are we all on mute?

Hello from Sacramento

Hello, everyone

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Thrilled to have someone from my hometown of Sac, Danny!

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Hello everyone, people will be on Mute - you may ask questions in the box or converse here. We will address questions at the end!

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Hello from Philadelphia, as well!

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are we all muted

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Everybody will be muted for this presentation, please put your questions here

Greeting from Minnesota.

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Hello from frozen Worthington, Minnesota! :)

hi everyone Margarita Nodal from Miami, FL

If you would like to read the newly released National Plan to Increase CIE, the link is here:https://econsys.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=29aa515bd6e4d1a3e196930b4&id=c79afcbb14&e=6155f42724

Good morning from Pamela Geary, DOLWD, DVR, Wasilla Alaska pam.geary@alaska.gov

Hello from Oakland California... :-)

Is anyone else not seeing the option for captions?

Greetings from Kansas City!

There is no option for captions, only chat and raise hand

Yes - Captions don’t appear to be turned on.

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PLEASE TURN ON THE CAPTIONS!

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Hello from the Nations Capitol!

Please turn on captions

Hello from Minnesota.

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I see captions now! Thank you!

Hello from Sonoma County, CA

Another from Colorado! Hello Everyone!

Hello from Wooster, Ohio!!

Hello, from suburban Chicago.

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Hello from Pennsylvania

you have to turn the captions on manually under the "live transcript" options

Hello from Northern Michigan

Thanks!

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Thanks for caption tip!

hello from Baltimore

You can’t turn cations on unless the host enables them.

If you would like to learn more about Taryn or any of our speakers, please read our speaker bios here: https://econsys.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=29aa515bd6e4d1a3e196930b4&id=88c8adc40b&e=6155f42724

If we can not remain for the entire webinar, will there be a recording to view later?

Hello from Colorado!

Webinar will be available by early next week for review

yes, they said they will post it in 48 hours

Will you email to us?

Where is the webinar posted to? Do I need to be registered somewhere?

The registration link for all Employment First Webinars is available here: https://econsys.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=29aa515bd6e4d1a3e196930b4&id=e7a39772c5&e=6155f42724

The webinar will be distributed via the listserv mailer linked above

Hello from Alabama!

Hello from Northern Colorado

Greetings. We are proud to be partnering with ANCOR, ODEP, and local providers in this NEON project to advance CIE in Illinois!

Hello from Kansas

Hi from CT.

Hello from suburban Chicago, Vernon Hills.

The National Plan to Increase CIE is now available for downloading here: https://econsys.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=29aa515bd6e4d1a3e196930b4&id=c79afcbb14&e=6155f42724

Hello from Montana.

Great to see and hear from Dr. Mank.

😊

Hello from Nashville, Tennessee

Joe Marrone here in unusually sunny Portland OR

Have a question or a comment for our panelists? Leave it here and we may get to it at the end of the presentation.

Can this PowerPoint be saved by us or can it be emailed to us?

The Powerpoint will be sent out with a link to a webinar recording early next week.

Great! Thank you.

hello From Duluth MN Karen Herman

How do I find a recording of this webinar?

Hello from Fairfax, Virginia!

Carmen, they're sending out a link to the recording next week.

Thank you

sorry cant stay will watch later

Maybe I am just cranky, but it feels like people with disabilities are left out of the loop here. They need to be part of these plans and implementation!

Who is the point of contact in Kansas for LPO or NEON?

For the most part people with disabilities who need personal care support during the workday typically remain unemployed...Which why our adult day program give self-employment/micro-enterprise training and support so they can have economic opportunity also

Thank you Michael

Bill, there is no reason that a person who needs personal assistance while working, whether as self-employed or in a competitive integrated job, since it is available from Medicaid and is not the same, and complementary to, job coaching or employment facilitation supports in the workplace.

Would access to personal care assistance vary by state?

Increased training options are wonderful, however, how are providers finding time for their staff to attend or complete the trainings? We are wrestling with that right now.

Woo hoo Go Donna!

Thank you for your great questions and comments. Please continue to provide them and we will get to as many as we can at the end of the presentation

Donna Martin is amazing!

Hi Kate and Julie!

Yay, Julie Christensen!

