APSE TELE-TRAINING SERIES, FALL, 2006

SESSION DESCRIPTIONS AND BIOS

Session 1: Foundations of Supported Employment - September 12, 2006 - Bob Niemiec

What is Supported Employment? What are the values, guiding principles and features that influence this approach to working with people who have significant disabilities? How and why did it begin? In this session, you will learn about the evolution of supported employment. You will discover the critical factors that lead to the development of SE and how it differs from other, more traditional approaches to employment of people with significant disabilities. You will be exposed to the underlying values and principles that guide organizations and people in the quest to facilitate supported employment in their communities. You will learn about the critical roles that employment specialists play in the successful employment of people with disabilities in community businesses. You will also hear about some of the best practices in Supported Employment as well as in school-to-work and community living transitions. Finally, there will be a brief discussion about how organizations and states have managed to fund supported employment services.

Bob Niemiec is an internationally known trainer and consultant. Bob has a long history of providing high quality training and consultation services to businesses, organizations and individuals throughout the United States and Canada. He is an accomplished coach, trainer, strategic planner and organizational consultant. A graduate of Indiana University, Bob has been in the field of employment for persons with disabilities for twenty-two years. He has performed at virtually every level within a human service organization, from direct service to executive director. Bob is currently the Director of Employment and Community Supports for Community Involvement Programs in Bloomington, Minnesota. Bob is an accomplished coach, trainer, consultant, and public speaker. Bob is a Past-President of APSE, a founding member and Past-President of Minnesota APSE, Immediate Past-President of the APSE Foundation, and a member of the Editorial Board of The Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation. Bob also coordinates SE 101 and the APSE Tele-Training Series.

Session 2: Person-Centered Career Planning - September 26, 2006 - Rob Hoffman

This section of SE 101 will provide in-depth information and training on person-centered career planning, with emphasis on best practices in this most important area. Key topics will include the following:
… Introduction to Person-Centered Career Planning
… Moving from a Deficiency towards Capacity view of persons with disabilities
… Mobilizing and implementing career planning teams that work
… Developing Career Profiles
… Creating individual Employment Support Plans that get results
… Strategies & tactics for building employment connections and effectively tapping personal networks

Rob Hoffman is the Project Manager for Region VII's CRP-RCEP with the University of Missouri-Columbia and is responsible for the development and delivery of training and technical assistance on employment services and business partnership strategies. Prior to coming to Missouri, he was the Executive Director of the Wyoming Business Leadership Network, a network of business partnership initiatives in various communities throughout the state. He has trained and consulted nationally on business partnership strategies and continues his efforts to support communities in Missouri to develop these initiatives. Rob is also the owner of Hoffman Promotionals, a company that provides marketing and promotional items for businesses, schools and organizations.

Session 3: Job Development - October 10, 2006 - Tyler Paris and Joe Lewis

Start your own job development revolution. This session teaches the basic, yet critical, job development skills necessary for successful Supported Employment Professionals. Discover a potent arsenal of effective skills no job developer should be without. By using a combination of consultative sales (the customer helps you make the sale) and relationship sales (knowledge, trust and respect are the foundation for the sale) you can customize an irresistible approach to business. These crucial skills include: features, advantages and benefits; networking, prospecting, the art of questioning, and overcoming objections. Spend 90 minutes to become the job development sensation you've always dreamed about.

Tyler Paris. Come saddled up and ready to ride. Tyler's varied career has fashioned a unique perspective on employment for people with disabilities, job development, Social Security benefits and supported employment management. His experiences and creative spirit produces a training style which is concise, easily followed, worthwhile and fun. Tyler's previous experience includes insurance agent, radio advertisement salesperson, security guard, hod carrier, low income weatherization project director, self-employed bicycle repair shop owner, consultant and jeweler. He received B.S. and M.P.A. degrees from the University of Wyoming and is a graduate of Stewarts International School for Jewelers.

Joe Lewis brings more than 25 years experience in the field of employment for people with disabilities to his position at CTAT. Joe has worked as a vocational counselor and program director for some fine community-based organizations such as the Center for People with Disabilities, EmployAbility, Inc., Colorado Easter Seals, and most recently, Employment Link. He also has more than 12 years experience with the State of Colorado, serving as a valuable link between state government and applicants/employees with disabilities. Joe has been a member of the Colorado Workplace Equity Coalition, has chaired a successful annual job fair for people with disabilities in Denver, and has conducted numerous trainings in areas such as practical applications of the ADA in the workplace.

Session 4: Systematic Instruction - October 24, 2006 - Dan Steere

Supported employment professionals need to be excellent instructors who can help individuals with disabilities master complex work and work-related activities. This session will introduce participants to essential strategies used in systematic instruction. Particular emphasis will be placed on using effective prompting, error correction and motivation strategies, and on approaches to fading the intensity of instruction. Participants will leave this session with the skills to develop comprehensive instructional plans for supported employees.
Dan Steere, Ph.D., has worked in the field of special education and rehabilitation since 1973. He has worked as a special education teacher, a manager of a community residence, a consultant to schools and rehabilitation agencies, and as a university professor at two universities (Montana State University, Billings and East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania). In his current position at East Stroudsburg University, Dan teaches courses in special education and in rehabilitation. Dan has co-authored over twenty five journal articles and book chapters, many on topics related to the employment of people with disabilities, including a text on the topic of supported employment. He has served on the editorial board of the journal, Career Development for Exceptional Individuals, and as a guest editor of the Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation. Dan is a past president of the Vocational Rehabilitation Division of the American Association on Mental Retardation. His professional interests include supported employment and transition from school to adulthood.

Session 5: Supporting "Yeah, But" People on the Job - November 14, 2006 - Bob Niemiec

Many organizations struggle with the challenge of providing employment supports to people who exhibit challenging behavior, have poor social skills, and unusual methods of communication. These people are often referred to as being "behavior problems." This workshop is about common sense strategies and concepts for facilitating supported employment for people who experience these situations.

Session 6: Facilitating Ongoing Supports - November 28, 2006 - Jon Alexander & Becky Brink

What constitutes effective on-going supports in supported employment? Finding a job is just the beginning. Once the employee has learned the job either through natural means or with the assistance of an employment specialist/consultant, there must be a planned effort to support the individual and the employer. Among the items to be discussed in this section include nurturing the ongoing relationship between the employer and the employee, helping the employee and his/her family and supports navigate the world of Social Security, Medicaid, and financial planning, to name but a few. You will leave with tools and ideas to provide superior ongoing support to help people maintain their jobs and improve their economic self reliance.

Jon Alexander is the Director of Operations of Kaposia, inc in St. Paul, MN. He directs the delivery of services for over 250 people with disabilities and other challenges. Throughout his career, Alexander has been a leader in the creation and implementation of innovative programs and methodology to promote competitive, integrated employment. These programs were some of the first to try the use of natural job supports for people with significant barriers to employment.

Session 8: The Ever-Changing World of Supported Employment and its Future - December 12, 2006 - tbd

The concept of supported employment has proven to be a viable option for many individuals with high support needs. At the same time, it has also created a good deal of tension in the education and rehabilitation service system. The practice of supported employment has caused the education and rehabilitation service system to change the way of business, specifically, its services, organizational structure, job descriptions, supervision, and funding. It is these changes that cause the excitement, challenges and tensions within organizations. This presentation will discuss the impact of community-based services, specifically supported employment on the organization and management of human service programs. It will focus on factors and strategies that can minimize resistance to change that ultimately impact the real and meaningful jobs for people with disabilities.