The Best Go West Rendezvous

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The Best Go West: Rendezvous 2009

What happened...

Perhaps the thing we enjoy most about the Rendezvous is that it is a meeting of the minds of people who actually produce outcomes. At a time when folks know a lot about the “what’s” of an issue (or if they don’t, they can use Google to become instant experts), those attending the Rendezvous know the “how” of modern employment. This, we think, sets the Rendezvous apart from other events. It is rare, for instance, to hear anyone at this gathering in the rugged Bitterroot chain of the Rockies utter the ubiquitous “what about funding?” question that stops the rest of the rehabilitation system in its tracks. It is rare to hear folks ask about policy changes; they know that employment is an outcome, not a service. They know that to ask for policy means they must live with what they’ll get. These are not Philosopher Kings, nor Sanctimonious Hammerheads. What this group represents is the antidote to passive leadership. They are charismatic yes, but beyond that, they are substantive; they abhor dependence and they each seek adventure.

In M.B. Crawford’s new book, Shop Class as Soulcraft, the author discusses the merits of actually producing a product or service, taking pride in “manual” labor, figuring out complex problems that actually take deep thought and skills, and not hiding within the anonymity of “the team” or dysfunctional “corporate culture” when outcomes must be achieved. The Best Go West is exactly that, from the standpoint that this group of folks does the hard work without searching for the elusive shortcuts that always reduce quality.

The Rendezvous began with a morning lesson in drawing led by local Montana artist Bob Phinney (www.bobphinney.net). This icebreaker was designed to get the group thinking with parts of our brains that sometimes get rusty. The session challenged folks to see common objects with newfound perspective, and to learn new skills, attempting to do something that many of us feel we cannot. The introduction to sketching provided metaphors that ran throughout the Rendezvous, including:

Start with a simple design and add complexity;

Get some perspective;

Practice your skills in order to improve;

Plan your project;

Understand that the end product will likely be different than the original vision.

Even though some of us can’t draw a circle with a compass, no one sat out; everyone participated, leaving egos and frustrations behind. Again, illustrating (no pun intended) that this is a gathering of folks who know how to learn; how to be secure with one another; how to ask for help and offer support. In short, this is a group that knows learning worthwhile skills is often difficult and challenging.

This year’s participants bonded quickly, especially considering there were several newcomers. Approximately 20 states were represented, and several leaders from the Customized Employment movement in Canada attended as well.

The new Institute for Economic Empowerment generously underwrote this year’s Rendezvous, thanks especially to Martin Gerry, Brian DeAtley, and Therese Stein. As such, participants paid back their tuition discounts by serving for a day as the Institute’s focus group on making informed employment choices. Various discussion groups assembled to sketch out key ingredients the Institute should consider when designing research and demonstration projects focused on informed employment choices. Thanks to the group moderated by Vickie Vining (thanks!) overarching guiding principles were established:

Principles we feel will help keep you moving toward this purpose:

System should support integration and inclusion: no segregation

Should be available to kids coming out of school

Federal money should only be used for real jobs in the community

Process of exploring choices should be specific to the individual, not “canned” experiences that everyone goes through whether they are relevant to them or not

Whatever is done should not result in “patterns” of employment; you should not see large numbers of people all doing the same job or making assumptions that a certain population is best suited for certain types of employment

Any system should support the power and control of the individual over the process; self determination at all junctures

To get more people interested in working, the system will need to find ways to address the other purposes that sheltered workshops and day programs serve—respite to families, social opportunities, etc.

Should be a set of strategies instead of a fixed model

Any project selected is designed for different populations and geographic areas.

Among the most hotly debated issues and strongest recommendations:

Focus on economic development, not labor market theories of employment (reactive vs. pro-active; creativity vs. chasing smokestacks),

Encourage microenterprise and self-employment,

Use functional assessment processes such as Discovery instead of psychometrics and testing, focus on assistance and not assessment,

Move away from comparative approaches to hiring and truly individualize career planning and job development,

Focus on customized employment as a process and not as a service category,

Encourage the adoption of Employment as the First Choice instead of readiness models and work activity programs,

Encourage schools to use individualized paid work to replace traditional unpaid work experience,

Abolish the use of sub-minimum wage (14c),

More reliance on natural community settings for learning, such as Community Colleges,

Use On-the-Job (OJT) funds to underwrite salaries, but increase the expectation of enhanced employer training/supervision in return for this incentive, and reduce rehabilitation agency job coaching,

Develop and deploy Peer Mentoring,

Fund numerous small on-the-ground projects rather than massive systems change efforts,

Encourage organizational development activities that focus on developing an Employment First mission and goals for the program, including work with the Board and administrative staff to strengthen commitment to this vision,

Support staff reorganization and staff development that positions agencies to expand capacity for sustaining high quality employment services.

Finally, some discussion centered on the Institute’s possible funding of demonstration projects and a bit on their selection. The discussion focused on the four types of organizations:

1. Those that “get it” and are doing customized employment because it’s the right thing to do so they organize themselves to make it happen,

2. Those that know that change is coming and they better get with it before they are left behind,

3. Those who believe that change is being forced upon them so they respond albeit without enthusiasm, and

4. Those that won’t change and believe they can wait it out.

The recommendation to the Institute is that effort should be focused on the Tier 1 and 2 organizations.

Day three recapped the Informed Choice discussions and led to showcasing a few projects that are gathering steam and innovating in the employment realm. Among these was a discussion by the Job Squad of West Virginia, which has two DD Council grants, the first focused on using Resource Ownership, PASS Plans, and CE methods to create new jobs and businesses. And with the second, Job Squad is developing an Active Employer Council based on the Griffin-Hammis model (see the Job Developer’s Handbook). Check out their blog for the latest innovations at http://jobsquadinc.blogspot.com/2009/07/178808000-thats-178-million-avaible.html

We also heard from the Iowa Medicaid Infrastructure Grant staff concerning their use of Peer Mentors as self-employment advisors (through Griffin-Hammis Associates) and their push statewide from CE and microenterprise expansion. Followed by a discussion of the Florida Vocational Rehabilitation initiative called the Certified Business and Technical Assistance Consultation (CBTAC) that creates local self-employment vendors for VR through comprehensive classroom and field study developed and delivered by GHA.

Last but not least, Corey Smith, from Via of the Lehigh Valley in Pennsylvania discussed his latest projects, including a DD Council project teaming his staff with GHA, his outreach to individuals with autism, and Via’s efforts to engage local large businesses in Customized Employment efforts.

It was noted that these last few hours were especially helpful and that the showcasing should come first on the agenda next year to enhance participants’ networking efforts. A point well taken!

Next year’s Rendezvous is tentatively scheduled for the last week of August. Feel free to contact us to sign up now.

From all of us at GHA, we are so thankful to all those who participate. The Rendezvous is an event we look forward to all year, and we know how difficult it is to find time and money these days to travel.  We hope the Rendezvous is as informative and useful to you as it is to us, and that having a comfortable, safe, and easy-going environment allows for both reflection and growth. We know that for us, the Rendezvous represents a good time with friends and colleagues!

Thanks again to the Institute for their continued support and encouragement!

This is a blog, so friends, please add your comments, observations, corrections, pictures, etc.