discovery an alternative to assessment norciva shumpert marc gold & associates employment for...

Discovery an Alternative to

Assessment

Norciva Shumpert

Marc Gold & AssociatesEmployment for All

October 21, 2009

TACE Center: Region IV, a project of the Burton Blatt Institute. Funded by RSA Grant # H264A080021.© 2009 Marc Gold & Associates All Rights Reserved

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Finding the Direction to Facilitate Successful

Employment


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• Determine Eligibility • Guide to Employment Career Development

Traditional Assessment


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The guide to customized employment:

Discovery


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Discovery and Traditional Procedures

Discovery seeks to identify already-existing information rather than developing information solely for the purposes of evaluation or diagnosis.


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Identifying a direction for employment is based on information obtained from the person's entire life and not from an instance of performance.


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Discovery and Traditional ProceduresThe discovery process

focuses more on ecological validity than predictive validity. It is more important that the direction to employment makes sense in relation to a person's life than to attempt to predict success based on test performance.


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Discovery and Traditional ProceduresBy implementing discovery,

we try to identify the real complexities faced by the individual and attempt to negotiate and match employment that fits, rather than putting the burden of resolving complexities solely on the individual.


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• Does not require testing to determine readiness--it assumes readiness

• No check list or numerical rating


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Discovery and Traditional ProceduresThe profile strategy seeks to

empower and involve applicants, their families and friends rather than to exclude them. Natural, common sense approaches to employment are given priority over strategies which rely solely on professional judgment and service.


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The information of discovery is used only as a guide for matching and customization and may not be used to systematically exclude a person from employment.


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Who is Jenni?


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Jenni Moves at Her Own Pace


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Jenni Hugs Folks …


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Jenni Continues Working …..


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Jenni initiates her work


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We Need to Discover

Discovery: to gain insight or knowledge of something previously unseen or unknown; to notice or realize; to make known, reveal, disclose


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The Iceberg Analogy of Discovery

What we usually know about the people we try to assist

We need to know much more


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• Discovery is often assumed, we think “what we see is what they’ve got.”

• Information on an individual is often disjointed, different people have different parts of the “puzzle.”

Need for Discovery


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Need for DiscoveryComplexity is like a fog, obscuring the best of who

people are. Discovery shows us the impact of life complexity

on work. When we discover rather than presume and

diagnose, a useful description of a person starts to emerge.

Discovery shows possibilities and leads to things a person is motivated to do rather than to fears, negativity and deficits.


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The Role of Discovery

Discovery provides, in a non-traditional, common-sense form, the information needed to determine the strengths, needs, and interests of any person with complex life issues.

This is accomplished by simply addressing the question, “Who is this person?”


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• A process that involves getting to know people, or helping them get to know themselves, before we help them plan.

• Spending time with applicants, instead of testing or evaluating them, as a means of finding out who they are.

• The best way to find out the best that people have to offer.

• A common-sense strategy to determine complexities and preferences.

Discovery is…


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• A way to identify the unique contributions offered by those who might not compete as well as others.

• Enhanced when we get to know people in settings where they are most who they are.

• Not a plan, but the foundation of employment planning, that seeks to customize outcomes.

• Compatible with self-determination and customer choice.

Discovery is…


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Discovery can either be: 1. Facilitated by someone else, typically an

employment professional

Approaches to Discovery


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2. Part of a group experience



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3. Accomplished through “self-discovery”

Individuals can “paint” their own picture of who they are.


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4. Supported through “Coached” Discovery

Involves assisting an individual through both self and group discovery


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Strategies for Facilitated Discovery

• Conversation

• Interview

• Time together

• Observation

• Participation with the applicant in activities both familiar and novel

• Finally, Review of records


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Discovery = Translation

The finesse of discovery is to identify typical aspects of life and to translate those activities into Conditions for success, Interests toward employment and potential Contributions to be offered to employers.

Discovery is essentially an activity of translation.


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Beyond Asking

Asking works for some of the people some of the time. But… Different people ask and get different answers. People often tell us what they think we want to hear. The same person can ask at different times and get

different answers. Too often, people simply do not have an accurate,

thoughtful sound bite with which to answer such a question as important as “What do you want to do?”.


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The “Who” of Discovery

• The person of concern

• Their family and loved ones

• Close and trusted friends

• Neighbors with good relationships

• Professionals who care Counselors Teachers Case managers Service providers


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The “Where” of Discovery

• Home/Living Context: Discovery starts where relationships start – where we live

• Places where the person is “most who they are”

• Community Familiar Place Novel Place

• Where the person spends their day


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• A Process

• An optimistic, comprehensive, non competitive, descriptive, robust, and respectful narrative “picture” of the job seeker.

