DISABILITY PROGRAM NAVIGATOR Navigator Demonstration: The DOL and SSA Vision

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DISABILITY PROGRAM NAVIGATORNavigator
DemonstrationThe DOL and SSA Vision

• Jim Downing, Senior Policy Specialist
• Division of DisAbility and Workforce Programs
• Employment and Training Administration
• Department of Labor
• August 12, 2004

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Disability Program Navigator

• The Disability Program Navigator
• (Navigator) Initiative is
• A multi year demonstration project.
• Jointly funded by DOL and SSA.
• Includes training of Navigators.
• Evaluation of Navigator initiative.

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Purpose

• The Navigator initiative is designed to
• Provide seamless and comprehensive services to
  persons with disabilities in One-Stop Career
  Centers.
• Increase employment and self-sufficiency for
  Social Security beneficiaries and others with
  disabilities.
• Facilitate access to programs and services.
• Facilitate linkage to the employer community.

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Navigator States
DOL has entered into grant agreements with 17
workforce agencies at the state level where SSA
has employment support initiatives. The 17
states include

• Arizona
• California
• Colorado
• Delaware
• Florida
• Illinois
• Iowa
• Maryland
• Massachusetts

• Mississippi
• New York
• New Mexico
• Oklahoma
• Oregon
• South Carolina
• Vermont
• Wisconsin

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Navigator Grant Administration

• The DOLs Employment and Training
• Administration is responsible for administration
• with
• Office of Grants and Contract Management Grant
  Officer
• Regional Office Federal Project Officer for each
  grant
• Division of Disability and Workforce Programs
  (DDWP) for policy, programmatic guidance and
  support
• And on-going partnership with SSA

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RRTC

• DOL has contracted with the
• Rehabilitation Research and Training
• Center (RRTC) on Workforce Investment
• and Employment Policy for Persons with
• Disabilities at the Law, Health Policy
• Disability Center of the University of Iowa
  College of Law.

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Building System Capacity

• The RRTC will provide
• Training
• Technical Assistance and Information
• Evaluation

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Navigators will be trained on

• SSA employment support programs
• One-Stop partner funded programs
• Other programs that impact successful employment

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WHAT A NAVIGATOR IS

• A resource
• A facilitator
• A problem solver
• A systems change agent
• A relationship builder

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Navigator Functions

• Coordination
• Cooperation
• Facilitation
• Collaboration

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WHAT A NAVIGATOR IS NOT

• Not a case manager
• Not a front-line staff person in a workforce
  center
• Not a Benefits Planning and Outreach Specialist
• Not a Vocational Rehabilitation Specialist

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The Navigator will

• Assist people with disabilities to access and
  navigate the complex provisions of various
  programs that impact their ability to gain,
  return to, or retain employment.
• Develop linkages and collaborate on an ongoing
  basis with employers to facilitate job placements
  for persons with disabilities.

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The Navigator will

• Facilitate the transition of in- or out-of-school
  youth with disabilities to secure employment and
  economic self-sufficiency.
• Conduct outreach to agencies and organizations
  that serve people with disabilities.

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The Navigator will

• Serve as a resource on SSAs work incentive and
  employment support programs and the provision of
  services through Benefits Planning, Assistance
  and Outreach organizations (BPAOs) Protection
  and Advocacy systems (PAs) and SSAs
  employment-related demonstration projects.

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The Navigator will

• Serve as a resource to the workforce investment
  community to ensure the availability of
  comprehensive knowledge of Federal, State, local
  and private programs that impact the ability of
  persons with disabilities to enter and remain in
  the workforce.

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The Navigator will

• DOL and SSA intend that many Navigators will be a
  person with a disability, a family member with a
  disability or a known advocate and, therefore,
  know the disability system and can provide peer
  to peer support.

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Navigator Core CompetenciesKnowledge

• Social Security Administration
• Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
• Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI)
• Planning for Achieving Self-Support (PASS)
• Property Essential to Self-Support (PESS)
• Impairment Related Work Expense (IRWE)
• Ticket to Work

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Navigator Core Competencies Knowledge

• Department of Labor
• Mandated partner employment and training
  programs including
• Adult, dislocated worker and youth WIA Title I
  programs
• Job Corps
• Apprenticeship
• Older Worker
• Pell Grants
• Vocational Training
• Trade and NAFTA programs
• Others training and employment resources
• Training Services
• Individual Training Accounts
• Youth Services

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Navigator Core CompetenciesKnowledge

• Department of Education OSEP/RSA
• Individualized Education Plan (IEP)
• Transition Plan
• Individual Plan of Employment (IPE)
• Independent Living Services

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Navigator Core CompetenciesKnowledge

• Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
• Independence Plus Template
• Individual Budget
• Medicaid Waivers
• Medicaid Buy-In

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Navigator Core CompetenciesKnowledge

• Department of Treasury
• Individual Retirement Account (IRA)
• Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)
• ADA-Related Tax Incentives
• Work Opportunity Tax Credits (WOTC)

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Navigator Core CompetenciesKnowledge

• Department of Housing and Urban Development
• Housing Choice Vouchers
• Fair Housing Requirements

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Navigator Core CompetenciesKnowledge

• Department of Agriculture
• Food Stamps
• Rural Economic Development Activities

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Navigator Core CompetenciesKnowledge

• Department of Transportation
• Flex Routes
• Travel Training
• Public and Paratransit
• Job Access -- Reverse Commute

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Navigator Core CompetenciesKnowledge

• Technology
• Title III Loan Programs
• Telework Fund
• Community Technology Centers
• State Assistive Technology Projects

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Navigator Core CompetenciesKnowledge

• FDIC / SBA / HHS
• Financial Education
• Microenterprise Development and Loan Programs
• Small Business Development Centers
• Individual Development Accounts

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Navigator Core CompetenciesKnowledge

• Civil Rights
• Section 188
• Section 504
• ADA

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Navigator Core CompetenciesLeadership Types
of Skills

• Communication
• Negotiation
• Analytical
• Problem-Solving
• Facilitation
• Sensitivity

• Capacity Building
• Listening
• Evaluation
• Navigator
• Organization
• Management

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Navigator Core CompetenciesExperience

• Policy Development
• Service Delivery Systems
• Individual and Family Support
• Training
• Team Leader
• Problem Solving
• Leadership
• Systems Change

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Navigator Anticipated Outcomes

• Access to WIA Services
• Core Services
• Intensive Services
• Training Services
• Individual Training Accounts (ITAs)

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Navigator Anticipated Outcomes

• Increase Employment
• Wages
• Hours Worked Per Week
• Retention
• Increase customer satisfaction with workforce
  system for persons with disabilities.

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Navigator Anticipated Outcomes

• Expanded partner relationships (public)

• Mental Health Programs
• Mental Retardation / Developmental Disability
  Programs
• Independent Living Centers
• Medicaid

• BPAO
• Housing
• Transportation
• Vocational Rehabilitation
• Other Mandated One-Stop Partners

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Navigator Anticipated Outcomes

• Expanded relationships with employers
• Internships
• On-the-Job Training
• Customized Job Development
• Employment Opportunities
• Accommodations Assistance
• Facilitate Social Security beneficiaries use of
  Ticket

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Navigator Anticipated Outcomes

• Increase One-Stop becoming and linking with
  Employment Networks
• Utilization of Work Incentives
• Utilization of Benefits Counselors

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Navigator Anticipated Outcomes

• Utilization of Medicaid Buy In
• Asset Development
• Access to Technology
• Self Employment

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Navigator Anticipated Outcomes

• Blended funding support for individual
  jobseekers with disabilities.
• Improved service, system and funder
  collaboration.