Employment Services
Employment Exploration Services
Services that help a person gain a better understanding of competitive, integrated employment opportunities in his/her community. Exploration activities and experiences strengthen a person’s knowledge, interests and preferences so he/she can make informed decisions about competitive employment.
Employment exploration includes:
- Individualized educational activities.
- Learning opportunities.
- Work experiences.
- Additional related services identified in the person’s coordinated services and support plan (CSSP).
Competitive, Integrated Employment
Employment that pays a minimum wage or an industry-standard, customary or prevailing wage with comparable benefits (e.g., health insurance, leave time, etc.)
Covered employment exploration services that require direct contact with the person may include:
- Educational visits to community businesses to learn about various companies, products, services, and employment opportunities
- Career education activities to learn about specific types of occupations, job positions, and work opportunities
- Ongoing educational information and counseling assistance about jobs/careers that interest the person
- Peer-to-peer mentoring opportunities to meet and learn from people with disabilities who are employed in competitive, community jobs
- Job shadowing and try-out experiences for work involved in different occupations
- Employment education support groups (e.g., job clubs)
- Individualized work experiences, including volunteer work experiences
- Education about post-secondary educational opportunities that enhance employment, community employment resources and use of transportation services
- In-service transportation
- Progress review and reporting meetings.
- Performing benefit(s) fact gathering, review, and analysis to determine how benefits will interact with employment
- Planning and coordinating related to the person’s needs for assistive technology (e.g., ergonomic workstations, magnifiers, speech-to-text or text-to-speech software, captioning, audio or visual cueing, etc.)
- Planning and coordinating related to the person’s needs for adaptive accommodations (e.g., modified work tasks or responsibilities, flexible schedules, telecommuting, etc.)
Employment Development Services
Individualized services designed to help a person achieve competitively, integrated employment, become self-employed, or establish a micro-enterprise business in his/her community.
Micro-enterprise business: A commercial business with five or fewer employees, including the owner(s) of the business.
Competitive, integrated employment: Employment that pays a minimum wage or an industry-standard, customary or prevailing wage with comparable benefits (e.g., health insurance, leave time, etc.).
Employment development services consist of both job development services and self-employment/micro-enterprise development services.
Job Development Services
Covered job development services that require direct contact with the person may include:
- Individualized, strengths-based assessments and employment opportunity discovery strategies (this phase should not exceed 120 days of service delivery).
- Support during new employee orientation for up to 30 days after a person starts a new job position.
- In-service transportation
- Skills training to find and keep a job (e.g., interviewing, using community resources, resume writing, etc.)
- Progress review and reporting meetings.
- Employment search assistance and support.
- Benefit(s) fact-gathering, review, and analysis to determine how benefits will interact with employment.
- Help with negotiating and finalizing terms of employment
- Development of job applications, resume and cover letters
- Outreach with community businesses about available employment opportunities.
Self Employment and Microenterprise Business Development Services
Covered self-employment and microenterprise business development services that require direct contact with the person may include:
- Help with determining the type of business the person wants to establish.
- Consultation with the person about all business development activities and plans
- Help with choosing and registering an available and marketable business name
- In-service transportation
- Progress review and reporting meetings.
- Write a business plan
- Find sources of start-up financing
- Establish a legal structure for the business
- Create a marketing and sales plan
- Find a location and get the appropriate certifications, licenses, permits, and variances
- Purchase all necessary insurances
- Develop business forms, records, bookkeeping, and accounting systems
- Perform benefit(s) fact gathering, review and analysis to determine how benefits will interact with self-employment.
Employment Support Services
Employment support services: Individualized services and supports that help people maintain paid employment in community businesses/settings. Employment support services occur in integrated community settings.
Microenterprise business: A commercial business with five or fewer employees, including the owner(s) of the business.
Employment support services consist of both job support services and self-employment/microenterprise support services.
Requires direct contact
- Job analysis
- Job redesign
- Coaching and supporting acceptable workplace self-care, proper dress, personal hygiene and grooming
- Job training and coaching to strengthen and maintain necessary work skills, behaviors and coworker relationships
- Job-related counseling and support, including help understanding, earned wages and impact on benefits
- Training and coaching the person on job-related transportation
- Progress review and reporting meetings
- In-service transportation.
Self-employment and microenterprise business support services
Covered self-employment and microenterprise business support services that require direct contact with the person may include:
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Training, coaching and support services for helping with effective day-to-day operations of all aspects of the business (i.e., marketing, sales, production, order fulfillment, customer service, business technology, bookkeeping, file record maintenance, purchasing, inventory control, financial management, accounting, timely tax reporting, and legal compliance)
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Help with identifying other needed external business resources and services to assist with the continued development and support of the business enterprise.
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Ongoing analysis and consultation to identify needed supports.
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Design and implementation of set schedules for ongoing, follow-up support
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Business-related counseling and support, including help understanding, earned wages and impact on benefits.
