Preparing for Work

• Pre-School
• Elementary School
• Middle/Junior High
• High School
• Transition Period

Even before students start school, parents can talk to them about the jobs of the community members around them. By pointing out neighborhood employees (e.g., "There is the fire/police station. There is the grocery store. What kinds of people work in those places? What do they do?"), parents can begin to impart an awareness and appreciation of work.

Elementary School

In elementary school, teachers can continue the work parents began (while parents continue at home). For every curriculum area, applications can be made to various jobs. Furthermore, students can become familiar with different jobs during field trips and outings.

Middle/Junior High School

As students enter junior high, they often find part-time jobs after school and on weekends. Alternatively, they could explore jobs in and around the school to see what they might enjoy. They could work in the office or school store, or spend time with various staff members observing. Students should be encouraged to start thinking about work and the types of jobs that they might want to try.

High School

During high school, students can begin to articulate their own preferences and choices about what they want to do after high schoolif they want to go to college or a vocational training program, or where they might like to work. Students should continue to work at part-time jobs after school and on weekends. Additionally, the student may want to take part in a vocational course or program, if available at his/her school, to earn high school credit for jobs during school hours.

Post-High School Period

Some students remain in school beyond the age that most students graduate (ages 19-21). During these years, if a student is not enrolling in any post-secondary institutions, the focus should be on preparing for adult life through real experience in the community. For employment, this may mean that a student spends a good deal of his/her school time at actual jobs in the community getting on-site job training from education professionals. Job sites should be chosen based on student choice as well as the potential to continue employment after leaving school, proximity to the individual's home, and transportation availability. Timelines for fading school involvement should be clearly delineated in the ITP.

Skills that students should have developed by the time they leave school include: resume writing, interviewing, how to dress for work/interviews, physical stamina, promptness, problem solving, personal hygiene, following directions or demonstrations, accepting criticism, completing tasks independently and cooperatively, developing social relationships, and understanding how job accommodations can assist them.

In-School Work Experience

• Vocational Exploration-- brief exposure to a variety of work settings to assist with decisions about future career directions or occupations
• Functional Vocational Assessment-- to determine individual training objectives for a student in a specific work environment
• Vocational Training-- to place student in various employment settings for extended work experience

Job Options

• Inclusive Work Situations
• Just regular old employment
• Support for employment
• Segregated Options

Inclusive work situations describe employment options that are generally the same or similar to the options of others in the community. Getting involved in inclusive work settings can sometimes require more effort in the beginning, but the payback may be well worth the extra time, effort, and resources. For information about funding inclusive employment please refer to Appendix IV: Funding Sources for Community-Based Supported Employment.

"Just regular old employment" is work where the employee is hired and supervised directly by an employer. Workers earn a salary or wages for work completed. The following steps are typical for those individuals who just want to "go out and get a job."

• Develop a resume. A resume, listing skills and experiences will need to be sent/given to prospective employers.
• Look at the "help wanted" section of your local newspaper (or the newspaper of the town where you want a job) and follow the instructions in the advertisement (usually a phone number to call for more information or an address to send a resume to will be listed). Frequently a cover letter, in addition to a resume, is requestedso it's helpful to have a draft version on hand.
• Find a "head hunter." Look in the yellow pages under "Employment Agencies." These are typically agencies that work with individuals on finding a job that is suitable to the individual's experience. Some of these agencies specialize in specific kinds of jobs (e.g., high-technology jobs, secretarial jobs). Remember to be persistent as the head hunter typically works for the company who then pays him/her a fee when the position is filled.
• Enlist the assistance of a career counselor. Career counselors often work in high schools, colleges, and human service agencies and can assist with resume preparation, job preference assessments, interview skills, and cover letters.
• Check out human service agencies. These agencies often receive mailings that they post regarding jobs, specifically from businesses trying to recruit someone from the population the agency serves. Independent Living Centers are especially helpful in assisting with job searches.
• Make an appointment at the Department of Employment and Training (DET). The DET has a computer system that can do job searches according to geographic area and job title. An individual completes the search and then meets with a counselor to discuss qualifications and help make a job match.
• Utilize the power of networking. Talk with everyone you know and let them know you are looking for a job. Give as many details as you can (e.g., what type of job, why you would be good at the job, where you want the job to be located).
• Go door to door. Visit places where you are interested in working. Find out information about the place ahead of time so you can ask any questions you might have when you get there. Sometimes a phone call prior to arriving is helpful.
• Try to get an informational interview. When you visit a place where you are interested in working, try to arrange an appointment with someone with whom you would be working. Ask that person questions about the types of jobs at the organization (even if there are none available at the time) and any other questions you have prepared about the work and/or company. This preliminary step is an invaluable tool in developing ideas about what you want to do for work.

Support for employment can be offered for any job one desires. In the past, people often selected jobs based on the type of support available at a specific location. New ways of looking at employment, as well as national civil rights legislation, now make it easier for individuals with disabilities to get the support they need at the job of their choosing. The amount and type of support provided varies according to the needs of the individual in any specific job and may consist any or all of the following:

• External Supports
• Natural Supports
• Job Accommodations

External Supports

External supports are often provided, in the form of Supported Employment or Supported Work, from outside agencies (e.g., state agencies). Supported Employment is defined as competitive, paid work in a community-based work setting in which the employee receives ongoing support from an employment training specialist, job coach, or vocational instructor. Supported Work refers to the same type of job, but in a situation where the employee will not need long-term support. In both situations, the type and amount of support an individual receives varies according to the needs of the individual.

