CHANGING JOBS:
Frederick's Employment Future (3 of 3)
Disabilities open DORS to employment
By JOSEPH M. DELEON News-Post Staff
jdeleon @ fredericknewspost . com
FREDERICK — Audwin Thomas listened to a computerized voice read lessons he scanned from a workbook last week. He is learning office technology skills, one of the few jobs available to visually impaired people. “It's not that it's what I wanted to do, but it's something I can do,” he said.
Mr. Thomas used to serve as a law enforcement officer in the Air Force until his vision started to deteriorate.
People with physical, mental and acquired disabilities find independence through employment with the help of the Maryland State Department of Education's Division of Rehabilitation Services, also known as DORS.
The service provides employers with a trained, motivated work force while empowering disabled people to earn a liv ing and make a return on their investment.
The program in Frederick spends about $1.4 million a year to match clients with employers, said Karen Younkins, rehabilitation supervisor of DORS in Frederick.
The average cost per person rehabilitated in Maryland is $4,077.39, she said. Clients pay back the cost of their rehabilitation services through taxes and reduced reliance on public benefits, in fewer than four years. DORS estimates its clients contributed more than $46 million to the state's economy last year. Services include assessment of abilities, career counseling, assistive technology purchases, vocational training and job placement.
People with disabilities
as a resource
Ms. Younkins said the program covers any disability that interferes with work, such as mental retardation, work-related injuries, stroke and drug abuse. People with chronic mental illness and learning disabilities make up the largest population DORS serves.
“We help employers find a resource in our clients while placing them in the right job,” Ms. Younkins said. “Two years after being placed, more than 87 percent of our clients are still working.”
The Frederick program served about 1,000 clients last year, placing 154 people in competitive employment, Ms. Younkins said.
Competitive employment means a client earned at least minimum wage in an integrated working environment for more than 90 days. Once clients achieve that, cases are often closed.
After applicants are found eligible for the program, their abilities and interests are measured to allow counselors and clients to set vocational goals, Ms. Younkins explained.
“We don't want to set our clients up for failure, so it's important for us to see what their medical limitations are,” she said. “We also need to look at what they want to do, so they will be motivated to accomplish their goal.”
Preparing clients for work
Some clients need assistive technology to be able to work. Blind people might need a scanner and text-to-speech software to read printed text. People in a wheelchair might need alterations to their vehicles, such as a wheelchair lift and hand controls to accelerate and brake.
“That could easily be $20,000, but we won't pay for a vehicle, just the alteration,” Ms. Younkins said.
Once clients are acclimated to the assistive technology, job training follows.
Many clients start with soft skills, such as how to dress for work, interview and arrive on time. Sometimes DORS pays employers to train clients on the job.
Other clients need vocational training to meet their goals.
The Workforce and Technology Center in Baltimore is the largest campus of its kind in the United States. In 2005, the center served more than 3,300 clients working toward vocational and independent living goals.
In addition to the services offered by the Frederick office, the center provides on-site dormitories, academic tutoring, medical services, community living servic es and up to 18 months of vocational training in careers such as auto mechanics, computer networking and cosmetology.
Donna Culver started the center's 18-month cosmetology program in October.
“It's not just doing hair, it's also learning professionalism, keeping supplies stocked, paying bills, managing employees,” she said while practicing finger waves on a mannequin.
Ms. Culver has bipolar disorder and used to abuse drugs.
“A lot of people overlook us; they think we can't do this because of our disability,” she said. “But I think we are harder workers because we have to deal with our disability and do the work.”
Lee Rinehart, the center's cosmetology instructor said working with people with disabilities is rewarding because he gets to help people succeed who otherwise wouldn't.
“You amend your teaching to fit each need, whether it's visual learners, audible learners or hands-on,” he said. “We boast a 100 percent (state licensee) pass rate and 100 percent placement, which is unheard of in the private sector.”
Some clients prefer to enter college. Last year, the Frederick program funded more than 130 post secondary clients.
“We will assist students with a college education, but with lots of strings attached,” Ms. Younkins said. “The advantage is they get into a career versus a job.”
Students must qualify for state or federal financial aid and apply for scholarships. DORS makes up the difference, based on public institution rates.
Placement and independence
Job placement and follow-up often end the process.
“Many employers watch our graduation list and regularly hire from that pool,” Ms. Younkins said.
“We can pay for a job coach to be sure they understand and can complete the job,” Ms. Younkins said.
She remembers one developmentally challenged client had trouble rolling three pieces of silverware into a napkin at a restaurant. The job coach discovered the client had a problem rolling side to side, but could do it from the top down.
Some clients are not ready or able to return to work. The Independent Living Program provides clients with rehabilitation technology and referrals to allow clients to remain independent in their home.
At the Workforce and Technology Center, the community living skills center simulates an apartment environment.
“They are shown things like how to manage money, how to do laundry, buy groceries and prepare a meal,” Ms. Younkins said. “We evaluate and train them on daily living skills to make sure they can live independently.”
Ms. Younkins said clients are encouraged to come back and take advantage of DORS services as often as needed.
“If we can slowly increase the length of time they can stay employed, that's a success,” she said. “That's what makes it so rewarding after 23 years, when you see someone is still employed year after year.”
Mr. Thomas joined the Air Force in 1974 and became a law enforcement officer before he was diagnosed with angioid streaks — cracks in the tissue behind the retina that often lead to blindness.
“When I heard the news, I thought yeah, right, but I was shocked when it started happening” Mr. Thomas said.
After he was discharged in 1981, he hid his disability while working in the sanitation industry. By 2002, he could no longer see well enough to supervise a cleaning crew.
“It was 95 percent paperwork. If I had these accommodations then, I would have been able to continue to work,” he said. “I didn't know my rights, the law or resources available to me.”