#APSE2023

[communityinclusion]

ICI Staff Present at Annual APSE Conference

Many ICI and SGISD staff presented this month at the National Association of People Supporting Employment First (APSE) Conference in Columbus, Ohio from June 12­–15. The theme of this year’s APSE conference was Creating Connections.

An ICI exhibit table, sharing ICI information and publications with APSE conference attendees.

ICI’s Amy Gessert, along with Sherry Healey and Brian Begin of the University of Minnesota’s Institute on Community Integration, presented A Statewide Approach for Employment Professionals to Support Competitive Integrated Employment. They discussed the Minnesota Transformation Initiative, a project working to people transition from subminimum wage employment to competitive integrated employment.

ICI’s Amy Gessert (seated, in white) presented on a statewide approach for employment professionals to support competitive integrated employment with Sherry Healey and Brian Begin, both from University of Minnesota’s Institute on Community Integration.

Sheila Fesko and Karen Flippo presented Cultural Humility: Training Staff to Work with All Job Seekers about strategies for staff to become more self-aware of their personal and cultural biases and to improve awareness and sensitivity to significant cultural identities of other people.

Sheila Fesko (standing) talks to attendees while Karen Flippo (seated, in black) listens.

ICI Employment Services Program Coordinator Jill Eastman co-presented Career Coaching for Growth with Jeff Gentry from JVS Boston. They shared JVS’s new career coaching manual and strategies for supporting staff to coach individuals with disabilities on career advancement.

Jill, with David Hoff, co-presented Employment First Has Reached Adulthood: Now What? They provided an overview of the history of the Employment First movement and possible future directions for Employment First.

David Hoff speaks into the microphone to attendees while Jill Eastman (standing, far left) smiles and listens.

David additionally co-facilitated Public Policy Committee Update with APSE’s Executive Director Julie Christensen on the latest public policy developments regarding employment of people with disabilities and APSE’s role in these efforts.

Chelsea VanHorn Stinnett of Think College at ICI, along with Jessie Green from Ohio State University, presented Inclusive Postsecondary Education: The New Go-To in Supported Employment Partnerships on the opportunities now available to connect supported employment with postsecondary education.

Chelsea VanHorn Stinett smiles at the podium.

Finally, J Gibbs shared about developing apprenticeship opportunities for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities in his presentation, Partnering for a Better Tomorrow — Apprenticeship for the IDD Population — “The Time is Now”.

J Gibbs talking at a podium to the crowd with his hand held against his chest.

APSE is the only national organization focused exclusively on Employment First. ICI staff have been participating in the annual APSE conference since the early 1990s. Thanks to all ICI staff and partners who contributed to another successful APSE conference!

#APSE #APSE2023 #Employment First #Institute for Community Inclusion

[communityinclusion]

Join the ICI at APSE 2023!

ICI staff and partners are presenting several sessions at the 2023 Association of People Supporting Employment First (APSE) Creating Connections conference in Columbus, OH from June 12–15. We hope to see you there!

Tuesday, June 13 from 1:45–2:45pm

Cultural Humility: Training Staff to Work with All Job Seekers

We all come to work with our own cultural identities. How do our cultural identities and biases impact our work? Join the ICI and UMass School for Global Inclusion and Social Development staff Karen Flippo and Sheila Fesko to learn more about developing awareness of personal and cultural identities in our work with job seekers!

Employment First Has Reached Adulthood: Now What?

Employment First turns 21 this year! What does it mean to truly be an Employment First organization? Join ICI staff David Hoff and Jill Eastman to look back on Employment First’s history, its impact, and where we are today.

Inclusive Postsecondary Education: The New Go-To in Supported Employment Partnerships

Inclusive postsecondary education programs support students with intellectual disability at colleges and universities across the country to build skills toward competitive and meaningful employment. Learn more from ICI’s Think College staffer Chelsea VanHorn Stinnett and Jessie Green from The Ohio State University Nisonger Center.

Tuesday, June 13 from 3–4pm

Partnering for a Better Tomorrow: Apprenticeship for the IDD Population “The Time is Now”

Join an apprentice, employer, and JW Gibbs from ICI to discuss the importance of apprenticeship as an effective employment strategy for organizations, employers, and people with intellectual and developmental disabilities!

Wednesday, June 14 from 12:30–1:30pm

A Statewide Approach for Employment Professionals to Support Competitive Integrated Employment

People with disabilities can still be paid subminimum wages in the US. Minnesota has the third highest number of people being paid subminimum wage in the country. Join staff from the Institute for Community Inclusion and the Institute on Community Integration to learn what Minnesota is doing to help more people with intellectual and developmental disabilities shift into competitive and integrated jobs.

Read the full APSE Creating Connections conference agenda.

#APSE2023 #APSE #Disability Conference #Institute for Community Inclusion