1. LifeCourse and Adult Employment Outcomes
Erin
Slide Presenter Duration
1-7 Erin minutes
8-10 Michelle minutes
Erin minutes
Alison minutes
Rhonda minutes
Joan minutes
Rhonda minutes
Joan 5 minutes
Erin 3 minutes
25 Michelle 3 minutes
Erin minute
55 minutes total

2. About Us Emily Price DC Department on Disability Services
No Wrong Door Person Centered Lead
Person Centered Thinking Trainer
Joan Christopher
Research Instructor / Advocacy Self-Determination Coordinator
Georgetown University Center for Child & Human Development
Parent, Person Centered Thinking & Family Planning Together Trainer
Kevin Wright
DC Department on Disability Services
Intern, State Office of Disability Administration

3. DC Supporting Families CoP Core Team Members

4. Foundations of Systems Change to Support Employment First in DC
Pathways to Employment
Discovery
LifeCourse
Framework
Person Centered Thinking
Year 5 of Supporting Families & PCT -- We started because:
Antiquated medical model system struggling with concepts of HCBS choice and control (HCBS waiver not well utilized until 2007)
Self-advocates and families developed a strong voice and relationship with DDA leadership
Years of court oversight and battles emphasized a compliance mentality
Needed to infuse and immerse the system with value based principles and practices to move systems change to the next level.
PCT and Supporting Families principles have become the foundation of all of our systems change activities

5. Pathway to Employment Assessment & Exploration
Training & Education
Active Job Search
Employment & Job Retention
Advancing
In Job
We also wanted to reframe the conversation to assume that everyone of working age is on the pathway to competitive, integrated employment. As art of service planning, our service coordinators have guided conversations with each person – at intake and annually at the ISP -- to talk about interest in employment and doing more meaningful activities in the community. For people who are not working age, we are working with people and their families to try options for a more integrated retirement, like going to the senior center and doing volunteer work.
+ way for the system to track progress over time.

6. Redesigning the Front Door
Person-Centered Planning & Discovery starting at DDA intake
Like and Admire to determine strengths
Trajectory to identify goals
Guided conversation on Employment
Working towards joint application with Vocational Rehabilitation
An important part of the journey for DDA to become a PCO is to engage in a critical self-examination of our policies and practices to see where we are being person-centered and where we are creating a barrier to people having a good life.
We took a hard look at our Intake process recently – We wanted to reframe the front door to DDA supports – and eventually all DC LTSS – to make them person-centered and strength based, with a goal to connect people to community-based supports as quickly as possible.
We created a new guided conversation at DDA that starts by talking with people and their families about their strengths, using the PCT Like and Admire Tool and the Trajectory to think about big picture goals. We have a guided conversation on employment and offer benefits counseling to everyone applying for DDA supports. If a person is interested in employment, we refer them immediately to Vocational Rehabilitation, so that while their DDA application is pending, they can get started on their employment search.
Now, we are working with DDA and RSA to have a joint intake, so that if a person is found eligible for DDA and expresses interest in employment, it is also an application to VR, reducing a barrier and keeping people from having to tell their story over again.

7. https://dds.dc.gov/page/dc-learners-and-earners
DC Learners & Earners
DC Learners and Earners initiative is aimed at improving employment outcomes for young people, ages 14 – 30 years old, with intellectual disabilities.  Recognizing that to be successful this will require change at every level, DC is working with people with disabilities and families to build high expectations for employment and share tips for success; with neighborhoods throughout the District of Columbia to build community-based networks of support for young people; and examining where our government policies and practices must change. 
Finally, we are pleased that DC is one of 6 states to receive a Partners in Employment grant from ACL. We hear all the time at Project ACTION! and at our Supporting Families CoP that we have to do better at getting people jobs, and making sure people who have jobs have an opportunity for advancement. Through this project we will be working with young people, their families, providers, employers, and the community to raise expectations for employment, do deep discovery combined with community mapping, and apply our learning throughout the system.
Next, Kevin, a young man with developmental disabiltiies who is working with us on this project, will demonstrate how we are using the Trajectory tool with young people to capture their employment successes and share their journeys, tips, and successes with other people with disabilities.

8. Kevin Talks about Employment
Note: Need to link video

9. Helping Families Get Started
Must accept that everyone who wants to work, regardless of their disability, should work.
Families will have to promote and accept their loved one’s independence for them to work.
The “road” to get there is a process and may have stops before getting a job.
Families and people with disabilities need to learn to identify goals, resources and sort them to get a good picture of what needs to be done.

10. Tia’s Story The “case study”
Learned to sort facts from the case study into goals, actions needed and resources
Developed the final products of a Trajectory and Integrated Supports Star, after “toggling” back and forth.

11. Talking to Families About Employment
Recognize the expertise families bring to the table. We worked with our SF CoP to talk about what their vision is for employment for their family members and asked them what they were doing to help support them. We collected their ideas and share them with others. We typically distribute this with a blank trajectory form so that families can develop their own vision and chart their own paths to employment success.

12. Thank you!!!
Questions?
Erin