Leveraging resources, connecting with the community, supporting student success.

And I'm Joey Carroll. We are with the Northern Santa Barbara County Adult Education Consortium. The grantees in this consortium are the Lompoc Adult School and Career Center and Allan Hancock College.

And some of the goals identified by our consortium are to develop accelerated, demand-driven training and education programs. And what that means is really looking at what the market is in our area and making sure that the programs we offer are in line with the needs of the business community.

Another goal is to create new programs and certificates to meet the needs of adults with disabilities. And in some cases, those programs and certificates are career and technical education, vocational certificates that may not include the advanced math and reading skills.

And then our final goal was to develop seamless transitions for students from adult schools into community college. So a lot of times, we'll have a student taking some coursework or getting a GED from an adult school, and we noticed there was a gap in between their accomplishments there and getting started in a community college in the area. So that was one of our goals, is to facilitate that transition.

So I am Joey Carroll with Tri-Counties Regional Center. Tri-Counties Regional Center is one of 21 regional centers in California. Regional centers receive state funding through the Department of Developmental Services to provide supports for people with developmental disabilities in California.

The regional center that I work with covers San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura Counties. And you'll see our arrow here on the map. I'm an employment coordinator, also referred to as an employment specialist. And across California, every regional center has an employment specialist who can help liaise with community colleges and adult education consortia to support adults with disabilities.

So this is my one page profile. I put this up here because we're going to look a little bit later at how one page profiles can help develop meaningful employment plans and links to those outcomes for students with disabilities. But this is a tool that's great for anyone. This is just a one page description that tells you who I am and what's important to me.

OK, so I'm Dan Clardy. Oh, I got to click the button. I'm sorry. And I'm a learning assistance program counselor for the non-credit community education program at Hancock College. I work with students with disabilities and help them navigate their coursework, either on the non-credit side or transition over to credit.

Please respond to the following questions in the webinar chat window, and we'll give you a little time to do that. Think about an important job in your life for which you were successfully interviewed, which means that you got the job. Think about that.

And then in your chat window, just type in there what-- really briefly-- what did getting that job mean to you. So this is kind of an icebreaker to get to know who's on the phone, but also just to recognize the importance of those meaningful jobs. And for me, it was increased self-esteem and confidence. So whatever it is for you, go ahead and put that in the chat window. And we'll give you a minute to do that.

Oh, that's good. I see Diane says, made connections with others who think like me. Validation-- let's see, Carla says, validation of educational path.

And I see Cole, financial safety and independence, also really important.

Lucille, identify a need with the employer that wasn't being met. Mary, motivated me to continue my education. Lots of good answers. Boost in confidence, I see.

I like yours, Melinda, bigger paycheck.

Very nice. Yeah, and I think these are all things that we're trying to achieve for people with disabilities, who are really underrepresented in the workforce. And the bigger picture is that we're trying to give them the things that we felt when we got our job. And we prepared for years for that interview, and then getting that interview finally just motivates us to keep going.

And I think that's what it is. We identify as people in the community by what our job is. And that's how we meet each other. The first thing we ask is, what do you do? I suspect that has great meaning to people who are unemployed as well, and even when they have disabilities.

So some of the topics we'll look at today-- and thank you, by the way, for doing that. Just a note from us, it's difficult to not be able to see your faces and be in the same room with you. So having your responses in the chat window helps us feel a little more connected. So some of the topics that we'll talk about today. Inclusive education and employment. And what that really means is just that post-secondary education and employment is a reality for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Person-centered planning. The value of person-centered planning for adults with disabilities in educational settings.

Leveraging funding resources by partnering with agencies that receive state funding, including regional centers, but not limited to, in order to support the employment outcomes for adults with disabilities.

Connecting with community employers. Disability hiring programs, business leadership networks, and person-centered pathways to employment for adults, students with disabilities.

And finally, accommodations and assistive technology. We realize that in educational settings many students have come out of a high school environment, where they've had significant supports, and coming into the community college environment may feel like they don't have that support. And so we want to share with you about some programs that are available to help students with assistive technology and how to get additional accommodations to be successful in post-secondary education.

