Community Inclusion

An eclectic group of experts, from self-advocates and service providers to employers and construction companies, were convened to set short, medium, and long-term goals towards creating a comprehensive employment system in WI. This document reports on the agenda and goals drawn up through this effort. Areas covered include organization and planning, public awareness, and policy.

Wisconsin Pathways to Independence convened a series of symposia to improve the process of maintenance and repair (M&R) for mobility assistive technology (AT) and its effects on outcomes such as employment. The symposium report presents current knowledge and sums up future objectives. The mobility survey reports on user experience and employment outcomes. Finally, the current practices report analyzes the processes involved in M&R to identify aspects that increase complexity and time of repair.

Access Training helps therapists and support professionals to improve skills in assessing the assistive technology (AT) needs of persons with disabilities. This document reports on the project's accomplishments in 2006, namely two major training events. One focused on serving people with mobility needs, the other on people with sensory and learning disabilities.

Find here documents needed for managing a peer mentoring program. Advisory committee meeting materials illustrate the planning process. Flyers, posters and press releases aid in marketing. Letters to parents and mentors and interview questionnaires and assessments for recruitment are also given. So are worksheets and activity guides for use once a mentor and mentee have been matched.

The WI Statewide Transition Initiative receives guidance from a Youth Advisory Board (YAB). The materials contained here were developed to teach workers to help support meaningful work by the Board via youth leadership training and development. The YAB description provides the details and goals of the program. The facilitators guide and presentation structured the training, and the youth activities and programming resource support implementation.

The goal of this copyrighted program is to help those facing the most significant challenges to employment to gain economic self-sufficiency. The two-tiered “train the trainer” strategy includes career development curriculum for counselors to develop necessary skills. Counselors then conduct workshops with customers to develop portfolios of skills and strengths. Resources available here include the proposal, an introductory presentation and brochure, and trainer and participant manuals.

This guide is a supplement to ABCs of Nursing Home Transition: An Orientation Manual for New Transition Facilitators. The two guides are meant to be used together. This second guide, gives greater detail on one of the most challenging aspects to the transition process—locating and securing housing that meets the individual’s needs and preferences so that the transition can be completed. The Appendix offers tools for housing specialist and consumers including checklists and how-to fact sheets.

Here are materials used to develop a one-stop employment website to help Washingtonians with disabilities find local career information and supports. The proposal offers a needs statement, a project plan, detailed budget and staffing needs, and a draft of the top-level organization scheme for the site. The presentation slides were used as part of a focus group study to determine which information and tools would be most useful on the site.

Three focus group studies on employment support services for people with developmental disabilities are presented here. The first was conducted by self-advocates who gathered feedback from vocational rehabilitation consumers about services received . The second gathered views from consumers on which services were most effective in helping them gain employment. The final is a presentation on the perceptions of people with disabilities and employers on the meaning and importance of work.

Find here examples of communications used to answer questions about eligibility and the application process for waiver programs. The first handout summarizes the three levels of financial eligibility and strategies for helping an individual maintain benefits. The second resource, a training presentation, provides this information in more detail and uses an anecdotal character to walk through the requirements. Finally, the chart illustrates basic eligibility requirements in a simple chart.