The Art of the Ask:

Obtaining Authorizations for Supported Employment and Short-Term Supports

As we visit with employment specialists and community employment providers around Indiana, we’re hearing a common question: “Why aren’t our clients receiving authorizations for supported employment or on-the-job supports short-term hours?”

Sometimes we hear variations on the theme, with varying degrees of desperation, depending on the circumstances. 

• “We have to stabilize people right away because we don’t have an authorization for SE hours!”
• “He’s not stable, he needs more support, but I’ve called the VRC and asked for hours and am not getting them!” 
• “We can’t go on providing services for free!”

After a bit of investigation, we think we have some answers for you. If your supported employee has been on the job for four weeks, you may have to ASK, and not just via phone call or email. Using the Employment Support and Retention Plan (ESRP) is the only way to obtain authorizations for additional supported employment or short-term job support hours. 

Need some help on how to do that? This post covers the intricacies (not really—we’ll walk you through it) of using the ESRP to obtain authorization from your vocational rehabilitation counselor for supported employment or short-term support hours. (If you need a refresher on how to use the ESRP, watch this video: https://youtu.be/iP-EQ9oYqVM)

Requesting supported employment hours

The VR Manual now states that it’s best practice for VR counselors to authorize between 30-60 hours of supported employment at the time of job placement for supported employees who have an MSD (Most Significant Disability) designation. The 30-60 hours is for the first three months of employment. If, however, your supported employee who has an MSD designation is NOT receiving supported employment, use the ESRP to request authorization. 

As an employment specialist or consultant, your best practice should include completing the ESRP to request supported employment hours or on-the-job supports short-term so that there isn’t a gap in services for the employee you’re supporting. In other words, don’t rely on an automatic authorization even if your employee has an MSD designation. Fill out the ESRP! It’s not only your key to authorizations, it’s also required for completion of Milestone 2. 

The following chart illustrates three different supported employment scenarios, each of which requires an ESRP request. It’s important to remember that supported employment is available for ALL job seekers whose severity level is designated as MSD. For job seekers whose severity level is designated as NSD (Non-Significant Disability) or SD (Significant Disability), you will request on-the-job supports short term. Take a look:

Supported Employment Authorization Decision Graphic. Click on the link to see a larger view. 

How do I ask for supported employment hours or on-the-job supports short-term hours?

Simple answer: by completing the Employment Support and Retention Plan! All authorizations for supported employment or short-term support hours must be requested through the ESRP (as stated in the VRS Manual). There is no discretion around this document’s use: It is a formal requirement for access to authorized support services.

*For more information on providing additional supports within the first four weeks on the job, consult pages 13-16 of the VR Manual.

**Short-term job supports typically last for 3-6 months, whereas supported employment supports can remain up to 24 months.  

Print-and-save resources!

• With this post, we’re giving you the handy-dandy little reference graphic above, so you’ll know which of your supported employees need supported employment and which might need short-term supports. Download the Supported Employment Decision Guide here. 
• And beyond the what-to-ask-for-who decision, we know you also want to know how and where to make your requests as well as what to say when you DO make the request. We’ve got you covered there too. Download our quick reference guide, Using the Employment Support and Retention Plan to Request Authorization for Supported Employment, here. 
• We’re also including a sample of a completed ESRP showing how to fill out the Plan of Services, Request for Authorization, and monthly Summary of Plan report section. Download the Sample Employment Support and Retention Plan Form, here.

And one more suggestion: Create a mobile, supported employment resource file, where you can keep copies of each of these guides, so you can capture information and complete your ESRP on the road and as you meet with clients. Avoid a service gap: Fill out the form as you go and don’t wait until that first four weeks has flown by!

Take pity on your VRC; they really do need to have it in writing!

Job Ready, Set, Go!

