Mission

• To create and facilitate opportunities for people with intellectual disability

Vision

• A community that creates opportunities for people with intellectual disability.

OneNS Presentation

• Workforce Participation

“Our greatest asset is our people”

• “communities, educational settings and workplaces need to demonstrate that we are an open and welcoming society.”

• “we need to be more inclusive in our responses to the needs and aspirations of our own citizens in visible minority communities –Mi’kmaq and African Nova Scotians – and people with disabilities.”

“Opportunities”

• “social enterprises are doing impressive work”

• “Expanded training and employment support is available for women, older workers, at risk youth and people with disabilities”

“Successful Models”

• “roundtable of leaders from gov’t, industry, educational institutions, unions, First Nations, and community organizations”

Four Key Messages

• Employment Services

• School to Workforce Participation

• Social Enterprise

• Partnerships

Employment Services

• Employment strategies must help people with disability connect to the workforce

School to Workforce Participation

• Strategies must help students with disability connect to the workforce

Social Enterprise

• Strategies must help people with disability participate in the workforce

In general Social Enterprise in NS

• Well established

• Locally operated

• Innovative

• Job creators

• Socially driven

• Help define what it means to be Nova Scotian

Partnerships

• Nothing happens without committed partners.

Employment Services

• Last year our employer partners helped our clients earn

• $606,000 in wages

• an increase of $59,000 over the previous year

Volunteerism and Work-Experience

• Last year our employer and not-for-profit partners helped our clients contribute

• 12,300 hours to their community.

• “The Commission sees a profound need to come together around a shared vision for real change in the province, one in which the different regions, communities and economic sectors can all see a better future, and are willing to pursue it through dialogue, cooperation and collaboration rather than isolation, competition and conflict.”

What can you do

Shared Vision

• With and for people with disability

• On strategies and services that support the aspirations of the person

Cool things are happening

• Development of proposed legislation on Accessibility

• Services for Persons with Disability Program roadmap for transition to a more Person Centered model with an increased emphasis on employment

Mixed Messages

• Decrease in funding for Job Coaches

• Slow progress in development of Funding Framework for the sector

• Disincentives for workforce participation

What could change

• STOP practices that discourage workforce participation

What Could Change

• Enhance partnership with social enterprise

• Infrastructure investment

• Government Purchasing

What Could Change

• School to Workforce Participation Partnerships that build on existing services

What Could Change

• A culture of partnerships that increase workforce participation of people with disability

Directions Council

• 29 agencies like Summer Street

• 2000 people with disability engaged in a variety of employment services

• Willingness “to come together around a shared vision” for real change

Partnerships

• Private Sector

• Economic Development

• Labour & Advanced Education

• Community Services

• Directions

What will you we all get

What do our Clients want

How can you help

• Support DCS in the development of a funding framework in cooperation with our sector that supports the person

• Support the initiative by DCS and Directions to pay sector clients $5.00 a day

• Support our sector by encouraging government departments to purchase from social enterprises

• Support school to workforce participation between education and our sector

Vision

• Our Vision - a community that creates opportunities for people with intellectual disability.

• OneNS – “an open and welcoming society”

What will it take

• “a shared vision for real change in the province”

• And