Customized Self-Employment Part 1: The Basics

Outline:
Section 1: Introduction About this Course Learning Objectives

Section 2: Introduction to Self-Employment

Sam the Sports Man

Is There any Hope for Sam?

Unemployment-A Staggering Problem People with Disabilities and Underemployment

Is There an Answer to Unemployment and Underemployment for People with Disabilities?

Building on the Past

Think About Sam

Unemployment and Beliefs about People with Disabilities

Special Places for People with Disabilities

Changing Beliefs

New Ways to Work for People with Disabilities

What Supported Employment has Taught Us

Values Shared By Supported Employment and Customized Self-Employment

More Values Shared By Supported Employment and Customized Self- Employment

Let's Review

Summary

Section 3: Early Work Experiences Self-Employment: Why Didn't I Think of That??!!

First Job

Early Work Experiences and People with Disabilities

Changing Attitudes, Changing Law

Key Players in Self-Employment for People with Disabilities

Self-Employment - The next Logical Step in Supported Employment

Lessons from the Past

What is Customized Self-Employment?

Gretchen: A Customized Self-Employment Story

Customized Self-Employment Practices

New Approaches: Person-Centered Assessment

So Whatt'sThis NEW Way of Getting to Know People?

Purpose of Discovering Personal Genius

Sam's Personal Genius

Emily and Louis

Summary

Section 4: Frequently asked Questions (FAQ's) About Self-Employment

Fear about New Ideas

FAQ: Most Small Businesses Fail?

FAQ: What's A Small Business going to Cost and Who Will Fund it?

FAQ: But Should the System Have to Support a Business forever?

FAQ: Do you Think the Community is Ready to Accept People with Disabilities Having Their Own Businesses?

FAQ: How Can They Have Their Own Business If They Can't Read or Write?

Troy the Business Man

FAQ: How Can They Have Their Own Business if They Aren't Able to Put in the Long Hours Business Owners Work?

FAQ: Is it Really Their Business if Their Family Helps Them With it?

FAQ: Will a Business Work Out Here in the Country Where He Lives?

FAQ: How Does Someone Know if Starting a Business is a Good Idea or Not?

FAQ: They Aren't Very Motivated by Money.

Shouldn't They Go to a Sheltered Workshop First and Learn Work Skills?

Greg's Big Decision

Summary

Section 5: Customized Self-Employment Benefits

Self-Employment or Wage Jobs

Benefits of Self-Employment Over Wage Jobs

Benefit One

Benefit Two

Benefit Three

Ivan and his Rototiller

Benefit Four

Ivan's Self-Employment Income and SSI

Summary

Section 6: Strategies for Self-Employment

Self-Employment Can Work for Every Kind of Disability

Self-Employment Strategies for Success

Strategy for Success:

Business Planning Strategy for Success:

A Good Business Team Strategy for Success:

Committed Leaders with a Willingness to Embrace Change

Strategy for Success:

Competent Staff and Effective Teams

What Professionals Need in Order to Support Self-Employment

What the System Needs In Order to Support Self-Employment

Kelly's Copy Service

Summary

Section 7: Put Into Practice Using What you Have Learned

Creating Your Own Work Portfolio

Section 8: Summary

Self-Employment as an Answer to Unemployment

A Call for Change

Course Contributors

Contact the Authors

References

Congratulations

Cary Griffin is a Senior Partner at Griffin-Hammis Associates, a full service consultancy which specializes in building communities of economic cooperation, creating high performance organizations, and focuses on disability and employment. Cary maintains a strong relationship with the Rural Institute at The University of Montana, where he served as Director of Adult Community Services & Supports. He is the former Executive Director of the Center for Technical Assistance & Training (CTAT) in Denver. Cary provides training to administrative and direct service level professionals in the rehabilitation field; consultation to businesses and rehabilitation agencies regarding the employment of individuals with significant disabilities; conducts field-initiated research & demonstration; provides family & consumer case consultation; develops resources; and organizational development. Recently, Cary has been instrumental in designing self-employment protocols and training for individuals, agencies, and states.

David Hammis is Senior Partner at Griffin-Hammis Associates, a full service consultancy which specializes in building communities of economic cooperation, creating high performance organizations, and focuses on disability and employment. David maintains an ongoing relationship with the Rural Institute at The University of Montana, where he served as Project Director for four employment and Social Security outreach training and technical assistance projects, and now serves as an Organizational Consultant for the Rural Institutes Rural Entrepreneurship and Self-Employment Expansion Design Project. Dave works with organizations nationally and internationally on benefits analysis, supported employment, supported entrepreneurial employment, and employment engineering.

Beth Keeton is the Executive Director of Griffin-Hammis Associates. For the last 20 years, Beth has provided extensive training and technical assistance on systems change, customized employment, self-employment, systematic instruction, and benefits analysis. She developed the first national certification training curriculum for customized self-employment, collaborated with the Workforce Innovation Technical Assistance Center on the development of Core Features of Quality Supported Employment, helped pioneer the creation and use of the three Customized Employment Fidelity Scales, and is currently service the Principle Investigator on a five-year innovative self-employment training initiative funded by the Rehabilitation Services Administration. Beth co-wrote Navigating Government Benefits & Employment: A Guidebook for Veterans with Disabilities and is a co-author of Making Self-Employment Work for People with Disabilities. She earned her master’s degree from the University of Oregon in 1996.