The Right Job Match

It’s a true dichotomy having a child with a disability and being a person who assists individuals with disabilities find a job and begin working.  A parental perspective is so different at times I forget all I know and preach. 

Andrew, you should be well acquainted with him by now, is our remaining offspring still living at home.  He is a senior this year and is on target to graduate.  Frankly he is doing well in school and gets great grades.  Andrew was presented with a Student of the Month at New Market Vocational Skills Center, Culinary Program recently.  Andrew wants to be a chef and he has his future training all planned out.  Finish a two year degree at the SPSCC culinary program, then on to a program like Le Cordon Bleu, College of Culinary Arts in Seattle.  Then spent time in Paris France to receive instruction in French cuisine and pastry, on to Rome to learn Italian cooking and then to Soul Korea to round out his international cooking flair by learning Korean BBQ.  Between you and me I am convinced he is interested in becoming a chef because he likes food and likes to eat…not so much in preparing food.  Well I digress.

Following the award ceremony at New Market students were asked to take parents on a tour of their program center.  Andrew did a good albeit brief explanation of the different stations in the kitchen.  He was frustrated with my questions on using the various pieces of equipment and if he used or not.  I asked his teacher Michelle Heistand if she thought Andrew could be a chef given his obvious disability.  She said well it would need to be a right match.  Well there you have it – “find the right match”.   It was like she was parroting what I have told parents for the last couple of decades.  Duh of course it would need to be the right match because with the right match people with disabilities can and do make excellent, productive workers.  Ms. Heistand said that Andrew is a very hard worker and very willing to help other….hum another statement of truth about him that I was well aware of. 

A friend of ours envisions Andrew hosting his own cooking show on the Food Network that he would be an inspiration to others.  Who knows it might be the right match.

Salute to Curtis

The following article was prepared by staff at Enterprise Services highlighting Curtis and the work he does at their agency.  I thought I would share it since Curtis has worked for many years for the Dept. of Personnel and now a part of Enterprise Services. Curtis is a wonderful man who values friendship.  I wish him all the best.   The article also highlights State Supported Employment and encourages state agencies to contact the Department of Vocational Rehabilitation to find more about this worthwhile program.  Check it out!

2/21/2014 Supported employment benefits Enterprise Services If you appreciate having your recycle bin emptied at 1500 Jefferson every week, you probably know that the person to thank is Curtis White. White nearly 16 years of state service, beginning his career at the Department of Personnel (DOP) in 1998, then becoming an employee of Enterprise Services. In addition to recycling runs, White delivers mail, fills our printers with paper, files, and enjoys attending meetings and training opportunities. White was particularly excited to move to the 1500 Jefferson building. This was not only because he enjoyed watching the progress of the construction project, but because the new agency and location have allowed him to interact with more people and take on additional responsibilities. In his free time, White works out at the gym, lifting weights and swimming. He's a fixture around Olympia, trying different restaurants, riding his bike when the weather is nice and taking bus rides. "Being part of a team is good for Curtis and the relationships he builds with his fellow employees are important to him," said his supervisor Rhonda Bell. "He does work in many areas of the agency and has received several notes of appreciation. Curtis is a valuable member of our team and is always eager to work on new projects." His success was made possible by an innovative program known as supported employment. Supported employment is a unique hiring opportunity made possible by the state legislature. The program connects disabled individuals in our communities to state jobs. By the time White got his job at DOP, he was already well-known there, because he often visited the job seekers area to look at available jobs. Employees hired through supported employment are trained and mentored by job coaches outside the agency, and supervised by agency staff. These employees help their programs stretch existing resources because they do not add to a program's full-time equivalent (FTE) count. At the same time, they gain valuable work experience and contribute to meeting agency goals. Contact the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation to find out more about supported employment. There are numerous placement agencies with a pool of candidates ready to fill positions. Using these services helps employers like Enterprise Services gain efficiencies and supports equal opportunity employment.

Value and Worth

Below is an article I received online.  When someone with a significant disability speaks about prejudice and discrimination I listen.  I know I am on the other end of the spectrum being a white male, reasonably intelligent and in good health.  I have to listen because I have never been discriminated against personally.  I have only experienced discrimination in the presence of the person being discriminated against either with black friends or friends with disabilities.   Below is the article written by a blind African American (see his bio at the end of the article).

