Customized Employment Success Story - Mike
With his family at his side, Colin Robinson walked into Montgomery Works One Stop Career Center looking for help to find a job. He had recently lost his job as a food service worker. Colin met the requirements as a dislocated worker, registered for services, and was directed to meet with a core services resource specialist as any other customer would have been. During this meeting, Colin's family expressed the belief that he needed job coaching to assist him get and maintain a job. A career specialist with the Maryland Customized Employment Partnership was then invited to become part of the employment team.
The family disclosed that Colin received special education support services in high school but once school ended, the supports he received while on the job had disappeared. Though he had been employed by the same company since leaving school 14 years before, his job in the food service industry had become more and more challenging, especially as the original manager and many of the co-workers who knew him well changed jobs. He was eventually released because of low productivity.
What follows are the coordinated services at MontgomeryWorks that resulted in Colin returning to work:
A Positive Personal Profile was completed. With input from Colin, his family and other people that know him well, it was determined that Colin had many traits that would be attractive to prospective employers, including a friendly and outgoing nature. He also indicated that he no longer wanted to work in the food service industry. After much discussion, the team decided to pursue retail related work.
His employment plan included prospective employers to contact, transportation considerations, and identification of supports and accommodations needed for Colin to be successful. The plan noted that initial and periodic post-employment job coaching would be necessary.
Colin's family was encouraged to apply for long-term supported employment services from the Developmental Disabilities Administration (DDA). The career specialist would be able to provide the initial job coaching, but long-term employment services would be necessary as determined by the employment plan.
Colin was referred to the Division of Rehabilitation Services (DORS) for additional short-term job coaching services until such time as his funding was approved by the Developmental Disabilities Administration.
Colin's family was referred to a Benefits Planning Assistance and Outreach (BPAO) for assistance in applying for medical coverage through Social Security Disability Insurance until he became employed.
Through informational interviews with prospective employers, the career specialist soon identified a possible position with Ross Dress for Less, a retail clothing store near Colin's home. She helped negotiate a position for Colin in the shoe department where he performs tasks customized to his skills and the store's needs.
Through the facilitation of the career specialist, Colin's funding was approved by DDA. He and his family choose a DDA funded developmental disabilities employment agency that now provides the occasional job coaching Colin needs to remain successfully employed.
As of this writing, Colin has been working in this customized job for almost a year. His employment was made possible through the coordination of resources that were facilitated through Montgomery Works with its various One Stop partners. The career specialist helped Colin and his family to navigate various disparate service systems that eventually came together on his behalf. The result illustrates what is possible when resources are managed effectively and in synch with one another. The One Stop Career Center system proved to be an efficient vehicle to make this happen.