Many people struggle with some level of challenge. Some challenges, though, can be a barrier to successful employment. In those cases, a job seeker will need some additional help. Job Readiness Training to the rescue! A new an underused service offered by Vocational Rehabilitation Services, Job Readiness Training can help consumers work on:

• getting to work on time; 
• appropriate dress and grooming; 
• increasing productivity; 
• soft skills development; and 
• social skills development. 

Taking a job seeker through the Job Readiness process before any training or job development begins, can help identify specific need(s) as well as the teaching techniques and strategies that you and the job seeker can use to develop essential skills. The job seeker gains insights about how to manage challenges related to his or her impairment as well as strategies for: 

• improving interactions;
• building meaningful work relationships; 
• influencing others’ perceptions of them; and 
• demonstrating ways to improve communication, teamwork, and interpersonal relationships. 

Skills to Pay the Bills: One Tool to Use with Job Readiness Training

You might find Skills to Pay the Bills: Mastering Soft Skills for Workplace Success helpful as you develop a Job Readiness Plan. This curriculum, developed by ODEP, focuses on teaching "soft" or workforce readiness skills to youth, including youth with disabilities. The curriculum is an introduction to workplace interpersonal and professional skills, and is targeted for youth, ages 14 to 21, in both in-school and out-of-school environments. However, it can be adapted to work one-on-one and with any age group. It’s also an excellent resource to help you plan for and organize content in any Job Readiness Plan.
The program provides engaging activities focused on six key skill areas:

• communication; 
• enthusiasm and attitude, 
• teamwork; 
• networking; 
• problem solving and critical thinking; and 
• professionalism.  

The activities are a great way to help individuals think about how they would react or respond to various workplace situations. Curriculum users will begin to recognize that these crucial skills are necessary for success both within and outside the workplace. Skills to Pay the Bills can be found at: https://www.dol.gov/odep/topics/youth/softskills/

Example: Working with A.J.

Employment specialist Warren Swanson is working with A.J., a young man participating in the Discovery process. Warren has discovered that A.J. is extremely shy and lacks self-confidence. Warren thinks this might be a significant barrier to successful employment and discusses the need for improvement with A.J. and the VR counselor. They decide a Job Readiness Plan, with a focus on improving A.J.’s soft skills, especially in the area of confidence, could be helpful. Warren decides the strategy is to adapt Lesson #10 “Turning Benefits into Features” from the Skills to Pay the Bills Communication Curriculum- Skill # 2 —“Enthusiasm and Attitude.”  

Just so you can see it in action, we staged a brief scene of Warren working through Skill #2 with A.J. 

And take a look at an initial Job Readiness Plan sample for A.J. 

If a consumer requires Job Readiness Training, you must identify it as a needed service on the IPE. Reach out to your VRC and job seeker to the discuss the possibility of Job Readiness Training.

Informational Interviewing: Another Tool in Your Discovery Toolbox

Informational interviews, according to employment consultants Griffin-Hammis Associates, Inc., are a great way to: 

• develop Discovery activities that make sense for the job seeker, like a situational assessment or a work experience; 
• build a job placement network; 
• discover new kinds of jobs;
• introduce yourself and your services to employers; and
• build the mental database that all of us rely on for employment ideas before beginning a job search with someone. 

Fabulous. So why is it that employment specialists aren’t doing more of them?  Probably because the gift of gab doesn’t come easily to some of us, and we feel as if we’re imposing on an employer, asking for their time. This post is all about moving out of your comfort zones and learning to ask questions!

In the Indiana Employment Services Model, informational interviews fall under Discovery. Since Discovery activities should be targeted and purposeful, based on each consumer’s individualized needs and informed choice, you won’t need to conduct an informational interview with an employer for every person on your caseload.

Why, then, would you conduct an informational interview? 

Griffin-Hammis trainer Patty Cassidy says an informational interview can:

• help refine vocational themes.
• reveal skills and tasks found in workplaces.
• reveal conditions of employment.
• serve as a warm-up to job development.
• keep you thinking in different ways.
• provide INFORMATION!

