Employment Consultant Training
| NH-INACTIVE-Institute on Disability, UCEDD | |||
| Program Type | UCEDD | Fiscal Year | 2012 |
| Contact | David Hagner, PhD | ||
| [email protected] | |||
| Phone | 603-228-2084 | ||
| Project Description | |||
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This project develops an innovative evidence-based training and technical assistance model for implementation of job support interventions to enhance the inclusion of employees with significant disabilities into the culture of the workplace. The project follows an iterative user-centered development process consisting of four phases. In phase 1, an online module will be developed to train community rehabilitation program (CRP) staff, including job coaches and employment specialists, in analyzing workplace cultures using a standardized tool, and in using a set of strategies for employment consultation based on workplace culture analysis and research on facilitating natural supports in the workplace. The strategies and assessment tool are based on validation studies and training curricula developed by the two collaborating partners, the University of New Hampshire Institute on Disability and the University of Vermont Center on Disability and Community Inclusion. In phase 2, the process will be field tested and evaluated through a multi-method study with CRP staff working in a diverse cross-section of CRPs in three states. Sixty CRP staff will complete the training module and implement the consultation strategies with a CRP consumer with a significant disability who begins a supported or competitive job in an individualized community work setting. Site visits and workplace observations will document fidelity to the consultation process. Data on consultation strategies, workplace inclusion, and on-site and off-site staff support time will be collected by participating CRP staff for consumers after one month and after six months of employment. Technical assistance in strategy implementation will be provided through on-site visits to each participating CRP during this six-month period. Additional survey data will be collected from employers and employees and analyzed to examine employee workplace inclusion, job retention and job satisfaction outcomes. Focus groups with participating CRP staff will be used to evaluate the clarity and usability of the process and to revise the training module, assessment tool, and technical assistance process. Phase 3 will consist of additional testing for final refinement of content and usability, to produce a product that is scaleable and meets the needs of the target population. The revised module will be replicated with 100 CRP staff employed by a diverse sample of CRPs in two additional states. Outcome and process evaluation will be conducted as in Phase 2, with the addition of an online discussion forum and videoconferencing technical assistance component offered to half of the participating CRPs in phase 3, to compare the relative usefulness of distance and on-site technical assistance following training. In phase 4, sustainable dissemination, the final revised training module will be made available to VR programs and their associated CRP partners throughout RSA Region I in collaboration with the New England TACE Center, and to additional TACE centers through the national TACE network. The long-term goal is to develop a process for training and certification of local providers of technical assistance to accompany the training model and aid staff in implementation of employment consultation strategies. The project will result in the availability of low-cost training for CRP staff in evidence-based strategies that improve both the job retention and satisfaction of employment service consumers with significant disabilities and the capacity of employers to support a diverse workforce. |
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