Employment First Mini-Summit – April 9, 2008
On the morning of April 9, 2008, 25 leaders from state, local and federal agencies, and 11 members of the Minnesota Employment First Coalition, gathered in St. Paul for an Employment First Mini-Summit. The purpose of the mini-summit was to review recommendations set forth in the Employment First Consensus Report, identify what each of the represented agencies were already doing relative to the employment of people with disabilities as defined in the Consensus Report, and forge new partnerships and strategies to promote Minnesota as an Employment First state by the year 2013.
The mini-summit began with an overview and progress report on Employment First activities in Minnesota. The overview was presented by Bob Niemiec and Don Lavin on behalf of the Minnesota Employment First Coalition. This introduction was followed by short presentations by participants highlighting their respective agencies’ disability employment initiatives. The remainder of the half-day event involved a brainstorming session facilitated by Carol Rydell. The groups were asked to consider a fundamental question: What actions and partnership strategies will make employment the first and preferred outcome for Minnesotans with disabilities by 2013?
After the initial brainstorming session, the participants organized themselves into three primary focus areas that correspond to eight core recommendations identified in the Consensus Report. The three areas are: (1) Launch an Employment First Vision and Public Policy; (2) Build Capacity of Local Communities (Do it!) and; (3) Provide Training and Technical Assistance to support the initiative. There was a fourth focus (consensus) area about establishing a uniform definition of employment (as stated in the Consensus Report) and using this definition to create a statewide baseline and measure progress from there.
The results of the mini-summit are being compiled and a brief report will be developed and disseminated to participants of both the mini-summit as well as the original Employment First Summit held on June 12, 2007. The mini-summit report will also be posted on the MN APSE website.
The Minnesota Employment First Coalition and MN APSE continue to move forward with this initiative. Our Coalition is working with state policymakers to expand and enrich the workforce opportunities for Minnesotans with disabilities, including youth and adults with significant disabilities. To illustrate, the State of Minnesota recently applied for and was awarded a grant from the National Technical Assistance and Research Center (NTAR) at Rutgers University to participate in a State Leaders Innovation Institute. This new and related initiative will help to bring further focus and build upon our momentum in forging new partnerships and implementing employment first policies and practices in Minnesota.
Finally, the Minnesota Employment First Coalition has developed connections and partnerships with similar initiatives in Indiana, Georgia, North Dakota, Wisconsin and Missouri. A second Employment First Summit is being planned in Minnesota for September 2008, and discussions are underway for a national Employment First event to be held in the spring of 2009. What began as a small idea in organizing a group of people who are committed to making employment the first option for Minnesotans with disabilities has now blossomed into a wider movement that has both state and national implications. Stay tuned!
Employment First Summit – June 12, 2007
On June 12, 2007, a group of more than 100 leaders representing government, education, community-based service providers, business, and disability advocacy organizations gathered in Chaska, Minnesota; the purpose of the summit was to begin planning a coordinated strategy to increase the competitive employment and economic development goals of Minnesotans with a wide variety of disabilities.
Despite many breakthroughs in education methods, school transition strategies, employment practices, and emerging technologies, most of our state’s citizens with disabilities are not working in paid, integrated employment in the competitive workforce. A generally accepted estimate of the unemployment rate for working-age youth and adults with significant disabilities is 70% or higher—the highest unemployment rate of all minority populations!
The leaders attending the Minnesota Employment First Summit acknowledged that this unemployment rate is unacceptable, and that it is driven by unsubstantiated stereotypes and low expectations of the work capacities of adults with disabilities. “We have been discussing the need for meaningful systems changes in Minnesota for more than 20 years. When are we going to take it seriously and do what needs to be done?” asked one Summit attendee, speaking for many in the group.
The diverse base of summit attendees shared many excellent ideas about potential ways to increase the job placement and competitive employment of Minnesotans with disabilities. These recommendations are included in the Consensus Report that is available by clicking on the Employment First icon.