April 2020 Newsletter
Indiana’s “Work to Include” Coalition
Advancing Employment for Individuals with Disabilities
Pat Rogan, Professor, IUPUI School of Education and Co-Director, Work to Include Initiative
Susan Rinne, MPA and Co-Director, Work to Include Initiative
Get the key updates in this month's newsletter.
We hope to provide this information to you monthly to keep you up to date on what local planning teams are doing and to let you know about additional resources and ways you can provide your voice in policymaking activities in Indiana.
How do YOU spell success?
Jeffrey D. Scherer
Fort Wayne Work to Include Team Leader
We have a local party tent rental employer up here, his name is Matt Mutton. He was having difficulties finding reliable and dependable employees, so he enlisted the help of Kevin Morse, who is the Director of Employer Resources at Greater Fort Wayne Inc. Kevin was able to find Matt some employees to work in his business. These employees were very respectful and came to work on time. They did what was asked of them. One of the techniques that they used was peer mentoring to partner the employee with one of the more experienced employees so they can learn from each other. Another thing they learned that may be useful to other employers when working with people with disabilities(or any employee) is to set clear guidelines and expectations so they know what standard you’re looking for.
I look forward to highlighting other employer success stories in the upcoming months from the Fort Wayne area.
#INCLUSIONWORKS
Indiana’s Employment First Plan
The state is still working to incorporate comments and suggestions from the public into the Employment First plan. The plan is to be formally adopted by the Indiana Commission on Rehabilitation Services. Work to Include is grateful for the ability to provide input into the plan and its recommendations. The results of the Town Halls held in 2019 made a substantial impact on the goals and activities outlined.
Medicaid Waiver Redesign
Recently, Work to Include made recommendations to the state on its plan to redesign the Medicaid Waivers for Individuals with Developmental Disabilities. The state is working to upgrade services and supports. While it is doing that, Work to Include is recommending that it come into compliance with Indiana’s Employment First law. Here are the highlights:
While the concept paper recently published has some great ideas, Work to Include would like to see more emphasis on employment and cohesion with the state’s Employment First status. As an Employment First state, Indiana must build a focus on employment outcomes into every component of the Waiver system.
Work to Include supports the addition of a third Waiver that was designed to encourage and incentivize competitive, integrated employment. Allowing someone who is working to find and maintain employment to be eligible for this Waiver would encourage individuals and their families who may be concerned about using the limited funds on the Family Support Waiver.
Case Managers can and must support career development and be experts in employment and benefits counseling. Case managers must be trained in leading-edge practices in the field (e.g., person-centered planning, supported/customized employment, supported living, etc.), and must work in partnership with individuals and families to build assets and ensure financial safety nets.
A Participant-Directed approach to service planning and budgeting should be used to ensure flexibility and control. Work to Include recommends a self-directed option that would allow individuals the flexibility to design unique support plans like employer-based job coaching.
Service definitions across the board need to be revised and aligned with Indiana’s Employment First Plan and promote competitive, integrated employment outcomes. We recommend expanding services to include benefits counseling, innovative transportation options (like Uber/Lyft), asset development and self-advocacy skills.
The Redesigned Waivers should incorporate a new set of quality measures and providers and case managers should be held accountable to them. Currently, there are no quality measures that track competitive, integrated employment. We believe the system will not be responsive until EVERYONE understands employment is EVERYONE’s job!
In designing new services, the state should seek out best practices from those states with higher levels of competitive, integrated employment. States like Washington, Oklahoma, Vermont, and others could provide a guide to Waiver services that positively impact employment outcomes for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Let us know what you think about these recommendations by emailing srinne60@gmail.com. Due to the COVID-19 virus, work on the Waiver Redesign has been put on hold. However, you can still see the documents and provide you comments by visiting, https://www.in.gov/fssa/ddrs/5733.htm.
#INCLUSIONWORKS
COVID-19 and Services for People with Disabilities
People with disabilities can be at higher risk for developing severe symptoms of the COVID-19 Virus. There is much information coming out about how to prepare and about the impact on services. Please visit https://coronavirus.in.gov/ for more information about the virus and how to be safe. FSSA continues to issue news and update guidance to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. Visit https://www.in.gov/fssa/5772.htm for information about changes to programs and services.
CHECK US OUT…
Please help get the word out! Go to our Facebook and LinkedIN pages and share them widely. We hope you enjoy the access to employment-related content and are sure others will, too. Thanks!
HAVE AN EMPLOYMENT SUCCESS STORY YOU ARE WANTING TO SHARE?EMAIL SRINNE60@GMAIL.COM. SHORT, SWEET AND A PICTURE WOULD BE WONDERFUL!
Thank you!
For more information please contact our Co-Directors,
Pat Rogan, Professor, IUPUI School of Education at progan@iupui.edu
or
Susan Rinne, MPA at srinne60@gmail.com
