Employment First is a national systems-change framework centered on the premise that all individuals, including those individuals with the most significant disabilities, are capable of full participation in Competitive Integrated Employment (CIE) and community life. Under this approach, publicly financed systems are urged to align policies, regulatory guidance, and reimbursement structures to commit to CIE as the priority goal of day and employment services for youth and adults with significant disabilities.
Many states have formally committed to the Employment First framework through official executive proclamation or formal legislative action.
Employment First Community of Practice
The Employment First Community of Practice (CoP) Webinar Series provides the opportunity to hear from nationally recognized experts on innovative practices being used across the country to advance Employment First. CoP webinars take place on the second Wednesday of each month and address topics such as:
- Capacity Building, Provider Transformation,
- School-to-Work Transition,
- Employer Engagement, and
- Policy/Funding Alignment.
Join the CoP Mailing List
The CoP mailing list currently has more than 2,700 subscribers. Subscribers have access to federal disability employment policy briefs and announcements. Subscribers also receive “Save the Date” announcements for upcoming CoP webinars. Click here to join.
CoP Webinar Learning Center
ODEP has hosted more than 100 CoP webinars since 2012. The CoP Learning Center houses many of these webinars, which can be helpful to provider organizations and state and local governments as they move toward an Employment First approach. The webinars are organized into six topic areas and updated periodically.
- After the State Settlement – Oregon's Efforts to Expand CIE – June 26, 2024/Speakers: Allison Enrique, Kathy Schlotfeldt and Gabrielle Guedon – In celebration of the 25th anniversary of the landmark Olmstead v. L.C. Supreme Court ruling, this webinar highlights activities Oregon has taken to ensure its residents with disabilities are able to secure CIE and recent efforts to form partnerships across various agencies.
- Family Involvement in Provider Transformation – May 15,2024/Speakers: Karen Lee and Rachel Pollock – This webinar discusses tools and resources available to help providers and families better understand the community-based CIE transformation process. It also features the voices of family members who have worked with providers to achieve CIE.
- Understanding How Business Advisory Committees Support Efforts to Increase CIE – November 8, 2023/Speakers: Steve Blanks, Deb Russell Bonanno, Pamela Toole and Jed Seifert – This webinar looks at the role Business Advisory Committees (BACs) play in increasing employer engagement and community knowledge about CIE.
- Stories of Successful Transformation to CIE – August 30, 2024/Speakers: Charles Cox, Norman Keeney, Nick Mosher, Kristina Rhodes and Jennifer Lonn - In this webinar, workers across the country tell the story of their successful transition from working at a 14(c) subminimum wage job to CIE. Speakers describe resources, supports and systems that enabled them to achieve success and fulfill their goals of good-paying, community-based employment.
- State Efforts to Phase Out Subminimum Wages: Lessons Learned from Three States – July 12, 2023/Speakers: Delegate Patrick Hope, Donna Bonessi, Jewelyn Cosgrove, Carrie Brna, Jeremy Norden-Paul, Sherry Richards, John Lemus, Ivanova Smith and Janel Hammar-Ericks – In this webinar, representatives from Tennessee, Washington and Virginia discuss their process for passing subminimal wage phase out legislation as well as subsequent efforts taken, challenges faced and progress made in maximizing the impact of such legislation.
- Secondary Benefits of CIE – February 22, 2022/Speakers: Paul Wehman and Katherine Inge – During this webinar, speakers discuss the impact of CIE on economic, psychological and physical health outcomes for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The research discussed also covers additional benefits and implications for participants and the communities engaging in CIE.
- ARC of Bakersfield Provider Transformation Success Story – November 17, 2021/Speakers: Jeffery Popkin and Samuel Herrera – In this webinar, representatives from the ARC of Bakersfield share their experience being a NEON local provider organization. They also share the decisions they faced when fully embracing CIE.
- State Guidelines for Employment Support Personnel Training Certificates and Certification – February 11, 2021/Speakers: Dale Verstegen and Kari Tietjen – This webinar provides guidelines for consideration in state agencies' decision making about requiring employment support personnel to acquire certificates of training or certification as Employment Support Professionals. It highlights how professional development expectations in states often develop in a broader context of multiple systemic changes to promote the expansion of CIE.
