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Employment Services
Career planning is a flexible and action-oriented process that leads to multiple jobs across a lifetime for individuals with disabilities. The disability is unimportant in that it is the series of employment contacts, supports, and actions taken that determine the ultimate success of the individual. Disability is too often used as an excuse for why a person cannot work. All people can work to some degree when provided the necessary supports. People are not unemployed because they have disabilities; people are unemployed because they do not have jobs. The Academy’s ATEC Employment Services include:
Individualized Career Planning
The innovative features of the Individualized Career Planning Model include:
- Customized employment opportunities, work experiences, and transition planning for each individual, driven by the individual’s interests, support needs, strengths, and contributions rather than by generic job descriptions and available openings. Customization implies flexibility, enabling support staff to modify parameters and desired outcomes as the individual’s interests and skills evolve through additional work experience;
- Entrepreneurial options or self-employment as career-experience options for individuals, in addition to traditional wage employment;
- Utilization of Social Security Work Incentives with individuals to increase consumer choice and family control over services; and,
- Linkages between agencies such as Vocational Rehabilitation, Workforce Investment, and employment vendors to promote collaborative funding of employment and transition activities.
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Self-Employment Planning
Implementing self employment for individuals with significant disabilities involves minimizing the fears of the prospective business-owner, as well as the rehabilitation and local small business development professionals who assist them. The Academy’s planning process includes:
- Person-Centered Business Planning
- Business Feasibility Testing
- Marketing & Sales Planning
- Financial Planning
- Social Security Considerations in Self Employment
- Small Business Funding, Financing, Systems Change
- Leveraging & Utilizing Community Resources
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Job Site Accommodations
Holding onto a job can be difficult for those who are not disabled. It's even harder to hold onto that position when you have a disability. You may have more than enough knowledge for the position. However, your disability may hold you back from being productive due to job site accommodations. Our qualified staff at the Academy can come in and make your job site more accommodating. This service can help you become more productive and efficient and make you more competitive. Our goal at the Academy is to make it easier for you to succeed in education or in an occupation.
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Plan to Achieve Self-Support (PASS Planning)
A Plan for Achieving Self-Support (PASS) is a plan for your future. A plan lets you use your income or other things you own to help you reach your work goals. For example, you could set aside money to go to school to get specialized training for a job or to start a business. Under SSI rules, any income that you have may reduce your SSI payment. But, if you have an approved plan, you can use that income to pay for the items you need to reach your work or educational goal. The Social Security Administration does not count money set aside under PASS Plans when it decides your SSI payment amount. This means you may get a higher SSI payment. However, you cannot get more than the maximum SSI payment for the state where you live. In addition, your resources (money or the things you own) cannot be worth more than $2,000 for an individual or $3,000 per couple. However, if you have an approved PASS Plan, you can use your resources to pay for the items or services you need to reach your work goals. Resources you set aside for a PASS Plan do not count against the $2,000 per individual or $3,000 per couple limit.
The job that you want should allow you to earn enough to reduce or eliminate your need for benefits provided under both the Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) programs. A PASS plan is meant to help you get items, services, or skills you need to reach your goals. The Academy’s ATEC professional staff will assist you in determining whether a PASS Plan is right for you. If it is, then we will help you;
- Create the PASS Plan
- Submit the Plan to the Social Security Administration for approval
- Implement the approved Plan
- Monitor PASS Plan compliance
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Ticket-To-Work
The Academy has entered into a contract with the Social Security Administration (SSA) to function as an Employment Network under the Ticket to Work program and assumes responsibility for the coordination and delivery of employment services, vocational rehabilitation services, or other support services to beneficiaries who have assigned their Tickets to The Academy. All services are directed to getting the Ticket holder back into the workforce.
The Academy provides Ticket holders with assistance in the following areas:
- Matching skills & Interests with possible jobs/careers
- Identifying job training required for a specific job/career
- Help you prepare materials to use in finding a job
- Locate employers
- Provide information about work incentives and other assistance that you may need to work.
- Assist in job placement
If you are interested in working, the Ticket to Work program is the key to unlocking vocational rehabilitation, training, job referrals, and other ongoing support and services to help you reach your employment goals. The program is available for people who are between the ages of 18 and 65 and receive Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits for people who are disabled or blind.
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