Positive Approaches Journal, Volume 11, Issue 3
Cipriani | 23-27
Volume 11 ► Issue 3 ► November 2022
“Employment First” Matters
Laura Cipriani, Policy Supervisor
Every October we celebrate National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM). National Disability Employment Awareness Month serves as a time to nationally recognize people with disabilities for their contributions to, and their important role in, a diverse and inclusive workforce.1 Despite progress that has been made to better support and promote employment for people with disabilities, the national percentage of people with disabilities participating in our workforce continues to be far lower than that of people without disabilities. 2
In 2018 in Pennsylvania, the Employment First Act was signed by Governor Tom Wolf making competitive integrated employment the first consideration and preferred outcome for people with disabilities by law. Competitive integrated employment is when a person with a disability is earning minimum wage or higher and working in a community setting where there is interaction with people that do not have disabilities.
Pennsylvania’s Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) believes that all people with an intellectual disability and/or autism must be encouraged to pursue their vision for an everyday life, which might include working in competitive integrated employment. Employment First is important to people with disabilities beyond just being the law. Competitive integrated employment offers people of all abilities an opportunity to earn money, learn new skills, build self-confidence, make friends, and be a part of their communities. In addition, research has shown that people who are unemployed have a higher prevalence of poor health than their employed counterparts.3
Pennsylvania’s Office of Developmental Programs has done a substantial amount of work to promote Employment First, and some of the key highlights include:
- Adding two new employment-related services: Advanced Supported Employment and Benefits Counseling.
- Allowing up to $15,000 worth of employment services to be added to a person’s plan without counting towards the funding limit of their P/FDS waiver.
- Developing and implementing two Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) with the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation (OVR). One of these MOUs funds a contact person in each OVR district office specifically designated to assist individuals with an intellectual disability and/or autism. The other MOU allows data sharing across agencies to better streamline service delivery.
- Increasing provider qualifications in employment-related services to increase the quality of services for individuals with disabilities. To support providers to meet the qualifications, ODP obtained access to the College of Employment Services, an online course approved by the Association of Community Rehabilitation Educators (ACRE) board, as a cost-efficient alternative to in-person courses.
- Delivering training and technical assistance from nationally recognized experts to 25 providers of facility-based services on how to transform their business model to support competitive integrated employment.
- Establishing an ongoing data collection system for competitive integrated employment and an “employment dashboard” for easy access to data.
- Serving on the leadership team for the statewide Community of Practice on Secondary Transition.
- Securing a contract with Cornell University to deliver the Work Incentives Practitioner Training and Credential Program to fifty persons working for provider agencies to become qualitied to deliver Benefits Counseling through Pennsylvania’s ODP funding.
- Using funds from the federal American Rescue Plan Act to award providers grants to fund Business Associates in Industry.
In 2017, the total number of working age people (ages 18-64) enrolled with Pennsylvania ODP that had competitive integrated employment was 5,114. In August of 2022, that number was 7,706 people, an increase of 51%.
There are many successes, both small and large to be celebrated, and yet there is much more work to do. For people with disabilities and their families, there are barriers to competitive integrated employment that don’t exist for people without disabilities. For example, accessing transportation, or fear of losing financial or medical benefits. Pennsylvania’s Office of Developmental Programs is committed to Employment First and committed to eliminating barriers, where possible, for individuals to find and maintain competitive integrated employment.
If you or someone you know needs more information about how to access employment services, contact your Supports Coordinator or find information on the Department of Human Services’ website.
References
1. Disability: Part of the Equity Equation, Office of Disability Employment Policy, https://www.dol.gov/agencies/odep/initiatives/ndeam
2. August of 2022, Labor Force Participation Rate for People ages 16 and older; People with Disabilities = 22.5%; People without Disabilities = 68%. Source = Current Population Survey, Bureau of Labor Statistics, https://www.bls.gov/cps/home.htm, Accessed October 26, 2022.
3. Work Matters for Health, Issue Brief 4: Work and Health, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Commission to Build a Healthier America, http://www.commissiononhealth.org/PDF/0e8ca13d-6fb8-451d-bac8-7d15343aacff/Issue%20Brief%204%20Dec%2008%20-%20Work%20and%20Health.pdf, 2008, Accessed October 27, 2022.
Biography
Laura Cipriani has worked for the Office of Developmental Programs for 7 years. Laura was a Program Representative for the Bureau of Supports for Autism and Special Populations before joining ODP’s Policy Division in 2019, where she serves as a Policy Supervisor. Prior to working at ODP, Laura was the Director of the Child Residential and Mental Health Licensing Division for the Bureau of Human Services Licensing. She has more than 20 years of experience in human services and is proud to serve in Pennsylvania, an “Employment First” state for people with disabilities.
Contact Information
Laura Cipriani
Pennsylvania Office of Developmental Programs
Policy Supervisor
lcipriani@pa.gov