JAN is a service of the U.S. Department of Labors Office of Disability Employment Policy. 1 Customized Employment: Strategies and Possibilities Richard.

JAN is a service of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy.

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Customized Employment:Strategies and Possibilities

Richard Luecking, Ed.D.U.S. Department of Labor, ODEP &

TransCen, Inc.

JAN’s experiences regarding calls about customized employment:

•Any disability

•Any job

•Heavy emphasis on accommodations• Job restructuring

• Obtaining services such as job coaching

• Acquiring or modifying equipment

JAN’s Experiences

Disability: Stroke

Position: Social Worker

Limitations: Memory deficits

Job Difficulty: Unable to remember sequence of job tasks

Accommodation: Use a job coach

Effectiveness: Employee re-learns job tasks through one-on-one instruction

Situation and Solution #1

Disability: Seizure Disorder

Position: set designer at a University

Limitations: disorientation during/after a seizure

Job Difficulty: can’t recall task or identify surroundings

Accommodation: Install video intercom system

Effectiveness: Employer can identify where the employee is located by seeing the surroundings, then offer assistance

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Situation and Solution #2

What is customized employment?

What employers say about hiring individuals with significant disabilities in to jobs that are “customized?”

A partnership framework suggested by these perspectives?

Topics Covered

There’s a job for everyone who wants one, regardless of disability label, need for

support, or economic vitality of the community.

Presumption of Employability

Work Experience 15 years in a

sheltered workshopInterested in video and mediaEnjoys a variety of concrete tasks and social

contact

David

Company’s operational concerns:• Rapidly expanding business – hard to keep

up with orders• Technical staff performing administrative

duties• Diverted and delayed workflow across

production and shipping departmentsDavid’s duties:• Duplicating DVDs & CDs• Packing CDs• Transferring videocassettes to DVDs• Timing and checking tapes

Negotiating for mutual benefit

Results for the company• Tech staff more focused on development

tasks• Business orders filled more rapidly• Increased salesResults for David• Work in environment that welcomes his

contribution• Tasks and working conditions matched

to skills and preferences• First job in integrated workplace

Mutual Benefits

Service oriented consultation can create demand for job seekers with disabilities;

Identifying ways to add value to employers’ operations can create hidden, customized job opportunities for individuals not able to easily apply for “off the shelf” jobs.

Implications

Employment where job tasks are reassigned from an existing job, restructured from one or more existing jobs, or created to match the skills and accommodation needs of the job seeker AND…

What is Customized Employment?

… help the employer’s operation in specific ways. Thus, the individual has a “customized” job description.

What is Customized Employment?

1.Person-centered exploration or “discovery” of individual skills, interests and support needs + list of potential tasks to feature in job search

2. Individualized job search plan

Typical sequence of customized employment

3. Negotiation with prospective employers for task assignment and working conditions

4. Individualized post-placement support

Typical sequence of customized employment

Can we create employer demand for workers with disabilities?

What about those individuals who require extensive support/ accommodation?

How do we know what employers think about this?

When in doubt, When in doubt, Ask Them!Ask Them!

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• When first approached, what was your reaction?

• What convinced you to work with the project?

• What was the primary reason for hiring the job seeker?

• How has the project helped meet a company need?

What we asked employers about CE…

Customization met a specific need:Helped meet production goals or

backlogged workHelped meet sales goals or improved

aspect of operation Freed other employees to take care

of other tasks Competence and attentive service a

big plus

What they said…

The success of linking job seekers with work is as much about meeting employers’ needs as it is about serving job seekers.

• “Selling” disability or disability category.• Vague mutual benefit.• Variations on the theme of recruiting from an

“untapped resource.”

Common Current Appeals to Employers

“It is better to find out what your customers need and want and then match it to what you have, than it is to get them to buy what you are selling.”

Marketing

• Partners who help address a particular workforce need of the company

• Partners who help address an industry wide workforce need

What Employers Want

• Programs defined by category of disability• Programs defined by type of service• Programs of varying quality

Confused and frustrated!

What Employers Often Get

• Improved focus on employer-focused, demand-side approaches

• Partnerships that result in distinct benefits to all parties

What would help?

• Can work be re-organized to flow better?

• Are some employees overburdened by certain tasks?

• Are there operational “bottlenecks”?

What to Look for

• Long-Term Process, not a One-Time Event

• Based on Relationship Building

• Built on a foundation of mutual benefit

Job Development Partnerships

• Identifying ways to add value to employers’ operations will often create hidden, customized job opportunities

• It is these kinds of jobs that are always available, regardless of the economy.

Employer partnerships = jobs

The presence of a disability should neither deter or promote employer hiring decisions.

The presence of a disability should neither deter or promote employer hiring decisions.

Bottom Line

The jobs are there. We often have to work together to find them.

Bottom Line

www.dol.gov/odep/

www.marylandcep.org

Resources

• Working Relationships: Creating employment opportunities for job seekers with disabilities (Brookes Publishing Co., 2004)

• The Job Developer’s Handbook (Brookes Publishing Co., 2007)

Resources

• http://askjan.org/links/atoz.htm• http://onemoreway.org/index.htm• http://apse.org/• http://rwjms.umdnj.edu/boggscenter/

projects/supported_employment.html

Resources

Questions

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Contact (800)526-7234 (V) & (877)781-9403 (TTY) www.AskJAN.org & jan@askjan.org

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Job Accommodation Process