Discovery: Who is Effrain?


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Observation Skills

• What is the task?

• Describe the motivation/interest to do the task.

• What is the performance of the task? (Pace, correctness)

• Who do they do the task with?

• What supports are used during the task?


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Focus on PerformanceFocus on observable behavior of the individual – the

person’s performance. Since discovery is by nature an optimistic process, the focus should be on competence rather than on deficits.

When an individual’s challenges threaten to compromise the chance for competent behavior, describe the actual behavior and the solutions that work.


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Descriptiveness ► Competence

By focusing on a description of the performance of the individual, without the evaluative lens of ourselves and others, we have a chance to begin to see possibilities for competence and skills that might be offered to employers.

This is made possible due to the fact that descriptiveness gets at the concrete actions of the individual. These actions have a direct connection to tasks needed by employer.


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“What” of Discovery

• Community Connections

• Description of the Applicant

• Summary of information from a work perspective

• Identify & Clarify the Characteristics of a Customized Working Situation


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Discovery allows us to determine who the applicant is, their complexities, and potential

contributions to employers.


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Talking with Jenni• Jenni communicates in short

sentences. She takes a few minutes to get her thoughts put together and to express herself.

• People that know her understand what she says.

• New people may have to ask her to repeat herself. Given time, she will repeat herself and others will understand her. She repeats herself frequently.


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Discovery finds the pieces and puts them together


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Discovery facts

• Average hours required for Discovery = 20 hours (range 16-24 hrs)

• Average time frame for Discovery = 4 weeks (range 3 – 6 wks)

• We recommend a team effort of 2 – 3 members while learning discovery


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We are all like pieces in a complex jig-saw puzzle

Who is this person?


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Why do Discovery?

• Understand how the person’s disability impacts their life.

• Develop a relationship that allows for discussion on “intimate” topics.

• Create a trust between you and the person/family to allow you to meet their community.


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Why do Discovery?

• Identify the types of negotiations necessary to

achieve outcomes

• Put the pieces of the puzzle together to form a

specific plan

• To assure they are empowered with the insight

of what they offer an employer


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Discovery and Customization

These are compatible concepts that are used sequentially to facilitate employment for job seekers who might otherwise not achieve employment.

Discovery provides the foundation information of the job seeker that is translated into their “ideal characteristics of work” to guide customization.


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Discovery is the foundation of planning for Customized Employment

Planning for Customized Outcomes/ Relationship to the IPE

Next Webinar

November 18th, 2009


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Comments & Questions


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Contact Information

Norciva Shumpert

Marc Gold & Associates- Employment for All

4101 Gautier-Vancleave Rd. Ste. 102, Gautier, MS 39553 (228) 497-6999

Email: [email protected]


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THANK YOU!


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Toll-free: (866) 518-7750 [voice/tty]

Fax: (404) 541-9002

Web: TACEsoutheast.org

My TACE Portal: TACEsoutheast.org/myportal

Email: [email protected]

TACE Center: Region IV

http://tacesoutheast.org/

http://tacesoutheast.org/myportal

mailto:[email protected]


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Education Credit: CRCC & CEUDEADLINE: Tuesday, October 27, 2009

CRCC Credit (1.5)**1. Login to MyTACE Portal.2. Score 80% or better on Post Test within three attempts.3. Submit online CRCC Request Form.

CEU Credit (.20) 1. Sign Participant List and complete CEU Form (on day of webinar from

Site Coordinator, or after webinar login to MyTACE Portal. 2. Submit Participant List and CEU form to TACE: Region IV

by Fax (404) 541-9002.

MyTACE Portal: TACEsoutheast.org/myportal

**For CRCC credit, you must reside in the 8 U.S. Southeast states served by the TACE Region IV [AL, FL, GA, KY, MS, NC, SC, TN]. If beyond TACE Region IV, you may apply for CEU credit.

http://tacesoutheast.org/myportal


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Disclaimer

This presentation was developed by the TACE Center: Region IV ©2009 with funds from the U.S. Department of Education, Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) under the priority of Technical Assistance and Continuing Education Projects (TACE) – Grant #H264A080021. However, the contents of this presentation do not necessarily represent the policy of the RSA and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government [34 CFR 75.620 (b)].


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Copyright Information

This work is the property of the Marc Gold & Associates

Permission is granted for this material to be shared for non-commercial, educational purposes, provided that this copyright statement appears on the reproduced materials and notice is given that the copying is by permission of the authors. To disseminate otherwise or to republish requires written permission from the authors.

discovery an alternative to assessment norciva shumpert marc gold & associates employment for...

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successful employment

discovery process

customized employment

match employment