasks that were not getting done on time Customer Folders Time Cards Credits Position has increased to include additional tasks that add value Accommodations Accessible Desk Personal Scanner and Printer Visual Supports Transportation 5