YES To Employment

Season 3, Episode 6 — 30 August 2019 About this episode Systems change is often considered a subject for professionals and policy makers. YES! To Employment talks with the YES! Center’s Sean Roy about the importance family members to remaking transition and employment systems for people with disabilities. As someone who has spent his career working in youth transition, and as a sibling, Sean brings a variety of perspectives. About the presenters Sean Roy is a Training Associate at TransCen, currently working on the Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (RRTC) on VR Practices and Youth as the Knowledge Translation Manager and also on the Youth Employment Solutions (YES) Center as a Quality Control Manager. Prior to joining TransCen, Sean worked at the PACER Center helping to direct transition projects and spearheading the creation of PACER’s National Parent Center on Transition and Employment. Sean is an experienced trainer and presenter and brings strong and varied experience in the areas of youth employment, access to post-secondary education, and family engagement. Sean is also knowledgeable in juvenile corrections and inclusive recreation and has personal experience as the brother of an individual on the autism spectrum. Donald Taylor is the Training Manager at the Youth Employment Solutions Center and the producer of YES To Employment. Transcript Complete transcript forthcoming This interview was originally recorded 22 August 2019. The audio of this interview and the transcript have been lightly edited for clarity.   This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. You are free to copy, redistribute or adapt it for any purpose, commercial or non-commercial, provided you adhere to the terms, including that you attribute the original source.

Season 3, Episode 5 — 30 August 2019 About this episode YES! To Employment talks with Darryl Evans, the Deputy Director of the D.C. Rehabilitation Services Administration, Montrel Tennessee, the Project Manager of D.C. Learners and Earners, the Partnerships in Employment project of the District of Columbia, and Susan Brooks, the Operations Manager at RCM of Washington, Inc. The D.C. Rehabilitation Services Administration and RCM have teamed up to create the DSP Academy, a program to prepare people with disables to serve as direct support providers, or DSPs, helping other people with disabilities to live and work in the community. DSP Academy is currently running their second class. We talk with them about how DSP Academy came about, how it works and their experience with their first two cohorts. About the presenters Darryl Evans is the Deputy Director of the District of Columbia Rehabilitation Services Administration. Montrel Tennessee is the Project Manager for DC Learners and Earners which is funded by the Partnerships in Employment federal grant. Montrel’s core responsibility in his role is to create and expand the postsecondary opportunities for youth and young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Montrel is a graduate of George Mason University and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign respectively. Susan Brooks is the Operations Manager at RCM of Washington, Inc. in the District of Columbia. Growing up with a sister who had Cerebral Palsy, she found her passion for supporting and advocating for people with disabilities early in life. Susan holds a BA in Psychology from Bowling Green State University and is actively involved with the Coalition of Disability Service Providers, the ANCOR Leadership Academy, and the Department on Disability Service’s Person-Centered Thinking Community of Practice. Donald Taylor is the Training Manager at the Youth Employment Solutions Center and the producer of YES To Employment. Transcript Complete transcript forthcoming This interview was originally recorded 22 August 2019. The audio of this interview and the transcript have been lightly edited for clarity.   This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. You are free to copy, redistribute or adapt it for any purpose, commercial or non-commercial, provided you adhere to the terms, including that you attribute the original source.

