- E1MN: a state-agency partnership,
working together to deliver a more seamless and timely
employment support system.
As a waiver employment service provider,
you have several important responsibilities;
one of which is helping the person create an employment portfolio
during the plan phase as a part of waiver employment development services.
The portfolio combines the expected outcomes for the plan phase,
informs the person's job search,
and sets them up for success in the find phase.
Let's first look at what an employment portfolio is
and how you create one during the plan phase.
Then let's look at how it's used during the find phase.
As we go through the portfolio, it's important to note
that the My Vault tool has a path called Plan For Work
that you and the person you're supporting can use
to create many of the components of the employment portfolio
and put them together.
During the plan phase, a person gets help discovering their interests and strengths
and then preparing for a job search.
One of your key responsibilities during the plan phase
is to set up and support the person with activities and experiences
to identify their interests and strengths.
Many of the activities and experiences you set up will result in a product
like a list of contacts, a sample application, or a benefits plan.
The employment portfolio is simply a package of the products
you and the person create during the plan phase
that can help the person during the find phase.
Combining these products in an employment portfolio
prevents the person from having to repeat what they've already done
when they reach the find phase.
For example,
the person could use the activity called "the integrated supports star"
to talk about their support needs with a VRS counselor.
Activity-related products fall into four categories:
person-centered discovery,
benefits planning,
job exploration,
and job search tools.
A list of these categories and key activities for each
are listed in Work Toolkit
under "Supporting people on waivers" in the plan section.
Let's take a brief look at the activity-related products
in each category to build your familiarity.
There are three person-centered planning activities that are key to include
in the employment portfolio.
You can help the person do all three of these activities
in their My Vault account,
which will make it easy for the person to share the results
with people on their employment team.
First, help the person create a one page profile
to let people know what's important to them and how best to support them.
In My Vault, use the activity titled "My Profile: Work."
Second, identify the person's current informal
and formal resources and supports,
including those that may be needed to reach their employment goals.
In My Vault, use the activity titled "My Resources and Supports: Work."
Third, help the person create a list of people
who can help them reach their work goals.
In My Vault, use the activity titled "Build My Team: Work."
There are two key benefit planning activities you should do with the person
during the plan phase.
Both activities can and should be done through the person's My Vault.
First, help the person verify their benefits,
which will inform benefits planning.
In My Vault, use the activity titled "Get a Benefits Lookup."
Second, help the person understand what happens to their benefits when they work.
Address concerns and identify helpful work incentives.
In My Vault, this activity is titled "See How Work and Benefits Work Together."
There are also two important job exploration activities
you can include in the employment portfolio.
Rather than doing these through My Vault,
you'll find links to the tools in the work toolkit
under "Hands-on tools" in the job exploration section.
Use the interest profiler
to document the person's interests, talents, and skills
and how they align with specific careers.
Use the learning log or the 4+1 questions tool
to capture the person's experiences
and what they learned from each experience.
Help the person upload these completed tools to their My Vault account
so you can help the person easily package and share the entire portfolio
when it's done.
Finally, there are two important job search tools
you can include in the employment portfolio.
Rather than doing these through My Vault,
you'll find links to the tools in the work toolkit
under "Hands-on tools" in the application and resumes section.
Use the sample application template to practice filling out job applications
and use the templates and tools to create
either a traditional resume or a visual resume with the person.
Help the person upload these completed tools in their My Vault account
so you can help them easily package and share the entire portfolio when it's done.
The last product you should help the person create is a positive summary.
The positive summary is a summary of what was learned during the plan phase
and is the portfolio's cover page.
The positive summary can be done through the person's My Vault account,
which will make it easy for the person to package and share
when the employment portfolio is done.
As an alternative, you can find a PDF template of the positive summary
in the work toolkit under "Hands-on tools" in the positive summary section.
Also, you'll find a short training video and an example of a positive summary
in the positive summary section of the hands-on tools.
You can help the person share their portfolio by using their My Vault account
or you can get a release to share the portfolio on behalf of the person
as long as you have a copy of all the person's activities
in your My Vault account.
To share the employment portfolio,
a person goes to their files section in My Vault,
and finds the file, typically titled "Planning for Work."
Once they've found the file, click on the three dots icon.
A list of the contacts the person has in their My Vault will show up
and they can select who they want to share it with
or add a new contact, as long as they have an email address.
As a reminder, during the find phase, the person gets help finding a job
and getting connected with long-term employment services if needed.
The employment portfolio can prevent
the person from having to repeat what they've already done
when they reach the find phase.
Once a person is connected with VRS SSB services,
the VRS SSB counselor will use the employment portfolio
in a number of important ways.
They'll use it to learn how best to support the person,
to get background on the person's experiences,
to understand the person's interests, abilities, and conditions of employment,
to inform development of the employment goal and vocational services,
and to help the person prepare for job interviews.
By taking time to compile and share this important information,
you can help ensure a person will have a smooth transition
from plan to find services.
That wraps up this overview of the employment portfolio.
As you saw in this video, and you'll see in other videos,
by collaborating with other professionals,
you're helping to achieve the shared vision:
together, we will work to align our systems so that
people who are on HCBS disability waivers get seamless and timely support
to make informed choices and meet competitive, integrated employment goals.