How this project was implemented This project was conducted as a consortium of agencies; including the University of Melbourne, the Centre for Disability Employment Research & Practice, and four service providers. The protocol for the research component of the project was and subsequently approved by the University of Melbourne Human Research Ethics Committee: HREC ID 1750291. Each of the agencies also reviewed the protocol according to their internal research or quality assurance processes. Table 1 shows a GANTT Chart summarising the key activities of the project and the implementation timeline. Table 1: GANTT Chart of the research project and implementation timeline Milestones, & Deliverables Timeframes (Months) Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July 1. Establishment of Project Governance / Reference Group X X X X X Ethics X X 2. Program Development Consolidation of current resources X X Development of educational resources X X Consultation with US Experts X X X Consultation with service providers X X Consultation with people with disability X X Report on program development R 3. Industry Capacity Building Recruitment of employment coaches X X X Training of employment coaches X X X X X Evaluation of training program X X Report on training program R 4. Implementation & Evaluation of CE pilot program
At the time of preparing this report, data were available from four management level staff across three providers. A brief description of the three providers can be found in Table 4. Table 4: Description of the service providers Provider Brief Description (type of service, size of service, geographic location?) #1 A ‘Whole of life’ service provider #2 An Adult Disability Employment (ADE) service in a metropolitan area #3 A Lifestyle and Employment Service provider Analysis of these data gave rise to seven themes: Depth of DPG Staff development Trust Organisational support Organisational change Communication Multi-dimensional use of DPG At the outset it quickly became apparent that some providers who had joined the project would be challenged by their involvement. Coupled with the changing NDIS environment, these factors influenced their involvement in the project. For example, one provider reported that new clients were almost non-existent due in part to NDIS planners (wrongly) adopting a view that the NDIS fund employment and that the capacity to develop employability skills are not seen as capacity building. This provider, in recent discussions, highlighted that this attitude is still apparent and needs to be addressed by the NDIS. This same provider has subsequently reviewed their involvement in the NDIS. While staff at this service have had access to the CE training, they have not progressed the CE process. However, all other providers have progressed CE to varying degrees. Depth of DPG Consistent across all participants is the capacity of DPG to provide for richer deeper understanding of clients. DPG has been likened to having a conversation with purpose and this is reflected in the following statements: “Just those titbits of information are really helpful with understanding the person and I think that’s key to the discovery program, understanding the person in a more complex way.” “I think having such a comprehensive, practical, step-by-step model has been a really good thing for people who are now looking to implement it.”
business needs of the employer” (Civic Impulse, 2015, as cited in Jorgensen Smith, Dillahunt-Aspillaga, & Kenney, 2017, p. 195) Principles of Customised Employment The process of CE starts from three fundamental principles (Griffin, Hammis, & Geary, 2007): Every person is employable in an open employment environment The first principle centres on the belief that society creates the barriers that exacerbate the impact of an impairment. If society is the problem, then changing the construct of the environment is society’s responsibility. Persons with disabilities, particularly complex disabilities are disadvantaged by traditional competitive employment methodology The second principle comes from a critique of traditional job seeking methods. Finding a job opportunity, making a written application and waiting for a reply has traditionally provided poor outcomes for persons with disabilities. Firstly, the written application needs to be understood for what it is, a method used by employers to exclude the majority of applicants. Secondly, the proposition of disclosure will become a greater issue of significance using a written resumé and thirdly, the applicant under these circumstances, can’t get to show the skills and abilities that will become the major determinant in a positive employment outcome. It’s all about the person/s The third and final principle defines the critical element of any successful position of sustainable employment – the quality of the relationship between the job seeker and the potential employer. Relationships cannot be established on paper, they can only be developed when key questions about the key individuals are answered and the participants are encouraged to meet in circumstances that will enhance a quality conversation. The process of Customised Employment The underlying process of CE is as Discovery. In the 1990’s, rather than continually using comparative quantitative assessments to drive employment, the method of Discovery was proposed as an alternate qualitative technique to gather the information necessary to guide the employment pathway (Callaghan, Griffin, & Hammis, 2011). Discovery is characterised by the following concepts: seeks to identify existing information rather than creating information to formulate a new evaluation or diagnosis
Box 1. Customised Employment: Key Elements of Good Practice The Process of Implementing Customised Employment in an Organisation Extensive experience in provider organisations nationally and internationally has illustrated that developing a true Customised Employment program is a multi-stage process. It focuses not merely on staff but engages with management, clients, family and the broader community through education, support and forums. The process while appearing linear, is anything but due to the unique setting that each organisation exists in and the demands of clients and family. The following steps are notionally the pathway; Review of organisation staff and capacity. Training of management and supervisors on the conditions needed to support CE. Training of selected staff in Customised Employment – consultant-driven processes. Systematic Instruction Training – integral to CE. Ongoing mentoring and support of staff to engage with clients, community and employers. This is initially a weekly process and is staff driven. Organisation clients and family forum. Value Stream Mapping to understand and eliminate any barriers to CE and staff. Training and support for staff and clients to undertake Self-Guided Discovery™. This involves community instruction and engages with the broader community, including schools. Mentoring is less intensive. Training and instruction around Group Guided Discovery. the Trainer after successful embedding of CE and CE champions identified.