As is Julie!

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Great to see you, Julie, Kate and Jessica! - Melwood appreciates all you do.

So great to see Julie and APSE on this webinar!

Whats APSE

APSE is the Association of People Supporting Employment First

APSE is a great organization with terrific resources

What is the plan to address the resistance by local service providers and families who are entrenched in the model of sheltered workshops and subminimum wage - under the auspices of choice?

Thanks for the shout out, Kate! I was the privileged ambassador at the time for a great team!

whats ANCOR

How are FAMILIES being educated on this subject?

ANCOR is the American Network of Community Options and Resources

How is SSA being brought into this discuss? Especially regarding flexable work incentives for individuals on SSI and SSDI?

Ron Ekstrand I am interested in talking with you concerning your comment on resistance from providers and parents. Would you be willing to contact me at pamwise@lighthousevoc.org? I can share some things with you that we are doing to give options of services that includes both work within the facility for minium wage, and employment in the community.

Funding is a MAJOR issue in PA for providers!

Agree with Kate's comments re funding. It's easy to talk about what should happen but incredibly difficult to change and implement programs that work, especially when funding mechanisms don't incentivize the desired outcomes.

I agree Danny. SSA has to be a partner in this discussion so that people with disabilities who want to work aren't penalized for it.

How do you address the issue of people with disabilities making “too much money” and losing their HCBS funding? This is the case with my son who is 23. He can only earn $89 a month which at minimum wage is less than 2 hours a week and if he makes $234 a month he loses his HCBS funding and all the supports that provides?

Flexible funding is key along with access of providers to braided and blended funding from State DD, State Office of Rehab Services and State Dept of Labor and Training

funding is a major issue especially when minimum wage increases and staff pay does not. Staff retention is difficult as is the pool of people willing to work in the field when staff are paid less that the jobs the find for job seekers

THANK YOU for mentioning how crucial leadership responsibility is in this process!!

Linda Lee - what state are you in?

Linda Lee, How does he lose his funding at that amount? Have you checked with a benefit planner?

Transportation is a huge issue, you can help locate a job, but getting them to and from is a major issue, depending on where they live also.

That is so true!

Yes that is information directly from the Benefit Planner

transportation is a major issue in rural areas when this is no public transportation opton and few jobs

There has to an easier way for people to get onto their state Medicaid Buy-In programs and SSA needs to understand CIE better – offer support not “cut your hours”, “stop working”Need a way for VR, state DD, Labor & Training to work together to braid/blend funding.Need those funders at the onset of planning.

Wow, that is sad, Linda Lee.

In PA, ODP's proposed rate increase for supported employment is .9%....that's less than one percent increase for the next 4 years...that's not incentive at all to continue to provide those services.

Transportation is one of our biggest obstacles that we face when it comes to CIE.

I think the above few messages points to the importance of policy change and involvement of SSA in the process of moving toward CIE for everyone.

Very sad and needs to be addressed at a federal level.

how can you help me get an H2B visa so I can travel to work in the USA

The states want them out in the public working, but no funding to get them there.

Our biggest problem in NM is a lack of providers outside of the 3 metro areas. Not only workers but we do not even have vendors to enter into a contract.

There is a real need to have the entire system change. Congregate day services are too convenient not only to the families (which is another topic) but to Group Homes. Group Homes are designed to take all residents out for the day (to a day program) at the same time. They are not designed to support individual work schedules for all their residents. The entire adult services system must change together or no one will see success.

Linda - have you reached out to the Work Incentives Planning and Assistance WIPA project(s) in your state? They have very knowledgeable Community Work Incentive Coordinators that may be of great help.

another issue is that with the increase in minimum wage, people are less likely to work hours that will result in changing benefits. SGA needs to be increased to match the changes in COL and increased wges

Yes Bonnie...there is a high need for policy changes! From SSA, to funding, transportation, choice. Over 100 agencies in PA have closed and 7000 people are without services... funding just isn't able to keep up with the massive change in wages in the marketplace.

The issue of earning “too much” causes individuals to lose their CaseManagers, housing, transportation, payment for MD visits, Shared Living Provider, in fact all their HCBS services. I know it happened to my son

anither issue is that the work environment is it stable and as a result employers are not hiring

Yes - lack of transportation is often the number 1 barrier to employment in our area!