But not just education in the classroom, but we're going to be talking about, later on, the Job Accommodations Network. That actually will help these students when they transition over to the workplace to prepare their employers to assist them and help them be successful there as well.

And Dan, they can use some of those same accommodations in the workplace, right?

As they had in the classroom? Yeah, absolutely.

So most of you, I hope, have heard of Temple Grandin. This was a young woman with autism who did some amazing things. She got her bachelor's, master's, and doctorate in education and just made an incredible difference in the world. We had hoped to share with you a video clip, but apparently on Adobe Connect, which is the application we're using, sound won't come through from video links.

So what I'm going to do is I'm going to put the URL for this into the chat window, and also for the next video link that we had in here. Feel free to look at that after the presentation. I think it gives a really good picture of what is possible for someone with a developmental disability.

So those kind of ran together, but you'll see those in the chat window there. The first one ends in TO, the second one starts again with the HTTPS. So, Dan, tell us a little bit about what's going on in this video clip.

So this video struck me as being a little bit intimidating for a young woman trying with autism attempting to convince the industry-- and it was a meat packing company, I believe. And she had designed the meat packing facility to accommodate large groups of cattle moving on kind of a conveyor system. And all of these guys around her are doubting her ability to really understand.

And some of her social skills, I think, impacted their perception of her abilities. And it's quite compelling to see. I think, she really ends up making a good point and really shows that she has the ability to express herself and convince-- and sometimes maybe not in the nicest way-- that she is capable of making their company profitable.

And one other important fact about this is that in this video, what she's saying, they're telling her that her plan would be too costly. And she says, how much does it cost you to have all these errors that my system would solve? And so it's an important message that people with disabilities can help businesses meet their bottom line. And this really is a benefit to the employers and not just an opportunity for someone with a disability.

So this is another-- this is the second movie clip. So youth and young adults with disabilities, we often think of students as graduating high school and moving in to kind of secluded settings. And this is really a change that's happening at the national level. And we're seeing all over the world that individuals with disabilities are ready to take on adult roles, to engage in meaningful relationships, to participate fully in their community, to start careers, and to become college students.

So Dan, what's the difference-- can you tell us the difference between learning disabilities and developmental disabilities?

Well, here's some things. Learning disabilities are, for example, like dyslexia, the inability to read for some reason or a perceptual disability, processing disorders, memory impairment would all be classified under the learning disability. So accommodations for people with dyslexia or processing disorders might include things to allow them extra time on tests or note taking services, those types of things that can be provided. What about developmental disabilities? What are those, Joey?

So developmental disabilities include disabilities that started before the age of 18 and usually impact some area of life, of day-to-day functioning. Some common developmental disabilities are autism, intellectual disability, cerebral palsy, epilepsy. And one of the questions I get a lot is, are individuals with intellectual disabilities really able to participate in college? And the answer there is absolutely. And that's for all people with intellectual disabilities.

But it's important to note also that the majority of people served by regional centers with intellectual disability have a mild intellectual disability and are really capable of participating in college and developing vocational skills and making a huge difference. We wanted to point out here the difference in the number of people with learning disabilities that attend college in their lifetime versus the number of people with developmental disabilities that attend college.

So of people with learning type disabilities, 50% may attend college in their lifetime, whereas only 30% of people with developmental disabilities currently go to college. Now that's changing right now. But it's important that we start seeing people with all disabilities as able and eligible and really able to help--

Contribute.

Yeah, definitely. It's not just about them is what I'm saying, is that it helps everyone in the education environment to have a variety of people, mix of--

Of diversity.

Yeah, absolutely.

Yeah, for sure.

So I think we're going to pause at this point for questions after this next slide. And just to let you know what our next topic will be here is understanding the difference between labor force and unemployment rates. And the reason this is important is because we hear a lot, recently, that unemployment rates are very low. Jobs are out there, things are improving.