Season 3, Episode 4 — 26 August 2019 About this episode The YES! Center’s Dale Verstegen and Laura Owens talk with Kelie Hess and Tricia Jones-Parkin of the Utah Partnerships in Employment project at the Utah State University Center for Persons with Disabilities and Lavinia Gripentrog, a Transition Specialist at Utah State Board of Education, about how they use the National Technical Assistance Center on Transition (or NTACT) resources to facilitate employment for people with disabilities in the state of Utah. About the presenters Tricia Jones-Parkin is the Program Manager at the Center for Persons with Disabilities at Utah State University. Tricia has over 20-years of experience working with people with disabilities. In 2011, Tricia collaborated to craft the Employment First Language for Utah and has focused on capacity building and systems change efforts to increase the number of people employed and included in their local communities. Tricia is also the project director for Utah;s School to Work Inter-agency Transition Initiative funded by the Administration for the Employment Systems Change grant. She is the co-state lead for Utah’s partnership with the Office of Disability Policy’s Employment First State Leadership Mentoring Program. Tricia was the recipient of the National Association of Persons Supporting Employment First (APSE) Dave Hammis Award. Kelie Hess is the School to Work Program Coordinator at the Center for Persons with Disabilities at Utah State University. Lavinia Gripentrog is a Transition Specialist at Utah State Board of Education. Laura Owens is the President of TransCen. Laura is currently an Associate Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in the Exceptional Education Department where she teaches courses focusing on high school inclusion and transition from school to work. She is also the founder and President of Creative Employment Opportunities, Inc. (CEO), in Milwaukee, which she founded in 1991. Prior to joining TransCen, Laura served as the Executive Director of APSE (the Association of People Supporting Employment First), a national organization focusing on the advancement of integrated employment for citizens with disabilities. Dale Verstegen is a Senior Research Associate at TranScen and one of the State Liaison for the YES! Center. Transcript Complete transcript forthcoming The audio of this interview and the transcript have been lightly edited for clarity.   This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. You are free to copy, redistribute or adapt it for any purpose, commercial or non-commercial, provided you adhere to the terms, including that you attribute the original source.

Season 3, Episode 3 — 8 May 2019 About this episode The YES! Center’s Dale Verstegen talks with Dale DiLeo about the worrying increase in “non-work” and the importance of real competitive integrated employment. About the presenters Dale DiLeo is a widely sought-after speaker and consultant, and well known advocate for people with disabilities. He has provided training throughout the US and in Australia, Canada and Europe on community inclusion for persons with disabilities. Dale has trained over 150,000 participants over the past 40 years, serving as the keynote for the European Union of Supported Employment in Oslo, Norway and presenting again in Barcelona, Spain. He has consulted with state and private agencies, universities, professional associations, and corporations. He is the Past President of the Board of the Association for Persons in Supported Employment (APSE), and is the lead author of that organization’s highly respected Ethical Guidelines in Supported Employment. His latest book, Raymond’s Room, focuses on ending the shameful segregation of people with disabilities in community life. Dale Verstegen is a Senior Research Associate at TranScen and one of the State Liaison for the YES! Center. Transcript Announcer: You’re listening to YES! To Employment, a podcast series that seeks to improve competitive, integrated employment outcomes for transition-aged youth and young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Today the YES! Center’s Dale Verstegen talks with Dale DiLeo about the worrying increase in non-work and the importance of real competitive integrated employment. Complete transcript forthcoming Announcer: You’ve been listening to YES! To Employment, a podcast that seeks to improve competitive, integrated employment outcomes for transition-aged youth and young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Today we spoke with Dale DiLeo about programs of “non-work” versus real competitive integrated employment. You can learn more about him at daledileo.com. To hear more from him, there are a number of his talks on YouTube, just search “Dale DiLeo“. For more about YES! To Employment, including show notes, links to the resources discussed, a complete transcript and a schedule of episodes, visit www.yestoemployment.org/podcast. You can subscribe through iTunes or your favorite Android podcast app to have the series delivered automatically to your device so you never miss an episode. If you enjoyed today’s episode, please give us a rating on iTunes. Ratings will help us get the series in front of more listeners. YES! To Employment is a production of the Youth Employment Solutions Center, the national Training and Technical Assistance Center that serves as a hub of information and expertise for the Partnerships in Employment (PIE) state projects. The YES! Center is a collaboration of TASH and TransCen. You can learn more about TASH at tash.org and more about TranCen at transcen.org. You can receive updates from the YES! Center on this podcast and our other activities by following us on Facebook or on twitter at @YEStoEmployment. Partnerships in Employment is a series of seed grants funded by the Administration for Community Living’s Administration on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, made to states for the […]

