Facing the Future Virtual Event

Co-sponsored by The Boggs Center and NJAPSE

Friday, March 19, 2021 l 10:00 AM - 12:30 PM

The Boggs Center and NJAPSE invite you to the 2021 Facing the Future Virtual Event. This event is intended to provide the opportunity to gather again (virtually) to learn, celebrate, and re-commit to make employment first while acknowledging the efforts our employment and transition/education professionals have continued to make throughout the pandemic.

Join us for this unique opportunity to hear two nationally-known champions of employment first: a policy expert active in national advocacy and a former Senior VP of Walgreens who has made disability hiring initiatives his life's work.

Presenters

Julie Christensen, MSW, PhD

Director of Policy and Advocacy, Interim Executive Director
The Association of People Supporting Employment First (APSE)

Unpacking Competitive, Integrated Employment: A Public Policy Roadmap to Achieving Employment First

How can we use existing policy to achieve competitive, integrated employment (CIE) for people with disabilities? In what ways does existing policy create barriers to success? And what policy changes do we need to advocate for to achieve our goals? In this presentation, we will unpack existing and proposed Federal legislation and policies and examine them within a state-specific context to help us chart a course forward in 2021 and beyond.

Randy Lewis, MBA

Consultant, Fortune 50 Executive, Accidental Disability Advocate

Breaking the Barriers to Employing People with Disabilities

People with disabilities and their advocates must contend with myths, misperceptions, and misaligned Human Resources policies when seeking employment, especially the assumption that all people with disabilities (PWDs) are alike. These inaccuracies about the employability of PWDs persist despite the facts that PWDs in the right environment can compete with typical employees while providing lower turnover, less absenteeism, and superior safety performance. Based on his experiences with a Fortune 500 employer that has successfully integrated significant numbers of PWDs in the workforce, Mr. Lewis will detail the obstacles his company overcame internally, the importance of knowledgeable advocacy, and the subsequent benefits to the company, its employees (including PWDs), advocates, the community, and the individuals. Finally, he will suggest actions that self-advocates and advocates can take to be more successful in the employment arena.

Registration

To access the webinar, you must REGISTER in advance on GoToWebinar. The Facing the Future Virtual Event is free of charge. Space is limited.

Please note:

• Following registration, you will receive a confirmation email and reminder emails with the unique link to join the webinar.
• The "join webinar" link in the confirmation and reminder emails is unique to your registration and should not be shared with others. Each person who wishes to participate must register and log in using their own email and device in order for their attendance to be recorded.
• If you will need to access closed captioning, please email your request to deborah.mahovetz@rutgers.edu at least 2 weeks before the webinar.

For additional information about Boggs Center Webinars, including system requirements, please view Webinar Frequently Asked Questions.

If you have any questions, please contact Debbie Mahovetz at deborah.mahovetz@rutgers.edu or 732-235-9543.

Continuing Education and Certificates of Attendance

As part of Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, The Boggs Center offers this program for social work continuing education credit per NJAC 13:44G6.4.c(5). The Boggs Center is a registered NJ Department of Education Professional Development Provider. The program has also been submitted to the Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification (CRCC) for continuing education program approval.

The webinar is offered for 2 hours of continuing education recognition. Please note the following requirements to demonstrate completion and receive a Certificate of Attendance:

• You must be logged onto the webinar from start to finish.
• You must complete a survey at the webinar's completion.
  Certificates of Attendance will be emailed to attendees meeting these requirements two weeks following the event.