Added Value in Your Morning Cup of Coffee

Dale Dickerson puts his name
on packages he will fill.

PORTLAND, Ore. -- The Happy Cup Coffee Company is more than just a coffee roaster. The beans they roast have been ethically traded, meaning the farmers who harvested them were fairly paid.
But Happy Cup's mission is to employ some of Portland's developmentally disabled adults and provide them with not only a safe and productive working environment, but also something they aren't always used to receiving: a competitive wage.

Funding for Employment Programs

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The U.S. Department of Labor Tuesday announced the availability of approximately $20 million to fund programs that will improve education, training and employment opportunities for adults and youth with disabilities. A solicitation for grant applications is published in Tuesday's edition of the Federal Register.
The Disability Employment Initiative is a joint project of the Labor Department's Employment and Training Administration and its Office of Disability Employment Policy. Programs to be funded will serve individuals who are unemployed, underemployed and/or receiving Social Security disability benefits. The goals of the project are to improve coordination and collaboration across multiple service delivery systems, build effective partnerships that leverage public and private resources to better serve people with disabilities and, ultimately, improve employment outcomes of people with disabilities.

Opinion: Cutting Funds for Supported Employment Programs Poses a Higher Cost

Compelling argument by Cameron Haste, chief operations officer of Bay Federal Credit Union and a HOPE Services board member, in the San Jose Mercury News.

In this challenging time, state funds need to provide an effective return on investment. Cuts to the Department of Developmental Services (DDS) continue to threaten job placement programs that get individuals with developmental disabilities employed -- and when these cuts occur, we increase these individuals' reliance on state funding.
In a study released by Kent State University in March 2010, researchers demonstrated the cost-efficiency of supporting employment for people with severe disabilities.
Another study published in the Tash Journal showed that hiring these individuals returned an average monthly net benefit to taxpayers of $251 (or an annual net benefit of $3,016 per supported employee) and generated a benefit-cost ratio of $1.46 for every dollar spent.

Wages Tricky for Workers with Disabilities

Such a touchy issue. On one hand, some companies provide opportunities to train people with disabilities on the job, while providing them with a paycheck, which yes, may be below minimum wage. If they didn't have this, chances are they might not be working at all. On the other side, however, it does appear that this is so unfair to people with disabilities who can and are reliable, hard working and productive employees.

BUCYRUS, Ohio -- Wages are wide-ranging for disabled workers in Crawford County.
Recent reports show thousands of adult workers with developmental disabilities in Ohio are paid less than minimum wage. The Columbus Dispatch reports 14,600 disabled Ohioans are affected by a federal law provision that allows employers to pay less than minimum wage to adults with disabilities that limit productivity.
Critics of the lower wages paid to disabled workers say it is taking advantage of them, while supporters say it provides more opportunities for them to have jobs.

Promoting Jobs vs. Workshops in Ohio

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- If he had been born 50 years ago, Ian Baustian might have been institutionalized. Locked away.
No one would have discovered whether he was capable of more.
Back then, Baustian wouldn't have been a laboratory clinical assistant at Fairfield Medical Center in Lancaster, where he works alongside people who don't have disabilities - people who embrace him and his autism.
His kind of story is both triumph and tragedy, as far as advocates are concerned. As far as Ohio has come in employing developmentally disabled adults, the state has much further to go, they say.

Nonprofits Turn to Federal Contracts to Put People with Disabilities to Work

The busy government market isn’t just attracting traditional contractors. Nonprofit organizations geared toward helping people with disabilities find employment are bidding for federal work as a way to offer more jobs and different kinds of positions.
Take Melwood, which has carved out a niche providing custodial services and landscaping work at dozens of government buildings. Now, the Upper Marlboro-based nonprofit is trying to broaden the kind of jobs it offers and also attract a larger number of veterans.

Turning 22 and Facing the Next Step

YORKVILLE, Ill. -- Seth Harbin, who has Down syndrome, turned 22 last month. Because the Illinois public school system provides special education for those with developmental disabilities only until their 22nd birthdays, that means Seth is no longer able to attend Yorkville High School, where he has been a student for seven years.
"Seth is very social," said his mom, Patty Harbin. "There's no way I'd want him sitting at home watching TV all day."
Because Seth's daily routine will no longer include going to school, according to Patty, having either paid employment or a volunteer position is crucial so that he will have a purpose each day.