Polk County Employment Scorecard and Skills Training: A Route to a Career

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Polk County Employment ScorecardandSkills
Training A Route to a Career

• 20th Annual Issues Forum
• Overland Park, Kansas

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Employment Vision Values

• Individuals will have the opportunity to create a
  life not defined by their disability through a
  wide array of educational, training, and
  employment services.
• Employment services are grounded in the beliefs
  that
• Employment is not a choice, it is an expectation.
  
• Employment services are strengths-based where the
  individual is treated respectfully.
• Employment equals minimum wage or greater.
• Employment in the community is preferred, however
  if the individual needs greater support,
  employment services in a group setting at or
  above minimum wage is a choice for that
  individual.
• Its an expectation that each consumers plan
  addresses employment.
• We value keeping people employed and at the same
  time working toward individual career goals.
• We expect businesses to employ people with
  disabilities as they would anyone else.

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HOW DO WE MEASURE PROGRESS?
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Scorecard Documents Purpose

• Provider Profile
• Program Information
• Quarterly Provider Spreadsheets
• Year to Date Data Status
• Annual System Scorecard
• Report Same Components as Consumer Scorecard
• Includes Comment Sections
• Provide Data Clarification
• Identify Opportunities for Improvement
• Annual Consumer Choices Scorecard
• Overview
• Pieces of the Pie

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Scorecard Overview

• Types
• Supported Employment
• Enclave (to be developed)
• Skills Training (to be developed)
• Components
• Consumer barriers to employment
• Employment/training status
• Type of employment, hours worked and hourly wage
• Structure
• Event and change based data collection
• Wage information gathered once per quarter
• Data is reviewed quarterly and summarized
  annually
• Timeline
• First official scorecard due in calendar year
  2008

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The Big Picture
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Pieces of the Pie

• Charts Outline Service Expectations and
  Demonstrate Agency Results
• How much money can I earn?
• Barriers, types of jobs, and skill level drive
  earnings
• Wage category
• How many barriers to employment do people have?
• Similar consumer barriers equate to agency
  experience
• Average number of barriers
• How many hours per week can I work?
• Average number of barriers and hours worked are
  interdependent
• Average hours worked
• How long does it take to get a job?
• Short wait times and satisfaction with a job
  matching interests and skills may not correlate
• Total time spent waiting, in employment prep, and
  in job development
• How long have people been employed?
• Continued employment is valued
• Retention
• Ask Questions to Make an Informed Choice
• How Can You Help Me? questions

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How much money can I earn?
Barriers to employment, types of jobs, and skill
sets all influence the amount of money earned.
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How many barriers to employment do people have?
Top 5 Barriers 1-Financial Disincentive
2-Transportation 3-Education 4-Paid Living
Assistance 5-Limited Work History
Network wide only 7 (20 people) have criminal
backgrounds as a barrier to employment.
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How many hours per week can I work?
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How long does it take to get a job?
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How long have people been employed?
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Skills Training Services

• A Route to a Career

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This Is Not Your Parents Labor Market

• Currently almost 6 in 10 jobs in the U.S are held
  by people with some college education compared to
  2 in 10 back in 1959.
• 10 have an associate degree
• 18 have a certificate or some college course
  work
• 20 have a bachelors degree
• 11 have advanced or graduate degree

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Changing Workplace Trends

• Company structures will be flatter with less
  emphasis on hierarchy, workers will form teams to
  address issues and manage work
• There will be an increasing interest in measuring
  applicants soft skills, such as ethics, energy,
  motivation and interpersonal skills
• Wage dispersionparticularly as measured by the
  gap between more- and less-educated workers will
  continue to widen.
• The workforce is aging-Baby Boomers comprise 46
  of the workforce. Generation X, which follows
  the boomers, is only 26 of the workforce
• The result is that labor and talent shortages are
  anticipated in many industries and occupations.

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Labor Shortage Creates Great Opportunity

• High Unemployment Rate
• Why? People with disabilities say
• No appropriate jobs
• Lack of labor market information
• Fear of losing benefits, especially health care
• Lack of work history and skills

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High Unemployment Rates for People with
Disabilities

• High Unemployment Rate
• Why? Employers say
• Lack of work history and experience
• Lack the skills and training employers need
• Fear of the cost of accommodations and legal
  issues

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Employment Skills Training

• Organized formal training services to assist an
  individual to acquire the skills necessary for
  specific job or family of jobs.
• Generally 8 to 12 weeks in length
• Address skills, attitude, and work behaviors
• Usually a combination of classroom instruction
  and internship
• Serving dual customers job-seekers and employers

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Why Skills Training?