Regarding the reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act - eliminate FLSA 14 C

Most theological references to people with disabilities portray us as broken people in need of healing who are dependent on the benevolence of others. Also, most faith traditions have a moral imperative to seek salvation by caring for the less fortunate, and people with disabilities, being deemed less fortunate, are therefore tokens for that salvation. The false perception of brokenness, coupled with the misapplied moral edict, results in a “compassionate discrimination” that limits the potential of every person with a disability.

Compassionate discrimination, like other types of discrimination, springs from ignorance, and deprives us all of the value each person and group of people has to offer. But unlike the abusive treatment of slaves resulting from racial discrimination, and unlike the chauvinistic treatment of women resulting from gender discrimination, compassionate discrimination is cloaked in sympathy and good intentions. The segregation of African-Americans in educational, employment, and living environments is unlawful and universally censured—no questions asked, no exceptions. Conversely, the segregation of people with disabilities in school, work, and home is justified as the creation of safe environments where we are nurtured and protected. 

The 20 to 30 percent wage disparity between male and female employees is considered a discriminatory practice in the workplace. But perversely, the disparity between an executive’s $500,000 salary and the 22-cent-per-hour wage of the worker with a disability is considered reasonable. Work at such wages is even promoted as an opportunity for the disabled worker to experience the tangible and intangible benefits of work. Given this confused moral perspective, it is almost understandable why public policies have been developed that continues to limit people with disabilities from reaching our full potential.

In 1938, policymakers, acting on a laudable desire to integrate people with disabilities into the workforce, made a huge mistake when they enacted Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act www.dol.gov/elaws/esa/flsa/14c/. That provision that authorizes the U.S. Department of Labor to issue Special Wage Certificates to employers, permitting them to pay workers with disabilities less than the federal minimum wage. As a result of the erroneous belief, commonly held in 1938 but long since disproved, that people with disabilities cannot be productive employees, employers are permitted to pay workers with disabilities subminimum wages that are supposedly based on our productivity. This denial of fundamental wage protections to workers with disabilities, although masked as a compassionate offering of a work opportunity that would otherwise not be available, leaves over 300,000 people with disabilities employed at subminimum wages, some as low as three cents per hour. 

A person with a disability is not less valuable than any other person, and although employing that person may require the use of nontraditional training and employment strategies, a worker with a disability is not inherently less productive than a nondisabled worker. Section 14(c) is a poor public policy that perpetuates compassionate discrimination and harms people with disabilities by denying us proper education and training opportunities, and by prohibiting most of us from obtaining competitive, integrated employment.   

It is true that over 70 percent of people with disabilities are unemployed, but current segregated subminimum-wage work environments have proven that they are not the solution to this dilemma. We must understand that it is not the disability itself that causes this circumstance. It is the lack of understanding about the true capacity of people with disabilities that results in the misperception that we cannot be productive. Once this misperception has been embraced, it is difficult, if not impossible, for us to obtain real opportunities to demonstrate that we have that capacity. Rather than challenging the mistaken status quo, society’s “compassionate” remedy is to continue to create “safe,” segregated living, educational, and work environments for people with disabilities. 

In order to implement a real solution to the unemployment problem, we must remove the mask of compassion from the discrimination we face. We must eliminate the “separate but equal” environments and we must repeal the discriminatory policies that are founded on the flawed assertion of incapacity. We can achieve this goal. Congressman Gregg Harper has introduced the Fair Wages for Workers with Disabilities Act of 2013 (H.R. 831) to repeal Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

We are not broken. Our disabilities are neither a curse from God nor penance for our sins. They are a manifestation of the life with which God has blessed us, and although the vessels which contain them are different, we have the same needs, desires, and abilities as everyone else. People with disabilities are not passive recipients of benevolence, we are also benevolent. We clothe the naked, we feed the hungry, we care for the sick and we demonstrate the capacity to believe, to have faith, and to worship God. We demand to be fully participating members of society, and we refuse to be reduced to the status of tokens for the salvation of others.

