Olmstead Implementation and Employment

1
Olmstead Implementation and Employment

• Curtis L Decker
• National Association of Protection and Advocacy
  Systems

2
Olmstead Compliance means increasing community
employment options

• HHS Guidance on Olmstead Compliance Recognizes
  that states must look at Employment Programs
• Presidents New Freedom Initiative states that
  DOL must increase opportunities for community
  employment
• RSA redefined the VR term employment outcome''
  to mean outcomes in which an individual with a
  disability works in an integrated setting

3
State Olmstead compliance plans rarely address
employment

• A NAPAS review of 36 state Olmstead "plans, in
  2001, revealed that only ten states make any
  significant recommendations related to employment
  for people with disabilities.

4
Employment in Olmstead Plans Continued

• South Carolina - increase the number of community
  day and supported employment programs by 300 for
  each of the next two years (not funded yet)

5
Employment in Olmstead Plans Continued

• South Carolina - Increase job coaches in every
  community mental health center by 50. Evaluate
  disability specific and mainstream employment
  agencies as to their effectiveness in serving
  people with long term care needs.

6
Employment in Olmstead plans continued

• Missouri - Fund 24 new case management assistant
  positions in the "Comprehensive Psychiatric
  Rehabilitation Program" to be filled by
  consumers. Also increase funding for peer support
  grants, and four warm lines to be operated by
  employee consumers.

7
Employment in Olmstead Plans Continued

• Iowa - Continue funding the "New Employment
  Opportunities Fund" which services include
  customized on the job training, job coaching,
  mentoring, short term education, internships,
  child care, health care, health insurance,
  assistive technology and to offset employers
  added unemployment insurance and workers
  compensation costs.

8
ODEP Awarded 38 grants to states to promote
community-based employment

• Grants range from 83,000 to 1 million Areas
  of Focus Include customized employment, high
  school/high tech program implementation, and TA
  for community rehabilitation providers utilizing
  Special Minimum Wage Certificates for people with
  disabilities.

9
PA Enforcement of Olmstead related to employment

• Protecting workers from discrimination and
  harassment
• The New Hampshire PA and the EEOC settled a
  case against the Olive Garden restaurant chain,
  which agreed to train its 60,000 employees on the
  ADA and to pay 125,000 to a dishwasher with
  developmental disabilities who had been harassed
  by his supervisors.

10
Protecting Workers from discrimination continued

• The Illinois PA obtained a settlement from a
  nursing home employer which fired a new hire
  after she disclosed that she had a mental
  illness. The settlement included a monetary
  award, a revision of the employers forms, and
  the implementation of a personnel policy
  prohibiting disability discrimination.
•  

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PA Enforcement of Olmstead related to employment

• Workers must have access to proper job supports
• The Idaho PA helped a client get his job coach
  fired for continuously sleeping on the job and
  arranged for a new coach with better training

12
PA Enforcement of Olmstead related to employment

• Employers must Provide Reasonable accommodations
  to allow advancement
• The Nevada PA helped a woman who has a visually
  impairment and a mental illness move out of her
  maintenance position into a sales position with
  appropriate accommodations

13
Sheltered Workshops May Violate Olmstead mandate

• State subsidies to employers who provide
  segregated employment,
• no comparable state subsidy for employers
  providing competitive employment.

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PA Initiatives related to Sheltered Workshops
and community integration

• Arizona (CAP) stopped the states practice of
  automatically placing VR applicants who are most
  significantly disabled onto a waiting for
  extended employment support services (long term
  follow along) without considering supported
  employment options

15
PA Initiatives related to Sheltered Workshops
continued

• Indiana (PABSS ) has an outreach campaign whereby
  they are visiting sheltered employment programs
  to educate them about the ticketprogram in
  hopes of moving these individuals into more
  integrated employment.

16
PA Initiatives related to Sheltered Workshops
continued

• ND (PABSS) is funding a broad-based study on the
  effectiveness of sheltered workshops in advancing
  people with disabilities toward competitive
  employment. A finding of ineffectiveness may
  mean funding is moved to support competitive
  employment programs

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How you can use the Olmstead mandate to increase
community-based employment

• Start an Employment sub-committee within your
  states Olmstead task force.
• Encourage state to apply for DOL,ODEP
  employment/Olmstead grant. (see
  www.dol.gov/odep/newfreedom/main.htm
• Encourage state to apply for an HHS Medicaid
  Infrastructure Grant to support competitive
  employment (seewww.cms.hhs.gov/twwiia/infrastr.as
  p