Once the SEA profile has been completed and submitted to the TWC-VRS Counselor, our Employment Specialist prepares a labor market survey, or the SESP1.  This is another step in the planning process that involves us in gathering information about the neighborhood job market.  Which employers exist and what kind of jobs do they have?  If they don’t have the type of job we are looking for can we work with them to create, or carve one?

The attainment of this benchmark culminates with a meeting attended by our client, their representative(s) (frequently family members), the TWC-VRS Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor (VRC), and The River City Group Employment Specialist.  The fundamental purpose of this meeting is to finalize our employment goal and begin the job search.  Ultimately, this agreed upon occupational goal is one that our client wants, not us, not the VRC.  All job search activities, including applications and interviews, are coordinated by the River City Employment Specialist.  To ease the inherent anxiety associated with job search, a River City Employment Specialist will always accompany our clients to apply and/or interview for a job.

The attainment of this benchmark is usually accompanied by something like “Yahoo! We got the job!”  Once we have a conditional job offer (background checks and drug screens can take additional time) we prepare a comprehensive report detailing what the job entails.  Physical requirements, cognitive requirements, social requirements, routine and episodic tasks, training plans, and environmental demands are all documented.  The employer and the TWC-VRS VRC verify the accuracy of this report, and it’s off to work.  When our clients begin their new job they do it with the security of knowing that we will be there with them.  River City’s role transforms to one of trainer, and eventually liaison.  A River City Job Skills Trainer (JST) will implement an agreed upon training plan, working one-to-one with our client until they become proficient with their job.  Receiving constant feedback from the employer is instrumental in assuring progress.  At some point our client, the employer, and the River City JST will all concur that the job skills training should be curtailed and natural supports should be allowed to germinate.  What are natural supports?  These are things most of us know to be an important part of workplace satisfaction and success. A supervisor that takes a little extra time to explain a new duty.  A coworker that watches out for our clients’ well being. Even a process that affords our client what is known as reasonable accommodation.  At the end of the day, the goal is for our client to be integrated into the social fabric of the work site as quickly and discreetly as possible.  This can only occur once our iPad toting staff members have assumed the role of observer.

Attainment of subsequent benchmarks, including: Job Maintenance 4 & 8 weeks, Job Stability, and ultimately Case Closure are predicated on integration, progress, and stability.  If at any point in this timeline our client, the employer, or the TWC-VRS VRC feels that things aren’t going as well as we had all hoped for, River City takes on the responsibility for getting things back on the right track.  This may include additional liaison work, additional job skills training, or even revisiting our original goals to see what might be improved.

When we close a Supported Employment case it is done with the certitude that our clients are flourishing in their jobs, and that they would prefer that we not pester them any more than necessary.  We do stay in touch by making periodic site visits or phone calls, and are always available should we be needed, but we realize that our clients deserve the opportunity to do it on their own.  That is after all, what this is all about.