October 2023

Click here to see original email campaign with photos.

From the Council's Chief Strategy Officer

Dear readers,

Happy National Disability Employment Awareness Month!

October is a great time to celebrate how far Tennessee has come in supporting real jobs for real pay for people with disabilities. (Know an employer who is doing a great job at this? You can nominate businesses for TN’s Inclusive Employer Award!)

This is also a great time to dig into the work yet to be done. Tennessee’s Employment First Task Force is setting a new goal to further close the gap in employment between people with and without disabilities. Stay tuned for more in the months ahead!

But let’s get real: why is any of this important?

My daughter, Lina, is 11 now. As many of you know, she has Down syndrome. When we ask her what she wants to do when she grows up, her answer is always, “I want to be a hairdresser.” I am keenly aware that those days will be here long before I’m ready. (She's pictured at left telling us her goals at a recent IEP meeting - see link to original email above.)

Today, we work hard for Lina to get a meaningful education that will set her up for success.

But sometimes, I wonder: Will the world she enters as an adult be ready to see her skills and gifts? Will the people making hiring decisions give her a chance? Will those who do give her that chance know how to support her so she can be successful?  

If you’re reading this newsletter, I have a feeling you’re a lot like me. We’re here because we long for a world that sees and welcomes every person’s unique value. We long for a world where every person can go after their goals, get help when and how they need it, learn from affordable mistakes, find connection and belonging, and live a full life of purpose.

Meaningful work for real wages is a big piece of that future world we’re working toward. Employment opens so many doors. It’s a part of adulthood every person deserves the chance to pursue.

I am so proud to work for a state that has been committed to Employment First for 10 years. We’ve seen huge progress in employment for people with disabilities as a result. That work was possible because we did it together. 

The work ahead is also possible if we do it together – across state agencies and private organizations, across communities, across individuals of every background and experience.  

Join us!

  • Get involved in National Disability Employment Awareness Month with Tennessee’s “Hire My Strengths” campaign. (Our partners at the Dept. of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities have made it easy!)
  • Talk to employers and businesses in your community about hiring people with disabilities. Tennessee offers lots of support to help employers through the process. The Dept. of Human Services’ Vocational Rehabilitation Business Services is a great place to start. (Get to know Director Ryan Jolley below!) 
  • Talk to people with disabilities and their families about Tennessee’s employment services. Many people don’t know about programs in Tennessee (like Vocational Rehabilitation – which includes Transition Services for students – and Employment and Community First CHOICES) that can help teens and adults with disabilities learn job skills, explore their career goals, and find a job they love. (Facing barriers with your services? Contact us – we may be able to help!)

Thank you for being a part of this work. This month and every month, we’re proud to work alongside you for that better world we all want to see.

Jolene Sharp
Chief Strategy Officer

P.S. For stories about what a good life – including supported employment – can look like for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, watch our short (2-3 minute) videos:

 

5th class of TN Leadership Academy for Excellence in Disability Services (LAEDS) begins

LAEDS is a year-long leadership development program for state employees whose work has a direct impact on Tennesseans with disabilities and their families. The goal is to ensure that these leaders in state government work from a shared set of values, goals, and principles. The academy builds relationships and collaboration among state agency partners.

Participants learn about: 

Our 5th class of this program, which we lead in partnership with the TN Department of Human Resources, kicked off in September. We were excited to welcome participants from the following agencies this year:

  • Commission on Aging & Disability (TCAD)
  • Department of Children's Services (DCS)
  • Department of Correction (TDOC)
  • Department of Health
  • Department of Human Services (DHS)
  • Department of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (DIDD)
  • Department of Transportation (TDOT)
  • Office of the Governor
  • TennCare

We look forward to getting to know this year's participants as they learn and grow together! 

Get to Know a Leader: Ryan Jolley, TN Dept. of Human Services, Division of Vocational Rehabilitation

We like to introduce our readers to different leaders of agencies and programs that impact Tennesseans with disabilities.

Meet Ryan Jolley, the Director of Business Services at the TN Department of Human Services' Division of Rehabilitation Services Vocational Rehabilitation program. Learn more about the Business Services unit here.

Tell us a bit about your career background and your current role.

First, I like for others in the disability community to know that I’ve been legally blind since age 10 due to Stargardts disease, received support services throughout my public school and college education experiences (B.A. and MBA), and have been a customer receiving Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) services. I’ve been part of the disability community nearly ¾ of my life.

Currently, I have the privilege of serving as the Director of Business Services for the Vocational Rehabilitation program at the TN Department of Human Services. In this role, I serve a team of consultants who connect businesses with talent coming through the VR program. Prior to this role, I worked at Trevecca University in Nashville where I lead the creation of a proprietary employment program for students. The program focused on developing in-demand skills while bridging the financial gap of paying for college through work over debt. While at Trevecca, I worked with local employers to supply students with off-campus employment opportunities and developing community partnerships.

Before working in employment services, I led in the startup of a coffee company, and through the company we partnered with Metro Nashville Public Schools to provide work-based learning opportunities for high school students with disabilities.

What is one thing you’re working on right now that you are excited about?

There are two things that really excite me:

  • First, the increased delivery of disability awareness training for employers across the state. In 2020, we invested in having our team certified to deliver Windmills disability awareness trainings. Since then, we’ve invited partner agencies to join us in investing in their teams to become certified trainers as well. We have worked together to ensure employers have access to the resources available to them. I’m excited to see how our team at VR and the TN Department of Human Resources are working together to offer Windmills training opportunities to state agency staff across the enterprise.
  • Second, I’m excited about efforts that are being made to invest in entrepreneurs with disabilities. At VR, we just kicked off our efforts to train all VR staff on the use of a VR Self-Employment Guide, an online tool that enables entrepreneurs with disabilities be supported through formal and informal supports in a consistent and proven way. This year, we will be continuing our efforts to train VR staff using the VRselfemploymentguide.org tool. My goal is to see entrepreneurs with disabilities receiving impactful supports through VR and beyond.

What is one of the biggest lessons you have learned from working with TN’s disability community?

I think the biggest lesson I’ve learned since joining the VR team a little over five years ago is this: The disability community, and, more specifically, the disability employment community, is complex. 

In the beginning, I didn’t recognize the purpose behind the multitude of angles and perspectives. I’ve come to understand this lesson: The disability employment ecosystem is interdependent on one another to perform each programs’ role with high levels of effectiveness in order for the entirety of the system to serve Tennesseans with disabilities well. 

VR needs the DD Council, the DD Council needs the Department of Labor and Workforce Development,  and the Department of Labor needs the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse, and so on… The multitude of programs make the system work as a whole. Without each playing its role, the system begins to break and not serve those it’s designed to serve.

If you could wave a magic wand to remove a barrier to doing all that you want to be doing in your role, what would that look like?

My magic wand would provide opportunity for partner agencies to share teams for prolonged periods of time in order to intimately understand the inner workings of one another’s program and agencies. My magic wand would enable me to send two of my Business Employment Consultants to the Department of Labor and Workforce Development to job shadow for 2-4 weeks. It would also allow for me to welcome partners from TennCare to come spend 2-4 weeks on the job with VR counselors and staff.  So, temporary embedding of partners across program lines. 

Or, of course, I’d wave the magic wand of transportation solutions for people with disabilities - one wave of the wand and every person who experiences transportation barriers is equipped with the resources that enables them to solve the transportation puzzle in a way that fits best for them.

What are some activities you enjoy doing in your free time?

In my free time, I enjoy: time with my wife and kids in the outdoors, fishing, hunting (yes, I’m legally blind and I hunt - now, you know one 😊), tending to the animals on our little farm (sheep, goats, rabbits, pigs, etc.), hiking, studying history and searching for artifacts and relics, picking my guitar or banjo, and embarrassing my wife and kids in public.

When should members of the disability community reach out to you or your team directly?

If members of the disability community know an employer that could benefit from having supports to recruit and retain more talent with disabilities to their workforce, email me at ryan.jolley@tn.gov.