- CIE in 2020 - Consumer and Provider Perspectives – December 9, 2020/Speaker: Karen Lee – This webinar shares stories about how people with significant disabilities have adapted so that they can continue to work. It also highlights real examples about how employment services staff have changed their job development and job coaching strategies to support CIE.
- Training and Retaining Staff – July 10, 2019/Speakers: Dale Verstegen and Todd Culver – This webinar explores how investing in staff development is critical to the success of provider transformation, expanding CIE programs and staff retention. It also addresses how the advent of Employment First, the Home and Community Based Service Rule and Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) are increasing the demand for a more proficient and versatile network of employment specialists.
- Staffing to Provide CIE – January 10, 2018/Speaker: Rick McAllister – This webinar explores strategies to recruit, train and retain staff who support the Employment First mission of the agency. Rick McAllister discusses approaches to enhancing recruitment efforts and shares a training paradigm that builds skills and supports retention with a focus on the value of competence.
- Communications and Branding Strategies for Transition – July 12, 2017/Speaker: Meredith Richie – This webinar provides strategies for effectively communicating with internal and external audiences during transition to Employment First, including how to build a communications plan that prepares audiences for change and creates a culture of transparency and trust.
- Provider Transformation from a Rural Perspective – January 11, 2017/Speaker: Dwayne Webb – This webinar explains strategies for creating CIE for people with disabilities in rural areas and understanding ways to fund transportation, engage families and gain buy-in from staff.
- Capacity Building Strategies – January 14, 2015/Speakers: Bob Niemiec, Doug Crandell and Cary Griffin – This webinar addresses capacity building for providers seeking to implement evidence-based practices. Presenters address the core competencies required to provide a range of effective employment service options for individuals with significant disabilities. These competency models provide a basis for developing training curriculum and programs for providers.
- Stories of Entrepreneurship and CIE- February 28, 2024/Speakers: Ssu Babin, Rebecca Beaton, Ben del Rosario and Michael Coyne – In this webinar, three entrepreneurs with disabilities share how and why they started their individual businesses, what supports they receive and advice for other aspiring entrepreneurs. Attendees also hear about Rhode Island’s Self-Employment Business Incubator initiative and how it helps people succeed in small business.
- Customized Employment: Funding, Fidelity and the Future – March 30, 2022/Speakers: Beth Keeton and Doug Crandell – In this webinar, panelists discuss best approaches for funding Customized Employment (CE) efforts. It explores available CE funding sources and the necessary financial considerations for providers incorporating CE into their service offerings. It concludes with a discussion on how to provide tangible steps for increasing access to CE funding.
- Inclusive Apprenticeship: The Future of Work – August 27, 2020/Speakers: Carolyn Jones and Scott Michael Robertson – In this webinar, presenters from ODEP discuss how inclusive apprenticeship can facilitate entry into well-paying careers in high-growth, high-demand fields for underrepresented population groups, including youth and adults with disabilities. The presentation also highlights how the ODEP-funded Apprenticeship Inclusive Model (AIM) initiative fosters access to career pathways in information technology, healthcare and advanced manufacturing for marginalized population groups.
- Successful CE Examples for Veterans – November 13, 2019/Speaker: Debbie Ball - During this webinar, a panelist introduces several veterans who have successfully transitioned from the military into civilian jobs with the assistance of CE. The veterans' success stories are entwined with the definition of CE, highlights of its key principles and how they can be integrated into current practices to improve CIE for veterans.
- Employers' Perspective on CE – October 10, 2018/Speakers: Dale Verstegen and Chip Kenney – In this webinar, subject matter experts interview employers in Iowa and Maryland to learn how and why they have embraced CE and the economic impact of hiring individuals into customized jobs.
- Employer's Perspective: Hiring and Developing Employees with Disabilities – September 6, 2017/Speaker: Jeremy Shapira – In this webinar, a representative from Giant Eagle, Inc. discusses innovative ways it has made hiring and including people with disabilities part of the workplace culture.
- Employer Perspective: Innovative Case Studies Involving Workers with Disabilities – June 8, 2016/Speakers: Daniel Crayne, Neill Christopher and Heather Weldon – During this webinar, organizations across the country who are hiring people with disabilities in their business model share their experiences, from utilizing technology to increase productivity to customizing jobs and providing reasonable accommodations.
