Students take 2 college courses, REH 270- Fundamentals of Vocational Counseling and Placement and REH 271 - Applied Techniques of the Vocational Process.

• Classes are online asynchronous.
• The curriculum is ACRE certified and the completion of the course results in the student being enrolled on the national registry for the Basic Employment Specialist Certificate.
• Grant money is available to pay for one of the two classes.
• The courses are being offered January 16th through May 5th. and Summer of 2024.
• This opportunity is part of a grant and the grant pays for one of the two classes.

Once a student has filled out the "intent to participate"  through Educational Outreach, they can apply for the grant funds for one of the two required classes. The application is here:

[https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf409H4IbzsxjQdiXh9u3C7_cigTitmgUq4qdmiZu1nxI_BnQ/viewform?usp=sf_link

Once the student is enrolled, has applied for funds, and has participated in the course through the add/drop period they will receive the funds for one of the ES courses on their account.

Recruit, Cultivate and Retain (RCR) is a leadership series designed for mid-level managers working in employment and community inclusion service provider agencies. By joining RCR, you will have the opportunity to develop immediately usable skills for developing your own career and promoting increased job satisfaction for staff you manage. In community with other program managers, we will re-energize, create solutions to complex problems and share expertise.

Goals:

• Learn strategies for recruiting, developing and retaining staff
• Increase your leadership skills as a manager and leader
• Develop a plan for advancing your career
• Hone systems and processes for developing staff into leadership positions
• Connect with other leaders that are managing employment and day services
• Deepen and develop relationships across organizations in your community

For more information and to register go to https://www.gowise.org/home/training/rcr/

People with disabilities often have highly involved families and caregivers in their lives. This free online course will address ways to include families in the employment development process while continuing to maintain a focus on self-determination and person-centered planning.

The Family Engagement and Employment Success course will be available 24/7 during the month of April so you can log on at your convenience and complete the work. The course has 2 hours’ worth of content. You will receive a letter of completion when you finish the course. You can use this letter for educator professional credits and employment staff professional development hours.  Questions about this course should be sent to lara.enein@umb.edu

This course is for educators, employment specialists, career planners, and job coaches who assist people with disabilities to find and maintain jobs in the community.

Our online course is for case managers and care coordinators supporting adults with disabilities and transition age youth on a path to employment.

Our course offers strategies to:

❖ enhance your career path

❖ increase your capacity to support individuals on an employment journey

MAINE’S VISION FOR EMPLOYMENT

This course fits your busy schedule.

❖ Complete the course anywhere with internet access at your desk or on the go with a mobile device.

❖ Finish the whole course at once or in smaller pieces. Save your work and pick up where you left off using the course navigation.

This course is interactive and immersive.

❖ Take your time to reflect and analyze problems before answering the questions.

❖ Explore real-life scenarios, case studies, and stories and check your knowledge with quizzes.

❖ Download additional resources to continue studying over time.

COURSE CONTENT (approximate time for completion: 5-6 hours)

Our course emphasizes the critical role case managers play in ensuring opportunities to experience competitive integrated employment.

Module 1: Employment Foundations A positive vision for the future influences our desire to work. Learn about expectations, national perspectives, various types of paid employment, strategies for supporting families, and more.

Module 2: Employment Pathways Informed choice is key to successful decision making. Learn about dignity of risk, individual voice, guided conversations around integrated employment, job satisfaction, and more.

Module 3: The Employment Process Get to know the job seeker to help them find a good job match. Learn from self-advocates about advocacy, how to plan for job supports, customized jobs, employee retention, and more.

Module 4: Collaborating with Vocational Rehabilitation Partnering with VR is mutually beneficial. Learn about defining employment pathways, VR application and eligibility processes, long term supports after job placement, and more.

We are pleased to partner with the Maine Office of Special Services and Inclusion Education to bring you this webinar. Becky Okolita, OADS Transition Specialist will be presenting at this event.

Join us to learn how Interagency collaboration improves post-secondary outcomes and prepares students to access to post-secondary opportunities, resources, and services.  Earn 1 hour of professional development credits.

We are pleased to partner with the Maine Office of Special Services and Inclusive Education to bring you this webinar. Mary Dryer from the Financial Authority of Maine (FAME) will be presenting at this event.

Invest in ME Reads is a financial wellness program designed to educational goals and teach financial skills. During this webinar, you’ll receive an overview of FAME’s Invest in ME Reads program, including program goals. Additionally, we will review the Claim Your Future (CYF) – financial education and career exploration program supported by high-quality, engaging lesson plans for online learning.

CYF is designed to empower middle and high school students to explore the return on investment of various career pathways and financial decisions.

Critical to the success of individuals with disabilities in employment is successful fading and maximizing the use of natural supports. This FREE training will 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 5 hours of professional development time.

Do you want to be a Maine Certified Support Professional? This training also counts as part 2 of the: JOB COACH Credential Program. Click here to learn more https://www.maineworkingtogether.org/certification/

When registering: Select "Fading Supports" on the form

Registration deadline: Friday, May 10, 2024

Accommodation request deadline: Must be received by Monday, April 29, 2024

APSE's national conference will be in North Carolina in 2024. The theme is Navigating Tomorrow Together. They are accepting presentation proposals until Feb 16, 2024. Early bird registration closes on 3/31/24. For more details and information to register go the registration link.

Have you noticed that a resume isn’t always the best tool to highlight a job seeker’s potential? In fact, traditional resumes can often leave employers with more questions and hesitations. What can employment professionals do instead?

Join our upcoming webinar to:

• learn how to creatively represent job seekers with disabilities to employers
• discover how to leverage visual and video resumes to showcase positive work attributes effectively
• explore customized employment strategies that not only meet business’s needs but empower job seekers

This webinar is for employment professionals and educators assisting people with disabilities to participate in career exploration and find competitive jobs. You will receive 1 hour of professional development for attending.

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. Select "ACRE training" on the registration form.

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 the 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 but you must complete all the work by September 30, 2024. You will receive your ACRE certificate as soon as you complete all the work.

Required Zoom webinars (ASL Interpreters will be provided for all webinars):

Monday July 1, 10:00-11:00am — Training Overview and Orientation

Tuesday August 6, 10:00-11:100am — Fieldwork Discussion

Monday September 30, 10:00-11:00am — Implementing ACRE Best Practices

Have you ever met a job seeker with complex support needs and wondered how you could help them succeed at work?  Have you felt inadequately prepared to assist someone on your caseload with feeding support needs, behavioral challenges, limited personal safety awareness, or other complexities?

Although individuals with high support needs may present unique challenges, there are strategies you can use to ensure all job seekers have what they need to thrive in the workforce.

Join this free webinar to explore these strategies as well as steps you can take throughout the employment process to pave the way toward on-the-job success and satisfaction. In this webinar, we will:

• share approaches to identifying and implementing work-related supports
• discuss the benefits of a strengths-based approach to employment
• review placement support planning
• highlight best practices through anecdotes and success stories

This webinar is for professionals providing employment support for people with disabilities, including employment specialists, job coaches, counselors, and/or transition staff. Earn 1 hour of professional development for attending.

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. Questions about this training should be directed to Kelly.Wanzer@umb.edu.

This training is appropriate for employment professionals and educators assisting people with autism on their employment journey and provides three hours of professional development.