Anil Lewis was born in 1964 in Atlanta, Georgia.  Lewis was diagnosed at age nine with retinitis pigmentosa, although his vision was fairly unaffected until 1989.  He has a master’s in business administration in computer information systems and a master’s in public administration from Georgia State University. He has developed a job placement program for people with disabilities, represented people with disabilities in a law office and headed Georgia’s chapter of the National Federation of the Blind https://nfb.org/. Today, he lives in Baltimore, Maryland and is the Director of Advocacy and Policy at the National Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute. He works with the NFB’s government affairs team to eliminate subminimum wages and the antiquated notion that blind and disabled people cannot be productive members of society. He is also the proud father of Amari, his bright, ambitious son. 

50th Anniversary Luncheon a Superb Celebration

We held a 50^th celebration event at Indian Summer Golf and Country Club yesterday and it was a very positive event.  George Le Masurier was our emcee for the event and did a masterful job of introducing Ralph Munro.  Ralph was honored for his contribution to assisting individuals with disabilities not only at Morningside but throughout the entire state.  Ralph was a former Morningside board member recounted his experience in raising funds for our building on Ethel Street.   He told of Percy Bean tearing up a $200 check and told to meet with the woman who gave it to Ralph, Al Brooks and Jerry Buzzard and say she needs to contribute more money.  She thought about it for a minute and wrote a check for $500.  Up to that point in the local fundraising effort a very small portion of the $15,000 match money was raised so every dollar was valuable.  Well they raised the match and the rest was history. 

His story points to how the Olympia community came together to support Morningside.  I tell local business owners and friends how fortunate we are to live in a community that is so supportive and accepting.

Hidden Disablity Quandary

In September my friend Sara shared the article link below on Facebook from the New York Times.  Sara is a wonderful woman who lives and works in a very supportive community in Chicago.  Sara also happens to have a disability labeled Epilepsy.  Sara confided that she does not reveal her disability when hired but only after she is offered the job does she talk with the employer about limitations she has.  It certainly flies in the face of the ADA (Americans with Disability Act) which says that a person must not be discriminated against if they can do the job with reasonable accommodations. 

I often speculate if we can lump employer fear, doubt, preconceived bias as a “reasonable accommodation” to take into account when hiring an individual with a disability?  Will we ever overcome this fear?

Yesterday I had the opportunity to present the Office of Governor Inslee with an Outstanding Employer award from our state association Community Employment Alliance (CEA).  We nominated the Governor’s office because of how supportive they are and how they have included our client in their family.  The Governor’s Office was one of approximately 15-20 employers receiving such an award.  What I heard repeatedly from this throng of employers was how positive the experience was even when they were doubtful at first to hire an individual with a developmental disability.  I wish I could bottle all the positive statements up and when someone expresses doubt unscrew the lid and unleash a little bit of this enthusiasm to convince the skeptic to just try it.

Unfortunately most of the clients we serve do not wish to disclose their disability – they have had too many experiences whereby someone has immediately closed the door before it could be opened.

Here is a link to the article:  http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/22/business/quandary-of-hidden-disabilities-conceal-or-reveal.html?pagewanted=2&_r=2

The Conversation Heats Up!

Recently the NBC news program Rock Center with Brian Williams aired a story about the Fair Labor and Standards Act (FLSA) 14 C provision that allows individuals with disabilities to earn less than the federal minimum wage.  The story focused on Goodwill Industries International and their use of the provision to pay individuals with disabilities as little as $ .22 per hour while top executives in the organization make hundreds of thousands of dollars a year.  This story isn’t new but it has now garnered a wider national audience.

For the past several years disability advocacy groups have been pushing for the repeal of the FLSA 14 C provision.  The leading professional group APSE (Association of People Supporting Employment First), of which we are a member, strongly supports its repeal.  Organizations that want to keep the legislation, such as Goodwill, operate sheltered workshops.  This may be why NBC’s coverage was directed at Goodwill.  But Goodwill is not alone.  Other groups such as NISH (soon to be known as Source America) have also tried to squelch the chatter since sheltered workshops are the primary vocational service delivery system in the United States for individuals with developmental disabilities.  I am proud to interject that this isn’t the case in Washington State as I have previously discussed in this blog.  Morningside not only closed our sheltered workshop years ago but we are leading the pack when it comes to finding jobs for individuals with significant disabilities in community jobs.

