Maine's CHOICES CEO Project
Working Together News
A newsletter about Maine's efforts to increase work opportunities for people with disabilities
In Focus
Mark Your Calendars: The Power of Work! Disability and Employment Conference
Keynote Speaker, Diane Bissonette
On September 23 and 24, The Power of Work! Disability and Employment Conference will be held at the Augusta Civic Center. The conference (organized by the CHOICES CEO project in partnership with Maine’s Commission on Disability and Employment ) will offer two days of information exchange and networking about disability and employment in Maine.
The first day will be for service providers and the second day will be for job seekers and workers with disabilities. On both days, the keynote speaker will be Denise Bissonette. Denise is an inspiring and informative speaker who spoke two years ago at the “Future of Maine’s Economy” conference about connecting all workers — and particularly workers with disabilities — with work that they are good at and that leads to satisfaction and success.
Day 1 - September 23rd
Tuesday’s session is primarily intended for people who work in the
agencies and organizations that provide employment support services for
workers with disabilities. The day will emphasize tools and resources that
these agencies can use to help people with disabilities find and keep good
jobs.
Day 2 - September 24th
Wednesday’s session is primarily for job seekers and workers with
disabilities. The day will provide information on where to
find good jobs, what employers are looking for, and programs
and services for job searches and career development. The first
part of the day will be one of several Work Incentive Seminar
Events (WISE) to occur in Maine. These community events are
being held by the Maine Work Incentives Planning and Assistance
program—a
benefits counseling program of the Social Security Administration
that is based at Maine Medical Center. People with disabilities
who collect Social Security benefits and their families can
attend a WISE seminar to learn more about work incentives. Employers, Vocational
Rehabilitation, Protection and Advocacy Services, Employment
Networks and other employment program representatives are being
invited to attend. For information on WISE seminars being held elsewhere
in Maine, contact David Dubay at (207) 662-4387, TTY (207) 662-4900 or DUBAYD@mmc.org.
Updates on conference planning will be posted on our web site at http://choices.muskie.usm.maine.edu/2008conferences.html
State Affairs
CHOICES CEO Grant Application Submitted
On June 30, the Maine Department of Health and Human Services submitted an application for continued funding for the CHOICES CEO project. The project receives funding from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The current grant will end in December. The new grant, if funded, would fund the project through December 2010.
The grant application described the work of the CHOICES CEO using the model pictured below.
Area I is the ideal intersection area where all three stakeholder groups— employers; workers and job seekers with disabilities; and the programs composing Maine’s Workforce Development System—come together to maximize the employment of people with disabilities.
The ideal outcome would allow maximum access to all possible resources—those available in the private sector, the public sector, and also in a job seeker/worker’s personal and/or family network. Access to all of these resources should be available throughout the career of a worker, so that he or she can become a life-long learner, continually increasing education and job skills.
Each of the other three intersection areas (II, III and IV) represent connections important to the infrastructure that supports employment for people with disabilities.
The model also holds that as connections between the three groups become stronger, employment outcomes for people with disabilities will improve. Connecting these three groups has been an important part of the CHOICES CEO project’s work under the current grant. The project has facilitated interaction between these groups along three progressive stages: awareness leading to connection, which in turn will lead to a mutually beneficial outcome.
The decision by CMS to approve Maine’s request for funding is not expected until this fall.
Diploma Created for Youth Who Experience Disruptions to School
A new Maine Department of Education diploma has been created. This diploma provides an alternative option for students who have experienced disruption in their schooling and who do not have enough graduation credits for a traditional diploma. Disruptions include events such as homelessness, psychiatric hospitalization, hospitalization, foster care placement, or youth development center placement.
The new diploma is the result of the work of the Governor’s Task Force to Engage Maine’s Students. Since June 2006, the group has been working to address the challenges faced by students who are not engaged, or at risk of disengaging from school; the new diploma reflects work on one aspect of the issue. On July 24, Susan Gendron, Commissioner of Education, will be presenting the first Maine Department of Education Diploma to a student from School Union 132.Congressional Update
House Passes Bill to Strengthen Americans with Disabilities Act; Goes to Senate Next
On June 25, the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed H.R. 3195, the ADA Amendments Act of 2008. The law proposes to make it easier to hire and accommodate employees with disabilities by clarifying parts of the current Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
A similar bill passed the House of Representatives in 2007 but was not acted on by the Senate. This year’s measure is expected to be successful given that it was crafted by a coalition that included members of the business community and advocates for people with disabilities.
According to the House Education and Labor Committee, the House-passed legislation:
- Rejects Supreme Court decisions that have reduced the protections for people with disabilities under the ADA, restoring original Congressional intent;
- Clarifies that the ADA is intended to provide broad coverage to protect anyone who faces discrimination on the basis of disability;
- Clarifies the definition of disability, including what it means to be “substantially limited in a major life activity;”
- Prohibits the consideration of mitigating measures such as medication, prosthetics, and assistive technology, in determining whether a person has a disability; and
- Provides coverage to people who experience discrimination based on a perception of impairment regardless of whether the person experiences disability.
The House bill passed by a 402-17 vote. The Senate will now consider its version of the bill, S. 1881, later this year. With such a strong House vote and the support of a broad coalition of civil rights groups, disability advocates, and employer trade organizations, it seems likely that the Senate will pass its version later this summer.
