Linda ONeal and Adam Gottdank- Actively Collaborating through the OCLPA, 9.2.22
Members of the Orange County Local Partnership Agreement (OCLPA) have established a consortium model they believe would benefit other regions of the state. The OCLPA has dramatically expanded their membership beyond what was mandated, and have developed a plan that has produced ongoing projects and activities that lead to better regional services, and that provide powerful advocacy on behalf of individuals with disabilities.
The purpose of the OCLPA is to enhance partnerships that promote preparation for and achievement of competitive integrated employment (CIE) for individuals who have disabilities. Orange County chose to use the development of a local partnership agreement to build a regional consortium that meets monthly, develops programing ideas, looks for funding opportunities to support collaborative activities, promotes service agencies, engages in regional and state level advocacy efforts, and works together to remove barriers impeding the success of individuals who have disabilities.
Four California State Departments led an initiative to develop these local partnership agreements. The four agencies include California Health and Human Services, Department of Rehabilitation (DOR), Department of Education, Department of Developmental Services. The initiative called for regional DOR offices, Regional Centers, and County Department of Education offices to work together to develop a plan that would support the transition of adults with disabilities from K12 to CIE. Orange County’s LPA chose to go way beyond the development of a written plan.
The OCLPA Steering Committee decided to assemble an extensive membership group that is inclusive of all key constituents who play a role in the transition to competitive integrated employment. The committee is comprised of:
- Individuals who have disabilities and Family members.
- Department of Rehabilitation (DOR; Orange/San Gabriel & San Diego).
- Regional Center of Orange County (RCOC).
- Chapman University, Thompson Policy Institute (CU TPI).
- San Diego State University Interwork Institute (SDSU II).
- All OC K12 districts including adult transition programs (ATP).
- All OC Community College Districts.
- All OC Regional Consortia for Adult Education.
- Two regional transition consortia.
- Orange County Department of Education (OCDE).
- Disability Rights California (DRC)
- State Council on Developmental Disabilities (SCDD)
- Dozens of workforce development programs, service providers, and vendors.
- Employers, business partners and advisory councils, employment networks.
The steering committee develops an action plan each year. Action Plan Priorities identified during the past year include:
- Increase work-based learning (WBL) & CIE for Youth & Young Adults
- Expand Business Partnerships to Support WBL & CIE Opportunities
- Identify Workforce Development Programs
- Identify Transition & Employment Resources & Services
- Design, Monitor & Implement a Transition Employment Website
- Identify Best Practice Workforce Training & Career Development Practices
- Promote the Use of Best Practice Cross Agency Collaboration Strategies
- Develop COVID-19 Transition Programming & Learning Resources
- Develop & Expand Transition Training Opportunities for All Stakeholders
The steering committee has established a dozen work groups authorized to focus on critical topics, development of processes to better support the community, regional and statewide advocacy, and much more:
Person-Directed Planning
OCLPA adopted activities to train the community on Person-Centered/Person-Directed Planning (PCP/PDP) models, and then utilize the model as a best practice for individuals receiving services. Transition-Focused Person-Centered Planning is an ongoing problem-solving process used to help people with disabilities plan for their future. In person centered planning, groups of people focus on an individual and that person’s vision of what they would like to do in the future. This “person-centered” team meets to identify opportunities for the student to develop personal relationships, participate in their community, increase control over their own lives, and develop the skills and abilities needed to achieve these goals. Person-Centered Planning depends on the commitment of a team of individuals who care about the student. These individuals take action to make sure that the strategies discussed in planning meetings are implemented.
Universal Referral Process
OCLPA developed a universal referral process. Partners are utilizing an “Integrated Resource Team” (IRT) approach to determine needed services and supports of individuals with disabilities when there appears to be a need for multi-agency efforts in WBL and CIE programming. The goal is to work together to create coordinated, well sequenced service delivery for individuals while optimizing the use of local partner resources. The OCLPA Universal Referral Sheet was developed to promote coordinated service provision to support CIE. Once service agency participants have been identified, the individual and family are contacted to set up a Person-Driven Planning meeting. The team members meet with the individual and their circle of support to discuss services and resources that are available across the region to support work training and employment.
Ask The OC Experts Seminars
OCLPA organized a webinar series offered to the entire community, including individuals who have disabilities, families, service providers, service agencies, K12 districts, and college districts. The format for “Ask The OC Experts” seminars is presentation of a topic followed by a discussion that includes the entire audience. Numerous seminars are presented throughout the year. There has been a very broad range of topics discussed. Examples include transition from K12 to college, working with service agencies, Person-Centered Planning, obtaining benefits, employment, independent living, and much more.
Agriculture Work Team
This work team is overseen by the Saddleback Valley Adult Transition Program and the University of California South Coast Research and Extension Center (SCREC). This is a vocational training program for students and adults with disabilities and is located on 200 acres in the Orange County South Coast research and extension center. Members of this work team include representatives of school districts and adult service providers. Current work efforts include preparing individuals with disabilities for jobs in the garden centers, commercial nurseries and landscaping. Specific strategies include identify business partners, curriculum development, basic use of landscaping tools, irrigation management, and maintenance of fruiting and landscape trees.
