CMHA Waterloo Wellington Dufferin Presentation January 21,

CMHA Waterloo Wellington Dufferin Assessment to Outcome: Working with People with Disabilities CANNEXUS 2014

Sally Michener Potts – team lead for Bridging Employment Supports and Links to Work Stephanie Jenkins Moss – employment counselor and planner with Bridging Employment Supports Thea Trussler – referral coordinator with Bridging Employment Supports 3 Introductions

Canadian Mental Health Association, Waterloo, Wellington, Dufferin We are an Employment Ontario initiative under the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities We are a service that supports individuals with physical, learning and/or mental health disabilities return to meaningful and sustainable employment 4 Bridging Employment Supports

Individuals must be work ready, have recent contact with the work force (e.g. three years) and a minimum age of 16 Bridging Employment Supports is a specialty service and often partners with other agencies in various capacities from consultation to funding assessments 5

Agenda for today 1.15 minute introduction to our intake and referral services by Thea Trussler 2.20 minute overview of our in depth planning process with Stephanie Jenkins Moss minute break away to discuss real life scenarios 4.15 minutes to share group findings 5.Question and answer period 6

As a specialty service for individuals living with disabilities, we are able to purchase a variety of assessments including: 1.Functional ability evaluations 2.Psychological assessments including psycho-vocational, psycho-educational and neuro-psychological 7 Specialty service

Initial conversation to encourage the individual to share their story through prompting questions such as:  “tell me what brought you to our services”  “what is the common challenge for you in the workplace?”  “how was your experience in school?”  “what do you identify as your disabilities or barriers to work?” 8 Initial assessment & appropriate referrals

To effectively support an individual with disabilities one must ask about their life. The goal is to find meaningful and sustainable employment. It is important to find the right match for both training and employment goals to ensure sustainability Allow for time in an initial meeting to help establish a relationship. 9 Look, listen and ask for more than their employment story

 Housing situation?  Social support network or isolated?  Legal supports needed?  Is there a criminal record for which a pardon has not been granted?  Do they have a family doctor?  Counseling or emotional supports?  Financial or debt counseling?  Have they had any formal assessments done? 10 Questions to consider

Determine if the individual requires assessments and where those can be completed Do you require more information…are they suited to services in your agency or somewhere else? Is employment or training at the top of their list 11 Referral process

Are they ready for job development with a clear job goal or do they require in depth planning to explore options including potential training? Who is the best service provider for job development and can you partner with other service providers to heighten success potential? 12

Ideal to transfer an individual to other services and departments with you in attendance for that first meeting Flow of information with signed consents to share information Be available for communicating after a transfer …an individual may not share everything with each person 13 Seamless transitions

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The person’s barriers may impede success for direct job entry Upgrading or training may be the next step In depth planning takes a holistic approach to their training and employment goals Remember: You are key to assisting a person to find meaningful and sustainable work…take the time required 15 In Depth Planning Process

Areas to explore ideally should include: 1.Education experience 2.Work/volunteer/transferrable skills 3.Interests, talents and values 4.Employment vision as they now imagine it 5.Current life circumstances 6.Employment goal with barriers and solutions 7.Labour market research 16 Planning Template

Video: Functional abilities evaluation This is an example of one of the many assessments one can consider for persons with disabilities. This video demonstrates testing someone’s physical abilities to perform many daily tasks 17 Functional Abilities Evaluation

Discussions during meetings may indicate an assessment would be helpful Struggles with learning, mental or physical health are important to explore further Provides documented clarification for the individual and planner on how to move forward 18 Assessments

Internal assessments can be done such as the STRONG, or Myers Briggs, Interest Inventory External assessments can include language benchmarks, literacy, numeracy An assessment is a tool that can increase a person’s opportunity for success 19

Video: Psychological assessments This is a video outlining what benefits and uses a psychological vocational, psychological educational and psychological assessments can be Psychological assessments can possibly be funded through your organization or seek funding options within your community 20 Psychological Assessments

Now is the time to create the to do list with the individual Create time lines and commitments Set realistic goals to be adjusted if task is beyond the individual’s abilities Ensure all assessments are completed with the employment/education goal in mind and they are aligned as realistic 21 Employment Action Plan

Typical paths for a participant: 1.Connect with an employment service to implement Employment Action Plan 2.Apply for training funds 3.Acknowledgement that withdrawal from labour market can be viewed as a success 22 Next Steps

Participants supported through each step of their journey until closure of file The individual is now moving ahead on their own 23