How to Build an Integrated Work Opportunity by Really, Really Trying

  Step 1 – Embrace the idea that individuals need to move out of segregated settings

Step 2

supports above and beyond the SEMP model – Realize they are going to need   Step 3- Look for opportunities

Step 4

– Repeat Steps 1-3 until something sticks – or change the order

Here’s our story…….

 Looked for business performing similar work to what we were completing in the work center  Knock on doors (or truthfully – walk right through them if they aren’t locked)  Once you find the opportunity – lead with your strongest team

We Knocked – The Door Opened

 A local distribution center was utilizing a large number of temporary employees from various staffing agencies to make boxes and fill displays with organic milk cartons  In December of 2012 a small crew of 8 -10 individuals from our work center and 4 staff took on a 3 day project *spoiler alert – we have been working there ever since

Light Bulb Moment!

 Individuals in our work center have been training for this type of work for years, the only thing that was different was the address  Individuals from Cantalician could keep up with the “temps” working alongside them  Individuals were much more motivated to succeed than their counterparts

Startup Lessons Learned

  Assign staff that can see the possibility and are not personally afraid of the opportunity to move into the community Assign more staff than you think you need and then assign 2 or 3 more  know they will eventually fade  Respond to all panicked phone calls by bringing the cavalry to the project  This lessened any apprehension the distribution center had regarding working with individuals with disabilities and kept staff from quitting  Don’t forget about the people left back at the ranch  They will feel the shift in resources  Acknowledge that life is different  BRING DOUGHNUTS

You’re Doing a Fantastic Job!

(oh great – now what!)  Quickly realized that the small project was turning into a long term gig and the distribution center wanted us to bring more people to the job  We had about 12-13 individuals working and the as the “new opportunity” became a routine job – the number of staff supports needed at the site dropped  Individuals were now scheduled for 2-3 days per week and we needed to enroll them in SEMP

Begin Enrolling People in SEMP

(easy right? – think again)

Enclave

Wow – You Guys are Amazing

(Great – We are running out of people!)  The distribution center is really happy with us and they begin scheduling fewer and fewer temps. We now have about 20 people employed  Opportunities for individuals goes up  Integration goes down  We need to look for partners

 We contact other work center programs looking for individuals who are interested in working  This doesn’t go as well as you’d think

Integration, Integration, Integration

 The temporary agency is now out of the picture, and all we really accomplished was moving the location of the work center  Once again we went back to the drawing board and looked for viable partners  We realized we needed to find a partner that was also looking for work for (typical) individuals

  We partnered with Catholic Charities refugee resettlement program and hired 20 production workers Although this group is anything but “typical” the experience for all involved has been amazing

Lessons Learned While Growing

     Keep your administrative team abreast of what you are doing even if you know they are going to scream Get buy in from your CEO, Board of Directors, HR and Finance Department Convince them this is paving the way to services of the future Bake Cookies Repeat as often as necessary until everyone agrees with you or at least stops saying NO

Isn’t this great?

( maybe not for everyone)        Opportunities for individuals with disabilities = Number of individuals with new cell phones = Number of people gaining valuable work experience = Number of individuals in SEMP = HR resources and frustration = Fiscal Department resources and frustration = Number of grey hairs =

It just keeps growing….

(Can too much of a good thing be a bad thing?)  We now have over 100 people employed, working in 3 locations on 3 different shifts  We have to start worrying about the Affordable Health Care Act  We have to start considering benefit packages  We have to worry that our pricing will never cover these additional costs  We have some explaining to do……

You need a Business Plan

(But we have BA’s in psychology – now what?)      Our CEO, CFO, HR Director and Board of Directors insist we develop a business plan We highly recommend you put yourselves through this (painful) process We used the template on the Small Business Associations Website (with some modifications) We found a mentor in the staffing business who wasn’t our competition We have to consider spinning this off to be a separate company

The question you are just dying to ask

(But we just keep talking)  What did we do about transportation?

 Scheduled everyone that could ride the Metro (Para Transit) to the bus accessible location  Enlisted the help of our local ETP coordinator and secured funding for a portion of the cost for a van service for the location that is inaccessible by Metro  Hired a part time driver and bought a 15 passenger van  Charged the individuals a $10 a day co-pay for their share of the cost (this doesn’t mean they actually pay it!)  Stopped sending transportation bills to people’s homes and moved to a pay per day system

Let’s talk about the staffing you need

   Started with 2 production supervisors, a production foreman and the Coordinator of Sales and Production Our knowledge of work flow and efficiencies became very valuable to our customer Juggled staff through the work locations like

Let’s talk about the staffing you need

    Brought in job coaches to do training and provide follow along Moved away from job coaches to do training and provide follow along Moved to full time vocational trainers at the job site providing training, working on the line and fighting fires Moved away from production supervisors on site and moved to assistant supervisors for each shift at each location. Assistant supervisor positions are now 100% funded by the customer (this took 1 year)

Let’s talk about staffing you didn’t know you needed

FULL TIME JUGGLER Experience with OPWDD –SEMP, ESEMP and ETP services, ACCES VR and manufacturing practices. Able to deal with constant changes to the daily schedule, refusals to work, irate residential managers and constantly changing cell phone numbers. Ability to speak Burmese, Nepalese or any African or Far Eastern language a plus.

Let’s talk about staffing you didn’t know you needed

Full time Production Manager Experience with a high paced distribution/manufacturing environment. Ability to coordinate a work crew of 25 with varying degrees of skills and English language proficiency while maintaining a safe work environment and keeping a sometimes crabby customer very happy. Ability to speak Burmese, Nepalese or any African or Far Eastern language a plus.

Lessons learned about the individuals we serve

“These things must be done delicately”  We were most successful when individuals worked 2 to 3 days per week  All were given the option of what they wanted to do on their days off  Most chose to return to continue receiving prevocational or day habilitation services  Having staff that the individual is familiar with go with them makes all the difference

For example…

 Q: “Do you want to work at (insert name of community work location here)?”  A: “No!”  Q: “Do you want to go and work with Cindy today?”  A: “Yes!”  Fast forward 3 months later while visiting a work site… “Tell Cindy I said hello!”

Lessons learned about the care providers of individuals we serve

(These things must be done even more delicately)     Families and/or Care Providers were very cooperative at first, however, attitudes changed significantly when:  transportation bills arrived in the mail  Social Security checks decreased  Income taxes needed to be filed Provide as much information and examples on how income will effect benefits and earnings Show them the math Keep your fingers crossed

More lessons learned

    Our agency as the employer works. Having a buffer between the customer and the individuals we serve = long term retention. Having staff cross trained and utilizing work center staff to cover at the work site Having OPWDD/ETP work with us to cover a portion of the transportation expense and additional staffing costs Bringing a variety of skill levels works  Integration not just for the sake of integration but to meet the needs of the customer

Contact Information

Consulting provided for a small fee Just kidding!

It’s really expensive.

Darren Lisicki, Coordinator of Sales and Production [email protected]

716-901-8956 Anne Spisiak, Director of Community Services [email protected]

716-901-8906