Season 3, Episode 2 — 28 February 2019 About this episode Beth Myers and Jonathan Rushmore discuss the Taishoff Center and Syracuse University’s InclusiveU university participation program, as well as its employment initiatives, internship program and business partnerships. About the presenters Beth Myers is the Executive Director of the Taishoff Center for Inclusive Higher Education. She is also a Research Assistant Professor in the Teaching and Leadership Department of the School of Education at Syracuse University, teaching in the Inclusive Elementary and Special Education Program and leading graduate students in a Special Education Consultant internship program. Beth holds degrees in elementary education, special education, and literacy from St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia and the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania. Professor Myers taught in the Lower Merion School District in Pennsylvania and helped to create a best-practice inclusive autism support program there. She opened a regional center for autism services in 2006 and served as Executive Director before joining the center’s consultation team in 2011. Professor Myers has created dozens of programs with individuals and families, including the Advancement Square group for adults with autism, The Teen Project for adolescents with ASD, the Awesome Summer Days program for school-age children, and the SAIL Supported Adult Independent Living program. Beth holds a dual appointment with the Kelberman Center for Autism Services as Director of Special Projects. She has provided school consultations for students with autism and staff development to over 50 school districts. Additionally, Professor Myers is the faculty liaison to the Syracuse City School District for the SUITR Program, a Masters Residency program in urban special education. Myers has conducted research to study the autobiographical works of adolescents with autism, which won the 2012 Ralph C. Preston Award for Scholarship and Teaching Contributing to Social Justice and Educational Equity.​ Jonathan Rushmore is a 27-year-old adult with a learning disability. He is currently enrolled in InclusiveU at Syracuse University, where he has taken a wide variety of classes ranging from technology to anthropology to education. His hope is to graduate with a certificate from Syracuse University at the end of the 2017-2018 school year. After school his dream is to work with adults and children with disabilities and, down the road, to start a non-profit organization to help people with disabilities get the supports and services they need. InclusiveU has allowed Jonathan to re-enter the educational system with hopes of a career working with others with disabilities. Donald Taylor is the Training Manager at the Youth Employment Solutions Center and the producer of YES To Employment. Transcript Announcer: You’re listening to YES! To Employment, a podcast series that seeks to improve competitive, integrated employment outcomes for transition-aged youth and young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Today we’re talking with Beth Myers, the Executive Director of the Taishoff Center for Inclusive Higher Education and a Professor in the Teaching and Leadership Department of the School of Education at Syracuse University, and Jonathan Rushmore, an education major with the […]

Season 3, Episode 1 — 4 February 2019 About this episode David Mank discusses the six keys to success in in facilitating Competitive Integrated Employment for people with disabilities. About the presenters David Michael Mank, Ph.D. is Professor Emeritus at Indiana University. He is formerly the Director of the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community at Indiana University, Indiana’s University Center for Excellence on Disabilities. As a writer and researcher, Dr. Mank has an extensive background in the education and employment for persons with disabilities. He has authored or coauthored dozens of articles and book chapters. His interests also include transition from school to work and community living. Dr. Mank is a member of the editorial boards of Research and Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities (TASH), the Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, and the Journal of Disability Policy Studies. He is Associate Editor for the journal, Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. In January 2015, Dr. Mank was appointed by the U. S. Secretary