Utah

What can parents do to help young adults improve employability skills and prepare for the world of work? Utah wants to get parents involved early. They created the attached PowerPoint presentation that outlines essential skills and a list of how parents can help with each. These skills are broken down into work, academic, people and thinking skills. This is an approach that could be useful to other MIG grantees.

How are states using online resources to educate consumers about their choices? The state of Utah developed a resource site for the following areas: Employment, Benefits, Education and Training, Housing, Transportation, Finances and Money Management, Legal and Advocacy, Assistive Technology, Healthy Living. A link to the site is available and could serve as an example to other MIG states.

How are states integrating American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funded on-the-job training into their MIG grant programs? Utah created presentations to train new on-the-job training employees. Three of these presentations are attached. Topics include building employer relationships, schedule A, and successful job development. These presentations could be a good example for other states seeking to do the same.

What is a Representative Payee? A person or organization who helps someone manage their Social Security money, if the beneficiary is unable to do so themselves. The state of Utah is training people to act as Representative Payees as part of their MIG grant program. This presentation outlines the differences between Rep Payees and other designations, explains roles and responsibilities and more. A sample presentation is attached below and could be helpful to other states with MIG grants.

How are states keeping those involved in MIG grant programs up-to-date on important policies and issues? Utah created a newsletter for their MIG program. The Fall 2009 issue is attached and features a calendar of events for the October Disability Employment Awareness Month, and includes information regarding Individual Development Accounts and the Work Incentive Seminar Event (WISE). This publication could serve as example to other MIG grantees.

While long term care costs continue to rise nationally, the cost for in-home care is rising at a much slower pace. Complete national and state cost of care data can be found in the full report. Other reports include an Executive Summary of key findings, detailed methodology information and listings of counties involved in the survey. Also find an interactive map detailing costs within each state.

Seamless collaboration with and for students with disabilities transitioning to employment, education/training, and adult life is vital to making transition programs successful. Utah created a Transition Action Guide for students with disabilities and agencies to accomplish this. A sample copy, revised in April of 2010, is attached. A link is also provided to a copy posted on Utah’s State Office of Education site, where it is updated periodically.

How is Utah training Vocational Rehabilitation and On-the-Job Training Specialists? The attached presentations were created by The Employer Relations Specialist for Utah’s State Office of Rehabilitation to address employer relations, successful job development, business and vocational rehabilitation relationships and essential skills for finding and keeping a job. These presentations contain information and resources that could be useful to other MIG grantees interested in training ideas.

Dispelling myths about employment is key to getting consumers involved in MIG programs. Utah created a presentation which focuses on ”busting” these myths as a way of educating consumers about work incentives. By addressing concerns over loss of social security or feelings that finding job training and employment may be unrealistic, Utah hopes to get the facts about their programs to the people who benefit from them most. It’s an approach that other states could find beneficial.

Turning the many acronyms that make up the landscape of MIG programs into something youth with disabilities and their families can understand and utilize is essential in effecting successful transitions from school to employment. Utah created the attached presentation for a workshop designed to break down these acronyms into meaningful opportunities. This playful approach is something that other MIG grantees could find useful.