I agree Julie!

Thanks Julie for recognizing the crisis that all providers are facing with workforce. The industry is going to struggle with this for some time.

Gee...you need our facilities...

Will we be able to access the recording? I want to share insights with other leadership. Thanks...

Great conversation about barriers and need for change to state Medicaid plans and benefits criteria. It's way more complicated than just throwing money at it, but it can be fixed. It's already working much better in some states than others.

I wish that Job coaches and developers or support professionals were talked about, trained and discussed separate from DSP. There is a big difference between the two.

Technology will only go so far, especially for those with more intense intellectual disabilities.

This presentation will be available and distributed within the next few days via the subscriber mailing list

Absolutely right Julie - one of the huge issues in the DD community is the tendency to forget that everybody is different and services must stay individualized. No single solution will work for everybody. We need many options to be available in services, supports, technology, and employment options.

Our most vunerable people, they need our voices, DSP'S are paid poverty wages, pushed to their limits, but factory jobs are paying top dollars for people to work. But it takes weeks to hear from a company that says it's hiring urgently. Everyone is short staffed.

Yes, Christine, you're correct - there is a big difference between what a job coach DSP does and a Residential DSP does. We need to recognize the differences and tailor our training to the different services.

We have seen a large shift to Day Service Options due to the many road blocks for CIE. Not having flexible service definitions has impacted so many.

We are trying to do some innovative things with technology for employment at Cognitopia and would be happy to share with anyone who’s interested. http://www.cognitopia.com

Two years later, we really need to improve our efforts reaching out to our EMPLOYER community and encourage them to be creative in their efforts reaching our to our disabled community and provide accomendations for them in the job retention aspect.

Thanks for sharing Cognitopia.com

Small Group employment has been working for our participants to give them insight into the competitive employment in the marketplace. Many use it as a transition or pivot.

Linda: e-mail me at longcorj@michigan.gov Each state is different but I trust there is a resource or several in MD that at least could provide solid information. I'll sure try to connect you with a key lead person or two. Blessings...

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Joe which Linda

It is difficult to support folks when job coaches aren't paid well and are in demand.

Our Agency has not been set back by the pandemic, we never stopped working and employed more people as there was such a shortage of workers. In Fact I think that employers that we worked with were more willing to accept our services and saw how much we were able to help them by providing workers that wanted to work. We worked from home for about a month with coaching still on sites as needed. We had 2 individuals that left or took a leave of due to medical concerns.

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Linda Lee … thanks. She's struggling with benefit planning. No promises but willing to offer contacts.

Hi my name is Dianna Cancel with Gatesway Foundation in Broken Arrow, OK

Kate's point is "right on" to the use of the term "choice" to stay in day services or sub-minimum wage, We need to provide experiences and opportunities for individuals to experience a number of options and what they look like, feel like and taste like and then we can talk about "experientially informed choice" and Discovery, when done with fidelity, is a great way to spend 25-40 hours to engage in this non evaluative process of each person. And each time, there is a success, it sends a great message in the provider agency and the community and families, etc.

https://kesslerfoundation.org/press-release/ntide-december-2021-covid-update-unemployment-trends-lower-people-disabilities?utm_source=direct-homepage&utm_medium=banner&utm_campaign=ntide-december-2021-covid-update-unemployment-trends-lower-people-disabilities

nTIDE December 2021 COVID Update: Unemployment trends lower for people with disabilities as pandemic continues to affect labor market - Kessler Foundation and UNH report link abovce

The time is ripe for customized employment and effective Discovery … especially with fidelity.

@Linda Lee to be honest that does not sound right. You need to find out what the Income Threshold for Medicaid is in your state. If your son is on SSI his income may cause his SSI to stop but not his Medicaid. Ask to speak with a supervisor or different benefits planner. The SSI income and Medicaid income are two separate things. Plus if he has costs related to his employment, there are work incentives available to him.

Julie, please spend a few minutes making sure to differentiate the misleading unemployment numbers for people with disabilities and workforce participation of people with disabilities.

IPS is great model. Individual Placement and Support.

