Employment Employment Services Employment supports are DD services that focus on work. These services help adults with developmental disabilities find meaningful jobs in the community. The employment services are: Job Discovery Job Exploration Job Development Job Coaching Job Retention Group Supported Employment Personal Supports in the Workplace Job Discovery Job discovery is the first step in a customized approach to employment for someone with significant challenges. With job discovery, individuals will work with an employment specialist. The specialist will help the person learn more about themselves. They will get to know more about: Things they are good at. The supports they need to be successful at work. The type of work they are interested in. The employment specialist will also help the individual learn more about their community. They may learn about the community by: Looking at maps. Reading the newspaper or area activity guides. Exploring the area. Talking to other people. Learning about community resources and experiences is community mapping. Job Exploration Job Exploration is a service an individual can get to start their employment journey. This is a good service for the person if they would like to get a job but have not had experience working. The goal of this service is to help the person make choices about work and figure out their path to employment. Job Development Job development will help individuals find the best job for them. With job development, individuals will work with an employment specialist to find a job and get hired. The employment specialist will help individuals: Search for a job that they are interested in. Submit job applications. Write a resume with their skills and experiences that they will share with employers. Learn interview skills and schedule interviews with employers. Get job offers and be hired at a job. Job development is a short-term service. This means it is not a service that will take many months or years. Instead, job development is limited to 200-hours each plan year. Job development is limited so individuals can reach their employment goals sooner. Job Coaching With job coaching, individuals will get help learning how to do new job tasks. Individuals will also learn skills to talk with their boss, coworkers, and customers. Individuals will work with a certified employment specialist while they are at work. Job coaching is temporary and will go away once individuals learn their job tasks. Individuals can get more job coaching support if their job tasks change or if they get a new job. Job coaching does not include transportation to or from the workplace. Job Retention With job retention, individuals will get help keeping and growing in their job. Individuals can get job retention after they finish with job coaching. Individuals will work with a certified employment specialist to keep and grow in their job. Individuals will learn to share their feelings at work, like the things they think are going well and things they are having trouble with. Individuals will talk about their work goals and learn different ways they can grow in their job. Talking about how they feel about their job is important because it is a good way to make sure individuals are happy at their job or if they want to find a new job. Group Supported Employment With group supported employment, individuals will work with an employment specialist in a group with other people with disabilities. As a group, individuals will get help finding a job. Individuals will get support and training to become more familiar with their new job and learn how to do their job tasks. Individuals will also learn skills to help them talk with their boss, coworkers, and customers. The group support can be an ongoing part of the job. Personal Supports in the Workplace Personal supports in the workplace is a service individuals can get if they do not need help with job tasks, but they do need help with activities of daily living or need other support at all times. This means they do not need help getting a job or doing their job duties, but they do need help at work that they would need in any other place. With personal supports in the workplace, a provider will help individuals during their normal work hours to take care of their personal needs, like personal hygiene and eating. A provider will also help support medical or behavioral needs individuals have. Everyone Benefits from Hiring People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities People with disabilities bring a diverse range of skills, abilities, and perspectives to the workplace. There are benefits of employing people with differing abilities. They strengthen the workplace morale and productivity through a more committed and diverse workforce. Benefits to the Employer: Improvement in profitability Increased retention rates Inclusive work culture and ability awareness Customer satisfaction Reliability and punctuality Positive word of mouth Candidate matching which reduces cost of turnover Benefits to Employment: Opportunity to build relationships with diverse coworkers and networking Personal and professional growth Earning wages and becoming more financially self-sufficient Contribution to the economy and their communities Sense of pride and confidence For a printable version of these benefits, review these resources: Everyone Benefits from Hiring People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (English; PDF) Everyone Benefits from Hiring People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (Spanish; PDF) Job Seekers Club Contact Us Elvys Ruiz, Administrator III, Business and Community Engagement Elvys.Ruiz@bhddh.ri.gov 401-462-3857 Gerard "Jay" MacKay, Associate Administrator II, Supported Employment Gerard.MacKay@bhddh.ri.gov 401-462-5279 Faces and Places/Stories on Employment in RI faces-of-employment.pdf PDF file, about 4mbmegabytes