Personal Agents
Personal Agents are individuals who provide information, education and technical assistance to individuals with disabilities and their families. They are generally requested to provide intensive person centered planning to address ways to meet personal needs and assistance with negotiating the use of individualized funding to purchase needed community services and supports. A personal agent can help identify day program goals, build a support team, discover and coordinate resources, and assist in selecting a service provider.
Benefits Analysis (Financial Planning)
As personal income for people with developmental disabilities has increased, the complexity of managing finances and benefits has also increased. Benefits Analysis is a review and plan for the use and coordination of an individual’s benefits by a trained professional who is experienced in Social Security and SSI regulations as well as other benefits that may be available to assist people with disabilities.
Employment
There are two broad categories of employment services available to adults with developmental disabilities. These are Competitive Employment and Supported Employment.
Competitive Employment
The Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR) has primary responsibility for competitive employment programs. DVR can provide short-term vocational assessment, placement, and training. Since people are seldom followed once they are placed on a job, individuals must rely on their own skills to maintain themselves in the job. This alternative offers individuals a wide range of work choices and possibilities but no long-term support.
Supported Employment
Supported Employment is paid, competitive employment for people who have severe disabilities and a demonstrated inability to gain and maintain traditional employment. Supported employment occurs in a variety of normal, integrated business environments. (AAMR-2001). Further, supported employment includes minimum wage pay or better, support provided to obtain and maintain jobs, and promotion of career development and workplace diversity. Support is provided to consumers, employers, and/or coworkers through activities such as on-the-job training, support to maintain the job, and long term assistance. Supported Employment is conducted in a variety of settings and work sites in which persons without disabilities are employed, as well as self-employment.
Supported Employment is different from traditional rehabilitation services. Traditional services focus on short-term assistance and training in order to produce long-term employment. For many people with disabilities, initial training and assistance of short duration will result in meaningful and lasting competitive employment. For other people who have more severe disabilities, short-term support will be insufficient for obtaining and maintaining employment. It is for these individuals that Supported Employment is designed.
There are two approaches to Supported Employment depending primarily on the support needs of the individual:
Individual Supported Employment
Individual Employment establishes employment opportunities for individuals with significant disabilities in local business or industry on a one-person/one job basis on jobs at or above minimum wage. A support organization develops the job based on an individual's interests, assists with training the individual and then provides ongoing support and retraining to the individual, the employer, and/or co-workers. Self employment has emerged as an option for some individuals. The support organization assists the individual with a business plan, taxes and other details of self-employment.
Group Supported Employment
Group Supported Employment is an approach in which a group of individuals perform work tasks within a host company in the community or as part of a crew that travels site to site. An agency provides supports to the individuals and works with the company. A trained supervisor is always at the work site. Payment for work performed may be above or below minimum wage but is always commensurate with pay to others within the host company or the general local job market. Workers with disabilities receive the same benefits with respect to working hours, lunch and break time. This approach maintains some of the benefits of integrated employment while providing the continuous support required by some individuals for long-term job success.