of Labor to the Advisory Committee on Increasing Competitive Integrated Employment for Individuals with Disabilities, which was created in the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. He was subsequently elected Chair of the Committee, which delivered its Final Report and Recommendations to the Secretary of Labor and Congress in September 2016. Dale Verstegen is a Senior Research Associate at TranScen and one of the State Liaison for the YES! Center. Transcript Announcer: You’re listening to YES! To Employment, a podcast series that seeks to improve competitive, integrated employment outcomes for transition-aged youth and young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. At the 2018 APSE conference, the YES Center’s Dale Verstegen caught up with David Mank. David Mank is a Professor Emeritus at Indiana University, where he served as the Director of the University Center for Excellence on Disabilities. In 2015 he was appointed by the U. S. Secretary of Labor to the Advisory Committee on Increasing Competitive Integrated Employment for Individuals with Disabilities, which advised the Department on the implementation of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. They discuss Professor Mank’s six keys to success in competitive integrated employment. Complete transcript forthcoming Announcer: You’ve been listening to YES! To Employment, a podcast that seeks to improve competitive, integrated employment outcomes for transition-aged youth and young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Today we spoke with David Mank about six keys to success in competitive integrated employment. You can find links to a longer interview with him by the Indiana Disability History Project and the full report of the Advisory Committee on Increasing Competitive Integrated Employment for Individuals with Disabilities at the show notes page. For more about YES! To Employment, including show notes, links to the resources discussed, a complete transcript and a schedule of episodes, visit www.yestoemployment.org/podcast. You can subscribe through iTunes or your favorite Android podcast app to have the series delivered automatically to your device so you never miss an episode. If you enjoyed today’s episode, please give us a rating on iTunes. Ratings will help […]

Season 2, Episode 4 — 18 October 2018 About this episode Dale Verstegen talks with Jared Daly, Chris Carpenter and Eric Hibinjer of the Employment Collaborative of Cuyahoga County, Ohio. The Employment Collaborative of Cuyahoga County is a group of 37 local employment services providers, formed in 2014. They discuss how the Collaborative works to improve the quality of services to people with disabilities seeking employment, and better engage with businesses seeking employees. About the presenters Jared Daly has a Bachelor’s in Arts from Lake Erie College in Psychology and Criminal Justice. Upon graduating Jared worked two years as the Lead Job Developer for Goodwill Industries of Greater Cleveland and East Central Ohio developing and training new staff on job development and job coaching techniques. He now currently works for The Cuyahoga County Board of Developmental Disabilities as the Coordinator of Employer Engagement Services. Jared was the founder and now lead facilitator of the Cuyahoga County Employment Collaborative (ECCC). The ECCC is a group that has aggregated services of 37 local Employment Services providers to more efficiently connect the local business community to the diverse talent pool served by all participating partners. Jared recently completed a manual on creating and facilitating local Employment Collaboratives that is currently being utilized by counties throughout the state of Ohio. Chris Carpenter is the Strategic Analysis Manager for the Cuyahoga County Board of Developmental Disabilities (CCBDD), a local government agency that annually serves more than 10,000 individuals from the Greater Cleveland area. In this role, Chris assists the board in analyzing, developing, and implementing performance and operational measurement functions, and is the Program Administrator for the Board’s State Vocational Rehabilitation contract. Chris also oversees CCBDD’s Business Engagement team, and their region wide Business Engagement Initiative. He has previous experience in supervising Job Placement Services, Supported EmploymentServices, Job Coaching, Summer Work programs, and Adult Day Services. Chris holds a Master of Science in Education from the University of Akron, a Master of Education in Rehabilitation Counseling from Kent State University, and is a Certified Employment Support Professional. Eric Hibinger is the Job Placement Supervisor at Oakleaf Partners. He graduated with his Bachelor’s of Science in Education as a Mild/Moderate Intervention Specialist. He taught five years for two charter schools in the greater Cleveland area. His main focus group was kids with emotional disturbances/behavioral challenges that were in the high school age range. For the past 4 years, Eric has been working at UCP of Greater Cleveland in their Adult Services Department, otherwise known as Oakleaf Partners. Eric started as a job developer and was instrumental in the training and onboarding of new staff at his agency while successfully helping the individuals that Oakleaf Partners was serving at the time find integrated competitive employment. In 2017 Eric moved into the role of Job Placement Supervisor and is responsible for a case load of 130+ individuals who work with seven job placement staff. Dale Verstegen is a Senior Research Associate at TranScen and one of the State […]

