Regarding SE 101
Thank you for your interest in the APSE Supported Employment Training Institute – SE 101.
I thought it might be important to describe SE 101 to you in greater detail before you make
your decision to register for the Institute at the conference in Louisville.
SE 101 was designed about 9 years ago as a way of providing introductory training about
supported employment to people who are new to the field. We saw that there were a number
of people who attended the APSE conferences who had little or no experience in supported
employment. So, we built SE 101 from a set of competencies for employment specialists that
were developed by APSE.
The primary focus of SE 101 is supporting the community based employment of people with
the most significant disabilities, particularly intellectual disabilities. Although there is some
mention of support for people with mental health disabilities, the bulk of SE 101 is most
relevant to people who support individuals with congenital disabilities that affects their ability to
learn and retain information.
The target audience for SE 101 is the novice supported employment practitioner (job coach,
job developer, etc.). From time to time people in management positions have attended in order
to get ideas about developing their own training programs on supported employment. Some
participants who have experience working in SE have thought of SE 101 as a good refresher.
If you are attending SE 101 to get an overview of general SE competencies, you will find it of
value. If you are attending to learn specifics about supporting people with brain injuries and
mental health disabilities, SE 101 will probably not meet your needs. If the latter is your goal,
there are sessions throughout the general conference about supporting people with both
psychiatric disabilities and brain injuries.
The decision is yours. Obviously, you are welcome to participate in SE 101. Registration for
SE 101 is limited to 35 people and we reach that limit quickly. In fact, there is typically a
waiting list. SE 101 participants are required to attend each session and the SE 101
Orientation on Tuesday, July 8th at 6:30 pm in order to receive the certificate of completion.
The schedule for SE 101 in listed below. Specifics about dates, times and instructors will be
posted in the near future. This should give you a better idea of the content of the sessions and
help you with your decision to participate in SE 101. If you have any questions about the
Institute and whether or not it will be of value to you, feel free to contact me.
Thank you and we look forward to seeing you in Louisville.
Bob Niemiec
Coordinator – SE 101
952-851-6186
bniemiec@cipmn.org
8th Annual Supported Employment Institute
SE 101
July 9 – 11, 2008 – Louisville, Kentucky
Table of Contents
Session 1: Foundations of Supported Employment
What is Supported Employment? What are the values, guiding principles and features that
influence this approach to working with people who have significant disabilities? How and why
did it begin? In this session, you will learn about the evolution of supported employment. You
will discover the critical factors that lead to the development of SE and how it differs from
other, more traditional approaches to employment of people with significant disabilities. You
will be exposed to the underlying values and principles that guide organizations and people in
the quest to facilitate supported employment in their communities. You will learn about the
critical roles that employment specialists play in the successful employment of people with
disabilities in community businesses. You will also hear about some of the best practices in
Supported Employment as well as in school-to-work and community living transitions. Finally,
there will be a brief discussion about how organizations and states have managed to fund
supported employment services.
Session 2: Person-Centered Career Planning
This section of SE 101 will provide in-depth information and training on person-centered career
planning, with emphasis on best practices in this most important area. Key topics will include
the following:
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Introduction to Person-Centered Career Planning
Moving from a Deficiency towards Capacity view of persons with disabilities
Mobilizing and implementing career planning teams that work
Developing Career Profiles
Creating individual Employment Support Plans that get results
Strategies & tactics for building employment connections and effectively tapping
personal networks
Session 3: Successful Job Development and the Supported Employment Professional
Start your own job development revolution. This session teaches the basic, yet critical, job
development skills necessary for successful Supported Employment Professionals. Discover a
potent arsenal of effective skills no job developer should be without. By using a combination of
consultative sales (the customer helps you make the sale) and relationship sales (knowledge,
trust and respect are the foundation for the sale) you can customize an irresistible approach to
business. These crucial skills include: features, advantages and benefits; networking,
prospecting, the art of questioning, and overcoming objections. Spend 90 minutes to become
the job development sensation you’ve always dreamed about.
Session 4: Instructional Strategies – A Key to Success On-the-Job
You will learn the specific characteristics of systematic instruction, as well as examining adult
learning principles, and training styles. A number of instructional strategies will be presented,
discussed, and practiced through group and individual exercises. You will learn the
components of performance objectives, how to measure progress, and adapt your teaching
style to the learner’s needs and style. This is a two-part session.
Session 5: Facilitating Employment Supports
What constitutes effective on-going supports in supported employment? Finding a job is just
the beginning. Once the employee has learned the job either through natural means or with the
assistance of an employment specialist/consultant, there must be a planned effort to support
the individual and the employer. Among the items to be discussed in this section include
nurturing the ongoing relationship between the employer and the employee, helping the
employee and his/her family and supports navigate the world of Social Security, Medicaid, and
financial planning, to name but a few. You will leave with tools and ideas to provide superior
ongoing support to help people maintain their jobs and improve their economic self reliance.
Session 6: What’s Next? The Ever-Changing World of Supported Employment
Supported employment has proven to be a viable option for many individuals with high support
needs. At the same time, it has also created a good deal of tension in the education and
rehabilitation service system. The practice of supported employment has caused the education
and rehabilitation service system to change the way of business, specifically, its services,
organizational structure, job descriptions, supervision, and funding. It is these changes that
cause the excitement, challenges and tensions within organizations.
This presentation will discuss the impact of community-based services, including supported
employment, customized employment and self-employment on the organization and
management of human service programs.
SE 101 Participant Profile
Name:
Organization:
Job Title:
Number of years in SE:
General Job Responsibilities:
Reason for Enrolling in SE 101:
Contact Information:
Phone Number:
Alternate Phone Number (cell, etc.):
Email: