Updates and Information-- News from MD TAP and
associated State offices
Director's Update
Diane Ebberts, Director, Governor's Office for Individuals with
Disabilities
The Association for Persons in Supported Employment
(APSE) held their fifth annual conference from July 5
through July 9, 1994. I had the privilege of attending this
national meeting which offered a theme track of
Rehabilitation Technology and Supported Employment. There
were five separate workshops offered in conjunction with the
'assistive technology' theme:
- Rehabilitation Technology Means Work!
- Turning Straw Into Gold: Utilizing Assistive Technology for
Persons with the Most Severe Disabilities
- Assistive and Adaptive Technology: Facilitating Employment
Options for Persons with Visual and Severe physical
Disabilities
- Knobs and Gadgets -- the Fascinating World of Assistive
Technology and How It Really Fits Supported Employment
- Using Assistive Technology to Enhance Supported Employment
Services
These workshops broadened my knowledge of assistive
technology and its practical application in the workplace.
The conference also prompted me to think about more
amorphous systemic issues regarding assistive technology and
supported employment. For example, I observed that most of
the people attending the conference (job coaches, providers
of supported employment, etc.) had no knowledge of P.L.
100-407 despite the fact that every state (except Arizona)
has a version of TAP. This knowledge gap may exist in
Maryland as well, despite TAP's aggressive efforts to 'get
the word out.' Undoubtedly, it's incumbent upon people like
myself to help bridge that gap.
To that end, I'd like to share some information on
supported employment in Maryland.
- During the past eight year, over 2600 individuals
have entered supported employment. Maryland is in the top
1/3 of all states in terms of the size of its supported
employment decreased from previous years.
- Maryland's supported employment program when compared
to other states', has a rather low participation rate for
individuals with severe disabilities.
- The wages paid to supported employment participants
in Maryland compare favorably to the wages paid in other
states.
Generally, what I have said about supported employment
in Maryland is that we did an outstanding job of 'getting it
going,' but now it seems that we have hit a plateau. This is
particularly true for people with the most severe
disabilities. As an outgrowth of the APSE conference, I'll
be looking to MD TAP to help move supported employment off
the plateau and to get it climbing again!
For those interested in knowing more about supported
employment, the second annual supported employment
conference entitled 'Crossing Barriers -- Creating
Solutions' will be held November 21-22, 1994, at the BWI
Marriot. For more information call Maryland Works at
410-381-8660.