In the interest of full disclosure, we are also an authorized employer under the FLSA 14 C provision and we have a small NISH contract with the Federal government managed out of our Port Angeles office.  However, the difference is that we have made the affirmative decision not renew our Federal Special Wage Certificate when it expires in early 2015.  We base this decision on our belief that people with disabilities have the right and ability to work in the same jobs earning the same wages as nondisabled workers.

The heart of the matter is justice.  We believe that section 14(c) is wrong.  What is fair, what is right is that individuals should be working in regular jobs in the community.  APSE states it very well:  Section 14 C sets low expectations and encourages a misguided sense of the capacities of individuals with disabilities, who could succeed in integrated work settings with the appropriate assistance and supports. Current research-based best practice indicates that the vast majority of individuals with disabilities who want to work can be found a competitive position at regular wages through the use of customized and supported employment strategies. Sub-minimum wage is at odds with national disability policy (particularly the Americans with Disabilities Act and IDEA), which have made it clear that public policies should view disability as a natural part of human experience that in no way limits a person’s right to fully participate in all aspects of life.

We don’t want to limit anyone from achieving their dream of working in the community so let’s work to end this practice!

To view the Rock Center story click on this link:  http://www.nbcnews.com/video/rock-center/52280748#52280748

Important Law Suit

“Federal jury in Iowa awards $240 million to the 32 mentally disabled adults” was the headline from the Des Moines Register a few months ago. 

The award was the result of a case against Henry’s Turkey Service.  The case highlighted the abuse that this company did toward individuals with disabilities and as a result of this abuse once again sparked conversation about the relevancy of the Fair Labor and Standards Act 14 ( C ) program. 

The National Disability Rights Network, is the nonprofit membership organization for the Protection and Advocacy System for Individuals with disabilities produced a paper “Segregated and Exploited – A call to Action!” that used as a case study the atrocities that occurred at Henry’s Turkey Service in Atalissa, Iowa.  The story of the workers at Henry’s Turkey Service, a meat processing plant in Iowa, is an appalling example of the abuse that can happen when workers with disabilities are segregated and sheltered away from others.  Henry’s “shipped in” 60 men from Texas where they worked and lived in the company run bunkhouse.  Henry’s paid them an average of $.41 an hour and the individuals also had to pay for their room and board at the bunkhouse – leaving them with only $65 at the end of the month. 

The bunkhouse was a 106 year-old cockroach infested, unheated abandoned school converted to a bunkhouse that had boarded up windows and a cracked foundations.  The residents paid $600 per month in rent for use of the tax-free bunkhouse. 

 A federal jury ruled that Henry’s Turkey Service violated the Americans with Disabilities Act when they paid 32 mentally disabled workers only $65 per month for their full time work on the turkey processing line.

"I'm very pleased the jury made such a powerful statement," said Ruby Moore, a national disability rights advocate based in Georgia. "People around the country are absolutely aware of this case. It has unveiled some of the horrendous practices faced by people with disabilities."

The National Disability Rights Network made a series of policy recommendations included in their position paper.

What I think was the take-away was their conclusion.  It reads:

“Many people working in support of segregated and sheltered work don’t think there is another way. In fact, there is. Thirty years ago no one believed there was another option for people with disabilities but to live in large, state-run institutions. The belief was they could never care for themselves; they were too vulnerable or made people too uncomfortable to live among people without disabilities. But soon we saw these human warehouses for what they were and in state after state institutions closed, and now millions of people with disabilities are living, successfully, in their communities. They evolved and adapted and showed us they are more than we believed, as did the rest of the country who recognized the value of having friends and neighbors with disabilities. We witnessed lives changing.

The same can happen in the workplace. Sheltered workshops are just another institution segregating our neighbors away because of our unwillingness to accept that our own preconceived ideas about the workplace might be wrong. It’s time to do things differently.”

Well we agree.  It is time that we in this nation examine the practice of sheltered employment and paying below the minimum wage.  We believe everyone should be working in the community.