Employment Options

Sheltered Employment:  A vocational oriented program designed to provide the following services to individuals who are at least sixteen years old with developmental disabilities: challenging work, training in appropriate work and social skills, and referral to appropriate support services. Supervision is provided by staff members trained not only in production techniques, but also in how to work with employees who have a variety of needs.

Workshop staff acquires production contracts providing work experiences sufficiently diverse to accommodate the needs of each employee. Employees are trained on a variety of jobs to help develop their skills and to give them a sense of pride in their accomplishments. They learn the importance of producing quality work, meeting designated deadlines, satisfying the expectations of the customers, working together as a team, and maintaining a safe and clean work environment.

Staff bids on jobs according to the prevailing wage rate for that job in the immediate vicinity, and employees receive pay on a piece-rate basis. Most workshop employees are unable of producing at the industrial rate determined by time studies required by the Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division. Therefore, a minimum guaranteed wage of 10% of the standard minimum wage has been established in the policies of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Sheltered Workshop Section, a funding and regulatory agency for sheltered workshops.

Although most sheltered workshops are facility-based, many offer a variety of community based activities (i.e. mobile crews). Many workshops are totally production-oriented, while others offer a wide range of other services: individual programming, occupational therapy, sign language training, counseling, volunteer opportunities, social events, etc.. Specific services which may be available are usually described in communication material provided by the individual workshops.

Supported Employment:  Services and/or supports that assist an individual, regardless of how severe their disability, to be employed in an integrated competitive environment requiring no central program site and no pre-vocational training. Expected Outcomes would be:

• Frequent opportunities to interact with employees, who do not have disabilities
• Increases in hours worked and wages earned toward the goal of 40 hours per week at minimum wage
• Access to employee benefits
• Self coordination of the individual's work related transportation

Supported Employment can be provided in several ways:

Individualized job with support from a Job Coach:  involving up to six hours per day and at least 20 hours per week of work that matches the employee's interests and skills in an integrated setting. Job Coach provides job development, training and ongoing support at the worksite as long as the employee requires his/her assistance.

Some agencies may find jobs where a small number of people, no more than eight, work as a group at the same place. Two examples would be work crews and enclaves.

In an enclave, eight workers with disabilities work for a business at its community location, with staff providing continuous support.

A work crew is a small business, no more than eight employees, performing service jobs in the community, generally cleaning or landscaping. Crews can be mobile in order to perform a variety of services during the day with continuous staff support.

Competitive Employment:  A job that the individual has obtained with duties and wages like that of the general public.

Contact your local Vocational Rehabilitation Office to request a vocational evaluation and counseling.

Cass County: Call 816-795-0024

Jackson County: Call Downtown: 816-889-2581; South: 816-889-3800; East: 816-795-0024

Clay, Platte, Ray: Call 816-467-7900

Lafayette, Johnson County: Call 660-530-5560

Contact the Kansas City Regional Center, 821 East Admiral Blvd., 816-889-3400 and request information concerning providers within this regional area that are providing employment support and services.

The Department of Mental Health will only become involved in supportive employment services if it is prescribed in the individual's habilitation plan and funding services authorized/available through the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation have been exhausted. This is always subject to availability of funds and other agency criteria.

Authorizations for length of services will be set by policy based on Department of Mental Health, Department of Education/Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Agreements.

An excellent reading resource is "A Family Pocket Guide to Supported Employment: How to Help Your Family Member with a Disability Develop a Meaningful Career," Training Resource Network, P.O. Box 439, St. Augustine, FL 32085-0439.