Although some individuals may need ongoing support, the ideal is to be able to phase out the external supports (those of the employment vendor or school) or utilize them only as necessary (e.g., each time an individual begins a new job, if necessary). If ongoing supports are necessary, they may include having a job coach or job developer who may initially assist an individual to get a job, learn what is expected at the job, and access any necessary accommodations. External supports should always begin with the idea that eventually they will cease. Even when ongoing supports are warranted, the goal should be to develop the most natural ways to provide support.

Natural Supports

Natural supports exist in many workplaces, usually in the form of supportive supervisors and co-workers or supportive practices and procedures. They may occur as implied (naturally!) or they may need a bit of planning to get started. Generally the employment training specialist (ETS) will examine the culture of the workplace to identify existing supports and specific people responsible for providing those supports. For example, a supervisor who provides training to new employees could also provide initial training to an employee with a disability. Or, if an individual needs to be reminded when it is time to move on to the next task, another employee, also changing tasks at the same time, might be able to remind him/her. With natural supports, the role of the ETS becomes one of facilitator rather than trainer or supervisor. The ETS facilitates supportive practice, which includes assisting an individual to develop and maintain relationships with co-workers, for example, arranging to switch an employee's lunch hour so he/she can eat at the same time as a friend.
 
 

Job Accommodation

The ability to be successful in a job often hinges on the physical environment or set-up of the job. According to the ADA, an individual with a disability has the right to request reasonable accommodation for employment. Types of job accommodation may include:

• Job Restructuring  -- changing the job so an individual does it differently or performs only the essential parts (e.g., adjustments to work procedures or to the order in which tasks are performed)
• Assistive Devices -- objects that assist in doing the job or completing a task with greater ease or independence (e.g., an electric stapler, a magnifying lens, or a TTY)
• Training -- printed instructions, visual prompts, verbal cues or other teaching methods that assist in learning or relearning job duties (e.g., large-print instructions)
• Personal Assistant -- an individual who assists with job duties, routines, or work-related aspects of a job (e.g., an interpreter to assist with communication, a secretary to type dictated letters)
• Building Modification -- an alteration to the physical environment that allows safe and equal access (e.g., a ramp, wide aisles, or raised letters on elevator buttons)
• Job Reassignment -- temporary or permanent task transfers among co-workers so each individual is responsible for the parts of a job he/she is able to complete (e.g., two administrative assistants where one is solely responsible for answering the phone, and the other for written correspondence)

Segregated Work Situations

Just as there are options for individuals with disabilities to become part of the mainstream of the work force and community life, options have been developed solely for individuals with disabilities in separate, segregated work facilities. These options fall into three general categories:

• Sheltered Workshops
• Day Activity Centers
• Day Habilitation Centers

Sheltered workshops are separate facilities where individuals with disabilities perform various kinds of "bench work," such as mass mailings, packaging, and assembly tasks. Pay is usually based on the amount of piecework done (i.e., on the number of products correctly completed) and depends on the availability of subcontracts with other companies.
 

Day activity centers are separate facilities where people with disabilities spend the day on a combination of work-related and non-work-related activities. Training in daily living skills and practice of vocational skills in a simulated work environment are usually offered (e.g., packaging/unpacking, sorting, assembly/disassembly, cleaning, cooking). Payment for completed work depends on the availability of subcontracted jobs and is based on a piecework rate, similar to a sheltered workshop.

Day Habilitation Centers

Day habilitation centers, or "Day Habs," are funded through federal Medicaid moneysan arrangement that does not allow people to perform paid vocational tasks. While some Day Habs offer worklike activities, these programs typically focus on therapies and skill training relating to daily living (e.g., hygiene, cooking, shopping, grooming) and recreation/leisure (e.g., arts and crafts, reading magazines).

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is the basic federal minimum wage law that applies to certain types of business enterprises and individual employees who are engaged in some way in the production or movement of goods in interstate commerce. The FLSA applies where there is an employment relationship, one in which the employer receives the benefit for the work you perform. Where FLSA applies and there is an employment relationship, minimum wage and overtime must be paid. Child labor laws must be followed and certain records kept. Check what the current minimum wage is and acertain that overtime is paid after 40 hours a week.

Subminimum wage certificates can be obtained by employers for: 1) full-time students in retail, agriculture, and institutions of higher education, and 2) workers whose disabilities impair their job performance. School-work experience programs that pay wages can also apply for subminimum certificates.

FLSA does not apply to students who are trainees. Whether trainees/students are employees of an employer under FLSA will depend upon all of the circumstances surrounding their activities on the premises of the employer. If all six of the following criteria apply, the trainees/students are not employees under the definition of FLSA:

1. The training, even though it includes actual operation of the facilities of the employer, is similar to that which would be given in a vocational school.
2. The training is for the benefit of the trainees/students.
3. The trainees/students do not displace regular employees but work under their close observation.
4. The employer who provides the training derives no immediate advantage from the activities of the trainees/students, and on occasion the employer's operations may be impeded.
5. The trainees/students are not necessarily entitled to a job at the conclusion of the training period.
6. The employer and the trainees/students understand that the trainees/students are not entitled to wages for training time.

• What are the student's interests?
• What kind of work/activities does the student enjoy?
• What are the student's skills?
• How much money does the student need to earn in order to support his/ her lifestyle?
• Where does the student want to work?
• Where is the work located in relation to transportation/residence?
• Does the student need further education or training?
• How many hours a day is the student willing to work?
• What does the job pay?
• Does the job have benefits? (e.g., insurance, vacation, tuition reimbursement)
• Will having a job affect social security benefits?
• Will the job provide flexibility for any ongoing medical needs?
• How flexible are the job hours?
• Does the job suit the student's work style (e.g., noisy, quiet, casual, formal)?
• Will the job provide enough challenge?
• Is there room for advancement at the job?
• What kind of supervision/mentoring is needed?
• Does the job offer any staff development opportunities?
• What are the job's physical requirements?