2016-595-E Finance - OE Enterprises, Inc. - Outside Agency Performance Agreement

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DocuSign Envelope ID: 112713E4-A11E-4CO3-B5A6-92020A894CD7 t A - continued Provider's Outside Agency Application MAIN APPLICATION Although the unemployment rate has dropped since the years of the recession, unemployment remains a major issue facing the US as a whole. In November 2015, the unemployment rate was 5.5% statewide with Orange County having an unemployment rate of 4.2%. Lower unemployment rates do not mean that Orange County does not face a serious unemployment issue, particularly among workers with disabilities. The 2011 Orange County Community Health assessment reported that the unemployment rate for individuals with a disability was 23.2% statewide, but jumps to 41.1% in Orange County. In 2013 Cornell University reported the employment rate of working-age people with disabilities in NC was 31.4 percent. In 2013, the employment rate of working-age people without disabilities in NC was 76.4 percent. (http://www.disabilitystatistics.orp/StatusReports/2013-PDF/2013-StatusReport NC.pdf) A troubling statistic includes the data that at all levels of education, persons with a disability were much less likely to be employed than were their counterparts with no disability http://www.bls.pov/news.release/pdf/disabl.pdf). Orange County employment is concentrated in government and University positions. Per the 2011 Community Health Assessment, the unemployment rate for individuals with only a high school diploma or equivalent stands at 26.2%. There are fewer opportunities for younger, entry level workers and there is increased competition for these jobs due to the UNC Student population (Orange County Community Health Assessment 2011, p70-71). There are few services available for integration of individuals with disabilities into established senior retirement and community activities Services for disabled senior citizens remain a critical need. Mobility, vision, hearing, and balance issues become even more impactful for seniors with disabilities. Most seniors lose community and family support as they age and for seniors with disabilities this can be life altering as family members may have been their caretakers. d) Describe the population to be served or the area to benefit and indicate how you will identify beneficiaries. OE will serve students, adults and senior citizens who have a disability or other barriers to employment. Most of our referrals for adult services come from Vocational Rehabilitation and Cardinal MCO, but we also are connected with individuals seeking services from schools, Social Services, residential providers, families, self-referral and other community members. OE serves individuals with varying disabilities to include development/intellectual disabilities, physical disabilities, mental health issues, substance and alcohol abuse, hearing and vision impaired as well as those with extensive criminal backgrounds. OE also works with the student population served through Orange and Cedar Ridge High School's OCS Programs. Students served through this program are age 16 through 22 years of age. e) Who specifically will carry out the activities and in what location will they be carried out? OE's Job Development Specialists work with individuals during the process of finding employment that is tailored to their needs and interests and takes place at businesses throughout the community. Once employment is obtained, individuals receive job coaching from OE's coaching staff at the respective job sites in order to learn the tasks associated with the job. OE has based our work on the proven best practice system of Supported Employment. Supported Employment is a system of supports for people with disabilities to assist them with employment in integrated settings. This system uses "coaches" to train individuals on skills that are task specific and on "soft skills" such as appropriate socialization in a work setting. Coaches also provide ongoing support. This proven model can be applied to community integration into senior activities as well. With the use of the coach, senior participants can learn about their communities, develop task specific skills, and increase socialization experiences by overcoming existing barriers. Coaching for both Main Application 2/1/2016 11:26:11 AM of