Employment First Massachusetts

Supporting People with Complex Medical Needs Using Charting the LifeCourse

Join us on Wednesday, May 14 at 12pm for our May LifeCourse in Action session about how to use Charting the LifeCourse (CtLC) tools to support people who have complex medical needs. Presenter Eileen Lee served as a Family Support Coordinator in the Medically Complex program at Incompass Human Services (previously called LifeLinks) for 28 years. Eileen is a parent, an advocate, and one of the original founders of the Medically Complex program. She will show how CtLC tools—such as the Life Trajectory, Integrated Support Star, Person-Centered Life Domain Vision, and Mapping Relationships— can assist an individual and their family/caregiver team in navigating life while facing multiple medical challenges daily.

Breakout sessions will provide you with an opportunity to learn more about career development and exploration, transportation, person-centered planning, school-to-work transition, and more.

This statewide conference is designed for employment and CBDS providers, DDS staff, educators, individuals with disabilities, family members, and other state agency partners.

8:30 am – 9:30 am Registration, exhibits and networking

9:30 am – 4:00 pm Conference, including keynote, breakout sessions, lunch, and more

Refunds are allowed up to May 1. Beyond that, you can replace an attendee with another staff person.

For questions, contact Berenise Reyes-Albino at berenise.albino@umb.edu

Supporting people to be successful at their jobs is not as easy as it sounds. It requires many skills, including, excellent communication, maintaining relationships with multiple team members (including employers), knowledge about accommodations and assistive technology, and effectively assisting individuals with various disabilities to learn and master new tasks.

Join us for this interactive, virtual 2-session training to learn best practices and strategies needed to support individuals in meeting their employment goals. Topics include:

• the role of the job coach
• natural supports and social inclusion
• systematic instruction
• job maintenance and self-management techniques
• fading and behavioral support strategies

Participants should attend both sessions to get the most out of this training series. Letters of completion will be provided to those who attend both training sessions.

Contact for questions: Jill Eastman

Successful fading and the effective use of natural supports are critical to promoting independence and ensuring the job satisfaction and success of individuals with disabilities in the workplace. This webinar will cover how to:

• Define, identify, and utilize natural supports at the job site
• Create opportunities for employees to interact socially in non-work-related settings, such as team lunches or workplace celebrations
• Use creative strategies for fostering independence, competence, and confidence in the workplace.

This course is a great starting point for new staff to gain a solid foundation for their work in the field and for current staff to build on the skills and knowledge they already have. Staff will get an overview of the past and present community employment, understand the social, political, and economic changes leading to the expansion of opportunities for individuals with disabilities and learn how to collaborate with team stakeholders

Please contact Lara Enein with any questions.