EMPLOYMENT SERVICES

Overview

All employment offerings are customized for each individual’s needs and include programming to assist the individual to gain skills including providing supports, fading of supports, providing natural supports, and teaching skills to ensure individual to reach their full potential and the opportunity to be part of the work force. All offerings provide the following level of supports as needed:

Universal supports as needed including visuals, co-worker training, relationship training, and any additional supports
Assessment and evaluation to determine level of supports needed and implementation of supports and fading of supports
Assistance on job site of job coach trained in universal supports using evidence base procedures
- Job coaches trained in evidence-based employment and behavioral principles including task analysis, prompting and prompting hierarchy, fading prompts, shaping behaviors, and other reinforcement of strategies.
Data collection and analysis for making decisions most beneficial to the individual which includes goal setting, target skills and behaviors, task analysis of target skills with data collection at the task level, programming decisions based on data, identification of pre-requisite skills, reporting on skill mastery, and recommendations for continued or future skill needs
Clinical therapist provides oversight including reviewing of data collection and analysis towards progress of goals

Job Developer: a trained professional in communicating and collaborating with employers and matching the needs, interests, and skills of the individual with the employment experience.

May provide assessments to better understand interests, skills, goals, and support needs

Offerings

Supported Employment

Provide supports to assist individuals in need of gaining additional employment skills to gain/maintain competitive employment. Assistance can be provided on and/or off the job site depending on needs of individual. Generally, assistance includes a job coach who will be systematically faded. (Length and duration of supports will vary depending on requests and needs)

Customized Employment

Provide assistance with supports beginning at pre-employment in finding employment for a non-existent position at an employer site to meet the needs of the employer and the individual.

Includes assessment of individual and site development to determine proper placement
Incorporate supports, training, and modification of work setting to meet the needs of the individual
Provide job coach to integrate critical skills into job setting
Pre-training to individualize job and social skills needed in specific settings
Length and duration of supports vary depending on requests and needs
Data collected at task level for setting employment goals, decision making, guiding programming, increase skills, and promote success on the job

Work-Based Learning/Job Experience (more intensive experience in job/career area)

Provide employment setting for individuals to gain an experience of how to perform job duties in the employment setting.

Provided with a job coach with the level of supports dependent on the individual’s needs and fading toward increased independence
An assessment is prepared prior to starting to ensure appropriate placement
Traditionally for individuals who need additional supports in gaining skills to become independently employed
- Work to increase stamina in job experiences. For example, individual starts at 1 hour per day 2-5 days a week while systematically building duration of sessions to more hours per day.
- Includes 20-60 hours of direct on the job experience
- All placement locations have been through the job development process
- May be paid, incentive based, or a volunteer experience (will be considered based on individual and settings)
Data collected at task level for setting employment goals, decision making, guiding programming, increase skills, and promote success on the job

Job Sampling/Job Shadowing (brief experience in job/career area)

Individual is provided employment setting(s) to serve as an example of the duties and responsibilities in specific work environments and occupations.

Job sampling: hands-on experience where placements are determined by an assessment of the individual’s skills and interests
- A site development process will be completed for all employment settings prior to placement
- Sampling may be provided without a job coach, led by the employer and facilitated and organized by a job developer
- Each experience is between 4-6 hours
Job shadowing: one-time placements are determined by assessing interests of the individual
- Shadowing is observational of the job and its functions in an employer setting
- A site will be developed with employers based on the individual’s interests and future goals
- Shadowing is provided with a job coach and led by the employer and facilitated and organized by a job developer
- Opportunity is for experience to job or career and not paid or incentive-based
- Each is experience between 4-6 hours

Site Development

Initiate and collaborate with employers to identify opportunities for individuals to be integrated into an employment setting. Site development includes the following:

Contact employers to determine if they will participate in providing job opportunities
Determine individual’s skills, interests, and environmental sensitivities (sensory needs) to ensure adequate placement
Work with employer to determine job duties and any supports or assistance prior to and during placement(s)
Work with employer to determine scheduling and duration of employment opportunity depending on the employment service being provided
Educate employer prior to and the duration of the placement to ensure the understand and know how to support individual
Transition the individual into the employment setting including providing supervision to job coach if a job coach is needed

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