Are you helping students or other individuals with disabilities to do career exploration, career planning, job development and/or job coaching?

Would you like to become a Maine Certified Employment Specialist?

Join us for this unique instructor-supported online training to become a Certified Employment Specialist. The courses and fieldwork are all available online 24/7 and there is no traveling required. Log in and complete the work at your convenience. There are three required scheduled webinars to enhance your learning experience and network with other professionals in the group. Instructors are available during the training to answer any of your questions and support you in completing the required work. We provide ample time to complete all the required courses through College of Employment Services and to submit your fieldwork assignments. You can pace yourself and finish as early in the training as you would like. You will receive your ACRE Certificate as soon as you complete all the work. The ACRE Certificate documents 40 hours of professional development!

The funding to provide this training at no cost to you comes from the Healthcare Training for ME collaboration through the Maine Department of Labor.

Session Runs: April 1-June 30, 2023

Required Webinars:

• Tuesday April 4, 9:30-10:30am Training Overview and Orientation
• Wed May 17, 9:30-10:30am Fieldwork Discussion
• Wed June 28, 9:30 -10:30am Wrap-up and Feedback

Optional Webinar:

• Wed June 7, 9:30-10:00am Instructor Office Hours- We will answer any questions virtually face-to-face

To learn more about the ACRE Certificate go to https://www.acreducators.org

Rural communities are fundamentally different than bigger towns and cities — so, why would we try a one-size-fits-all approach to providing employment services? Maine's rural and remote communities are among the world's most remarkable, but they also introduce barriers to competitive integrated employment for their residents and those who support them. This session will provide participants with an in-depth opportunity to practice rural- specific strategies and techniques to overcome barriers to employment. Participants will learn how innovative and evidence-based approaches to using technology and creative job development and customization can lead to competitive integrated employment in even the most remote Maine communities.

Presenters: Josh Taylor (UMaine), Janet May (UMaine- Center for Community Inclusion and Disability Studies), and Gina Oswald (Cornell University)

Lunch and Learn Webinar

Cultural priorities and distinctions can influence the way people work together and perceive others. It is critical for human services professionals to be aware of how culture can impact their work as well as understand how to incorporate best practices around cultural humility. This module will explore a variety of cultures and considerations, including the cultures of family, ethnicity, race, gender, geographical, and disability. This webinar will also discuss how the intersectionality of disability and other cultures is an important factor in establishing informed choice and family engagement for individuals with disabilities. This webinar is appropriate for anyone providing any type of service for individuals with disabilities, including employment and day services, counseling, and transition from school to work and/or residential services. Earn 1 hour of professional development.

Customized Employment is an empowering, person-centered model for helping the individuals we serve achieve their full potential in the workforce. This training is designed to introduce providers to the basics of Customized Employment and share effective tools and techniques to enhance your existing services. Topics covered include Essential Elements of Discovery, The Visual Resume, The Plan: A Map to Customized Job Development, Employer Engagement & Negotiation, and Facilitation & Natural Supports

Join us to learn how Customized Employment can help you think differently about service delivery. The training is appropriate for anyone providing employment services to individuals and students with disabilities. Earn 5 hours of professional development.

Individuals with autism bring valuable and unique assets to the workplace, yet supporting the specific and often complex needs of clients with autism can be challenging for employers. How can employment professionals and educators support the sensory, communication, social, and mental health needs of autistic job seekers while engaging their strengths in the workplace? How can practitioners ensure that job placements are well-matched to mutually benefit the preferences and needs of job seekers and employers? \

This in-depth training will include discussion of common characteristics of autism and their potential impact on employment, strategies to facilitate independence, self-management, and self-advocacy throughout the employment process, examples of practical workplace accommodations, and much more.
This training is appropriate for professionals assisting people with autism on their employment journey and provides three hours of professional development.

Presenters: Joshua Taylor, University of Maine, and Kelly Wanzer, Institute for Community Inclusion, UMass Boston

Questions about this webinar? Contact Kelly.Wanzer@umb.edu.

Do you have support people who have a great skill or talent, or create something others would want? Have you met people who struggle to fit into the job market? Would you be interested in learning about different employment options for people you support in Maine?
Join us for this webinar and learn about the:

• Fundamentals of self-employment and factors that should be considered when supporting someone on a path to business ownership
• Supports that employment staff can provide to assist individuals in understanding the process to start their own business
• Care Act Pilot project in Maine to support people with ID/DD and brain Injuries to increase their access to self-employment resources.
• DOL VR initiative to continue to increase support to individuals to pursue self-employment options

This webinar is appropriate for anyone supporting adults or youth with disabilities to explore their career options and obtain competitive employment. This webinar provides one hour of professional development.

The family members of people with disabilities are often very involved and invested in the lives of their loved ones. This webinar will address ways to include families in the employment development process while continuing to maintain a focus on self-determination and person-centered planning. We will discuss the role that families can play in supporting individuals to meet their employment goals and the use of active listening skills to develop trusting and effective relationships with team members. We will share handouts and tools for future use in your work with families as they navigate the complicated transition and employment services systems. This webinar is appropriate for anyone working with families and other team members to assist individuals to find and maintain jobs in the community. One hour of professional development will be provided.