Season 2, Episode 3 — 19 June 2018 About this episode This is the second of a two part series on Project ACTION!, a coalition of self-advocates and self-advocacy groups from the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia (part one is here). ACTION! stands for Advocacy, Change, Training, Information, Organizing and Networking. The YES! Center’s Dale Verstegen talks to Rebecca Salon and Phyllis Holton about the beginning of Project ACTION!, the early supports and Project ACTION!’s path to the organization it is today. About the presenters Rebecca Salon is Project Director for the LEAD Center and the lead for DC’s Employment First program at the District of Columbia Department on Disability Services (DDS). Dr. Salon previously was Executive Director of the Lt. Joseph P. Kennedy Institute. She has more than twenty years of experience with management of federally funded projects and has over thirty-five years of experience working with people across the spectrum of disabilities. She has been an advisor to Project ACTION! since 1988. Her Master’s and Doctorate in special education with studies and research geared toward disability policy, are from Syracuse University. Phyllis Holton is the Deputy Directors of Operations at Quality Trust for Individuals with Disabilities. She has over 21 years experience working with people who have developmental disabilities. Prior to joining the Quality Trust as a Lead Advocate in January 2003, she worked at a local service provider organization in the District as an advocacy services coordinator, media specialist, and communications manager. Phyllis worked on an initiative, Home of Your Own which supported people with disabilities to purchase their own home. Phyllis is a long time co-advisor and volunteer with Project ACTION! and assists members to plan local conferences and workshops, solicit funds to attend national conferences, and increase their presence as self-advocacy leaders. Dale Verstegen is a Senior Research Associate at TranScen and one of the State Liaison for the YES! Center. Transcript Announcer: You’re listening to YES! To Employment, a podcast series that seeks to improve competitive, integrated employment outcomes for transition-aged youth and young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. This is the second part of our two part series on the District of Columbia’s Project ACTION!. In part one the YES! Center’s Dale Verstegen talked to Project ACTION! leaders, Ricardo Thornton and Thomas Mangrum. Today Dale continues the conversation about Project ACTION! with Rebecca Salon and Phyllis Holton about their role in supporting Project ACTION’s self-advocate leadership. Complete transcript forthcoming Announcer: You’ve been listening to YES! To Employment, a podcast that seeks to improve competitive, integrated employment outcomes for transition-aged youth and young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. To learn more about Project ACTION!, visit https://www.dcqualitytrust.org/families/join-project-action/. Or you can email Phyllis Holton at [email protected], or call her at 202-448-1458. Project ACTION! meets one Saturday per month at the Kennedy Institute of Catholic Charities, located at 801 Buchanan Street NE, Washington, DC 20017. For more about YES! To Employment, including show notes, links to the resources discussed, a complete transcript and a […]

Season 2, Episode 2 — 6 April 2018 About this episode We talk with Kristin Vandagriff, the Planner for the Governor’s Council on Disabilities and Special Education and lead of Alaska’s PIE project about the innovative steps that Alaska has taken to engage with employers, as well as the resources that Alaska has made available on their engagement efforts. About the presenters Kristin Vandagriff is the Planner for the Alaska Governor’s Council on Disabilities and Special Education, joining the Council in October 2013 as an Employment Program Coordinator. Kristin is the project lead for Alaska’s Partnerships in Employment project, the Alaska Integrated Employment Initiative (AIEI) working on the following major changes since the inception of the grant: Alaska becoming an Employment First state Repeal Alaska’s graduation qualifying exam with retroactive provision Passage of the Alaska ABLE Act Becoming only the third state in the nation to repeal subminimum wage regulation. She leads an interagency employer engagement team comprised of Alaska state staff from the Departments of Health and Social Services and Labor and Work Workforce Development called the Business Employment Services Team (BEST) which is dedicated to improving hiring outcomes for individuals with disabilities. Kristin facilitated the creation of an Alaska Disability Benefits 101 website to assist Alaskans with disabilities in better understanding the important