So why all the conversations around employment? And what's important to note is that those unemployment rates are talking about people who are actively seeking work. When we talk about labor force participation, we're talking about people who are not working, but they're not seeking work. So unemployment is talking about people who are showing up at the unemployment office and applying for jobs and receiving unemployment benefits.

So it's important to note that statistics may describe low unemployment rates, even when a large percentage of people are not working. And at this point, we're going to pause for questions. If you have any questions, please put them in the chat window. And we will do our best to answer them, or direct you to where you can get those answers.

OK, so I guess we can move on.

Will you be discussing 504s in the workplace? So a 504 plan is part of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Students with 504 plans can get accommodations and supports in the classroom, but may not qualify for full special education services. And when it comes to workplace supports, we're talking about anyone with any kind of a disability. It doesn't matter if they had a 504 plan, or if they had a full IEP.

So these-- and Dan's going to talk a little bit later about the accommodations that are available and about a website where you can go and search either by a disability type or by a person's individual needs, whether they have a disability or not, and find accommodations that can support them. So it's really not about what the level or type of disability is but about the individual and what their needs are and how we can support them.

Let's see what some of the other questions are. Under the Employment First Act, employment ID/DD persons--

So that's a great question, Melanie. If unemployment rates are improving, then why are no employers hiring the disabled population still? And that's exactly what this slide is about. The unemployment rates are improving, but the labor force participation has not improved that much. And what that means is that there are many people with disabilities who have been discouraged and given up on work, or not had the opportunity to engage in meaningful employment.

So they're not currently looking for jobs.

And as far as why no employers are hiring the disabled population, I think we're starting to see a change in that in California. Employers are starting to see the benefit and, more importantly, share with each other the benefit of having individuals with all different types of needs in the work environment. Here in the Tri-Counties region, we have employer awards ceremonies to honor those employers. But more than honoring them, it's about giving them the opportunity to share with other employers the benefit that they've gotten from equal opportunity hiring.

And Cole, your advice for getting a hold of a region's employment coordinator if they've been hard to get a hold of. So on the California Health and Human Services website, there is a link to all of the employment specialists throughout California for every regional center and the supervisor for that person. So keep in mind that regional centers cover huge areas and there's one, usually one, employment specialist for the entire region.

But if you are having challenges, you can use that list to contact the appropriate person. In addition to giving you that website, we will post a list of-- we'll post that actual document where it has all the contact information for all of the employment specialists throughout California. That will be included in the attachments that are uploaded at the end of the PowerPoint.

So how many paid internships are available? We're going to be talking about paid internships here shortly. So we'll come back to that.

And Dan, there is one more question. Developing vocational adapted classes, if entered in as CurricUNET as a short term vocational, can we use the term adaptive in course name description?

So where is that? I don't see the question.

Right here from Thomas Allen.

OK, developing vocational adapted classes if the-- can we use the term adaptive in a course name description? That's a very specific question. Honestly, I can't answer that. I honestly don't know that. I'm not familiar with CurricUNET.

I can tell you that some of the adult education block grant consortia in our area have titled courses adaptive, and I think that's fine. What that's saying is that we're flexible to the needs of the individual and we can adapt either the coursework or the supports in the classroom to meet those needs. So yes, I think that's very appropriate.

And yes, I will post the link to the CHHS website. And lastly, Lucille, I absolutely love your question. Paid internships are very close to my heart, and we are going to be talking about those a little bit later. As far as how many internships are available, it's unlimited. Anyone served by a regional center who is of working age-- mind you, if they're under 18, usually they have to have had completed high school. But anyone can participate in an internship and there's no limit.

Right now, we've used approximately 10% of the funding that's available from the state for that and the other program. I'm sorry, we haven't talked about that, but it's called the Competitive Integrated Employment Incentive Payment Program. So for both of those programs, the state gave us a budget. And we've only used about 10% of those funds. So there is no limit on how many people served by regional centers can do those internships.

OK, and one more here, and then we're going to move on. And we can come back to it. Paid internships are not worth it. We implemented one, and there's no guarantee the employer hires in the end. It's better to do an OJT and the agency does not get paid. So I hear you. I've experienced as well that sometimes individuals don't get hired.