- CE: Managing the Employer Engagement Process – August 12, 2015/Speaker: Dale Verstegen – This webinar focuses on CE from the perspective of the employer and addresses strategies for identifying their workforce needs in order to achieve successful job customization.
- Using Ticket to Work to Support CIE – April 24, 2024/Speakers: Michael Dalto, Ali Tabatabai and Amy Wallish – This webinar helps shed light on the benefits of Ticket to Work for the worker and the service provider. Speakers discuss how beneficiaries can make the most of the program without feeling burdened by administration, apprehension and paperwork.
- Using ABLE Accounts to Support Workers in CIE Positions – May 1, 2024/Speakers: Eric Ochmanek, Sara Hart Weir, Andrew Holbrook, Jack Melvin and Amber Schreiber – This webinar explores the power of ABLE accounts, which are tax-advantaged savings accounts for individuals with disabilities and their families that allow workers to save money beyond asset limits and protect their eligibility for means-tested benefit programs. It also highlights innovative ways employers are supporting their disabled workforce and family members through ABLE accounts.
- Effective Approaches to Benefits Planning – April 12, 2023/Speakers: Michael Dalto, Chad Hinkle and Annie Lorenz – This webinar takes a closer look at benefits planning from a state-systems perspective and highlights a model of implementation from Missouri that can be emulated by states and providers. It also covers how benefits planning can assist all jobseekers to understand how their benefits are affected by work activities, and how providers and state agencies each contribute to creating a successful system.
- Employment Networks (ENs) – April 27, 2022/Speakers: Kevin Nickerson, Mary Lynn ReVoir, Rachel Hoffman, Dawn Hale and Jerome Garrett – In this webinar, panelists discuss various types and obligations of an EN and provide suggestions and perspective from the administrative, state-wide and provider level on the benefits they offer to people and providers looking to expand CIE opportunities.
- ABLE Accounts: A Down Payment on Financial Freedom – April 8, 2020/Speakers: Marlene Ulisky and Miranda Kennedy – This webinar provides participants with the basic components of ABLE programs, including eligibility criteria, contribution limits, what ABLE funds can be spent on and the tax advantages of ABLE accounts. It also provides resources and tools for individuals with disabilities, their families and service providers to integrate ABLE accounts into employment planning.
- How to Dispel Myths about Supplemental Security Income (SSI) to Increase Employment Outcomes – April 12, 2017/Speakers: Susan Harrell and Abby Cooper – This session provides an overview of SSI and the available work incentives, including strategies and tools that can assist in helping jobseekers understand the information and the importance of framing the conversation as financial stability rather than just benefits planning.
- Benefits Planning (Provider Perspective) – February 10, 2016/Speaker: Jeremy Gurney – This webinar focuses solely on the provider perspective and the barriers teams face with Social Security and Ticket-to-Work. After watching this webinar, viewers will understand what an actual employment benefit plan looks like to the client.
- Supporting Employment Service Providers to Succeed and Prosper by Partnering to Advance CIE: Applying Value, Outcome and Performance-Based Payment Methodologies – May 12, 2021/Speakers: Lisa Mills, Julie Strenn, James Willis and Allen Cress – This webinar features employment services providers that work with state Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) and Medicaid Long-Term Services and Supports (LTSS) systems sharing how they have implemented value-based purchasing and outcome-based reimbursement methodologies to advance CIE.
- Unique Funding Ideas for Providers – January 16, 2019/Speakers: Jeannine Pavlak and Rachel Pollock – In this webinar, presenters take a deep dive into alternative funding streams for providers, providing concrete examples of which services the various streams can fund and advice on how to apply for funding.
- Funding Strategies for CIE – January 31, 2018/Speaker: Jeannine Pavlak – This webinar discusses funding diversification and re-alignment strategies to assist service providers in making the transition from facility to community integrated service models. It also explains steps providers and states can take to increase employment outcomes for people with disabilities, including those with significant disabilities.
- Virginia Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services (VDARS) Model: An Outcome Based Approach for Capacity Building – March 9, 2016/Speaker: David Leon – During this presentation, VDARS's model for serving Ticket to Work (TTW) clients is described to demonstrate a capacity building approach for developing services across the state that benefit VR clients and other TTW eligible clients. Viewers can learn how to potentially create a braided funding source for providing services to individuals with disabilities beyond the VR closure date through the utilization of TTW funding.
