2018 National APSE Pre-Conference 

National APSE is offering 6 engaging pre-conference sessions on Monday, June 25, 2018.  

Three Available Morning Sessions (9 am to 12 pm):

Session #1 9am-12pm:  

Title: On-the-Job Support: Upgrading the Job Coach’s Toolbox

Summary

“You’re hired!” These words can be among the greatest we hear as employment support staff, but also can be daunting. Will this job be a good match? How do I ensure employee success? How do I know what supports to provide? These questions and more have a direct impact on the success or failure of an individual’s competitive employment placement. This seminar will provide a comprehensive look at the ever-important role of a job coach. Topics covered include setting employer expectations, assessments, fade plans, handling disciplinary issues, fostering independence, the art of check-ins, use of adaptive technology, and more! From date of hire to date of independence, participants can expect a breadth of information and answers to many common questions around fostering success in the workplace, as well as learning about new tools to achieve more success with less time and resources.

Presenter:

Ryan Aldrich, New England Business Associates (NEBA)

Session #2 9am-12pm: 

Title: Scary Broads take on Customized Employment: World Café style

Summary: 

Struggling with high staff turnover? Inadequate funding sources? Old mindsets?  Incremental steps to change?  This session is exactly what you need to start off your APSE conference. Join a committed, thoughtful and determined group of women affectionately known as “The Scary Broads”, as they facilitate a number of small group discussion related to barriers to Customized Employment. No one knows better than the Scary Broads the obstacles that get in the way as we support people to work to realize their ideal career. In this half day pre conference session we will start the day using group brainstorming to list the road blocks in our way. The team will then set out, using the World Café style of problem solving to turn the road blocks into speed bumps. If you like to be a part of a team trying to solve problems, have some ideas of your own about tricks of the trade you have used, then this is the pre-conference session for you.

Presenters: 

A formally informal community of powerhouses, Scary Broads can be found in more than 39 states and are most notable for their fierce commitment of creating pathways to Employment First.  Comprised of self-advocates, service providers, family members, state and federal leaders, Scary Broads work collectively, and individually, to eliminate barriers, produce outcomes, and ensure change happens.  There are no shortcuts to effecting change, but there are tools, and in this group you will find more than 150 combined years of grass roots experience.

Facilitators include: Karen Lee, Debbie Ball, Gail Fanjoy, Stirling Peebles, Heidi Maghan, Erin Leveton

Session #3 9am-12pm: 

Title: Policy in Action: How to Formulate your own Vision Quest

Summary

Do you have a policy goal you would like to achieve but aren’t sure how to get started? Come learn about Vision Quest, a three phase approach to policy development. The Office of Disability Employment Policy, with the help of Subject Matter Experts Abby Cooper and Doug Crandell developed the Vision Quest Replication Manual,Using Collaboration and Aligning Resources to Achieve Systems Change within State Government, a month-by-month guide for best practices to create meaningful policy change.

Presenters:

Rose Sloan - Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP)

Abby Cooper - Independent Consultant

Doug Crandell - Griffin Hammis Associates

Three Available Afternoon Sessions (1 pm to 4 pm):

Session #1 1pm-4pm: 

Title: Let’s Talk Money:  Financial Independence for People with Disabilities is possible!

Summary: 

People with disabilities live in poverty at a rate twice that of their non-disabled peers. In fact, many people with disabilities have never managed a budget, opened a savings or checking account, used a Social Security Work Incentive, applied for an assistive technology loan or understood how to build assets. However, we know that financial education, benefits planning, savings opportunities, and tax advice improve positive behavior and reduce negative behavior for low income earners. We also know that the best time reach individuals and teach them about their money is at a point in time when it’s needed… such as during a job search.  Join the LEAD Center and National Disability Institute as we discuss strategies such as benefits planning and work supports, employment, free tax preparation, financial education/financial coaching and asset development.  You will learn the importance of economic stability, strategies that support economic advancement, and how to use these strategies with public benefits such as Social Security Disability benefits to improve the economic stability of job seekers!

Presenters:

Elizabeth Jennings - National Disability Institute (NDI)

Marlene Ulisky - Social Security Administration (SSA) 

Session #2 1pm-4pm:

Title: Customized Employment and Discovery: New Approaches and Partnerships for Success

Summary:

Customized Employment (CE) became a part of federal law with the passage of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) in 2014.  CE is an approach to hiring, retaining and returning to work that matches a job seeker’s skills, abilities and interests to the needs of an employer.  Self-Guided Discovery (SGD) and Guided-Group Discovery (GGD) lay the groundwork for CE. Both serve as an alternative assessment tool that identifies the strengths and ideal conditions of employment for job seekers with disabilities. GGD/SGD assists people in securing and maintaining employment by supporting them in small groups or individually to create their own individual “blueprint” to guide their job search process.  LEAD Center staff will discuss the pilot projects it is supporting that use GGD/SGD, review materials and resources to support Discovery and Customized Employment that have been shown to be effective in working with youth and adults with significant disabilities, and share the curriculum to implement GGD/SGD in their communities.

Presenters:

Rebecca Salon - National Center on Leadership for the Employment and Economic Advancement of People with Disabilities (LEAD Center)

Christopher Button - ODEP

Nancy Boutot - National Disability Institute (NDI)

Session #3 1pm-4pm

Title: Provider Transformation 2.0: Taking Employment First to the Next Level 

Summary: 

• Redesigning Your Organization: Board, CEO, CFO, Middle Management, Front Line Staff, Employers & Stakeholders
• Staff Development, Recruitment, and Restructuring: “How To” Examples of Effective Restructuring; Where to Focus Attention on Transformation
• Staff Training Specifics: Developing Internal Trainers, Meaningful Day Integration, Best Practices, Transportation Solutions, Sample Job Descriptions/Work Day Schedules
• Stakeholder Engagement: How to Listen; Considering Real Choices; Working Effectively with Families, Self-Advocates, Employers, Policymakers, and Advocacy Organizations
• The Importance of Effective Advocacy for Better Policy: Collaboration, Coalitions, Communities of Practice, and Capacity Building at the Local Level
• Funding Diversification: Local, State, Federal Examples + How to advocate for it; Phasing Out Reliance on Facility-Based Contracts

Any providers who are currently engaged in the process of transformation and looking to take their organization’s outcomes to the next level are encouraged to attend this highly interactive and informative session!  

Presenters: 

Richard Davis - ODEP

Rachel Pollock - Employment First Subject Matter Expert

Dale Verstegen - Employment First Subject Matter Expert