Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 8 of 8

Full-Text Articles in Vocational Rehabilitation Counseling

Service Provider Promising Practice - Transcen’S Worklink Program: Helping Individuals Gain Work Skills Through Targeted Volunteering And Other Community Life Engagement Activities, Heike Boeltzig, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston Oct 2017

Service Provider Promising Practice - Transcen’S Worklink Program: Helping Individuals Gain Work Skills Through Targeted Volunteering And Other Community Life Engagement Activities, Heike Boeltzig, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

ThinkWork! Publications

WorkLink is a program that enables individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) to work while receiving wrap-around day services. Having access to both types of supports -- community employment and Community Life Engagement (CLE) -- is particularly important for individuals with significant IDD, who often work fewer hours and need additional support to lead active and meaningful lives. The program was started in 1996 by TransCen, Inc., and is based in San Francisco, California. Day services not only help individuals establish and maintain meaningful community relationships, but also let them build important skills as they explore vocational goals and …


Service Provider Promising Practice: Flexible Scheduling And Creative Staffing - Kfi’S Support Solutions, Heike Boeltzig, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston Oct 2017

Service Provider Promising Practice: Flexible Scheduling And Creative Staffing - Kfi’S Support Solutions, Heike Boeltzig, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

ThinkWork! Publications

Headquartered in a small rural town in northern Maine, Katahdin Friends, Inc. (KFI) provides community employment and life engagement supports, as well as home supports, to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). KFI’s services extend throughout northern and southern Maine, including the cities of Portland and Bangor. A flexible approach to staffing and support scheduling helps KFI ensure customized daily support schedules that meet individual goals. This approach also allows individuals to interact with a variety of direct support professionals, which is important for having a more engaged and meaningful life in the community. As of July 2016, KFI …


Service Provider Promising Practice: Braiding Community Employment And Life Engagement Services - Transcen’S Worklink Program, Heike Boeltzig, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston Oct 2017

Service Provider Promising Practice: Braiding Community Employment And Life Engagement Services - Transcen’S Worklink Program, Heike Boeltzig, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

ThinkWork! Publications

WorkLink is a program that braids community employment and life engagement services. The goal is to enable individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) to work while receiving wrap-around day supports, as needed. Started in 1996, WorkLink is a program of TransCen, Inc. and is based in San Francisco. WorkLink clients do not have to give up day supports when deciding to pursue work. In addition to helping individuals establish and maintain meaningful community relationships, day supports are used to discover and explore vocational goals and job options. This information then helps guide individuals’ employment planning process. At WorkLink clients …


Service Provider Promising Practice: Avenues Supported Living Services: A Staffing Approach Based On Client Relationships, Heike Boeltzig, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston Oct 2017

Service Provider Promising Practice: Avenues Supported Living Services: A Staffing Approach Based On Client Relationships, Heike Boeltzig, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

ThinkWork! Publications

Avenues Supported Living Services of Valencia, California was founded in 1997 by a husband- andwife team, Scott and Lori Shepard. The agency provides supported living and community life engagement (CLE) services to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Key to Avenues’ success is a staffing approach that is grounded in client relationships. The agency limits staff hours to two shifts per week with the same individual. This is done to facilitate clientstaff matching and relationship building, but also to prevent potential burnout and frustration by ensuring both the clients they support and their staff have variety in their schedules. …


Service Provider Promising Practice: Using Staff Networks To Build Community Membership At Loqw, Oliver Lyons, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston Jul 2017

Service Provider Promising Practice: Using Staff Networks To Build Community Membership At Loqw, Oliver Lyons, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

ThinkWork! Publications

LOQW (Learning Opportunities/Quality Works) is a community skills training, service coordination, and employment services provider in northeast Missouri. LOQW employs over 100 people and serves 14 counties in northeast Missouri and 600 customers annually. Their mission is to “positively impact the lives of individuals through support, advocacy and connection to resources.” LOQW operates several satellite offices in addition to its main office in Monroe City, MO. One of these satellite offices is located in Hannibal, MO, a city with a population of less than 18,000. For comparison, Busch Stadium in nearby St. Louis can hold over twice that amount of …


Service Provider Promising Practice: Using Mobile Communication Technology At Seec, Oliver Lyons, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston Jul 2017

Service Provider Promising Practice: Using Mobile Communication Technology At Seec, Oliver Lyons, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

ThinkWork! Publications

SEEC (Seeking Equality, Empowerment, and Community) is a Maryland-based provider of employment, community living, and community development supports to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Originally established in 1987, SEEC started converting from facility-based to exclusively community-based supports in 2005, and closed down its center-based program completely in 2009. Currently, all of SEEC’s supports are individualized and community-based, in keeping with the organization’s mission “to support people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to direct their lives with dignity, choice, authority, and responsibility.” SEEC provides supports to over 200 people with IDD throughout Montgomery County and the District of Columbia. …


Service Provider Promising Practice: Job Squad, Inc. (West Virginia) - A Blog That Conveys The Importance Of Community Employment, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston Jul 2014

Service Provider Promising Practice: Job Squad, Inc. (West Virginia) - A Blog That Conveys The Importance Of Community Employment, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

ThinkWork! Publications

Job Squad is a medium-sized CRP that provides services to individuals in 13 counties within West Virginia. In 2005, responding to customer demands, executive director Brenda Hellwig and her staff received training from Griffin Hammis Associates to offer community employment services. Once trained, the career counselors at Job Squad found that their most successful jobs were matches between job seekers and small businesses that needed their skills and could provide natural supports. The team then started the Community Economic Development blog at http:// jobsquadinc.blogspot.com/. This is a platform to communicate with employers,


Service Provider Promising Practice: Kfi In Maine - Making Mission-Driven Choices About Funding And Service Innovation, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston Jul 2013

Service Provider Promising Practice: Kfi In Maine - Making Mission-Driven Choices About Funding And Service Innovation, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

ThinkWork! Publications

Katahdin Friends, Inc. (KFI), headquartered in the small rural community of Millinocket, Maine, has been a service provider in this community and surrounding regions for the last 54 years. After providing segregated services for its first 20 years, KFI became an early adopter of supported employment. In the 1980s, staff members started attending conferences to learn about better, cheaper ways to serve their customers. They were profoundly influenced by the integration approach to community and employment support espoused by other innovative service providers across the country