Way Station, Inc.

Background

Way Station, Inc. is a community-based, non-profit rehabilitation program serving Frederick County, Maryland. The activities of Way Station, Inc. are carried out through the Frederick Works Project, a consortium of public and private agencies. The Project has developed a comprehensive service strategy that includes:

• Community Resource Consultants who provide benefits counseling and other services throughout Frederick County;
• Comprehensive Training Services for One-stop staff to improve their understanding of and sensitivity to disability issues;
• A Client Services Fund to identify resources for support services for people with disabilities (e.g., fees, lessons, short-term daycare);
• A web site (http://www.FrederickWorks.org/) where job seekers with disabilities and employers with open positions can exchange information; and
• An Advisory Board that provides feedback on the effectiveness of the Project.

Goals and Methods

The Frederick Works project is designed to enhance the employability, job retention and career advancement of individuals with disabilities in Frederick County.

Improve program accessibility for individuals with disabilities.

Expand and coordinate transportation services. The Project works with Frederick County Citizen Service/Transit to expand services for people with disabilities. The Project is working on hiring a bus driver qualified to transport people with disabilities, co-hosting a Transportation Summit to address coordination of services among local public transportation agencies, and supporting efforts to obtain additional funding for transportation services.

Ensure that Project materials are accessible. The Project ensures that all written materials are accessible to people with disabilities. The Project has also informed all providers in the workforce investment system on how to make information technology accessible to people with disabilities.

Use technology wherever possible. The project is working with several groups and agencies to increase program accessibility through technology. The Maryland Relay system is providing free TTY equipment, Goodwill and Federated Charities are providing basic assistive technologies and the Maryland State Department of Education, Division Of Rehabilitation Services, is offering specialized equipment for eligible individuals with disabilities.

Provide comprehensive training on disability issues.

Provide Comprehensive Training Services (CTS). The CTS program provides disability training to employers, customers, workforce investment partners, service providers and the community as a whole. The CTS includes individuals with disabilities and staff from disability-related organizations as both trainees and training facilitators.

Ensure that staff can recognize disability. All staff in the workforce investment system receive training on identifying individuals with disabilities who are at risk of not finding or maintaining employment. This training includes an orientation on staff responsibility for referring individuals with disabilities for appropriate screening and testing.

Make support services more available.

Expand funding. The Project has created a Client Service Fund to assist people with disabilities with financial needs such as day care registration fees, driver’s license fees, driving lessons, short-term day care services during job interviews, and other services not typically funded under the current system.

Identify connections with other federal programs. The project works with the Maryland Department of Human Resources to develop waivers and demonstration projects with the U.S Departments of Housing and Urban Development and Agriculture. These waiver/demonstrations address the immediate impact of work on subsidized housing (rent increase) and food stamps (benefit reduction).

Develop and expand electronic communication with the disability community

The Project has developed a web site (http://www.FrederickWorks.org/) that brings together individuals with disabilities who are seeking work and employers who have open positions. Individuals with disabilities can post their resumes for review by member employers, all on a confidential basis. The web site also provides information regarding workforce investment and support services available in Frederick County.

Partners

Frederick County Workforce Development Board (WDB). The Project Director is an ex-officio member of the county WDB and is a member of the WDB’s Resource Committee. The Resource Committee includes five area employers and works on defining the relationship between the Frederick Works Project and the workforce investment board.

One-Stop Employment Partnership (OEP) of Frederick County. The OEP, part of the Frederick County WIB, is a partnership of nine public agencies, including the Maryland State Department of Education, Division of Rehabilitation Services. The OEP has developed a universal referral system that improves the integration of vocational services with the workforce investment system. OEP agencies provide staff support for the Frederick Works Project and physical space for the Community Resource Consultants and their clients throughout the workforce investment area.

Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE), Division of Rehabilitation Services, Frederick County. The Division of Rehabilitation Services (DORS) tests clients referred by the Frederick Works Project for learning disabilities. DORS also provides specialized equipment for individuals with disabilities.

Goodwill Industries of Monocacy Valley, Inc. Goodwill Industries provides a variety of services to Frederick Works Project clients, including identifying specific training needs and supplying basic assistive technology. Goodwill also plans and coordinates training activities for the Frederick County project area.

Innovation

Community Resource Consultants. The Project hired thirty Community Resource Consultants (CRCs) whose primary duty is to help individuals with disabilities identify and use all available services within the workforce investment area. CRCs work with clients on an individual basis, developing a tailored benefits strategy to meet the client’s needs. The CRCs coordinate services, provide resource information, assist with job referrals, and follow-up to ensure that their clients have access to all appropriate services. CRCs meet with clients in their homes, at the offices of community organizations, or wherever the client feels most comfortable. CRCs may also accompany the client to the local One-Stop center or housing office at the client’s request.

Business Leadership Network (BLN) Advisory Board. The BLN Advisory Board consists of 12 employers from different sectors of business and industry, individuals with disabilities, local development/psychiatric service providers, consumer groups and family groups. The main function of the board is to provide feedback to the Project on how well its efforts to obtain competitive, unsubsidized employment for individuals with disabilities are working.