• Attack the chronic unemployment and
  under-employment problem of people with
  disabilities
• Provide a career path and not just a job
• Increase wages and hours worked
• Route out of poverty
• Enhance the size of the labor pool for employers
• Encourage people with disabilities to pursue
  postsecondary education

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Key Features of Skills Training Programs

• Target jobs in industries of importance to local
  economies
• Create avenues of advancement for current workers
• Increase supply of qualified workers in the
  target industries

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Types of Skills Training Programs

• Direct Support Paraprofessional
• Teacher Associate
• Call Center
• General Office Clerical

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Admission Criteria

• 18 years of age or older
• High School diploma or GED
• Documented disability
• Criminal background clearance
• 5th grade reading level or above
• Keyboarding skills for call center and office
  clerical

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Application Process

• Student application
• Submission of essay
• Personal interview
• Computer assessment for call center and office
  clerical

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Direct Support Paraprofessional(DSP)

• Purpose
• To train students for employment as direct
  support workers in human service agencies. 3 hour
  classes twice a week for 9 weeks on college
  campus
• 5 week internship with provider organizations

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Course Plan/CurriculumDSP

• Documentation
• ADA
• Health and Safety
• Crisis Intervention
• Individual Service Plans
• Professional Boundaries and Ethics
• Legal Requirements
• Consumer Rights

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Internships

• Skill building
• Practice what was learned in class
• Sites at community human service organizations
• 50 hours total

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Teacher Associate

• Purpose
• To train individuals for employment as teacher
  associates in public and private secondary
  schools and child care centers.
• Three hour classes twice a week for 5 weeks at
  community college.
• Five week, 50 hour unpaid internship following
  completion of course work.

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Course Plan/Curriculum

• Role of the teacher associate
• Communication, Ethics and Confidentiality
• Health and Safety
• Behavior improvement
• Enhancing communication
• Promoting the development of children
• Team interventions
• Character Counts

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Customer Call Center

• Purpose
• To train individuals for employment as customer
  service representatives within a call center or
  as a home-based certified professional call
  center agent through Arise.

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Call Center Training Outline Phase 1

• Call Center Simulation and Soft Skills
  Development
• Call Center Basics
• Providing Quality Services
• Customer Service Centers
• Inbound Sales Centers
• Technical Help Desk
• Training Provided Through Manpower, Inc. at
  Mainstream Living

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Call Center Training Outline Phase 2 for
Self-Employment

• PROFILE  
• IDEAL MATCH ASSESSMENTS
• COMPUTER COMPETENCY ASSESSMENT
• BACKGROUND CHECK
• INCORPORATION
• ACP101
• Client Certification
• Done either at home or at Mainstream Living with
  staff support

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General Office Clerk Skills Training Program

• Purpose
• Prepare people for employment in entry-level
  administrative support positions in an office
  setting.

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General Office Clerical Training Outline

• The computer classes consist of eleven two hour
  sessions provided by Manpower, Inc. at Mainstream
  Living
• Windows XP Basic
• Word 2003 Basic Topics
• Excel 2003
• Customer Service Module
• Soft Skills (Provided by Mainstream Living)
• Upon completion of the classroom training,
  students do an unpaid 100-hour internship in an
  office setting with local employers.

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Student Evaluation Methods

• Attendance
• Completion of homework
• Class participation
• Tests/quizzes
• Completion of Internship

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Results to Date

• DSP
• Teacher Associate
• Call Center
• General Office Clerical

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Lessons Learned

• Strict enforcement of class expectations
• Matching training to labor market trends.
• Emphasis on soft skills acquisition
• Internship is critical
• Employer involvement
• Placement is the focus
• Merge DSP and TA course
• Students help pay for class

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Questions and Contact Information

• Maria Walker
• Polk County Health Services
• 515 883-1596
• Maria_at_pchs.co.polk.ia.us
• Pat Steele
• Mainstream Living
• 515 309-0324 Ext. 11
• Psteele_at_mainstreamliving.org