The goals of the program, as outlined in the implementation guidelines from DDS, state that there are two goals for this program. One is to get hired at the end of the internship, and the other is to provide the individual with experience or skills to help them at some future date to get a job with another employer.

So here in the Tri-Counties area, we support what we call work experience internships. And it completely depends on the needs and the goals of the individual. So I don't want to get too far ahead. I'm going to leave that right there, and I promise we'll get back to it when we get to the section on internships. And if I don't fully answer your question at that time, please repost.

So labor force participation rates in California for someone with no disability is approximately 73%. Now keep in mind that the last time these statistics were published was in 2016, but my understanding is there hasn't been a huge change since then. For people with learning disabilities, about 55% are working. And for those with developmental disabilities, still only 28%.

So this is why it's important when we hear we have a 4% unemployment rate in California. Well, we have a 72% unemployment rate among people with developmental disabilities. Although, technically, we're referring to that as labor force participation rate.

So one of the main reasons for those discrepancies are lack of training and education. We have, as a state, I think, we've failed to provide training and education to people with developmental disabilities. And we are being shown that so many people are so capable of doing meaningful jobs and contributing in a meaningful way. And all they need is the training and support to be successful.

So what kind of jobs are common for individuals with developmental disabilities? A lot of times, we think of janitorial or landscaping crews, things of that nature. So I wanted to just show you some of the types of jobs that people in the region where I work are doing.

We have people working in the movie industry. We have someone who did an internship at an auto body shop and got hired after that. We have someone working in computer programming. We have people doing apprenticeships. And it's really endless. Endless possibilities is the message here because there is nothing that someone can't do.

So let's see, I'm torn between moving on here and looking at the questions. I want to make sure we answer the questions as well. So will schools start incorporating more work-related skills rather than education skills? Another great question, Melanie. Under the WIOA, the Workforce Innovations and Opportunities Act, there are new programs mandated in schools for students that include work experience and pre-employment skills training. And I will direct you to where you can get more information about that.

So person-centered planning is a tool that we can use to get people jobs where they are doing what's important to them and successful. And I'll give you an example of that. This young woman here in the middle, her name is Irene. And I was Irene's service coordinator with Tri-Counties Regional Center. She would email me and keep me on task. She had fabulous computer and social skills, and she wanted a job.

And I asked her, what kind of job do you want? And she said she wanted a job where she could dress nice and use her skills. And the first job that she got did not meet those requirements. It was a sweeping crew for an outdoor facility because someone told her that she really needed to show that she was work ready before they gave her a chance at a real job.

Now when I found out about that, I was very concerned. Her productivity levels were shown to be low, and I knew that she was extremely capable. So we invited Debra McLean, the woman with the blue scarf in this picture, to come in and do some person-centered planning for employment for Irene. And basically, the questions that Debra asked of Irene and her family were, what's important to you? What are your skills, gifts, talents? What do others like and admire? And what kind of supports do I need? And you can see, this is just a section of the wall that we filled up with all of the possibilities for Irene.

So Irene went on to work at a grocery store and stayed there for a short time, and then she went to college. And she was not on a degree track, it was an independent living program at Taft University. And when she came back from that, she now has a job as a receptionist in an optometrist office and is very happy.

And what I learned from that is that if someone is doing something that they don't enjoy, that's not important to them, they're not going to show their best work. And if we evaluate people on what we see in those positions, we're not getting a clear picture of who they are and what they're capable of.

So person-centered planning, before we start matching people with jobs, is really important. And where adult education comes into that is it can be a really simple one page profile, like you saw of mine in the beginning, just a one page document that gives us some direction in what kind of skills a person might need to get to the job that they want. This is a little bit of information about the person-centered planning process.

Students choose the team.

And the team means whoever comes together to develop that plan, usually it involves the student. It can involve a teacher, a service coordinator, case manager, friends, family, anyone who knows the student in a positive way.

