Highlighting the Technical Assistance Sites for Years 2003 & 2004

Ten organizations are currently receiving individualized training and technical assistance from the T-TAP staff and the CRP Leadership Network to help develop their programs from segregated work and non-work options to competitive employment opportunities in the community. The training and technical assistance includes program planning, marketing, budgeting, staff development, and financial planning. Meet the 2003 and 2004 Technical Assistance Sites

Is your agency looking to expand community-based employment for people with disabilities? If the answer is yes, your agency may be eligible to participate in activities designed to improve employment outcomes for people with disabilities. T-TAP staff and the CRP Leadership Network will be working with five agencies yearly to offer training and technical assistance to help providers develop their programs from segregated work and non-work options to competitive employment opportunities in the community.

The Request for Proposal (RFP) for 2005 will be announced in January 2005. The RFP Application Package will be available online.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) ( HTML | Word | PDF )

For more information, please contact Colleen Condon , (617) 287-4369.

Project Overview:
The Training and Technical Assistance to Providers (T-TAP) project is a five-year project funded by the Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) / US Department of Labor (DOL) designed to improve employment outcomes for people with disabilities. As part of this project, Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) and the Institute for Community Inclusion (ICI) will be working with five agencies yearly to offer intensive Training and Technical Assistance to help providers develop competitive employment opportunities in the community for individuals who are currently in segregated or non-work options. Five organizations will be chosen this year, and an additional five will be chosen in the subsequent three years, for a total of twenty organizations.

Who is Eligible to Apply:
Any Community Rehabilitation Provider currently using DOL 14 (c) waivers in their employment services for people with disabilities.

What Will Selected Providers Receive:
The Institute for Community Inclusion (ICI) in partnership with Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) will work with selected providers to build their capacity to facilitate "individually determined, customized employment in non-stereotypic competitive jobs for persons with disabilities." Participating provider agencies will receive support from other Community Rehabilitation Providers (CRP Leadership Network) who have been successful in implementing customized employment outcomes. Each selected site will receive:

- Individually developed Technical Assistance (TA) plans

- Assignment of a mentor agency from the CRP Leadership Network

- On-site consultations with Technical Assistance staff

- Phone and email consultations

- Opportunity to participate in online courses, webcasts and discussions with other providers

Through the TA activities, participating organizations will receive assistance in :

- redesigning their service system

- restructuring customer supports

- connecting to employers utilizing affirmative techniques

- linking consumers to jobs of their choice that offer competitive wages, benefits and opportunities for career advancement.

Participating Organization Commitments

Participating organizations commit to participation in the project over a two year period.
Participation includes:

- Hosting on-site technical assistance visits from ICI and the Mentor CRP

- Providing up to three days release time and participate in travel funding for one or more staff to visit the Mentor CRP

- Supporting project data collection efforts including demographic and outcome data for a sample of consumers (4 times), qualitative interviews with key stakeholders to document the planning and change process, and data on staff time allocation (4 times).

- Providing release time for staff to participate in online courses and live webcasts.

Technical Assistance
Applicants can request alternative formats or help in preparing their proposals by contacting Colleen Condon at 617-287-4369 or colleen.condon@umb.edu. Project staff providing technical assistance will NOT participate in the grant application review or selection process.

Considerations for Selection
General selection considerations for Training and Technical Assistance will include the identified potential for the CRP to benefit from technical assistance, the need for technical assistance, a demonstrated commitment to change and that the technical assistance would provide the opportunity for the organization to make substantial changes. In making selections, geographic distribution and organization characteristics (including rural, suburban or urban settings, size of agency and populations served) will be considered.