Wages and Benefits

How is Kansas engaging the disabled community? The Kansas Medicaid Infrastructure Grant and the Kansas Council on Developmental Disabilities created a summit in order to provide information on the services available in the state that aim to establish integrated competitive employment as the first priority for Kansans with disabilities. Review full agenda and complete list of handouts and presentations can be reviewed.

How is Indiana reaching out to its consumers, agencies, and leaders about MIG information? Attached are three examples of how the state both provides education and works to improve on MIG programs and initiatives. Find a survey directed towards MIG consumers, a policy and procedure document designed for employers working with individuals with disabilities, and a strategic planning document for MIG subgroup leaders.

How can MIG information be disseminated effectively? One way that Indiana is doing this is through newsletters and articles that serve to keep the disability advocacy community updated and promote employment for individuals with disabilities. Examples of strategic outreach could be replicable by other states.

How is Nebraska educating its disabled population on the utilization of work incentives? Find two presentations on the state's Ticket To Work program, Easter Seals Nebraska. The presentations offer tools and ideas about engagement and forming partnerships.

Oregon’s CLP Options Counseling Protocol provides guidance for receiving, contacting, meeting and communicating with referrals for options counseling through the Community Living Program (CLP) grant. This could serve as a template for other organizations seeking to develop Options Counseling procedures.

Review this guide that outlines steps in the options counseling process. Find a detailed version of Utah’s Options Counseling Decision Tree, from initial point of contact to follow-up, as well as a one page flowchart representing a condensed view of these processes.

Self-directed programs that allow individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities to exercise greater control over their finances have become increasingly common, however challenges in the recruitment, retention and training of direct support workers have grown more acute. In this article, the authors investigate the status of the Direct Support workforce for people using self-directed supports in one Midwestern state, based on the results of a statewide survey of service users.

To better understand the dynamics of the workforce challenges that factor in to the implementation of health reform, an initiative was undertaken to examine the situation in five states (Connecticut, Michigan, Massachusetts, North Carolina and Washington). These states represented a range of geographic and political experiences as they continued to struggle with the lingering impacts of the recession and began preparing to implement health reform. Six key findings are summarized.

The percentage of individuals with disabilities in the federal government has not increased since 1994, according to this report. Read highlights of a forum where participants, by prioritizing practices offered by subject matter experts, identified eight steps that agencies could take to help the federal government become a model employer for people with disabilities.

How can we raise awareness that hiring individuals with disabilities makes good business sense? The mission of the DC Metro Business Leadership Network is to engage and inform regional businesses about the benefits of and resources available for active employment outreach to qualified individuals with disabilities. Attached are outreach materials created by this network.