Designs pathways to a desired future. So here we're talking about, where does the student imagine themselves being and giving them ideas about pathways-- about jobs and things that they would enjoy doing that match their personality, possibly, more, or their desire down the road.

And again, by identifying strengths, gifts, and capacities.

Develop next steps, so what are the steps that you need to take as a young person to move on? If they are not on a credit coursework avenue, if they're not trying to go to college and receive credits and get a bachelor's degree or an AA degree, do we have supports for them to take short-term vocational, for example? So what might be some of the short-term vocational programs that they might go through that are offered through community education at the community colleges?

So for any age really, Dan, it sounds like what you're saying is we need to look for where people are at right now and what steps are necessary for them to get to their goal.

Absolutely.

And the most important piece?

Student drives the process.

So this is the essence of person-centered. It is not about what we think a person should have or want, but it is really about the student and their choices. And it's our job to give them the information to make those choices.

So this is a sample one page employment profile that you can use. There are many different varieties of this you can Google. But essentially, it is just, what's great about me? What's important to me? And what do I need to be successful? And if we can answer those questions, no matter how we word them, we're going to get to the heart of how to help the person reach their employment outcomes.

OK, so now we're at my most absolutely favorite topic, the paid internship program and other programs with state funding to support students in adult education. So the paid internship program was developed by the State Department of Developmental Services because we really saw the need. We saw that students were not working. And not just students, but individuals in general with developmental disabilities were not-- they didn't have the opportunities that everyone else has for work. And there were such challenges around this that the state developed this program.

And the requirements of it were that the individual earns minimum wage, as well as a wage that is competitive for the type of job that they're doing, which means it's similar to what other people with the same skills are earning doing the same type of job. It needs to be fully integrated. So we are not talking about groups. The internship program cannot be used for groups or crews. It is for one person, one job.

And the other thing is that, it's the individual's goals. It's what they choose. The internship-- a lot of people ask me, so what kind of jobs are available for this internship program? And the goal is really to move away from the check the box of where someone can work. That was the old model. It used to be, train someone and then place them in a job. And today, it's more about person-centered planning. Where is this person going to be successful and have meaning? And they choose the job.

I'll give you an example. We have a young man who is just really interested in surfing. He has a fairly severe disability. And he did an internship at a surf shop. And he was working there helping them with putting their logos on their bags and products. And he really shines there. He's happy. His self-esteem has increased.

We have people working for school districts who, prior to that, people didn't think that they would be able to work. And so we really see people shine when they're doing something that's meaningful to them. A young man with autism knows everything there is to know about the weather. He's watched all of the weather channels and National Geographic. And he's going to be doing an internship at a weather station. So the possibilities really are endless with this.

The limit for the internship program is $10,400 per internship per person per year. I'm going to skip through these, and then I'll go back and talk about each one. So as far as leveraging resources, I tell you the internship program is close to my heart, but it is not the only thing out there.

We have resources available through the California Department of Rehabilitation, through the workforce development boards, and agencies such as the Americas Job Centers, workforce resource centers. They go by many different names, but they're basically the community workforce agencies. And then there are also many disability hiring programs, which Dan will talk about in a little bit. And these are companies that have really made it a priority to reach out in a meaningful way to people with disabilities and give them opportunities to be successful in the workforce.

So with regional center, we have paid internships, other types of work experience. We have braided or tailored day programs, where people can learn pre-employment skills. And we offer on the job support. Workforce development boards can help with job search, resume, on the job training. They can also connect people with internships and apprenticeships.

Department of Rehabilitation, they offer paid work experience, student services, which will answer one of the questions that was asked earlier about-- I think from Melanie-- about schools incorporating more work-related skills. And they also provide transportation assistance, professional clothing for work, job support.

And then our disability hiring programs, their role is to help people with equal opportunity recruitment. A lot of times nowadays, job applications are all online. And some people with developmental disabilities may struggle with that. So some of our disability hiring programs recognize that, and they have face-to-face interviews and application assistance.