- The ADA and IPS-Supported Employment: Improving the Working Lives of People with Substance Use and Mental Health Disorders – July 29, 2020/Speakers: Barry Whaley, Jackie Pogue and Pam Williamson – This webinar introduces how the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) applies to addiction in three phases of employment: pre-offer, post-offer and employment. It also uses scenarios to discuss and illustrate the application of the ADA as it relates to alcohol, opioids, cocaine and marijuana and discusses research on the effectiveness of the Individual Placement Support (IPS) model of supported employment for people with serious mental illness and/or substance use disorders.
- Job Supports for People with Mental Health Disabilities – June 10, 2020/Speaker: William J. Hudock – This webinar shares the importance of evidenced-based supportive employment programs and job supports in assisting people with mental health conditions to obtain CIE. It also discusses the barriers that prevent universal application of these programs and job supports.
- Self-Employment Possibilities and Resources for People with Mental Health Conditions – May 13, 2020/Speakers: Janet Steveley and Beth Keeton – This session focuses on three primary factors to contemplate when people receiving behavioral support services are considering self-employment, including the match between the business idea with the prospective business owner's conditions of employment, feasibility of the business concept and availability of supports. Possible resources for funding business start-ups are also explored, as well as strategies for braiding and blending funding.
- Employment Supports for People Recovering from Mental Illness – May 9, 2018/Speaker: Deborah Becker. This webinar briefly reviews Individual Placement and Support (IPS) practices and principles, research and implementation strategies. It also describes cross-system issues, such as funding these services, state agency agreements and the role of a national learning community, which has accelerated implementation and dissemination.
- Peer Mentoring in Mental Health and Beyond – June 13, 2018; Speakers: Mindy Vance and William J. Hudock – This webinar addresses now peer support has become an important employment opportunity for individuals in recovery from a mental health and/or substance use disorder, leading to reduced recidivism, service utilization and isolation for those working toward or in recovery. It also highlights states, such as Ohio, that are on the forefront of trying to expand the peer support workforce, increase professionalism, and maximize funding streams for sustainable services.
- Living and Working with a Serious Mental Illness (SMI): My Path to CIE with SMI and Helping others with SMI to Reach their Employment Goals – November 13, 2018/Speaker: Deborah Homan – In this webinar, Deborah Horman shares her personal story about returning to work after experiencing mental health symptoms and explains how her current work as an Individual Placement and Support (IPS) trainer for the state of Illinois has helped others with serious mental health conditions do the same.
- Work-Based Learning and Work Experiences: Designing Optimal Transition Services – January 10, 2024/Speakers: Dale Verstegen and Kathleen Border – This webinar highlights how successful programs have developed services that support efforts for youth to more effectively gain work experiences and jobs in the community. Presenters discuss why they found it necessary to focus on youth, the types of partnerships and services they needed to develop, and why those services were different than prior programmatic offerings.
- Pre-employment Transition Services: Implementation Efforts, Successes and Challenges in Minnesota and Idaho – April 14, 2021/Speakers: Alison Lowenthal and Alyssa Klein – This webinar helps viewers develop an understanding of the Pre-employment Transition Services (Pre-ETS) requirements as outlined in the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). It also highlights successes and challenges in Minnesota's and Idaho's Pre-ETS implementation efforts and how lessons learned can aid other states.
- Expanding Partnerships: Career Pathways, Opportunities and Challenges – March 11, 2020/Speakers: Rebecca Salon, Melody Crutchfield, Michelle Johnson and WongDuen Coley – A team from the District of Columbia highlight their joint initiatives to ensure that Employment First efforts extend to career pathways partners, including the development of cross-system memoranda of understandings (MOUs). These MOUs are formal agreements that support the inclusion of youth and adults with disabilities, including people with behavioral health disabilities, into programs that open doors to high-demand and high-growth careers.
- Providing Virtual Employment Supports Part One: Job Connection and Coaching – October 7, 2020/Speaker: Jennifer White – This webinar addresses virtual delivery of job development services. It briefly reviews strategies and tools that effectively increase interaction over technology and then explains the importance of virtual meeting templates, mental health checks, training on technology tools, job development notebooks and video resumes.