Informational Interview Graphic. Click here to see larger view.

Keep in mind, says Cassidy: No selling occurs; an informational interview is only a conversation with someone with similar interests. Let the opportunities evolve from the conversation. Employment specialists should help guide the initial interaction, watch for opportunities, and highlight mutual interests. The client should be present during the interview with the employer and be a part of the conversation.

How do you conduct an informational interview?

• Set up the interview. Ask for 20-30 minutes. Keep it casual. 
• Prepare your client; do your homework.
• Use "smooth listening" with the employer (you're there to learn).
• Observe everything.
• Ask for advice--find warm leads. 

What questions should you ask?

Here's a simple list of sample questions (and a few you should avoid). Informational Interview Questions

Need more information? Flip through this presentation from Patty Cassidy, of Griffin-Hammis, who talked with us about informational interviewing in a 2015 Check & Connect webinar.  Informational Interviews

              

               

Don't Work for Free!

In our travels across the state, we've discovered something. Among many community employment providers, "billing" is a seven-letter word. If supported employment invoicing were depicted in a Sunday comic, it would look something like: #$$!@*!

It seems the new Indiana Employment Services Model has taken some getting used to in your accounting departments. To put it mildly. This post is all about getting paid for the services your hard-working employment specialists render to your job seekers with disabilities.

In keeping with that theme, today's resource is a new fact sheet designed to answer a few of your more pressing billing questions:

• What's considered allowable for on-job-site and off-job-site time spent with a client?
• Can we invoice VR for hours an ES spent setting up a Discovery service--even if the client wasn't present at the time?
• Our specialists are in the car a lot. When can we bill for mileage or time?

Download Get Paid for What You Do! A Billing Fact Sheet for the Employment Services Model.

Next month, we'll begin facilitating several new Check and Connect webinars. Heads up, community employment provider program managers and CEOs: This series is for you! Here's the Check and Connect flyer in case you missed it in your inbox.  Note that the second webinar in the series, on November 3, is, indeed, "Don't Work for Free!" In it, we'll go into depth about all-things billing. Save the date!

And in the meantime, take your accounting department staff out to lunch!

Charting Your Course

Welcome to Shared Solutions. It's a place where you can find resources, suggestions, tips, tools--anything that will make your job easier as you implement the Indiana VR Employment Services Model. No, we can't supply you with winning lottery numbers, but we want to make it easier for you to get the job done for your job seekers with disabilities.

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Who are "we"? Officially, we're the Indiana VR Training and Technical Assistance Team from the Center on Community Living and Careers at Indiana University. We work throughout the state with employment providers who've been selected by Indiana Vocational Rehabilitation Services to receive implementation supports. By supporting all of you, we learn what's working, what's challenging, and what we can share with providers throughout the state. 

If you provide, receive, or have an interest in employment services, we're glad to have you here! No secret special handshake or password needed. Read, learn, and share. That's what this is all about. 

Through Shared Solutions we'll bring you:

• information about what we've learned;
• charts, guides, and other documents that can help you with the Discovery process; or
• video demonstration clips to help you "be there" so that you can see what a particular employment services skill (e.g., an informational interview) looks like. 

With every post, we'll build a collection of tips and resources that you can download or share with other staff. As our collection of resources grows, we'll categorize them here on the blog, so that you can click and go. 

With this first post, you get not one, but two resources! The links below will take you to updated versions of the:

• Employment Services and Activities Guide--an easy-to-use overview of the Discovery process
• Discovery Translation Chart--a document designed to maintain and propel momentum throughout the Discovery process. The chart provides helpful activity suggestions and strategies. 

For those of you who are on our lists: we'll send you an email whenever we publish a new post. But we encourage all of you to bookmark the blog and subscribe via email, so that you can have Shared Solutions delivered in a timely fashion to your cyber doorstep.