They also do disability support partnerships. So they'll partner with Department of Rehab or with job coaches funded through regional center to get the support they need to support the employees that work with them. And then they also offer apprenticeships and pre-apprenticeships and other types of programs.

So as far as the Department of Rehab and Youth Services, under the WIOA, they have a program now called Potentially Eligible. And I encourage you to go to the Department of Rehab website to get accurate information from them on these programs. But basically, it is an effort to give work experience to students and really focus on preparing them for entering the workforce. And Department of rehab is doing a fabulous job at helping students transition.

OK, so if you haven't heard it yet, the importance of partnering with regional centers and Department of Rehab. We recognize that adult education consortia have employment outcome goals. And a lot of the funding that's received is based on our people meeting these goals for employment.

And the benefits of partnering with regional centers and Department of Rehab is twofold. One, you get the support that you need for the students. A lot of times, community colleges and adult education, they're not equipped to provide additional support to students outside of the learning assistance programs. So we can provide support in the classroom.

Also, we keep track of our employment outcomes, and we can share that data with you. So if you have someone who completes an adults with disabilities program, and they're being supported by regional center or Department of Rehabilitation, you can access the employment outcomes in a year or three years and get information about the success of those students for your reporting.

Diane asked a question. Sorry if I missed this, is there an age limit for the internships?

So for the internships, for someone who is not a high school student, they just have to be working age. If they are in high school, they need to be 18 or over. So anyone participating in those second four years of high school after the age of 18 would be eligible for an internship. But if they are under 18, that's really what the Department of Rehab Potentially Eligible programs and youth service programs are designed for. So that would be the first place to go for those services for a minor.

Yeah, and remember, this is AEBG, which is Adult Education Block Grant. So we're certainly talking about these programs for adults who have transitioned over to their adult education needs.

In addition, Joey and Dan, there are two other questions. The first one is from Lucille. She wants to know, how do we get our community colleges to offer vocational programs for ID/DD DD students to help them bridge gaps to workforce?

Well, most of the-- I work with for different consortia, and all of them have developed curricula that address the needs of students with disabilities. And I will show you one model that's part of this presentation for how to do that and how to connect with community employers to find out what their needs are, what skills students need to be able to be successfully employed with that employer, and how your adults with disabilities programs at your colleges and adult schools can prepare the students based on those skills and then make the connection with that employer to get them hired. So there are a lot of different models out there.

The hardest part, as I know, is getting that curricula through the process and actually through the dean, all the way up through to the-- oh, what do they call it-- to the chancellor's office, getting them to approve it, and then implementing it, and then finding the space in your school. A lot of time, space is had in the community. So some of our programs are actually-- you'll find them in the community at some of the centers, for example, some of the vendors that use regional centers. Here in our area, classes are at VTC, which is a Vocational Training Center. So finding space is sometimes a challenge, but it's possible.

And I'll tell you, there's a little bit of controversy around where to hold those courses because having your enrollment numbers has been a concern for some of our consortia. And so they have used-- and what Dan means by vendors is service providers who are contracted with regional centers and Department of Rehabilitation to provide direct services to people with disabilities.

And so the courses that are provided on these program sites may not be as inclusive. And our goal really is to get students on campus and fully participating in their community. So there are some pros and cons there to consider. But if your consortia, your area, has not developed a curriculum yet for adults with disabilities, I would direct you to your AEBG website where you can look at plans by other consortia. Many of them are doing absolutely wonderful things.

And I want to jump back to Diane's question real quick. No, the internship program does not end at age 22. It can go through lifetime. There's no upper limit on how old someone can be to participate in that. And then let's see, Veronica, you had mentioned another question. I see one from Melanie. What happens when the person-centered thinking becomes too complicated?

Good point.

For example, I work with someone that only wants part time on certain days and doesn't want to make too much money to lose social security benefits. So that's informed choice. They're making a choice, and we don't ever want person-centered thinking to limit someone's options.

The goal of person-centered thinking is to make sure that the individual is driving their services and choosing the life that they want. If someone wants to work very part time-- and this could be an entire webinar on its own, the fear around social security benefits and how to mitigate that and how to help people overcome that fear.