Presenters: Lara Enein, Institute for Community Inclusion, UMass Boston, Janet May, University of Maine, and Carrie Woodstock, Maine Parent Federation

Attend the 2023 National APSE Conference LIVE in Columbus on June 12-15, 2023. The only national conference focused exclusively on Employment First. Hear from and network with professionals across the country. Earn professional development hours for every session you attend. Early bird registration is now open through 3/31/23!

About APSE

The Association of People Supporting Employment First (APSE) is the only national organization focused exclusively on Employment First to facilitate the full inclusion of people with disabilities in the workplace and community.

Critical to the success of individuals with disabilities in employment is successful fading and maximizing the use of natural supports. Topics covered include why fading and natural supports are important for people with disabilities, programs that support them, and businesses that hire them. You will learn how to identify and use natural supports at the jobsite, when and how to implement systematic instruction and task analysis, and how to build the independence and confidence of the individual in the workplace.

The training is appropriate for anyone providing support services to individuals and students with disabilities.

Earn 6 hours of professional development time.

Training is Key for Staying Safe at Work! #

Funded by a grant from the Department of Labor, the Raising Awareness to Increase Safety in Employment (RAISE) https://iod.unh.edu/RAISE team at the University of New Hampshire Institute on Disability has enhanced and updated the Staying Safe at Work curriculum developed for teaching workers with intellectual and developmental disabilities about workplace safety.

RAISE is offering these FREE 5½-hour virtual trainings on workplace safety across New England to:

• Individuals with disabilities
• Special Education Teachers / Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors
• Support Teams

Please check out the [RAISE Upcoming Trainings]
https://iod.unh.edu/RAISE/upcoming-trainings page for more information and to register.

If you have any questions or concerns or are interested in scheduling a training specific to your group of eight or more, please reach out to Caitlyn Fulton at caitlyn.fulton@unh.edu.

Are you helping students or other individuals with disabilities to do career exploration, career planning, job development and/or job coaching?

Would you like to become a Maine Certified Employment Specialist?

Do you like to meet other professionals and the trainers face to face? This option provides the convenience of some virtual sessions to reduce travel but also the opportunity to participate in activities and discussions in the same room with your peers. The ACRE Certificate documents 40 hours of professional development!

Attend all of the following sessions, complete the social security online course and the required fieldwork assignments to get your Certificate:

• Monday July 10 -Thursday July 13, 2023 9-12pm Zoom Virtual Sessions
• Wednesday July 19 & Thursday July 20, 2023 9-4pm In-Person at University of ME, Augusta
• Wednesday July 26 & Thursday July 27, 2023 9-4pm In-Person at University of ME, Augusta

The funding to provide this training at no cost to you comes from the Healthcare Training for ME collaboration through the Maine Department of Labor. To enroll you in this program please fill out the application at [Healthcare Workforce Initiative Partnership- Worker Survey (office.com)](https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fforms.office.com%2FPages%2FResponsePage.aspx%3Fid%3Dq6g_QX0gYkubzeoajy-GTngqf1s2KVZBr7xhiHDTMRdUOTZGTzJPWDNaUktJME9NQkZISE04NVpYQi4u&data=05|01|Lara.Enein%40umb.edu|f45756f128c8450ead2708db09da4f1a|b97188711ee94425953c1ace1373eb38|0|0|638114605488697576|Unknown|TWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D|3000|||&sdata=ufMLqg5GI5k4ZQoMaOxe0cKh1Sv1IuAd2zAGK9AHL%2FQ%3D&reserved=0 "Original URL:
https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=q6g_QX0gYkubzeoajy-GTngqf1s2KVZBr7xhiHDTMRdUOTZGTzJPWDNaUktJME9NQkZISE04NVpYQi4u

Click to follow link.").

To learn more about the ACRE Certificate go to https://www.acreducators.org

Wondering about different strategies to engage employers and obtain jobs for individuals with disabilities? Join us for this webinar to learn more about Progressive Employment. Progressive Employment is a model that the Maine Division of Vocational Rehabilitation and Division of Blind and Visually Impaired have been using with their VR clients. The model has shown significant success in the state of Maine for youth with barriers to employment. This webinar will provide a high-level overview of the Progressive Employment model and key considerations for adoption and implementation of it. Presenters will share their respective experiences with Progressive Employment and the expansion into other states, including a new project in partnership with the Maine Bureau of Employment Services. This webinar is appropriate for anyone doing career exploration and job development activities with youth and adults with disabilities. This webinar provides one hour of professional development.

Get more information on Progressive Employment and see success stories online.

Presenters: Libby Stone-Sterling, Maine DOL; Cecilia Gandolfo and Hugh Bradshaw, Institute for Community Inclusion, University of Massachusetts Boston