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AFP Takes Stock of Activities to Double Integrated Employment by 2015 PDF Print E-mail

With the AFP Summit fast approaching, each founding organization took time recently to outline the activities they are taking in support of AFP’s goal to double integrated employment for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities by the year 2015.  "While the AFP Summit marks the midpoint in AFP's campaign, it's just three days in a five year campaign," said Renee Pientrangelo, ANCOR President and CEO.  "To reach our goal of doubling employment, our founding organizations are releasing a multitude of programs, policies and resources in support of increasing integrated employment.  Collectively, we maintain a fierce determination to ensure our goal is reached."  Among the activities being conducted by AFP's Partners: 


Identifying Benchmarks and Collecting Data:   High quality data allows organizations to clearly identify benchmarks, measure outcomes and establish promising practices.  Without it, organizations  are just relying on guesswork and intuition regarding what really works.  Data collection programs such as HSRI’s support of the National Core Indicators program (NCI) which involves a consumer survey soliciting information on employment status, wages, job satisfaction and other items useful in establishing benchmarks; UCP’s efforts with affiliates to establish current baselines for employment and to identify tipping points which allow people with disabilities to find meaningful jobs in their communities; and NISH’s initiative to collect data from each of its 535 Community Rehabilitation Programs all provide meaningful, measurable baselines for tracking employment outcomes.  Across the country, UCEDS and LENDS are participating in major efforts at state and national levels conducting data collection and developing services toward the goal of increasing integrated employment, and their work is leading to the collecting and dissemination of promising practices across the country.

Identifying Leading Practices:  Replicable practices—those practices proven to increase integrated employment for people with IDD and that can be replicated across state and organization lines—are highly prized.  Identifying those practices is a central part of AFP’s founders’ work. UCP recently launched the Program Advancement Committee, to identify innovative and viable programs and services that represent UCP affiliate’s best practices.  Among programs being studied are one in Mobile, Alabama which successfully moved 120 people into competitive employment at above minimum wage, and programs focusing on investing in industry and developing businesses owned and operated by people with IDD.  The Arc of the United States has instituted a chapter excellence program, creating benchmarks and promoting leading practices.  ANCOR is providing role models and access to leading practices, technical assistance and generating dialog on transitioning to integrated employment for its members.  NASDDDS is working with Boston University on Knowledge Transfer, a project to identify and disseminate research findings on employment for adults with DD and will begin disseminating information on this project this fall through technical assistance, a website, newsletters and webinar.


Policy Initiatives to Promote Integrated Employment:   Practice doesn’t occur in a vacuum.  Although AFP does not engage in policy work as a collective, individually, AFP’s members engage in multiple policy initiatives to create an environment conducive to increasing integrated employment.  NACDD’s membership recently voted to recommend that the Developmental Disability Act reauthorization should include language defining employment first.  SABE issued a position paper calling for an end to subminimum wage.   TASH, in partnership with JFAAN (now NDLA) and CPSD, sent recommendations to the White House on increasing participation in the Federal workforce by people with disabilities (including those with intellectual and developmental disabilities), increasing integrated employment by the private sector, and use of federal funds to support integrated employment as a priority outcome and collaborated with CPSD to develop and introduce the TEAM Legislation (Transitioning towards Excellence and Achievement in Mobility).  AUCD participated in a series of policy meetings having to do with employment language likely to be introduced in the reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act.  NISH recommended changes to the AbilityOne law to add flexibility to the current requirement which requires 75 percent of the direct labor be performed by people with severe disabilities, making it difficult to conduct work in integrated settings.  ANCOR participated in coalitions such as CCD and CPSD and served as a partner in the University of Delaware’s Leadership Institute to promote transformation and policy change.  

Program Initiatives:  Organizations are launching new initiatives specifically focused on increasing employment outcomes and making AFP’s goal of doubling integrated employment for people with disabilities a reality by 2015.

  • ANCOR: Partnering with the Covey Institute to create a values-based, affordable, online program to help foster the cultural and attitudinal change needed for systems change, which includes a component on employment.
  • NADSP:  Rolling out a specialty credentialing program for employment in November, a collaboration with the College of Direct Support, and working on a Leadership Institute focused on Direct Support Professionals with the University of Delaware.
  • NISH: Piloting innovative stock ownership programs to increase employment opportunities and asset development for people with ID/DD, and working in conjunction with The Arc and the Institute for Economic Empowerment, creating an internship program targeting people currently working in segregated workshop environments, offering integrated employment opportunities.
  • NASDDDS:   Managing the State Employment Leadership Network (SELN), a joint project with the U. of Mass Institute on Community  Inclusion, that supports 22 member states in transforming their systems to improve employment outcomes.  Successful initiatives prevalent among SELN members including:  revising funding streams to incent employment opportunities; public display of data to create awareness of current employment outcomes; collaborations with vocational rehabilitation systems.
  • The Arc:   Documenting the work of its 55 Walmart grantee chapters working in transitions to community in work and other dimensions for youth with IDD to provide models and data on outcomes.  Launching a SMART initiative, a technology-based initiative to bring to the workforce technology supports similar to those currently available for residential settings.
  • CQL| The Council on Quality and Leadership:  Developing a series of Guides to Person-Centered Excellence® in services and supports, and identified 8 factors and 34 indicators that relate to improved outcomes and are focused on sharing and increasing implementation of best practices including employment.  Offering the Community Life/LENS® workshop to states and state teams that want to explore and coordinate local resources and assets to promote employment.

Education and Training:  Education and training programs targeted on increasing integrated employment are being offered by every organization, in just about every format possible.  Offering include employment related publications by TASH (TASH Connections, Summer 2010; Research and Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities, Winter 2010); AAIDD (Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities October 2011, Member Updates, Field Notes, FYI); The Riot ezine and website www.riotrocks.com (HSRI);  newsletters from AUCD, ANCOR, NADSP and others.  Countless hours of content on integrated employment, small business ownership and asset development at TASH (National Conference 2010, 2011, Webinar series), HSRI (Reinventing Quality, Asset Development), AAIDD (Annual Meeting 2011); ANCOR (Annual Conference 2011); NISH, The Arc, ASPE and others.   

The activities above represent just a small portion of the actions being undertaken by AFP members on a national level.  On a state level, AFP teams are conducting similar data collection, education, program and policy initiatives in support of improving employment outcomes.  This work is an affirmation of AFP’s collective commitment to employment first principles, and its fierce commitment to our shared goal of doubling integrated employment for people with IDD by the year 2015.

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