NCCDD is engaging an Employment Services Coordinator to actively engage in opportunities to expand competitive, integrated employment and careers for people with intellectual and other developmental disabilities (I/DD).

Why is NCCDD funding this initiative?

• The 2016 Annual Disability Statistics Compendium estimates that in 2015 only 32.2 percent of North Carolinians with disabilities were employed.
• Project SEARCH, a successful internship program designed to prepare high school students and young adults with I/DD to obtain employment after graduation, has grown from four North Carolina sites in 2013 to 12 sites through the end of 2016.  NCCDD is supporting its sustainable expansion.
• NCCDD sees opportunities to develop paid apprenticeships and pre-apprenticeships for individuals with I/DD interested in a specific career field.
• NCCDD has a goal to ensure traditional and non-traditional partners are working together to improve employment opportunities for people with I/DD in North Carolina.
• This initiative supports NCCDD's Goal 1 of the current Five Year Plan: Increase financial security through asset development for individuals with I/DD.

What are the major goals and objectives?

• Element I: Establish apprenticeships for individuals with I/DD in North Carolina.
• Element II: Continue to support the expansion of Project SEARCH in North Carolina.
• Element III: Form a coalition/partnership tasked with increasing employment opportunities for people with I/DD.

What has taken place since the start of the program? (Activities)

• The Employment Services Coordinator has identified apprenticeship replication sites in Chapel Hill and Marshall, NC.
• Applications for new Project SEARCH sites were approved, and technical assistance and a statewide training meeting strengthened all existing sites.
• A coalition has met at North Carolina Vocational Rehabilitation (NCVR) in Raleigh to identify a sustainable funding solution for the instructor position in the Project SEARCH community college programs across North Carolina.

What has been achieved to date?

• Feeding assistant apprenticeships were established in Marshall.
• Two groups have purchased a license to establish Project SEARCH sites in Charlotte with Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools and Hendersonville with Blue Ridge Community College.
• The coalition has worked with the NC Community College System and industry partners to establish a list of industry-endorsed work-based competencies for Project SEARCH community college graduates to receive a credential.
• NCVR has dedicated a position to handle Project SEARCH statewide coordination.
• Hosted the “Making Work WORK for Families and Guardians” mini-conference with more than 50 participants on September 22, 2017 in Cary. To view photos of this event, click here.

What long-term changes are expected as a result of this initiative?

• More apprenticeships and pre-apprenticeships that are registered with the North Carolina Department of Commerce will be available to individuals with I/DD in North Carolina.
• Project SEARCH will continue to expand sustainably in North Carolina with more community partners working together to fund the license fee to establish new Project SEARCH sites.
• The Project SEARCH community college programs will identify a sustainable way to fund the instructor position, thus enabling more community colleges to provide Project SEARCH internships to students with I/DD.
• Traditional and non-traditional partners will strengthen their partnerships to provide more opportunities for competitive, integrated opportunities and careers to individuals with I/DD.

How can I get involved?

Contact Travis Williams, Systems Change Manager, [email protected] for more information on becoming involved in one or more of the above elements.

Who can I contact for questions?

Employment Services Coordinator: Patricia K. Keul, [email protected]
NCCDD: Travis Williams, Systems Change Manager, [email protected]

Additional Resources

Social Security’s Representative Payee Program: https://www.ssa.gov/payee/

Click here to download a one pager of this initiative.

Making Work WORK for Families and Guardians Mini-conference Materials

To view photos of this event, click here.

Click on each presentation title below to download.

Agenda (docx)

Holly Stiles, Disability Rights North Carolina, Opening Keynote: “Great Expectations: Alternatives to Guardianship" (ppt)

David Ingram, N.C. Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Abuse Services (DMH/DD/SAS) Closing Keynote: “Employment and Guardianship" (ppt)

Expansion of Employment Opportunities for People with I/DD initiative one-pager (pdf)

Rethinking Guardianship initiative one-pager (pdf)

How is guardianship status related to employment status for people with I/DD? Findings from the National Core Indicators Adult Consumer Survey (pdf)  

What is the relationship between gender and employment status for individuals with I/DD? Finding from the National Core Indicators Adult Consumer Survey (pdf)  

Medicaid Buy-In Fact Sheet With Premiums DRNC 2016 (pdf)  

Britton Scercy Medicaid Buy-In Success Story (pdf)  

2017 National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) Poster (pdf)