Community Inclusion

The Grays Harbor Job Tailoring Cooperative provides customized employment support to jobseekers with disabilities. Refer to the flowchart for a visualization of the basic project structure. The flyer was used to recruit people to take part in a participant-driven project wherein participants create and coordinate a trusted support team to assist in finding and maintaining employment.

Under the Healthcare for Workers with Disabilities (HWD) program, people with disabilities can earn more money but still receive Medicaid benefits by paying premiums based on a sliding income scale. At this website, the state offers eligibility information, instructions on applying for HWD coverage, and links to further information. The presentation gives detailed eligibility and application information and includes a tutorial on using the website.

Here is an example of a tool used to educate service providers and consumers about how SSI recipients can keep Medicaid through 1619(b) even if the earn too much to continue receiving an SSI check. The presentation covers eligibility requirements and the application process. In addition, it points people towards resources for further help and information if needed.

The Center for Workers with Disabilities prepared this report for the Virginia MIG advisory committee. It contains an analysis of the ways states provide personal assistance services (PAS) through a personal care Medicaid State Plan Option (SPO) to persons in Buy-In programs. It looks at specific legislation, State Plans and amendments, administrative rules, and implementation manuals. It ends with recommendations from an analysis conducted for Iowa on whether to implement this option there.

For people with psychiatric disabilities that receive SSDI and/or SSI in Vermont, benefits counseling was found to improve earnings by $1,256 annually. The authors found that this form of support helps overcome significant barriers to employment, such as a fear of a loss of benefits resulting from increased earnings. This article was published in the Psychiatric Services Journal.

A 50% increase in the employment rate and average earnings of people with disabilities are the ultimate goals of the “Vermont Works” program. Seven goals and associated strategic initiatives are presented in this plan to achieve those outcomes. The document is the product of two parallel planning processes. One focused broadly on barriers to community inclusion and the second specifically targeted employment supports.

Through the Work Ability program, Utah provides employment support such as personal assistance services and the Medicaid Work Incentive health insurance benefit. The attached brochures outline these specific services, and the website provides more detail on all available benefits. Also posted here is a brochure that highlights the advantages for employers of hiring workers with disabilities and points them towards resources that can help them do so.

South Dakota’s Freedom to Work (FTW) project provides supports to job seekers with disabilities. Here are examples of tools used to publicize the project. The FTW brochure summarizes all associated services, while the Personal Assistance Services brochure and poster and the Work Incentives Planning and Assistance brochure provide more detailed information for those particular services. The website has relevant links and quarterly newsletters about FTW.

What barriers remain to employment for people with disabilities? The first report presents the results of a survey asking S.C. business leaders this and other questions regarding benefits, challenges, and supports needed to better employ people with disabilities. The second report asks a broader sample of the business community about their perceptions of workers with disabilities, how they affect the workplace, and what accommodations and incentives they consider to be reasonable and effective.

Up to 70% of community rehabilitation providers report that individuals with disabilities prefer to stay in facility-based, rather than community-based, employment programs. This edition of the “Customized Employment Corner” series confronts some challenges of helping individuals make informed choices about employment options. The questions and answers address issues of finding jobs that fit individuals’ qualifications and choices, communication, and funding.