And without getting too much off track, I'll just say this, someone receiving government benefits will always make more working than they did just with their benefits. So their benefits may go down, but when you combine that with their work income, they will always make more. There's also a protected period, where if they're not successful within two years, their benefits are automatically reinstated.

There are a lot of programs out there right now. And your Department of Rehabs have work incentive and benefits planners who can do individualized plans with people to make sure that they understand the financial benefits and consequences of working. So I hope that answered your question.

So when person-centered thinking becomes complicated, it's OK. Remember that it doesn't have to look the way we think it should. And any step toward employment is a good step. So Veronica, what was the other question?

That was the second question, you covered it.

OK. So this is just a list of some of the services that you can benefit from when partnering with regional centers and Department of Rehabilitation offices-- transportation training, job development, self-employment, on the job support, and customized employment. And I'll really briefly tell you about the ways that we can support students with some of these needs.

So let's say you have a student in your adults with disabilities course, and they are ready to get a job, but they don't have transportation. They're not able to drive, and they're not comfortable with using these city transportation yet. And obviously, your instructors don't have the time to go out in the community with them and teach them how to use the bus system and all of that. So both regional centers and Department of Rehabilitation can support students with transportation training.

We can also support them with job development, person-centered planning, and we can partner with you on person-centered planning. So it's something that we do for every person that's served by a regional center. And Department of Rehab, likewise, has a plan that's very person-centered that they develop with a person. And so we can share that information with you. Of course, we need a release signed by the individual, but they're usually more than happy to have that support.

Self-employment. Self-employment is a really successful option for many people with disabilities. And it's something that many of us don't know how to direct people toward. So at our regional center, we have a program where we can help someone do a business plan. We can loan them money to get their business started. We have a model where they can use the internship program to develop self-employment. On the job support is provided both by Department of Rehab and regional centers. We're both the funding agency. We often work with the same service providers.

And then customized employment, this, again, could be a whole webinar in and of itself. But this is really for the person who has repeatedly tried and there are so many obstacles that they have not yet been successful in finding employment. And what customized employment does is it's a really in-depth assessment of the tasks that a person is able to do.

Those tasks are translated into work skills, tasks that can be done for employment. And then that assessment is set completely aside and a new assessment is done with a business. And they're not looking at what jobs are done at that business, or what positions they have, they're looking at what tasks are done.

And they're looking at what tasks are done by higher level staff that could be done by someone else. And they're looking for needs that the business might have. And so you now have two assessments-- tasks that an individual is able to do and tasks that a business needs. And then a brand new job is created by putting those two together. And this has been a really successful method of employment for people with significant barriers to employment.

OK, I'm going to let Dan take it from here after we answer any additional questions that may have come up. And he'll talk with you about some employers in the community, who have disability hiring programs, and also some adaptive and assistive technology programs. Have any new questions come in about any topics that we have already discussed?

There is one, Joey. How can AEP staff help students who are already enrolled in regional center, which controls their access to employment resources? I often hear that's a great resource, but they are ready with regional center.

That's a great question. Many people are already with regional center, but they have lost touch with their service coordinator, or they haven't received services in a while. They haven't needed them. And then all of a sudden, they're in high school and ready to get employment supports, but there's a disconnect.

And so what you can do in that case is you can call the regional center. It's best if you have the person with you when you call, so that they can share the information. But just call and ask who the service coordinator is. And then you can get in touch with that service coordinator. Again, it's best if the person is on that call with you, or calling themselves.

But that service coordinator can set up a plan with the person to do person-centered planning, to write an employment goal, to look at what services they might need. And anyone from adult education programs is a tremendous help in that process if you're aware of what those needs are.

OK, so in the community, there's quite a few businesses that are open to hiring people with disabilities. We've kind of focused in this presentation and our last presentation on autism as one of the disability hiring specifically targeted. But many of these companies in the community are hiring multiple disabilities. Let's move on to the next. So this is a video that we're going to-- are we going to try and share this one? Are we able to?

