Working Together: Advancing Disability Inclusion in NYS Workplaces

Check-in, networking breakfast

Keynote by Victor Edwards, Central Student Advocate for New York City Public Schools

Break

1 – Partnering for Disability Employment: Drafting Effective Interagency Agreements

Matthew Saleh, LaWanda Cook

This session will focus on strategies for developing interagency agreements (MOUs, MOAs, etc.) that are effective at moving shared goals and objectives forward. The session will emphasize the importance of formalizing coordination efforts to improve services for transitioning youth with disabilities who are involved in multiple service systems.

2 - The Power of Collaboration: Promoting High-Quality Transition Planning Through Effective Partnerships

Kimberly Osmani, Jessica Ellott, Elizabeth Juaniza-Saso

Effective collaboration between students, families, schools, agencies, and community partners is necessary in supporting transition-age students with disabilities as they prepare for adulthood and future employment. This session will highlight strategies and actionable steps which will foster collaborative partnerships to ensure high-quality transition planning is occurring and ultimately supporting students on their path towards future education and/or employment.

3 - CIE for People with Significant Disabilities: Early Lessons from the NYS SWTCIE

Ellice Switzer, Meghan Parker

In this session, Ellice Switzer from the Yang-Tan Institute and Meghan Parker from ACCES-VR will share early findings from the New York Subminimum Wage to Competitive Integrated Employment Demonstration Project (SWTCIE) program evaluation. ACCES-VR operates SWTCIE in six counties across the state, with the goal of decreasing subminimum wage and increasing competitive integrated employment for people with significant disabilities, who might need extra support to pursue employment goals. So far, the project has offered important lessons for interagency coordination and collaboration, and community and family engagement.

Boxed lunch provided

4 – DisabilityStatistics.org: Live Demonstration

William Erickson, Camille Lee

DisabilityStatistics.org is a free source of disability-related statistics and estimates. You can use the information at DisabilityStatistics.org to shape policy, make decisions, or request funding so that people with disabilities are more fully included in the workplace and community. Join the researcher and developer behind DisabilityStatistics.org for a live demonstration and to learn more about the interactive data visualization tools on the site. Users can find statistics by state, county, and congressional district, allowing for comparison within states and across the nation.

5 – Effective Business Engagement: Strategies Everyone Can Use

Jeffrey Tamburo, Elizabeth Juaniza-Saso, Ellice Switzer, Jennifer Pawlewicz

Engaging businesses on behalf of jobseekers with disabilities works best when everyone is equipped with the knowledge and resources to do it well. In this session, we will share tips for establishing and sustaining mutually beneficial business relationships that lead to employment opportunities for people with disabilities. Whether you are an educator, job developer, agency lead, or workforce development professional, you will come away with practical advice that you can use right away.

6 – Improving Employment Outcomes for Autistic Job Seekers

Susanne Bruyère, Katie Brendli Brown, Leslie Shaw, and Micah Haskins

This presentation is based on several Cornell research projects focused on improving employment outcomes for Autistic job seekers. Topics will include:

• Predictors of employment for Autistic transition-aged youth
• Effective practices in secondary transition
• How transition educational professionals and relationships with local employers can support success
• Ways to improve successful outcomes in the job interview process for Autistic job seekers, including what employers, career counselors, community employment service professionals, and Autistic individuals can do to succeed in the interview process

Extensive related resources will be provided.

Break

Plenary: Community Conversations

Closing remarks