Questions

What is Customized Employment?
What will this mean for Georgia’s System of Community Support and Employment Services?
What will this mean for the individual?

Answers

What is Customized Employment?

Customized Employment is a strategy that provides persons with disabilities, and indeed other applicants with significant barriers to employment, with an alternative to traditional, competitive jobs.

What will this mean for Georgia’s System of Community Support and Employment Services?

Integrated employment is more valued than non-employment or segregated employment, sheltered work or day habilitation for the vast majority of people with disabilities.
Funding structures should favor employment outcomes and the choice of individuals.
All service dollars for day activities should support employment if the person / family chooses.
Increase integrated employment, decrease segregated employment over the next five years.
Long term sustained employment and career development is the first options for all individuals for persons with disabilities.
All new day service dollars should fund employment outcomes.
One starting point is with transition age youth and adults going onto the waiver.

What will this mean for the individual?

“Pathways to Employment: Each individual will be supported to pursue his or her own unique path to work, a career, or his or her contribution to participation in community life. All individuals, regardless of the challenge of their disability, will be afforded an opportunity to pursue competitive employment”

People will have jobs:

of choice that include paid work for the maximum hours possible based on the unique strengths, interests, ability and capabilities of the person.
that take place in integrated work settings in which most of the employees do not have disabilities and in which the individual interacts, on a regular basis in the performance of job duties, with employees who do not have disabilities.
where the person receives fair and competitive wages and benefits. A competitive wage is commensurate to the job and responsibilities.
where the person earns a living wage and has ongoing opportunities for career development.
where the responsibility of people to work is respected and their employment rights protected.
where customized, personal plans will focus on community employment and the benefits derived from receiving wages and building social networks are fully supported.