Absolutely Julie!

Sharyn Hancock's statements are correct based on my experience.

I do IPS. Gayla. It is wonderful

Well said Julie!

Sharyn Correct this not right but it is a fact and I am living with it. Have gone through the State Benefits counseling.

Conversations about SSI benefit barriers stresses the need for SSI reform. Currently there are acts to address this. SSI Restoration Act (HR3824/S2065)

Want to know more about the Local Provider Panelists? Read more about them here: https://econsys.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=29aa515bd6e4d1a3e196930b4&id=88c8adc40b&e=6155f42724

We now have 14 states that have passed state legislation or other processes (latest is North Carolina in a settlement agreement) to phase out sub-minimum wage. Most relevant is that the National Association for State Directors of DD Services (NASDDS) adopted a resolution in 2021 that Congress needs to phase out sub-minimum wage. We have to continue to transform the systems to have the funding and infrastructure to promote and sustain CIE or be prepared to a regressive outcome of people ending up sitting at home or in a segregated day program. We cannot let that happen. .

I agree with the lack of conversations regarding SSI benefit barriers, but also I find the waiver and Medicaid barriers are affecting the opportunity to work full time. Also I feel the lack of training and pay for Good job coaches hinder the employment success rate.

For those that are non-verbal and working are any using any assistive devices for communication?

Medicaid equity is a strong issue to address. The is a movement to decouple healthcare and federal/state benefits.

I'd love to learn more about the successes supporting persons with autism.

Are States seeing an increase in people choosing self-employment?

I agree - Covid really helped in letting employers see that people with disabilities are capable, reliable, and loyal! :)

I would love to hear what kind solutions you came up with for the transportation barrier

How can a CRP learn about becoming involved with NEON?

Hard to hear Lisa

Regarding Medicaid income and asset limits, over 40 states had a Medicaid buy-in for workers with disabilities. In addition, HCBS waiver applications and renewals have a simple state option called Post Eligibility Treatment of Income (PETI) that states can check and raise this to 300% of SSI, and also allow the person to keep their wages so they can move to their own apartment,, etc.

And, one more, most states now offer ABLE accounts that parallel 529 Savings Accounts and offer tremendous opportunity to save and not have it be counted against SSI and/or Medicaid funding.

Great to hear about the work of New Star on integrating teams and engaging in job discovery in different ways!

who were the SMEs for these organizations?

How is national disability employment counted? Are people at CRPS making min wage or higher considered employed in CIE in the numbers?

What happens to people who need more meaningful day than what they are able to work?

could you provide a list of the SME on the NEON teams?

Hi, glad to be here. Will a transcript or recording be available after the meeting/

Congratulations, Dan. Great to see you and hear how you are continuing the work and process of organizational transformation at New Star. Look forward to hearing more successes and outcomes.

Who were the subject matter experts?

the vedio resume is a great idea

Recordings and power point will be available for after the presentation in a few days

Thanks for sharing, panelists!

Interesting that 3/4 of the self advocates work FOR service providers

Thanks all for a really great webinar

Alicia Coleman - interesting observation.

Amy, Your sharing these details really hit home with how valuable job coaches are. Thanks you.

These are some great personal stories

Just a reminder - if you want to know more about today's self-advocate panelists - you can read about them here: https://econsys.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=29aa515bd6e4d1a3e196930b4&id=88c8adc40b&e=6155f42724

Thank you to the self advocates for coming to speak. Great stories.

I had trouble hearing Tawana and Melody. Can anybody tell me what their jobs are and who they work for?

Thank you so much for sharing your stories.

Thank you Ty, Amy, Melody, and Tawana for taking the time to share your experiences with us. For those of who provide supported employment services, it is important for us to know what is working well, and where we can improve in our efforts. Thank you!

Tawana has a very important job! So great to hear

Three cheers for our essential workers!

I cant see the screen with my name and picture but I hear you.

Melody, it sounds like your job title should be “Senior Disrupter” because you try to change old thinking and open up people’s minds to different ways of doing things that they might like but don’t know about. Very cool.

YES! Work is about self-sufficiency AND connection/belong!

Ty made some great points about having friendships with co-workers.

and cherished friendships….

