Employment

• Employment Specialist Foundations
• Employment Specialist Supplemental
• Registration Details

Employment Specialist Foundations: Basic Knowledge and Skills

Employment Specialist Foundations: Basic Knowledge and Skills is the recently redesigned certification series for New Jersey employment specialists/job coaches. It is a regularly updated four-day series of interactive, competency-based workshops designed for beginning Employment Specialists working for a DVRS Supported Employment Vendor and/or DDD Community Service Provider offering Supported Employment Services. The content would also be beneficial to school job coaches and transition coordinators. Participants will learn best-practice, evidence-based approaches to all phases of supported employment services (assessment and discovery, job development, job coaching, and follow along for job retention). The course is designed to prepare otherwise qualified staff for The Certified Employment Support Professional (CESP) exam by providing an overview of the five core areas identified as crucial for ability to work as a supported employment specialist.

While staff will benefit most by participating in the four training days sequentially, the series is designed so that each day’s content exists as a distinct, stand-alone learning experience. For each day, participants will receive a certificate of completion. An individual will not be considered to have met the DDD/DVRS vendor requirements for competency in supported employment services until after the successful completion of all four days. It will be the responsibility of the agency to ensure staff meets the four-day participation requirements.

Employment Specialist Foundations Day 1: Assessment/Discovery Phase

An overview and history of community-based employment and how-to strategies for effective job seeker assessment/discovery phase to maximize future job matching

Employment Specialist Foundations Day 2: Job Development Phase

An introduction to job development including marketing strategies, negotiating with employers, analyzing worksites and customizing employment to facilitate good job matching

Employment Specialist Foundations Day 3: Job Coaching Phase

An examination of learning styles, direct and systematic instruction on the job site (task analysis, hierarchy of prompts, teaching to natural and artificial cues, error correction, etc.) and data collection

Employment Specialist Foundations Day 4: Long Term Follow Along Phase

A familiarization with the purposes, strategies and documentation of long term follow along supports to boost retention as well as an introduction to employment and the ADA, benefits and employment, and “typicalness” research and employment

Employment Specialist Supplemental

Employment Specialist Supplemental: A Job Coach's Guide to Teaching Professionalism

Employment Specialist Supplemental: Coping with Stress in the Workplace

Employment Specialist Supplemental: Customer Service for the Employment Specialist

Customer service is an integral part of a successful employment services agency.  This course will assist Employment Specialists to identify all of the customers that receive their services as well as describe strategies that will facilitate effective customer service.  Methods of measuring customer satisfaction will be introduced and how those methods connect with continuous quality improvement will be stressed.

Employment Specialist Supplemental: Documentation

Employment Specialist Supplemental: Navigating The Americans with Disabilities Act and Employment: A Guide for Employment Specialists

Employment Specialist Supplemental: Social/Sexual Challenges at the Workplace

Assisting individuals with disabilities as they navigate the social expectations at the workplace is always a challenge, but when situations of a sexual nature arise, the challenge becomes more complex. This supplemental will provide professionals with a social and educational context for why these issues present themselves in the workplace. Participants will leave with tools to appropriately respond to these situations while simultaneously supporting healthy sexuality for the people we serve.

Employment Specialist Supplemental: Supporting Parents and Families:
Navigating Challenging Conversations on the Path to Employment

While no two families experience life in the same way, parents and families of individuals with disabilities often share extraordinary challenges and stressors in their lives. When discussions around employment and independence emerge, many parents become overwhelmed with the perceived risks that come with a decision to further integrate their adult child into the community. This course will explore where parents are coming from in order to fully support their journey, as well as concrete tools and strategies that providers can use to help support and advocate for individuals with disabilities as they work towards employment and independence.

Registration Details

Fee information:

No charge for the following groups:

• Employees of CBVI, DDD, and DVRS
• DDD Qualified Providers
• DVRS approved vendors
• Individuals with disabilities and family members
  

All other registrants - $75 per day for full day courses and $35 per day for 1/2 day courses.

Continuing Education Available for Employment Specialist Foundations:
NJ Social Work, CRCC, NJDOE. View Continuing Education Details

Continuing Education is not available for Employment Specialist Supplemental training

Registration: Register online now

Please note: Submission of the online form is not a confirmation of registration. Submission of the online registration form sends an email request to The Boggs Center. When your form is received, Boggs Center
staff will register you for the course requested, based on space availability. If the training is full,
you will be notified. Written confirmation of your registration and materials will be mailed two weeks prior to the training course. If you do not receive a confirmation, please contact us to verify registration and to receive directions and materials.

For more information: Please email Lisa Thomas or call 732-235-9325.

Robert Wood Johnson Medical School