Maine's CHOICES CEO Project
Working Together News
A newsletter about Maine's efforts to increase work opportunities for people with disabilities
In Focus
Contractor Chosen for National Employer-focused Disability Media Campaign
A national employer-focused disability media campaign made progress this month with the selection of a national contractor. The Employment and Disability National Marketing Campaign is a collaboration between Health and Disability Advocates, based in Chicago, and Medicaid Infrastructure Grant programs, such as Maine’s CHOICES CEO.
Maine is one of over a dozen states helping to define, fund and steer a national media campaign to make the case to businesses that hiring people with disabilities make good business sense. The campaign will also direct businesses to state resources that support employers’ efforts to hire people with disabilities.
Wirestone, an independent marketing company based in Chicago, has been selected to develop an awareness message for employers about hiring people with disabilities; conduct audience research; create an advertising campaign; determine how to evaluate the success of the campaign; and make national media buys for ads.
Throughout this winter and spring, the campaign development group will be working with participating states and Wirestone. All states will have access to resulting media materials when the work is completed.
CHOICES CEO Seeks Increased Participation from Job Seekers and Workers with Disabilities
Throughout the year, the CHOICES CEO project will be increasing
engagement with job seekers and workers with disabilities.
The plan to increase participation grew out of the success of a pilot
effort in April 2008 at a job fair in Bangor (see
article).
We hope to collaborate with job seekers and workers with disabilities in two primary ways: public events that focus on career advancement, such as job fairs, and through regional work groups. What we learn from participants will be organized to help key decision-makers guide future policy for the state of Maine.
CHOICES CEO will coordinate this work with partners such as Career Centers, Vocational Rehabilitation, the Commission on Disability and Employment, Maine’s Disability Program Navigators, and the Maine Transition Network. From this collaboration, we will improve print brochures, online information, and training materials for service providers and advocates.
If you are interested in learning more about this initiative, please contact Alli Vercoe at Voice (207) 626-5023/TTY (207) 626-5282 or Vanessa Bell at Voice (207) 228-8111/ TTY (866) 783-6461.
Legislative Report
Tough Legislative Session Ahead
The First Regular Session of the 124th Maine Legislature is now underway. With a shortfall for the coming two-year budget estimated to be well in excess of $800 million, finances will no doubt be the primary focus. It is expected that severe funding cuts will have to be made; many advocates are trying to determine what impact these actions will have on services and programs.
In our March 2008 newsletter, we reported on the Maine Can Do Better organization and its website: http://www.mainecandobetter.org, which remains an excellent resource for following the progress of budget deliberations. The site has stories about how people would fare under proposed cuts, and provides suggested actions that could be taken to restore funding.
Maine’s Developmental Disabilities Council will host a series of Disability Advocacy Days at the Statehouse on the following Thursdays: January 22, February 5, February 26, March 12, March 26, April 9, April 30, May 14, and May 28. These days are organized in concert with the Maine Disability Advocacy Coalition. Advocacy Days are an opportunity for self-advocates, family members, and other interested parties to take an active role in the legislative process. For more information, contact Kathleen Young at Kathleen.E.Young@maine.gov or (800) 244-3990.
State Affairs
CareerCenter Launches Online Service to Connect Jobseekers and Employers
In December, Maine’s Job Bank— an online service that links Maine workers with employers—went live on the Maine CareerCenter website.
Users can upload résumés, save job referrals and get e-mail updates on jobs that match their qualifications and preferences. Job seeker information is kept confidential unless the individual gives permission to share it with potential employers.
Employers can use Maine’s Job Bank to upload job postings at no cost. They can also review resumes and generic applications from interested jobseekers. All jobs posted on Maine’s Job Bank are added to Job Central, a national job search site with an audience of millions of jobseekers.
Maine’s Job Bank was developed and tested with feedback from workers and employers. The site is encrypted and is accessible to people with disabilities. For more information on Maine’s Job Bank, call (888) 457-8883/TTY (800) 794-1110, or visit www.mainecareercenter.com.
New Transportation Toolkit Offers Riders Clear Explanation of Services in their Area
The Maine Department of Transportation has produced a new publication to help residents map out their transportation needs and access the services of regional transportation providers. The Transportation Toolkit includes:
- Personal transportation needs assessment
- Description of Maine’s transportation regions
- Definitions of types of transportation providers
- Explanations of transportation options available in each region
- Information for seniors
The Toolkit also lists regional transportation providers, social service agencies that provide transportation services, and local fixed-route providers. In addition to provider contact information, it describes the specific area covered by each provider, lists the cost to the rider, and explains who is eligible for the service.
The Transportation Toolkit is written in plain language and is designed to be printed and then filled in by the user prior to his or her contacting local transportation providers.Download a copy of the Transportation Toolkit (PDF).
Mark Your Calendar
Work
From the Inside Out: The New Alchemy of Employee Engagement
January 29, 2009
Shrewsbury, MA
Denise Bissonette returns to New England for a one-day workshop! Go
here for details and photos of Denise at the September 2008
Power of Work Conferences.
7th
Annual Health Professions Career Fair
February 11, 2009
Portland, ME
Open to UNE Health Profession Students, Alumni and the General Public.
Go here for more calendar items
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.