WorkABLE TN helps Tennesseans manage disability benefits and working

One of the main worries that people with disabilities and their families can often have about starting to work is how their benefits will be impacted.

"Benefits" may include a person's Medicaid (TennCare in TN), which may include not only their healthcare but their long-term disability supports and services, and Social Security financial help like SSI and/or SSDI.

This can be a complex and confusing question to try to answer on your own. But good news: help is available! WorkABLE TN (formerly known as Benefits to Work) at the TN Disability Coalition helps workers with disabilities and their supporters figure out the best way to maximize income earned from working and the benefits that they rely on.

For more information, visit WorkABLE's website or contact Alice L. Owens, J.D., Program Director, at (615) 383-9442 or 1 (888) 639-7811.

Self-Direction: PASS Puts You in Charge

By Ashley Coulter, Director of Communications and Public Awareness at The Arc Tennessee
 
“PASS has helped me have a better quality of life. [The program] helped me be able to go out in the community and not be stuck at home all the time.” These are words that a current PASS program participant recently shared with me.
 
PASS, or “Personal Assistant Supports and Services,” is a statewide program funded through the TN Department of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (DIDD) and managed by The Arc Tennessee. Through this program, participants self-direct their care. Self-direction means the person with the disability does the recruiting, hiring, training, and supervising of their support employee. Participants are given an annual budget, and with those dollars, they can set an hourly pay rate and create a schedule for their support staff that works for them. In the PASS program, most people can self-direct their own services, while some have someone else direct for them.
 
To be eligible to participate in PASS, you must have applied for other Medicaid “waiver” programs for people with disabilities and received notice that you are not eligible. These include the Employment and Community First CHOICES, CHOICES, and Katie Beckett programs (depending on the age of the applicant). This means that PASS is a “program of last resort.” An individual may participate in both the Family Support program and PASS, but funds from the two programs may not be used for the same purpose.
 
The PASS program currently has 6 individuals enrolled. The current participants are spread across the state.
 
Here are some of the ways that our current participants with disabilities are using help from the PASS program:

  • One man lives in an apartment with his wife. He has one personal assistant that comes and helps with cleaning and other things around their apartment that are difficult for him to do.
  • One man lives independently and has three different personal assistants available to help him get ready for the day. Having more than one assistant available means he may have more flexibility in scheduling shifts that work for his schedule.
  • One individual is in elementary school. His parent helps direct his care on an as-needed schedule. They have up to three assistants (depending on the assistants’ college schedules) that are able to come and help the young man go out in the community, take part in family activities, and allow time for the parent to attend events for her other child.

Each participant is given a budget to last a full 12 months. As the end of the year gets closer, participants can use money from their budgets to provide durable medical equipment that insurance may not cover. This has included cochlear implant batteries, catheters, or special water bottles that allow an individual to get sips of water on their own.
 
At the start of a new budget year cycle, there may be a change in how much money is available for each person, based on program funding and the person’s needs. There are limited funds available through the PASS grant, but we hope to continue to enroll new participants as the budget allows. If you or someone you know are interested in applying for the PASS program, or if you have questions, please email acoulter@thearctn.org.
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Ashley is the Director of Communications and Public Awareness at The Arc Tennessee, where she also manages and updates the website and executes timelines for upcoming events. She is a graduate of our TN Partners in Policymaking® program and has more than nine years of experience working with the disability community. Ashley has a younger brother with a disability, which inspired her to help start Tennessee’s Adult Brothers and Sisters (TABS), a statewide organization for adults who have a sibling with a disability.

Disability Policy Corner (Oct. 2023)

We're on a break from our weekly policy newsletter until the legislature begins again in January. In the meantime, we'll keep you updated here on the most important state and national policy news affecting people with disabilities.

*Special news collection* - Articles about the new TN legislative workgroup considering rejecting federal education funding that will meet in Nov. 2023. This would have a significant impact on students with disabilities in TN.

TN news and events

Federal news and events