Via of the Leigh Valley

Organizational Barrier to Competitive Employment

Over the past five years Via, like many CRPs, began experiencing a slowdown in the number of people leaving the workshop for community employment. This decrease correlates with a nationwide leveling off of supported employment growth. Via’s transition to integrated community employment outcomes stagnated for a number of reasons that are in-line with other CRPs of its kind. The employment staff began to do a significant amount of supported employment with transition graduates and new customers, and a lot less with people from the workshop. Root causes of this shift included a significant drop off in county funding, a service system imbedded in licensed programming, protective parents, and need for additional staff training.

Strategy to Address Barrier

The agency strategy is simple and closely models the concepts in the book, Closing the Shop by Pat Rogan. Via focuses on the concepts of self-determination and getting people competitively employed quickly by moving resources to follow the person not the program. The agency believes in the concepts of “one life at a time,” teaching/telling the good story, and swiftly evolving organizational culture and structure to support these values.

Case Example of Organizational Change Strategy

• Educating families and supports coordinators on Social Security Work Incentives provided by Benefits Planning Assistance and Outreach (BPAO) staff.
  

• Working closely with families and supports coordinators on the details to demonstrate that supporting people in the community is not substantially more expensive than in a facility.
  
  
• Converting individual budget money used for workshop funding to competitive employment follow-along services.
  
  
• Refining the focus of the employment staff back to working with people from the workshop.
  
  
• Developing financial/costing processes that to significantly increase efficiency, and recouping payment for as much of the work performed as possible.
  
  
• Working closely with Vocational Rehabilitation staff to focus on more creative positive outcomes.
  
  
• Using foundation money creatively for customized employment funding.
  
  
• Learning more about the concepts of “braided funding.”
  
  
• Moving one FTE from the workshop to community employment services every four months.
  
  
• Evolving from a traditional VR assessment question of whether people are employable to a “yes, they are,” person centered, discovery based, process.
  
  
• Thinking strategically and constant staff training because the employment world is ever changing.
  

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