Call 816-364-1131 or Dial 2-1-1
The Service Tree lists all services in "branched" groups, starting with the very general and moving to the very specific. Click on the name of any group name to see the sub-groups available within it. Click on a service code to see its details and the providers who offer that service.
Training and Employment Programs
Comprehensive Disability Related Employment Programs
Programs broadly available to individuals with disabilities in general (rather than focusing on special groups within the disability population) that provide vocational assessment, job development, job training, job placement, specialized job situations and/or other supportive services that help people with disabilities prepare for, find and retain paid employment.
Disability Related Center Based Employment
Programs that provide opportunities for individuals with disabilities to learn and practice work skills in a separate and supported environment. Participants may be involved in the program on a transitional or ongoing basis, and are paid for their work, generally under a piecework arrangement. The nature of the work and the types of disabilities represented in the workforce vary widely by program and by the area in which the organization is located. Individuals participate in center-based employment for a variety of reasons including severity of disability, need for additional training or experience, need for a protected environment and/or lack of availability of community-based employment.
Ex-Offender Employment Programs
Programs that provide comprehensive support services for ex-offenders (also known as returning or returned citizens) who need assistance preparing for, finding and retaining paid employment. Services may include vocational assessment; guidance relating to resume preparation, job application letters and questionnaires, interview techniques, appropriate dress and personal-social behaviors that will allow them to get along with employers and co-workers on the job; job skills development support; job placement assistance; limited periods of subsidized employment, where necessary; and/or on-the-job support, as required, by a personal case manager who may visit the individual while at work, meet with the person's supervisor and/or co-workers and provide whatever assistance the ex-offender needs to meet the challenges of entering the workforce and retain his or her position.
A nationwide, government-subsidized youth training program that provides remedial education, vocational training and useful work experience including on-the-job training for low and moderate-income, disadvantaged youth who have poor job skills.
Senior Community Service Employment Programs
Programs funded under Title V of the Older Americans Act (OAA) and administered by the U.S. Department of Labor whose purpose is to develop workforce skills in unemployed, low-income older adults age 55 and older with poor employment prospects. Program participants are assigned to paid community service placements with a non-profit organization or governmental entity for purposes of training and acquisition or improvement of skills that may lead to unsubsidized employment or a job that is not subsidized by the program. In collaboration with the participant, the program must develop an Individual Employment Plan, which outlines steps for achieving goals as determined through personal interviews and assessment instruments. Participants may be offered supportive services such as transportation, counseling, work equipment and other items to assist them in participating in the SCSEP and preparing them for a permanent job.
Programs that find paid, meaningful work in a variety of community-based settings for people who have disabilities and which assign a "job coach" to work side-by-side with each client to interface with the employer and other employees, and provide training in basic job skills and work-related behaviors, assistance with specific tasks as needed and whatever other initial or ongoing support is required to ensure that the individual retains competitive employment. Included are individual placement models in which a job coach works on-the-job with a single individual and group models such as enclaves (which are self-contained work units of people needing support) and mobile work crews, in which a group of workers with disabilities receives continuous support and supervision from supported employment personnel. In the enclave model, groups of people with disabilities are trained to work as a team alongside employees in the host business supported by a specially trained on-site supervisor, who may work either for the host company or the placement agency. A variation of the enclave approach is called the "dispersed enclave" and is used in service industries (e.g., restaurants and hotels). Each person works on a separate job, and the group is dispersed throughout the company. In the mobile work crew model, a small team of people with disabilities works as a self-contained business and undertakes contract work such as landscaping and gardening projects. The crew works at various locations in a variety of settings within the community under the supervision of a job coach.
Ticket to Work/Self Sufficiency Program
A voluntary employment program that increases the choices and opportunities for eligible Social Security disability beneficiaries to obtain employment, vocational rehabilitation and other support services from public and private providers, employers and other organizations without endangering their disability benefits including health care coverage. Beneficiaries receive a Ticket which they may use to obtain services and jobs from state vocational rehabilitation agencies or organizations that have been designated as Employment Networks (EN) by the program. Once a beneficiary assigns his or her ticket to an EN or vocational rehabilitation agency, the provider works with them to develop a written individual work plan which documents desired employment goals and helps the individual return to work or work for the first time. The Employment Network or state rehabilitation agency bills the Social Security Administration (SSA) using the ticket claim account number. The SSA determines eligibility for the program.
Programs that provide resume preparation assistance, career counseling, vocational assessment, job development, job training, job search, job placement and/or other services for unemployed veterans who need assistance re-entering the workforce. Programs for homeless veterans may also provide supportive services such as clothing; access to temporary, transitional and permanent housing; referrals for medical and substance abuse treatment; and transportation assistance. Veteran employment programs may be configured for recently separated veterans, homeless veterans, veterans with service-connected disabilities and other special populations or may be broadly available to veterans in general.
Programs operated by state agencies or local jurisdictions that offer employment training and supportive services (such as child care, transportation costs, ancillary expenses and personal counseling) for people who are receiving public assistance through the TANF program in an effort to help them become self-supporting. Private organizations, often under contract with a public agency, may be involved in both the provision of training and on-the-job work experience (including volunteering in nonprofit agencies). Public assistance recipients are required to participate in designated program activities a minimum number of hours per week in order to receive their monthly income support payment and supplemental payments for support services.
Programs funded through the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014 that provide work-readiness training for youth age 14 through 24 from low-income households or are at risk of dropping out of school; and adults age 18 and older who are low-income and/or receiving public assistance and are unemployed. The goal is to prepare youth for high school graduation, post-secondary education and, ultimately, a career. Specific components of the WIA program may focus on special populations with unique employment problems including Native Americans, veterans, migrant and seasonal farm workers, dislocated workers and people who are homeless.
Programs that provide vocational assessment, job development, job training, job search, job placement, specialized job situations and/or other supportive services for unemployed and/or underemployed youth who need assistance preparing for, finding and retaining paid employment. Services may include summer jobs at community worksites; internships, job-shadowing and entrepreneurial projects; and work-readiness training that focuses on resume preparation, job application letters and questionnaires, interview techniques, appropriate dress and personal appearance, work ethic values and other "soft skills" that are required for job retention. Youth employment programs may be configured for at-risk youth, students, low-income youth and other special populations or may be broadly available to youth in general.
Call 816-364-1131 or Dial 2-1-1