Supported Employment

October is Disability Employment Awareness Month

Disability Employment Awareness Month – DEAM 2017

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For the past several years, publicly funded employment inclusion service providers across Canada have showed a growing interest in Disability Employment Awareness Month. The progression has been obvious and encouraging. Initially promotional initiatives were sporadic and driven by service provider organizations. More recently, however, DEAM has been trending in a positive direction with the broader community …

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Employment Inclusion Service Networks – The New Best Practice?

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In 2012, the government of Canada collaborated with Canadian business to explore the recruitment and retention of people with disabilities. The resulting document,  ‘Re-thinking Disabilities in the Private Sector’, outlined a number of barriers and strategies around ‘community partnerships’ between business and employment service providers. The issues of supply and demand, accessible talent pools and …

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Best Practices In Employer Engagement

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Diversity & Inclusion Strategy Implementation – Best Practices in Employer Engagement Professionals working in the field of Supported Employment / Employment Inclusion recognize on a fundamental level that employment service outcomes for people with disabilities do not occur without the engagement and participation of an employer. We also recognize that although the foundation of our …

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A Draft Transition Plan – Segregated to Inclusive Environments

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Most disability advocates and professionals have been aware for a very long time that sheltered or segregated environments (particularly in day options) do not generate good outcomes in the areas of inclusion and capacity building. Nevertheless, resistance remains to the closure of such environments. Some say more time is needed, others say that these environments …

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People at an Alberta Council of Disability Services Conference

ACDS Conference Review

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The 2014 Alberta Council of Disability Services (ACDS) Spring Conference – held in Edmonton this year, turned out to be one of the best Employment Conferences I’ve been to in a very long time. Although Employment Inclusion is not the primary focus of ACDS, they have seen the ‘writing on the wall’ and invested heavily …

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Differing Perspectives

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This video is of Dr. Temple Grandin as the main speaker for the National Career Development Association’s annual conference (in fact it was their 100th anniversary in 2013!)

Alberta’s Employment First Initiative

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Employment First is essentially a ‘best practices’ statement which simply asserts that employment in the general workforce should be the first and preferred outcome for publicly funded services for adults with intellectual / developmental disabilities. Employment First principles  have been promoted most vocally by APSE – the Association of People Supporting Employment First – a national …

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How Are We Hurting Employment Inclusion For People With Intellectual Disabilities?

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Several weeks ago, a local employment service I consult to encountered an all too familiar situation; the residential services involved urgently wanted the job-seeker “out of the house” and engaged in full time employment. The Career Exploration and Job Search processes were, in their estimation, taking too long. A job placement in which this job-seeker …

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