Google Building Public Transit Mapping Resource
Google is expanding its mapping tools to include public transportation. More and more communities in the U.S. and around the world are working with Google to get information about their public transportation system linked in with Google Maps. For a list of cities that have their public transportation data available, go to www.google.com/transit.
To see an example of how this works, visit www.googlemaps.com and search for directions in a city covered by the service. Select the “By Public Transportation” option once Google displays the results of your search. The map will then be revised to include step-by-step directions, transfers and travel times for each section of the trip. Maine does not have any cities currently listed as participants in the service. Ask your own local public transportation system about their plans to connect with this new resource.
Updates
New Publication to Help Employers Understand ADA Revisions
In September, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Amendments Act of 2008 was passed and signed into law. The amendments make it easier to hire, accommodate, and protect employees with disabilities by clarifying elements of the current ADA. (For more on this, see the November 2008 newsletter.)
On January 1, 2009, these new amendments took effect. However, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunities Commission (EEOC), the agency that enforces the law, has not yet finalized interpretative regulations to guide implementation. A new publication, The ADA Amendments Act of 2008, is part of the Job Accommodation Network (JAN) Accommodation and Compliance Series. The publications says that the changes to the ADA were needed because the courts had defined disability so narrowly. The challenge now is to understand the changes and who will be covered by the ADA as of January 1.
The ADA Amendments Act of 2008 and other resources offered on JAN’s website should help employers implement the new law, particularly until the EEOC completes the new regulations. Included are practical tips for employers on topics such as reviewing job descriptions, qualification standards, and accommodation procedures; focusing on performance and conduct; training supervisors and managers; and documenting actions. The publication will be periodically updated as additional information is made public.
Working Together Joins the US Business Leadership Network (BLN)
Maine’s Working Together business-to-business network joined
the US Business Leadership Network
(BLN) in December. The USBLN is
the only national disability organization led by business for business.
It was established to promote best practices in hiring, retaining,
and marketing to people with disabilities.
Working Together is now
one of 53 Business Leadership Network affiliates in 31 states; these
affiliates represent more than 5,000 employers nationwide. The annual
conference for USBLN is scheduled for Sept. 15-19, 2009 in Washington
D.C.
Snapshot 2008 Released
The CHOICES CEO project announces the release of Snapshot 2008, an annual publication that provides the latest data on employment among people with disabilities in Maine. It estimates employment participation, economic well-being, and the use of employment services and supports. Examples include:
- In 2007, there were about 137,000 working-age adults with a disability living in Maine; of these, 52,000 (38 percent) were employed. This is compared to an employment rate of 82 percent for people without a disability.
- Generally, employment participation is highest among adults with sensory disabilities and lowest among those with self-care, go-outside-the-home, and employment disabilities.
- In 2007, one quarter of working-age adults with a disability were living below the Federal Poverty Level (FPL). More than half were “near-poor,” meaning they had incomes below 200 percent of the FPL.
- There were 31,810 people receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI) in Maine in 2007, and 2,278 (7.2 percent) were working.
The full report is available in several formats at: http://www.choicesceo.org/new/datasnapshot.html
Also, please visit Maine’s newly updated Disability and Employment Dashboard!
A Continuing Discussion about the New Ticket to Work Act
In our November newsletter, we addressed parts of the Ticket program that impact Employment Networks (ENs)— service agencies to which a person with a disability can assign his or her Ticket voucher. Assigning a voucher allows payment to be made to the EN when certain program success points (milestones) are reached.
In our last article, we reported that by increasing the number of ENs, Ticket holders would have additional choices in more areas of Maine, and that this change would make for a more effective Ticket program overall.
The National Coalition for Health Systems Development (NCHSD) calls on states to undertake new recruitment efforts in order to create a solid base of ENs throughout their state. They report that significant intervention is needed to reach:
- Organizations that were around to see the serious problems with the earlier (pre-2008) version of Ticket to Work; these agencies saw that it was almost impossible to compete with state VR agencies and that the reimbursement system was inadequate. A strong case must be made with these agencies that the new program can work.
- New organizations that are learning about the Ticket and the EN option for the first time. These organizations might include businesses that are looking for new ways to expand their workforce, or that have a greater interest in the Ticket program due to more positive awareness about workers with disabilities.
On the national level, many private businesses have signed on to become ENs so as to better tap into the pool of job applicants with disabilities. Walgreens drug store chain has been promoting its strategies to increase employee diversity. Their approach has been successfully demonstrated at its distribution center in Anderson, South Carolina, where 42 percent of the almost 275 employees have a disclosed disability. One of Walgreens strategies was to become an EN. Walgreens uses the Ticket reimbursement payments to invest in things that will assist its employees with disabilities, such as better training methods and tools.
A significant national resource for ENs is the
National Employment Network
Association (NENA). NENA works with ENs,
State VR agencies, beneficiaries, WIPA contractors and other stakeholders
to help build the Ticket program's public-private partnership.
Recognizing that most ENs had not found the Ticket program easy or
profitable, NENA has provided services free of charge. These services
have included sending Ticket news and EN best practices by e-mail,
holding national teleconferences, creating a website, and advocating
with the Social Security Administration. Click
here to be added to NENA's email distribution list.
NENA is developing a Ticket Institute to help ENs become financially viable providers of quality services; it is hoped that this, in turn, will help more Ticket holders succeed. The institute is being piloted in Arizona and Arkansas and should be ready soon for use in EN training and support in Maine.
