KFI, Inc.

Individual Barrier to Competitive Employment

While rural sections of Maine have not enjoyed the recent extremely low unemployment rates of other sections of the country, KFI remains committed to assisting people with disabilities find regular jobs for minimum wage or greater. Although jobs continue to be hard to find for everyone and people with disabilities experience the greatest difficulties of all, the approaches we use are successful without resorting to a Section 14c certificate – in fact, we simply refuse to use this certificate and do not offer subminimum wage as an option to employers. We believe that our success in this tough job market and in isolated locations means these strategies can work anywhere. We recognize that there is a dual dilemma for job developers: they both assist businesses in identifying and then solving their problems and also assist people with disabilities to discover their interests and then find a good job match.

Strategy to Address Barrier

1. Learn about the individual - what the person has done, likes and dislikes, the type of surrounding that is acceptable or a problem, why any failures occurred, what hours are acceptable, transportation arrangements, etc.

2. Only place people in jobs they want. If they do not know what they want, help them explore options through job shadowing or situational assessments.

3. Learn about the business and help the employer discover and then solve problems. (We estimate that 75% of successful placements happen in businesses that initially said they have no openings.)

4. Develop a relationship with the employer by not overselling, by handling problems when they occur, and by being honest.

5. Have an understanding of incentives that are available to employers (e.g., trial work experience, tax incentives, etc.)

6. Follow-up - find problems before they happen or while they are small.

Case Example of Individual Change Strategy

Brian had no previous work experience and was taking medication that made him drowsy. The job developer spent some time getting to know him and his interests and helped have his medication checked and changed, increasing his energy. The job developer recognized that transportation would be an issue and worked out various arrangements with estranged family members to get him to the job, but the job search began with businesses close to his home. Because of the significance of his disability, he needs a job coach, but the coach only provides transportation in emergencies.
Brian eventually thought he would like to work at the local grocery store, and a Trial Work Experience (TWE) was arranged with the employer. The TWE allows the individual to receive a commensurate wage – minimum wage or higher – for the approximately 3 to 4 weeks. Maine’s Bureau of Vocational Rehabilitation pays the TWE wages to KFI, which in turn pays Brian, so the employer has no expenses during this period. The Bureau also pays for a job coach. While there is no guarantee of employment after the completion of the TWE, we estimate that the person is hired about 80% of the time.

Prior to Brian’s first day at work, our employment team spent many hours going over potential scenarios and emphasizing the importance of the social aspects of working. Brian is working for four different departments during the TWE in order to maximize his chances for ongoing employment at the end of this period. KFI has an established relationship with this employer. He has hired several people over the years, but not all the work experiences have been successful. One of the reasons for the solid relationship is our willingness to handle unsuccessful situations and to leave with a handshake whenever a job ends.

On the importance of knowing the person: our job developer says he would like to do a presentation consisting totally of the following: “Ask the person what he/she wants and then go find it. Thank you, that is the end of this presentation.”
Strategies to address barriers: Organizational | Individual

Allegan County Community Mental Health
The Arc of Stanly County, Inc.
Career Design & Development Services
Career Support Systems, Inc.
The Cobb/Douglas Community Services Boards (CSBs)
HPS, Helping People Succeed, Inc.
KFI
Rise, Inc.
Via of Lehigh Valley