No, we're not able to share this one because of the sound issues, but I will post the link to it as well. I may have to type that in manually. So go ahead, Dan, and you can talk about this while I type into the system quick enough.

So this is the Microsoft Autism Hiring Network program. And they put out a video. It's a very moving video, very well done, on YouTube. And so it's easy to find. I'd recommend it. It interviews individuals that have been hired through Microsoft through their autism hiring program.

And instead of giving these individuals a panel interview-- how intimidating could that be, these are people who have difficulty in social situations-- they actually put them on the job for two weeks and watch how they work, and how they interact, and how they think. And based on that, that becomes their method of hiring-- if they can determine whether this person can do the job or not. And then once hired, they give lots of support to that individual. And we'll look at some of that support as we move along in this presentation.

OK, and so this one answers a question that was asked earlier. This is one of the models that adult education community colleges can use. And what this model looks like is going to your employment development department website, or you can contact your local workforce resource center, Americas Job Center, or workforce investment board. Look at current labor market information. On this site, you can also search by county, and it will tell you what are the growing labor markets in your county.

Then you can go to your workforce investment boards and connect with-- ask them for employers in your area who have needs to hire in that area. From there, business leadership networks, this is where your consortium might meet with-- invite some employers from your community to come together and develop. These are the skills we're looking for in order to be able to hire someone. If someone in your program had these skills, we could hire them.

So based on that, you create a certificate. You can make the certificate yourself based on what these employers tell you their needs are. The individual in your program gets a certificate. It's not a degree, it's not an educational certificate. It's a certificate saying that I have met the needs of this employer.

Once they've received that certificate, they take it to that employer. And the employer hires them, now knowing that they have the skills they need to do the job. So it's a very systematic way for some-- to ensure your employment outcomes.

So you're starting with the need. What are the labor market needs in our area? Who are the employers that offer these jobs? What do they need? What are they looking for? Make sure that the individual develops those skills and direct them back to the employer. And that's a very successful model for getting someone hired.

OK, so we're going to talk about some accommodations and adaptive assistance technologies and where to find them. Let's see. So this is the JAN, which stands for Job Accommodations Network. And it's an online resource provided by the US Department of Labor, the Office of Disability Employment Policy. And it's as simple as typing in JAN in Google and it'll pop up.

And it relates to all disabilities and how those disabilities can be supported on the job and in the workplace. This way, this keeps employers or future employers out of hot water and out of the legal problems that comes from the Americans with Disabilities Act if they're not doing what they can to support individuals with disabilities on the job. This is certainly a way, I think, to help keep them in line with the law. Is there anything that you want--

I was looking down here at Melanie's question. Let's see, was it Melanie's? Yes. What happens when accommodations cannot be met? And if a person is served by a regional center, that's an easy question to answer. They have a planning team meeting, and we really look at what are the needs, what resources exist to meet those needs. And if that need is related to a disability, and there is no current community resource available to meet that need, the planning team can look at really creative solutions. What does this person need to be successful, and how can we make that happen?

That may include funding new programs. That may include connecting with community. It could be connecting with churches, or schools, or family, or friends, or community-based organizations. But I'm one who believes there's always a solution. And if we know what it is and we bring it to the right table, we can figure it out. So I guess my answer is, it's individualized. But don't give up, you have a wealth of resources out there to solve these problems and come up with accommodations when needed.

And then Melanie also says-- I like you, Melanie. You have some great questions. What if the process takes too long and the employer decides to hire someone else? If the employer decides to hire someone else, that person still has a certificate showing what skills they have developed. That you've already done your research on the growing labor market and you know that that's not one employer with one job that you were looking for, but this is a need in your community and there are other employers with that same need.

So that student now has the confidence, and they know that they have developed the skills that employer is looking for. And they can take that certificate to them and say, look, I've been through this program. These are the skills, and these skills really could benefit you. And so it doesn't have to be the employer you started planning with. But having that business leadership network can open doors in the communities, developing those relationships with employers.