interplay of benefits and work. In addition, Kristin is the Statewide Coordinator for Alaska Project SEARCH. Previously she worked for the Division of Senior and Disabilities Services in the Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Unit. Before coming to work for the State of Alaska, Kristin was employed for more than six years with a developmental disabilities provider agency working directly with people who experience disabilities. Kristin graduated from the University of Alaska Anchorage with a Bachelor of Arts in political science. Kristin has been involved with advocacy in the realm of people with disabilities for over 24 years and is very personally invested in this work, as her brother has an intellectual and developmental disability. She is very proud of his achievements and greatly looks forward to continuing to grow opportunities for people with disabilities in Alaska. Donald Taylor is the Training Manager at the Youth Employment Solutions Center and the producer of YES To Employment. Links to State of Alaska resources “Alaska Case Study: Pathway to Employment for All in the Last Frontier“, Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, vol. 47, no. 3, 2017, pp. 295-306, doi:10.3233/JVR-170903 “Alaska Transition Handbook: Pathway to Adulthood and Employment“ “Partnerships in Employment Brief: Guidance on How to Obtain Data on the Use of Subminimum Wages Within a State to Inform Systems Change Activities“ “Partnerships in Employment Brief: Influencing Changes in State Policy and Practice with Data on Subminimum Wages“ Transcript Announcer: You’re listening to YES! To Employment, a podcast series that seeks to improve competitive, integrated employment outcomes for transition-aged youth and young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Today we are talking to Kristin Vandagriff, who is the Planner at the Governor’s Council on Disabilities and Special Education, which is […]

Season 2, Episode 1 — 9 March 2018 About this episode This is part one of a two part series on Project ACTION!, a coalition of self-advocates and self-advocacy groups from the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia (part two is here). ACTION! stands for Advocacy, Change, Training, Information, Organizing and Networking. The YES! Center’s Dale Verstegen talks to Ricardo Thornton and Thomas Mangrum, the President and Vice President, about the founding of Project ACTION!, the nuts and bolts of how they run the organization and the future of their organizing and activism. About the presenters Ricardo Thornton is the President of Project ACTION! Thomas Mangrum, Jr. is the Vice President of Project ACTION! Dale Verstegen is a Senior Research Associate at TranScen and one of the State Liaison for the YES! Center. Transcript Announcer: You’re listening to YES! To Employment, a podcast series that seeks to improve competitive, integrated employment outcomes for transition-aged youth and young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. This is part one of a two-part series on the District of Columbia’s Project ACTION!. In part one the YES! Center’s Dale Verstegen talks to Ricardo Thornton and Thomas Mangrum about the founding of Project ACTION!, the nuts and bolts of how they run the organization and the future of their organizing and activism. In part two Dale talks to Rebecca Salon and Phyllis Holton about their support role for an advocacy organization led by people with disabilities. Complete transcript forthcoming Announcer: You’ve been listening to YES! To Employment, a podcast that seeks to improve competitive, integrated employment outcomes for transition-aged youth and young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. To learn more about Project ACTION!, visit https://www.dcqualitytrust.org/families/join-project-action/. Or you can email Phyllis Holton at [email protected], or call her at 202-448-1458. Project ACTION! meets every Saturday at the Kennedy Institute of Catholic Charities, located at 801 Buchanan Street NE, Washington, DC 20017. For more about YES! To Employment, including show notes, links to the resources discussed, a complete transcript and a schedule of episodes, visit www.yestoemployment.org/podcast. You can subscribe through iTunes or your favorite Android podcast app to have the series delivered automatically to your device so you never miss an episode. If you enjoyed today’s episode, please give us a rating on iTunes. Ratings will help us get the series in front of more listeners. YES! To Employment is a production of the Youth Employment Solutions Center, the national Training and Technical Assistance Center that serves as a hub of information and expertise for the Partnerships in Employment (PIE) state projects. The YES! Center is a collaboration of TASH and TransCen. You can learn more about TASH at tash.org and more about TranCen at transcen.org. You can receive updates from the YES! Center on this podcast and our other activities by following us on Facebook or on twitter at @YEStoEmployment. Partnerships in Employment is a series of seed grants funded by the Administration for Community Living’s Administration on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, made to states for […]