Members of this work team meet to discuss methods to expand farm to table programming with a focus on Career Pathways including: Agribusiness Systems, Environmental Service Systems, Animal Systems, Food Products & Processing Systems, Natural Resources Systems, Plant systems, Power, Structural & Technical Systems.
Family Work Team
Families who have adult children with disabilities meet to discuss needs, challenges, and other topics of interest. Focus areas have included the identification of community resources, K-12 and postsecondary education, service agencies, service providers, benefits, employment, transportation, access, accommodations, conservatorship, and life planning.
Benefits Planning & Management Work Team
This Work Team has been developed to address the many benefits related concerns voiced by families and individuals with disabilities. Members include families, DOR, RCOC, DRC, SCDD, and CU TPI. One major focus of the group is to review on-going benefits issues reported by families such as eligibility, application process, combining employment with benefits receipt, overpayments, re-determination Status, and use of work incentives (SSI & SSDI). Other topics examined include the Social Security Administration (SSA) policies & procedures, SSA work incentives reporting, benefits planning, management certified planners services (Work Incentives Planners, WIP), work incentives planning & assistance (WIPA), and the Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) ACT.
Project SEARCH Orange County
Project SEARCH is part of an internationally recognized program dedicated to building a workforce that incudes people with disabilities. The purpose of this program is to develop skills that advance employment opportunities, provide pathways to careers, and enable participants to succeed as contributing members of their community. Project SEARCH Orange County works in collaboration with employers, school districts, RCOC, DOR, families, adult service providers, business partners, community colleges and advocacy groups.
The team is committed to providing year-long unpaid internship opportunities to young adults with developmental and intellectual disabilities. The internships occur in professional, integrated, and inclusive settings. The goal of the program is to better prepare our interns for competitive integrated employment outcomes. There are two active sites including Children’s Hospital of Orange County and Kaiser Permanente Anaheim Medical Center. Several additional sites are in the planning process.
Administration of Justice (AOJ) Work Team
The AOJ Work Teams mission is “promoting employment, career development and self-sufficiency for youth and young adults with disabilities involved in or at risk of involvement in the justice system”. This work Team includes SCDD, DOR, RCOC, K-12, OCDE Access Programs, PSE, and adult service providers. This work team identifies needs, goals, strategies and outcomes to support individual with disabilities who are involved in the justice system, and the staff who support these individuals. Other focuses include expanding transition and workforce development opportunities, forming collaborative relationships between services agencies and community partners, implementing transition planning processes, and providing support so that individuals can access WBL and CIE.
Sub-committee On Services Supporting Inclusion
OCLPA’s sub-committee on services to support inclusive postsecondary education and employment has been researching innovative practices. The focus of the group has been the identification of student needs, services that currently exist, services that are needed, program models, and research that promotes the transition, inclusion, persistence, and success of students with disabilities in higher education, and the subsequent transition to work. The sub-committee is currently examining services “beyond” ADA and 504, barriers to student success, and research supporting best inclusive practices.
The goal is for the steering committee to draw conclusions about best practices, and disseminate this information to our region and to partners throughout the state. Practices being considered to support inclusion in higher education include: coordination of inclusive services, specialized counseling, educational coaching, specialized instructional labs, tutoring, DSS Ally programs, peer mentoring, neurodiversity labs, universal design for learning, emerging technologies, co-teaching, mobility programs, specialized degrees, and targeted curriculum. The inclusion sub-committee plans similar work to identify best practices leading to CIE.
Business Site Accommodations
As the OCLPA addresses success in Competitive Integrated Employment we have recognized a need to review practices in identifying, requesting, and implementing work related accommodations. Reports from Individuals with disabilities and their families and reports from business partners indicate a gap in services including Identifying needed and appropriate accommodations, assisting Individuals with self-advocacy skills and requesting accommodations, understanding the Americans with Disabilities (ADA) Legislation, assisting employers with understanding how to manage accommodations, monitoring effectiveness, understanding the business side of accommodations, and assisting with co-worker perceptions of accommodations. This work team includes RCOC, DOR, Business partners, Families, IWD and CU TPI.
Competitive Integrated Employment (CIE) Data Collection
Data collection and sharing across agencies is the next step for the OCLPA as we strive to demonstrate positive outcome measures for the employment of people with disabilities. This is the newest OCLPA Work Team and includes DOR, RCOC, NOCE, Adult Service Providers, K-12, and CU TPI. Currently we have separate systems collecting different types of employment related data on individuals with disabilities. This team will address differing data collection variables including data collection methods, common data tracking needs, strategies to share data across agencies, differentiating needs of disability groups, CIE, SB 639 minimum wage requirements, employer networks, and career pathways.
The Orange County Business Partner Intermediary (OCBPI) Project
The Orange County Business Partner Intermediary (OCBPI) Project is an innovative strategy to organize our county’s business partner resources to successfully serve individuals with disabilities, businesses, families, educators, and service providers. This concept has been endorsed by the OCLPA Steering Committee with the purpose to design a Transformation Action Plan. The plan will provide a strategic methodology to identify CIE opportunities for Individuals with disabilities, as well as supporting businesses in hiring and retaining youth & adults with a wide range of disabilities who are clients of the Regional Center.