Features of the Leadership Series

13 days of high quality supported employment professional development provide the foundation for the SE Leadership Series: Part 1 – Introduction to SRV as a Theory of Practice for Establishing High Quality Employment Services, Part 2 – Systematic Instruction, Part 3 – Discovery, and Part 4 – Job Development. 

Experiential, practical learning represents a key component of the SE Leadership Series — time devoted for translation and reflection of content studied in the life of a job seeker with a disability. Course participants will have the option* of inviting and arranging cooperative involvement with a learning partner, someone with a disability who needs a job or job advancement. The learning partner will not attend the events, but will work cooperatively with the course participant with practical application of course content.

Personal mentoring will be provided as an option* — providing assistance with planning and reviewing work being done with and on behalf of the learning partners.* See certification information in section below.

13 days not required – Participation in all 4 leadership events is highly recommended. The content areas are designed to be sequential and cumulative. However, for some, participation in all 13 days may not be possible. Therefore, participants may select any combination of the 4 events. (Check event descriptions for prerequisite requirements and recommendations.) Because the same events will be offered annually, it will be possible, for example, to participate in Parts 1 and 2 in 2022, and then Parts 3 and 4 in 2023.

*Three certifications will be offered – We’re continuing our arrangement with Marc Gold & Associates by offering three certifications: 1-Systematic Instruction, 2-Discovery, and 3-Job Development.

Certification Requirements – Each of the 3 certification events will have a 3-day “Gateway Event.” There will be a maximum number of people attending each event, plus a maximum of 12 people that can pursue certification. The decision to seek certification may be made in advance of the gateway events, or within 10 days following the event. Certification requirements include: a) attending the relevant Gateway Event, b) completing an application/agreement, c) paying an additional fee ($525/certification), d) inviting involvement of a learning partner, someone with disability seeking employment, e) watching supplemental webinars, f) working with an assigned mentor to complete required assignments within the 20-week certification time frame, and g) obtaining a passing score on a comprehensive test or writing a summative essay. Additional certification information may be found within related documents on the MG&A Certification web page: http://www.marcgold.com/certification/ Here you may view or download several documents related to each of the certifications: Proposal, Handbook and Activity Log. NOTE: It’s important to complete the required SE Leadership Series gateway event for a particular certification prior to completing MG&A on-line certification registration. Because Kentucky VR is subsidizing the cost of certifications, the SETP will need to submit names of Kentuckians seeking certification. (KY cost per certification is $525, while the standard cost is $850 to $1,000 depending on the certification.) Successful completion of certification requirements will relate to specific eligibility for Vocational Rehabilitation enhanced rates.

Location, Cost & Registration Deadlines

COVID-19 Considerations – Plans to offer in-person 2022 SE Leadership Series events for fully vaccinated participants at the U of L Shelby Campus needed to be placed on hold because the University of Kentucky does not, at the present time, allow vaccination requirements for off-campus events. We are; however, hopeful this policy will change in time to offer the in-person portion of Part 2, Systematic Instruction on May 17 and 18 at the Shelby Campus. Likewise, at any point when the vaccination requirement is allowed, efforts will be made to change Parts 1, 3 and 4 to in-person events. However, in the meantime, for the safety of everyone concerned, we’ll be offering remote SE Leadership Series events via Zoom.

$600 per person for entire 13 day series with options for attending individual events ($150/event) — includes materials, books, and snacks. Certification fees are additional ($525/certification).

Please refer to “Events Schedule” below for the maximum number of people attending and registration deadlines for individual events. (Please download, complete, save and submit the registration file above to mtyree@uky.edu, or use mailing instructions on the form.)

Instructors

Hope Leet Dittmeier has devoted the last 35 years in a variety of roles, personally and professionally, investigating the question, “What would it take for people to enjoy ordinary lives in lieu of life in segregation?” Over the years she has developed programs specific to the needs of people thought of as challenging. Hope was the founder and executive director of Realizations, a service provider specializing in individualized and self-directed supports. During the last six years she has spent much of her time as a trainer and consultant in Ireland. Hope is currently Executive Director at the Mattingly Edge. She holds a Master’s degree in Rehabilitation Counseling from the University of Kentucky.

Joy Eason Hopkins was a student of Marc Gold, first working with him on the Marc Gold & Associates (MG&A) Georgia Project. She later managed and participated in MG&A projects in Texas, Ohio, Minnesota, and the United Kingdom. Much of her work with systematic instruction has been defining its relevance for today. For example, she embedded systematic instruction as a key part of the curriculum she developed for the Georgia’s Direct Support Professional Certificate Program, a nationally accredited training curriculum for individuals working in community services. Another aspect of the DSP Certificate is students working with learning partners, and it was Joy’s background with learning partners that established this important aspect of the SE Leadership Series.

Merry Reid Sheffer is the Lead Employment Specialist with Edge Employment where she has been for the past 3 years, connecting adults with disabilities to interesting and well-paying jobs. Her passion is assisting employers to apply Customized Employment to their hiring and training processes, opening them up to labor from a wider, more diverse pool of employees. She holds certifications in Systematic Instruction and Discovery from MG&A and is working on her Job Development certification. Merry Reid holds her Master of Divinity from Vanderbilt Divinity School where she focused on dismantling systems of mass incarceration.

Milton Tyree’s perspective about quality supported employment services stems from his career in supported employment beginning in 1981, his many opportunities through the years to develop personal relationships with people who have disabilities and their family members, along with extensive opportunities for study and work related to the social theories/practices of the late Dr. Marc Gold and the late Dr. Wolf Wolfensberger. He has experience in the design, development, and provision of supports and services promoting participation of people with disabilities within valued aspects of everyday life. Milton has worked in a number of capacities including teaching, direct services (including employment specialist), curriculum development, consulting and program administration. 

