NEW CASTLE — Reaching new heights toward independence regardless of hurdles relating to a disability is the name of the game for Easterseals Delaware & Maryland’s Eastern Shore and its clients who now work in more than 60 businesses across Delaware.
At a time when employee turnover has become managers biggest frustrations, the Easterseals has helped place 78 of its clients with more than 60 businesses in Delaware. The average length of employment for those who are placed through the Easterseals’ supported employment program is eight years.
“When you think of the cost of turnover, that retention number becomes very important,” said Jane Schuler, who oversees the organization’s supported employment program in the First State. She told the Delaware Business Times that the “disability workforce is a largely untapped workforce.”
“These are usually entry-level positions that can be costly when you have high turnover when you consider benefits, training and all of that,” she added. “We’ve had people employed for over 20 years in their jobs and employers really like knowing this is a sustainable program with a highly trained workforce. And we’ve had all kinds of jobs, too. The range of positions are everything from clerical to retail with cashier usually being one of the harder positions for us to train for.”
Easterseals offers a host of programs for persons with disabilities all over the country, including services for children, families, veterans, seniors, caregivers and adults who may need day or in-home services for their disabilities. It also supports adults hoping to become independent through a variety of sources, including employment which could be difficult for them to acquire without the supportive environment of a group like Easterseals.
To make the dream of independence a reality for clients with a disability, Easterseals works with specialists who assess a person’s skills, strengths and challenges to ensure they have the right skill set for a particular job.
“The process starts with assessment because the matching of the role and the client is really the key element,” Schuler said.
But it doesn’t end there – the Easterseals follow through alongside the client, walking with them on their new journey to employment for weeks before they begin working on their own.
“Employers really like this program because we provide support to the business owners so they can employ that person, as well as providing support to the worker. We’re onsite, training with them for at least four weeks for every hour they’re working,” she said.
Specialists working with the client also encourage working relationships on the job, helping to identify a natural support system the workers can rely on in the future.
“Then we gradually start to fade and come in only to identify challenges and resolutions when needed. We’re also educating the employers and employees about the disability, so we help create a full-cushion of support for our people,” Schuler told DBT.
Currently, the supported employment program has partnered with Grotto Pizza, Beebe Hospital, Shoprite, Giant, Boscovs, Lowes, the Indian River School District and other businesses. But as time passed, the partner businesses have gotten more diverse over time.
“We have one person who has worked for six years at the Columbia Care Cultivation Center working with medical marijuana,” she said. “We have a couple of people right now in childcare positions or dietary aid roles in long term care facilities and even someone who is employed as a shuttle bus driver.”
In a modern twist, they even have a client who has taken to Door Dash for a job which also allows them to work on entrepreneurial skills.
Before a client can make it to the role of their dreams, some also find themselves working through Easterseals’ Pre-Vocational Services which helps the individual develop skills necessary for employment through integrated community activities.
“Individuals can reach for the same stars if that’s their goal. That’s the ideal goal for Pre-Vocational Services, to prepare them so they can get the right job, or it can turn into group employment,” Easterseals Pre-Vocational Program Supervisor Angie Ganges said in a press release.
Regardless of how an employee makes their way to work through Easterseals, Schule says the feedback from employers has remained positive as the program offers support to the business and other employees as well as the client while improving the company’s workforce.
“We get great feedback from all of the employers because we are providing them with that reliable workforce they need to succeed and we’re supporting that person in being a good employee,” she told DBT.