How the Discovery Fidelity Scale works: The eight components of Discovery Fidelity just mentioned above have tenets (underlined) for each particular component. Each tenet is scored by determining which of four unique scalable fidelity definitions under the tenet best matches current implementation of that tenet. Choose only one of the four fidelity descriptions for each tenet: Unacceptable, Acceptable, Good, and Exemplary should be chosen for each tenet. When in doubt among the four scalable selections, the selection that has the lowest score should be checked. The Fidelity descriptions are: Unacceptable (Score -1) Acceptable (Score +1) Good +2) Exemplary (Score +3) All Scores are totaled at the end of the Scale. The following describes how reviewers make scoring selections: When scoring -1 Unacceptable, choose the best description of circumstances when compared to the other three choices; When scoring +1 Acceptable, choose the best description of circumstances when compared to the other three choices; When scoring +2 Good, the choice assumes the best description of circumstances is +1 Acceptable and +2 Good together; Good +2 should not be selected unless +1 Acceptable is also true, and; When scoring +3 Exemplary, the choice assumes the best description of circumstances is +1 Acceptable, +2 Good, and +3 Exemplary descriptions together. Exemplary should not be selected unless +1 Acceptable and +2 Good are also true. EXAMPLE OF THE ORIGINAL DISCOVERY SERVICES FIDELITY SCALE Home and Neighborhood Visits The Employment Specialist meets with the employment seeker (two to four hours) at his or her home if possible. Attendees should include family, friends and invited others. The purpose of the meeting is to learn:
Discovery Services Tenet Scoring Fidelity Unacceptable - 1 Acceptable + 1 Good +2 Exemplary +3 2(a) Begins Discovery with an interview in the employment seeker’s home. A home visit or a visit to a mutually acceptable place in the community did not occur, or professionals were the primary invitees to the meeting. The Discovery Staging Record or Vocational Profile documents services, programs, vocational goals, job interests, employment history, etc. Example: The meeting occurred in a day center, sheltered workshop, group home, the employment provider’s offices, or was a brief meeting with the employment seeker and family. The discussion was limited to the employment seeker’s time spent in disability services programs, past jobs, employment interests, etc. The Discovery Staging Record or the Vocational Profile describes a meeting in the employment seeker’s home with his or her family. Unique information about the employment seeker’s daily life is learned during the home visit. Example: The report documents the meeting, including information from family and friends. The Discovery Staging Record or the Vocational Profile documented that during the home visit the Employment Specialist received a good understanding of who the employment seeker is and the report describes information that is unique to this person. The Discovery Staging Record or the Vocational Profile includes information about the employment seeker’s personal connections and those of his or her family and friends, including how often and how much time the employment seeker spends with each person and what they are doing when together. Example: The many personal connections or “social capital” of the employment seeker and his or her family and friends, are evident, including his or her connections with other community members and businesses. The Discovery Staging Record or the Vocational Profile contains information unique to the employment seeker obtained during the interview, including direct quotes from the employment seeker, family, and friends. Example: The report documents unexpected information learned the employment seeker, his or her current life, activities, interests, relationships, community engagement, and the skills he or she uses in daily life, not just employment- related information.