Events Schedule
Part 1 – January 18-20 and 25-27, 2021 (Zoom) – Introduction to SRV as a Theory of Practice for Establishing High Quality Employment Services, Hope Leet Dittmeier and Milton Tyree (8:30-1:00, deadline 1/3, 30 maximum registration, $150) This event will move from what we do, and how to do it, into the essential dimension of why. We’ll examine Wolf Wolfensberger’s Social Role Valorization (SRV) Theory as a foundational framework central to decision making and implementation of quality supported employment. Topics will include: 1) the study of the dynamics of social devaluation and ways to address its impact through image enhancement and competency enhancement, 2) gaining clarity about the complexity of choice, 3) an enhanced level of discovery — knowing job seekers from a different perspective, 4) determining the most relevant job planning considerations, and 5) strengthening the role of employee (i.e., “my employee” versus “your client”). Many prior attendees have echoed the sentiment of this comment from a previous Leadership Series evaluation: “In my everyday life, the Social Role Valorization concepts have monumentally changed the way I think and act. It all seemed like such common sense, but when you put it all together and look at the way people are being treated, it’s life altering.” Other Registration Details: No certification available. No prerequisites. Participation in this event is encouraged because it provides an important framework for everything that follows. (Fill-in Registration Form)

Part 2 – February 22-23, 2022 ( 1/2 days via Zoom) March 29-30 (1/2 days via Zoom) May 17-18 (full days in-person at U of L) – MG&A Systematic Instruction Gateway, Joy Eason Hopkins and Milton Tyree (8:30-1:00, Zoom and 8:30-4:30 in-person) deadline 2/1, 16-person maximum for gateway; 12-person maximum for certification, $150 event fee) In the late 70s, Marc Gold’s “Try Another Way” approach to systematic instruction demonstrated competence in people formerly believed not capable of practically anything, much less employment. Gold’s work set the stage for supported employment. Unfortunately, much of the momentum of the day, as well as the revolutionary learning Marc provided has been lost. This is a hands-on event involving lecture, small group work, and field work. The workshop will build on Dr. Gold’s work, exploring ways to support the employee and employer when the typical ways of instruction are not sufficient. Topics will include: 1) The connections between job fit, motivation, and learning, 2) Determining when to get involved with instruction and when to step aside, 3) Encouraging and honoring the employer’s role in problem solving, 4) Exploring alternative job methods, 5) Breaking a task into teachable steps, 6) Determining the best way to provide information for a learner, and 7) Promoting ways for people to develop confidence in making their own decisions in work and community. Other Registration Details: SRV & SE (Part 1) is recommended, but not required prior to attending this event. SETP Core Training is a prerequisite for SE direct service providers. No prerequisite for others attending gateway (e.g., VR Counselors, Exec. Dirs., Case Managers, parents…) (Fill-in Registration Form)

Part 3 – June 21-23 and 28-30, 2022 (Zoom) – MG&A Discovery Gateway, Milton Tyree, Hope Leet Dittmeier, and Merry Reid Sheffer (8:30-1:00, deadline 5/31, 30-person maximum for gateway; 12-person maximum for certification, $150 event fee) In 1987 Michael Callahan and his colleagues at Marc Gold & Associates developed the Vocational Profile as an alternative to standardized vocational evaluation. Kentucky’s Person Centered Employment Plan or PCEP was derived from the Vocational Profile. Much refinement has taken place through the last 30+ years regarding the Vocational Profile and Discovery (the process of devoting time to know job seekers and then discerning desirable job conditions, personal ways of contribution and interests including ways these relate to a fitting quality job). While our 6-day “SE Core Training” provides an excellent orientation to the PCEP and Discovery, there’s much more to know. And this event is designed for people seeking more! Other Registration Details: SRV & SE (Part 1) and Systematic Instruction (Part 2) are both recommended, but not required prior to attending this event. SETP Core Training is a prerequisite for SE direct service providers. No prerequisite for others (e.g., VR Counselors, Exec. Dirs., Case Managers, parents…) (Fill-in Registration Form)

Part 4 – November 8-10 and 15-17, 2022 (Zoom) – MG&A Job Development Gateway,  Milton Tyree, Merry Reid Sheffer, and Annette Jett (8:30-1:00, deadline 10/18, 30-person maximum for gateway; 12-person maximum for certification, $150 event fee) This event dovetails with Part 3 of the SE Leadership Series, our enhanced study of the process of Discovery, writing a Vocational Profile, and convening a Customized Plan for Employment (CPE) meeting. Participants will study ways of connecting the CPE meeting with targeted job development, developing a Concept Portfolio, reviewing Job Analysis (from Systematic Instruction), performing an Employer Needs and Benefits Analysis, along with the study of representational considerations. Other Registration Details: SRV & SE (Part 1), Systematic Instruction (Part 2) and Discovery (Part 3) are all recommended, but not required prior to attending this event. SETP Core Training is a prerequisite for SE direct service providers. It’s recommended that SE direct service providers pursuing Job Development certification will have completed Discovery certification. Lacking Discovery certification, participants need evidence that they and learning partners have completed the MG&A Discovery Process, including the development of a Profile, a Customized Plan for Employment and a Visual Resume. No prerequisite for others attending gateway (e.g., VR Counselors, Exec. Dirs., Case Managers, parents…) (Fill-in Registration Form)