For more information, visit the House Education and Labor
Committee website at http://edlabor.house.gov/issues/adaaa.shtml or you can track the Senate bill’s progress here http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s110-1881.
Mark Your Calendar
Turning
Interests Into Investments: Exploring Self-Employment with
Job Seekers
August 11 & 12, 2008
Colby College
Waterville, ME
2008
New England Diversity Career Fair
August 20, 2008, 10 am – 3 pm
Nashua, NH
Fleet & Family
Career & Education Expo
September 11, 2008, 10 am – 4
pm
Brunswick, ME
FALL
August Area Job Expo
September 30, 2008, 9 am – 2 pm
Augusta, ME
Ideas for Stories
Please help us… we are seeking stories! Do you know of a worker or employer that we can feature in our newsletter? Please contact Leslie Pohl.
Working Together to Hold its Second Annual Symposium
Employers interested in expanding their workforce through diversity are invited to attend this year’s Working Together Symposium on October 30 at the Hilton Garden Hotel in Freeport.
The keynote speaker will be Katherine McCary, a senior executive at Sun Trust Bank and national leader in the movement to bring people with disabilities into the workforce. She will talk about why employing people with disabilities makes good business sense and describe how Sun Trust Bank has benefited from its diverse workforce.
Attendees will then be able to choose from one of three break-out sessions:
- The Aging Workforce and Employees with Disabilities
- Employing Returning Veterans: Wounds We Can See, Wounds We Can't See
- Reaching Your Consumers: How To Market Your Employment
of People With Disabilities
Each session will have a panel of experts, as well as employers and employees who will share first-hand experiences and take-away suggestions for best practices.
Following the break-out sessions, Maine businesses and organizations that have successfully integrated people with disabilities into their workforces will be honored at an awards ceremony.
Do you know of a business that should be honored? Nominate
your own (or another) business or organization for one of
these three awards:
- The Large Business Leadership Award is given to businesses that have demonstrated a company-wide commitment to furthering employment opportunities for people with disabilities.
- The Small Business Leadership Award honors Maine businesses with fewer than 50 employees that have shown innovation and commitment in employing people with disabilities.
- The Workforce Achievement Award is also known as the "Just Do It" award and is intended to credit an employer that eagerly and enthusiastically begins diversifying its workforce by employing people with disabilities.
For more information on the symposium visit www.ExpandingMainesWorkforce.com.
Learning How to Successfully Support Youth Moving from School to Work
The CHOICES CEO project is gathering information about how transitions from school to work can be improved for young people with disabilities. Work on this priority area is being done through interviews, site visits and literature reviews.
Through the information gathered from research and speaking with providers, youth, and their families, we will focus on answering these three questions:
- What support and preparation is provided in situations in which young people with disabilities successfully transition from school to work or college?
- What strategies and programs increase job readiness and work skills for youth with disabilities?
- How do we increase the number of positive early work experiences for youth with disabilities?
We are specifically interested in Maine programs that have successfully created employment opportunities for young adults with disabilities. This information will be compiled in a guide for providers and employers on how to best assist youth with disabilities around workforce development.
If you have questions or you have information that would benefit this work, please contact Ahmen Cabral at (207)228-8548 or by e-mail at: acabral@usm.maine.edu.
Updates
Working Together Newsletter for Employers Launched
The inaugural issue of the ‘Working Together: Expanding
Maine’s Workforce’ e-Newsletter has arrived in inboxes
across Maine. The newsletter is primarily for employers involved
in the Working Together business network. To be issued quarterly,
the newsletter will update network members about events and resources
for integrating
people with disabilities into their workforce. View
the first issue here, or subscribe to the newsletter by e-mailing info@expandingmainesworkforce.com.
Disability Mentoring Day is October 15, 2008!
Disability Mentoring Day promotes career development for students and job-seekers with disabilities through job shadowing and hands-on career exploration. With leadership, coordination and materials from the American Association of People with Disabilities, local communities organize their own activities. These activities bring students/job seekers and employers together for informational sessions about career opportunities and one-on-one mentoring with volunteers in both public and private places of employment.
In past years, DMD has sponsored regional events around the state focused on providing job-seekers the opportunity to visit a job site and learn more about the skills needed for that career path. This year the Maine DMD effort is planning on offering the same great opportunities at an even larger number of workplaces. With the support of the Commission on Disability and Employment, this year’s DMD will be expanded through collaboration among Jobs for Maine Graduates (JMG), the Muskie School of Public Service, and the Department of Labor ‘Disability Program Navigator’ program.
We have started planning even earlier this year thanks to the work of statewide and local coordinators. Employers, students/job seekers, community liaisons and teachers can all get involved and participate in their local Disability Mentoring Day!
EMPLOYERS, this is a great opportunity for you to gain access to a pool of new talent and recruit for temporary or permanent internships. Participants will be matched with employers based on their interests and desired career path. This is a chance for you to demonstrate positive leadership in the community while sharing first-hand job experiences.
For more information, contact your regional coordinator listed here.
CHOICES CEO on the Radio!
On June 17, the CHOICES CEO project was the focus of a half-hour radio program, "Tuesday Night Talk Radio," on the University of Southern Maine's radio station, WMPG. Gail Wartell interviewed Mark Richards and Leslie Pohl about their work on the project and with employers to expand employment opportunities for people with disabilities. Go here to listen (this link opens an MP3 file in your browser window).