- Providing Virtual Employment Supports Part Two: Job Development – October 20, 2020/Speaker: Jennifer White – This webinar continues the discussion of providing virtual services, with a focus on job coaching. It provides an overview of person-driven accommodation tools that can increase independence. Additionally, presenters discuss Work Autonomy, an app aimed to strengthen the employer-employee relationship.
- Applying WIOA Pre-ETS for Transitioning Students and Youth – July 11, 2018/Speakers: Rich Luecking and Jeremy Norden-Paul – This webinar provides information on the current state of Pre-ETS implementation in the country, in the context of WIOA’s significant change in how state vocational rehabilitation (VR) programs interact with schools and offer services to students and youth preparing to transition to adult employment.
- The Implications of WIOA for Seamless Transition for Youth with Significant Disabilities – July 13, 2016/Speakers: Richard Luecking and David Hoff – This webinar discusses activities that have proven to contribute to successful and seamless transitions from school to adult employment. A particular focus is on WIOA’s new Pre-ETS requirements and the enhanced role of workforce development youth services.
- Ohio's Implementation of WIOA Section 511 Requirements – August 22, 2018/Speakers: Stacy A. Collins, Amy Szymanski and Shannon Komisarek – This webinar examines the current state of implementation of WIOA Section 511, which sets the expectation that youth and adults with disabilities should have opportunities to pursue CIE and employment should be considered in every person-centered plan.
- WIOA and Business Engagement: Making it a Reality – April 13, 2016/Speakers: David Hoff and Susan Harrell – This webinar explains a variety of considerations and strategies to better engage both private and public employers in a systematic fashion.
- Putting it to Practice: Building School to Work Programs – September 9, 2015/Speaker: Marsha Threlkeld – In alignment with WIOA's emphasis on Pre-ETS, this webinar focuses on youth and employment programs that provide services leading to employment. It discusses School-to-Work (STW) transition models and curriculum that prepare students for CIE.
Employment First State Leadership Mentoring Program
ODEP began the Employment First State Leadership Mentoring Program (EFSLMP) in 2012 in response to states’ request for assistance on how to support individuals with significant disabilities in CIE. Since that time, ODEP has supported 24 states in their strategic efforts to increase CIE for individuals with disabilities, including those with significant disabilities. The EFSLMP inspired selected states to facilitate policy reform and fully implement the Employment First approach with funding alignment, service coordination, and capacity building across state government agencies and external stakeholders which are all vital to promoting CIE options for individuals with significant disabilities.
EFSLMP laid the foundations for existing ODEP initiatives, such as the National Expansion of Employment Opportunities Network (NEON) and Advancing State Policy Integration for Recovery and Employment (ASPIRE) initiatives.
EFSLMP Resources
- E1st State Transformation Guide - In order to support states in their Employment First and systems change efforts, ODEP has identified 10 Critical Areas to Increase CIE. This guide helps states make holistic systems change by assisting in developing and implementing strategies in each of these areas. ODEP’s CIE webpage has specific resources for each critical area.
- EFSLMP Federal Briefings – On August 8 and 9, 2018, ODEP hosted 15 federal offices, including representatives from the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, Housing and Urban Development, Veterans Affairs, Justice, the National Council on Disability, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and the Social Security Administration, to learn about and discuss the Employment First State Leadership Mentoring Program.
- Connecting the Dots: Using Federal Policy to Promote Employment First Systems-Change Efforts – This brief provides a robust summary and overview of public policy, regulations, rules and informational bulletins that support employment outcomes and Employment First for youth and adults with disabilities.
- Federal Legal Framework that Supports Competitive, Integrated Employment Outcomes of Youth and Adults with Significant Disabilities – This brief highlights various legal actions by federal enforcement agencies that have significant implications for how states prioritize and deliver services for individuals with disabilities. These actions relate to the organization, financing, and provision of employment and long-term services and supports consistent with an Employment First framework.
- Criteria for Performance Excellence in Employment First State Systems Change & Provider Transformation – This brief provides guidance to states involved in systems change efforts aimed at improving CIE outcomes of youth and adults with disabilities. A blended approach of top-down systems-change strategies, combined with community-based capacity building activities initiated by key stakeholders, is critical to the successful implementation of an Employment First strategic framework.
- Federal Resources Available to Support State Employment First Efforts – This brief provides state governments and external stakeholders with information about available federal funding resources and technical assistance available to further state Employment First systems change efforts.