We have received a grant through the NYS Office for People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD – formerly OMRDD) and have the opportunity to provide “Enhanced Supported Employment Services” to clients inWestchesterCounty.  Through this project, we can provide job placement, on-the-job training, on-site job coaching, and long-term support services to clients enrolled under Medicaid who want to work in the community.

The purpose of the grant is to promote employment for individuals with developmental disabilities who have not been able to obtain and/or maintain employment through the provision of traditional supported employment services.

Clients who participate will receive more job coaching for a longer length of time than the norm for someone in a supported work program.  The goal is that, eventually, each client will be able to graduate to regular supported work extended services with funding through OPWDD or ACCES-VR (formerly VESID).

We have several training opportunities available and our goal is to work with local families by meeting as soon as possible so we can get the family member enrolled in the project right away.  All clients must be eligible for the Medicaid Home & Community Based Services waiver (HCBS) and denied services from ACCES-VR (formerly VESID) because they are not yet ready for traditional supported employment.

We have a 24+ year track record of providing supported work services and our expertise ensures that this project will be a great success.  We are also thrilled that developmentally disabled clients who want the opportunity to work in the community will now get the chance to learn skills to become successfully employed – an opportunity that has not been available until now. 

If interested, please call us for more information.

Sincerely,

Tina Cornish-Lauria

Tina Cornish-Lauria, Executive Director

CAREERS Workforce Readiness Placement and Training Program is just a few years old, but we’ve helped hundreds of people learn how develop the skills necessary to get a job.  Shauna K. is a good example. Shauna joined our Workforce Readiness Job Club through her high school BOCES program and we soon helped her get a job that matched her skills.

When she first joined the program, Shauna was interested in working in retail even though she had no experience and her cognitive disabilities would make  operating a cash register difficult.  Aware that Shauna had successfully completed the BOCES culinary program, her CAREERS’ Employment Specialist suggested that a food service position might be a better and more natural fit for her.   With our help, she completed an online application, interviewed and was hired as a kitchen worker at Phelps Memorial Hospital in Sleepy Hollow, NY.

“I really felt at ease during the interview and was able to answer questions appropriately by remembering what I learned in CAREERS’ Job Club,” Shauna said.  She is thrilled with her new job, which allows her the flexibility to attend classes at Westchester Community College in her pursuit of long-term career success.