National Research onPartnerships with Employers

March 23, 2012

Facing the Future XX

Doubletree Hotel

Somerset, NJ

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NTAR Leadership Center National Research

Focused on employer-initiated and market-driven approaches to recruiting, hiring, accommodating, and retaining employees with disabilities.

Prepared national study, entitled, Ready and Able: Addressing Labor Market Needs and Building Productive Careers for People with Disabilities - Models for Innovation.

Conducted follow-up research on Braided Funding strategies that advance employer initiatives to include people with disabilities.

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Researchers

Robert Nicholas, Senior Visiting Fellow for Disability Research, Heldrich Center, Rutgers University

Ronnie Kauder, Senior Practitioner-in-Residence, Heldrich Center, Rutgers University

Daniel Baker, Associate Professor, Elizabeth M. Boggs Center on Developmental Disabilities, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ)

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Employer Initiatives

Numerous innovative approaches for employer-driven initiatives to recruit, hire, and retain employees with disabilities.

Recognition by employers of the “business case” = people with disabilities add value to the employer’s workforce and positively affect the “bottom line”.

Partnerships with workforce intermediaries are key in successful employer-driven initiatives. Innovative collaborations with and between workforce-supplying organizations enable employers to recruit, hire, train, and support employees with disabilities.

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In-Depth Research:Partnerships and Collaborations

Case study research looked at:

Large national companies that organize local partnerships with service agencies, e.g. Walgreens, Lowe’s, Lockheed-Martin.

Industry-specific (sector) initiatives that feature intermediaries coordinating multiple employers and multiple service agencies, e.g. JVS and the banking/finance industry.

Staffing companies that coordinate outreach and disability services to provide multiple employer customers with qualified employees, e.g. GoodTemps, Manpower.

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In-Depth Research:Partnerships and Collaborations

National intermediary organizations that connect employers with students with disabilities in higher education, e.g. LimeConnect, Career Opportunities for Students with Disabilities (COSD), Emerging Leaders and the National Business and Disability Council.

Local networks that assist multiple local employers to recruit, train, and retain employees with disabilities, e.g. New Bedford Chamber of Commerce, Project SEARCH, Start on Success.

Local organizations that foster and promote partnerships between employers and service providers e.g. Chicago’s disabilityworks.

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Ready & Able Finding 1: Employers Respond to the Business Case Employees with disabilities possess the skills needed for the

job.

Employers see employees with disabilities as meeting their business and workforce needs.

Successful experiences with employees with disabilities increase employer openness to hiring, accommodation, and retention.

Business-to-business marketing of best practices for employing people with disabilities is most powerful.

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Ready & Able Finding 2:Innovative Collaborations Facilitate Hiring Employers do not want to have to maintain relationships with

many varied workforce supplying organizations.

Employers want a single point of contact to coordinate assistance and support they need to recruit and hire.

Assistance and supports provided through the collaboration are based on employers’ needs and standards.

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Innovative Collaborations Facilitate Hiring

Partner organizations organize and coordinate supports and provide technical assistance on workforce and disability-specific issues.

Employers’ location and hiring patterns are partially influenced by the effectiveness of public-sector partners.

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Ready & Able Finding 3: Collaborations Ensure that Workers are Qualified and Productive Internships and mentorships facilitate permanent hiring.

Training in occupation-specific and “soft” skills.

Provision of needed supports and accommodations to assist employees to be successful once on the job.

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Ready & Able Finding 4: Successful Collaborations Nurture and Reward Leadership Leaders are willing to develop, coordinate, nurture, and

manage the collaboration.

Leaders have the ability to motivate, inspire, and connect employer leaders.

Leaders act day in and day out as champions to make things happen.

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A Story of Mutual Success

Expanded employment opportunities for people with disabilities.

An underutilized source of valuable employees for employers.

Opportunities for public and non-profit organizations to be trusted, reliable partners that deliver results for both people with disabilities and employers.

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Why Research on Braided Funding?

There are many programs, services, and public categorical funding streams that support individuals with disabilities to become and remain employed.

Frequently, individuals with disabilities need services and supports from multiple programs or systems to achieve their employment goals.

A significant challenge for community partnerships is their ability to braid resources from multiple sources to respond to the employer’s workforce needs, HR processes, and training requirements.

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Braided Funding

Braided funding, for the purposes of our research, was defined to mean the access to and coordination of multiple sources of funding to provide services and supports needed by people with disabilities to obtain and retain a job.

In braided funding strategies, funding streams remain visible and are used in common to produce greater strength, efficiency, and/or effectiveness.

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Profiles of Success

This study profiled four employer-responsive models that have in common the following factors:

The presence of an employer (or group of employers) that wants to recruit and hire employees with disabilities.

A partnership between the employer(s) and one or more community organizations that provide valuable supports and services to hire and retain employees with disabilities.

The use of braided funding strategies that are essential to making the partnership and the model work.

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The Profiles Lowe’s distribution Center in Pittston, PA. Lowe’s established a

partnership with the Arc of Luzerne County. The Arc assisted Lowe’s in recruiting two local service provider agency partners and serves as the single point of contact.

Project SEARCH in Cincinnati and replication sites in New

Hampshire, Georgia and Washington.

Start on Success in Pittsburgh and Baltimore.

Eastern Connecticut Workforce Investment Board

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Summary of Findings

Braiding funding strategies from multiple programs allow the provision of better service to people with disabilities to meet employer needs.

Different braiding strategies can be used, even with the same program models.

A key element in success is to have a single point of contact who will coordinate all services for employers.

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Summary of Findings

Local workforce systems can effectively coordinate resources to support employer efforts to include people with disabilities in their recruitment strategies.

Funding for follow-along supports for job retention is an issue beyond an initial period on the job. This particularly affects people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

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Implications for the Future Employer-driven initiatives represent new and rich opportunities

for increased community employment for people with disabilities. There are successful models that can be replicated in many communities, with many different braided funding strategies.

Disability service and workforce development organizations should:– Foster collaborative relationships among workforce-supplying

organizations that make it easier for employers or employer organizations to work with publicly funded programs.

– Adopt a single point of contact approach to dealing with employers

– Be creative in braiding funds from various sources

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Implications for the Future

For business-serving organizations and employers:

– Recognize that people with disabilities are a valuable resource to meet employer needs for reliable skilled employees.

– Look to engage in partnerships with responsive workforce development, disability service organizations, and other agencies to recruit, hire, train, retain, and support employees with disabilities.

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NTAR Leadership Center Contacts

Kathy Krepcio, John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development, Rutgers University krepcio@rci.rutgers.edu or 732-932-4100, ext. 6306

Ronnie Kauder, Senior Practitioner-in-Residence, John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development, kauder@rci.rutgers.edu

Robert Nicholas, Senior Visiting Fellow for Disability Research, John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development, rnich@rci.rutgers.edu