Frienships and natural supports mean the world!!!

So great to hear about the relational benefits of work Ty! It's more than a job!

Thanks to all our panelists for sharing your stories and personalizing your experiences.

Wise words Tawana! Thanks!

WELL said

Well said Tawana, Melody, Amy, and TY. Thank you for sharing your successes.

Thanks Tawana - so well said!

Well said!

Tawana, that was awesome! Our disabilities do not define us.

Awesome panel.

Melody, Stay positive wonderful remarks.

You are all an inspiration! Thanks for your powerful stories!

Am I suppose to give a response?

Great stories! Thank you all for sharing❤️

I appreciate all of these testimonies from you. It really encourage me in my position as an Employment consultant. I had some kind of disability but I graduated from SNU with a Bachelor Degree in Organizational Leadership. I think what I am doing now is very valuable and fulfilling.

So True Ty! Work is an expression of who we are and our gifts that we can offer to others. Everyone has gifts to share. No exceptions.

WOW - TY. Such wise and inspiring words.

Amy, Tawana, Ty and Melody thank you. very inspiring. success stories that help all of make changes.

Thanks to the panel for expressing your thoughts on the value of choice and having the job that you want, including AbilityOne jobs and other jobs working for a service provider. The length of your successful job tenure is truly impressive!

Stay encouraged doing a great job.

Thanks Amy - so neat to hear that your job has enabled you to provide for you family. Well done!

Thank you Amy.

Amy, such a good point- we all need to feel like people believe in us and that reminder is so important.

Thank you

You are all awesome!

Thanks for sharing, panel. Very powerful words.

Wonderful job!

great Job!!

Thank you all for sharing, your stories are very inspiring!

Thanks for sharing the impact of employment.

Excellent! Thank you!

How can we get involved in NEON with our Organization in Gatesway Foundation in Broken Arrow, OK?

dcancel@gatesway.org

How to we get involved with NEON? rcarmody@accesspointri.org

Thank you to all, this has been helpful information.

Kudos to Dr. Mank and Rich for moderating a super webinar. Thanks to all the panel members as well!

I would like more information on NEON

Who is the director of NEON?

dcain@raygraham.org more Info on NEON

This webinar was very informative and inspiring - well worth the time.

Want more information about NEON? You can find more information on the DOL Website: https://www.dol.gov/agencies/odep/initiatives/neon

Rich, good to see you and thanks for the reference to Presumptive Employability for Individuals with Significant Disabilities, which was an amendment to the Rehab Act in 1992!!! And, supported Employment was added to the Rehab Act in 1986.

Good information. Thank you, Julia Kelly, NY

In ND, VR notified providers that we will be required to have all staff ACRE certified. Simple step that makes it happen. Unfortunately, that doesn't address the funding issue.

NM DDSD and DVR is paying for the classes, 2 hours / week for for 16 weeks. all virtual and then we pay for the certifications

Yes! Game changer for us all.

Thank you!

It would be nice if they did fund the training, but they don't. There are grants available for some. However, it's really more of a time element. We already have to fit in 24 hours of required trainings from ODP in PA, and if people miss those planned trainings, they struggle to make them up. We need the staff present to provide proper ratios for services.

how do we connect more with NEON nondyak@aidcares.org

Self employment is a great alternative, but also poses a lot of hurdles for people to overcome due to VR's need for extremely detailed SBE plans and limited supports for the entrepreneurs themselves.

NM set up a 5 year- MOU between DVR and DDSD -a plan for how we wanted the landscape of employment and skills of the providers.

@Nikki https://www.dol.gov/agencies/odep/initiatives/neon

Thank you.

Thanks for the informative information!

Benefits Planners are a MUST. I have heard the issue of loss of benefits since 1986!!!

will this be posted for replay?

The power point, transcript and recording will be available next week

Thank you

Thanks

Thank you for the support of the need for Benefits Planners!

Thank you!

THANK YOU ALL!

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Thank you everyone!

And, the change of expectations need to begin with pediatricians, early childhood and preschool special educators; and, full inclusion beginning in preschool will go a long, long way to change the culture and expectations. thank you for a great two hours.

great information & great panel discussions. Thank you!

thank you

thanks