Employment and Community Options

Celebrating our Northern CA Award Winners

admin — Tue, 15 May 2012 16:17:17 +0000

This month, we will be honoring our Employer, Employee, Participant and Volunteers of the Year in Northern California. We do this at our major fundraising events in each of our regions. Our 3rd Annual Taste and Toast was held May 10th and the 2012 Northern CA Employee of the Year is Michelle Myers from the West San Jose Integrated Employment program.

Michelle is seen as innovative and passionate about her job and the participants. Her co-workers are impressed by her level of professionalism, quality of work and her ability to empower those around her. Over the last year she has had to wear many hats and assume different roles and at each juncture, she gracefully accepted the roles and performed outstanding. Michelle excels at everything she does and always comes to the office with a positive outlook and a smile, which is very contagious. Congratulations Michelle!

The Employer of the Year is Trader Joe’s on Coleman Avenue. Trader Joe’s has been an employer with Employment & Community Options since 2008. A total of 4 employees are employed with Trader Joe’s. Both a participant from our Supported Employment program Kathy and an Integrated Employment group made up of Emanual, David and Cindy are employed at Trader Joe’s Coleman Avenue.

Kristina, and the rest of the managerial team at Trader Joe’s Coleman Avenue, provides effective leadership and guidance which has helped to improve the work skills of the Employment & Community Options participants. Trader Joe’s is particularly supportive going above and beyond to provide direct support and feedback to the participants from Employment & Community Options. The tolerance and compassion exhibited by the Management team at Trader Joe’s, makes them a most deserving recipient of the Employer of the Year award. Congratulations Trader Joe’s.

The Participant of the Year is Paul Hopple. We are very excited to recognize Paul Hopple as the Northern California 2012 Participant of the Year. Paul has been with Employment & Community Options since 2009 and is in our West San Jose Integrated Employment program.

Since Paul has joined Employment & Community Options he has been an exemplary participant in a variety of ways. Paul has taken many classes at De Anza Community College, most recently including Yoga, Badminton and Ceramics. In addition to his academic achievements, Paul also recently became employed as a Crew Member at Trader Joe’s in San Jose. Paul also finds time in his busy schedule to volunteer twice every week. He spends time at Santa Clara Public Library and the Sunnyvale Community Center. In addition to his active schedule Paul has only missed one program day this year and is consistently diligent about informing his staff about all of his needs. All these things make Paul a role model for other participants and staff! Congratulations Paul Hopple!

The Volunteer of the Year is Karen Meckstroth. Karen was introduced to Employment & Community Options through the Planned Giving Incubator Project when she agreed to mentor the Employment & Community Options planned giving team. With her support, we were able to establish the Employment & Community Options Legacy Circle Endowment Fund.

Karen joined our Board of Directors in January 2010. She started as the co-chairperson of our Development Committee and is currently the Chairperson of the Development Committee. Karen’s expertise in estate planning is a perfect match for Employment & Community Options and our families with special needs children. Karen is a constant champion of Employment & Community Options and the folks with intellectual disabilities we support.

I am honored to recognize these 4 wonderful individuals and thank them for all their dedication and support of Employment & Community Options.
Congratulations Trader Joe’s, Karen, Paul and Michelle!

Sincerely,

What Role Will You Play in Deciding the 2013 CA State Budget?

admin — Tue, 08 May 2012 09:00:25 +0000

It’s budget planning time in California. Do you feel like you have a voice? You do! Here’s how it works. In January, the Governor announced was is referred to as the January version of the budget. Once it’s released the legislature starts holding hearings to help them decide what they will and will not support in the budget. On May 14th the Governor will announce the “May Revise” of the budget. This is an updated version of the budget. It will be releases on the California State Website The legislature will hold a second round of hearings and negotiate changes to the budget. Ultimately they will vote to approve the budget. The balanced budget initiative now requires them to approve the budget by July 1, 2012.
What can you do? If you have the time and resources, you could attend either the Assembly or Senate hearings on the budget. The hearings are held by subcommittees from the different departments. Issues relating to adults with developmental disabilities and the funding of services fall under the Health & Human Services Administration. Later on in the process there will also be a budget and fiscal review committee hearing.
Most of us don’t have the time or the resources to fly to Sacramento but we do have a voice! Each committee accepts written testimony. Employment & Community Options is a member of the California Disability Services Association. This trade association will review and thoroughly analyze the budget and its details. We will then develop our position on the budget. Position statements and sample letters will be drafted and distributed to members like Employment & Community Options. We will post these sample letters on our website and Facebook pages. They will also be posted on the California Disability Services Institute Facebook page. Watch for announces about these sample letters. Everyone is encouraged to draft their own letter or use a sample letter and modify it to fit your needs. Most importantly, write your legislators!

It Takes A Village Part II

admin — Tue, 01 May 2012 16:29:34 +0000

Several weeks ago I wrote a blog about the superb support we received for our 3rd Annual Taste of Our Community event in San Diego and titled the story It Takes A Village. Well today I want to share Part II of that story. Employment & Community Options’ 3rd Annual Taste & Toast event is coming up on on Thursday, May 10, from 6 to 9 p.m at Lexus of Stevens Creek located at 3333 Stevens Creek Blvd in San Jose. This event is fortunate to have Star One Credit Union as our title sponsor again this year. Suhr Insurance is our Auction Sponsor. Karen Meckstroth Attorney at Law is our Appetizer sponsor. We are also happy to have two Beverage Sponsors from Andy & Betty Ramans and Mary & Glenn Atwater.

The format this year is new with a tasting theme. Food and beverage partners include:

Bill’s Cafe
Blue Mango Cuisine
Blue Rock BBQ
Campbell Brewing Co.
Chili’s Bar & Grill
Good Karma Vegetarian Restaurant
Gordon Biersch Brewing Company
La Piñata
Pasta Pomodoro
Peet’s Coffee & Tea – Rose Garden
RawDaddy Foods
The Fish Market
Tony & Alba’s Pizza & Pasta

The celebration, emceed for the second year in a row by devoted staff member and participant parent, Leigh Monichon, will feature an awards ceremony honoring the Employer, Employee, Volunteer and Participant of the Year for outstanding work in 2011. Guests can also expect to peruse enticing silent auction items, enjoy live music provided Richard Kubec and as a special treat, have a caricature drawn. Like I said, it takes a village to to plan and implement an exciting evening of this kind. We are very thankful and appreciative of the Friends of the Bay Area Committee. This is the “behind the scenes” planning group that ensures the success of the event.

If you live in the Santa Clara County area, I encourage you to visit our website and purchase your tickets now! It’s not too late to enjoy this fun event. All proceeds from the event will benefit adults with developmental disabilities and economically disadvantaged seniors.

I’ll be there and I hope you will be too!

All about Todd and his Blessings

admin — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 17:17:02 +0000

The following is Todd’s autobiography as written in our Meant to be On Earth book written by the participants of our Santa Cruz program. Here is Todd’s story in his own words.

I was born in Redwood City, California, in 1972.
I grew up in San Jose. When I was a little boy my mother took me “trick or treating” and I liked that. Christmas and New Year’s Eve was very special to me also.
My sister, Lori, was a pretty little girl. We made crafts together and played funny games like hide-and-seek. My sister is now married to Manuel. They have a boy named, Ethen and a girl named Mia. During school I liked doing karate, football, soccer, and chemistry. I graduated from Wilcox high school in San Jose.
I moved to Santa Cruz and joined Employment & Community Options. Now I work at “got.net” and earn a paycheck. I also do art classes and travel on buses downtown. I feel like I’m being guarded and blessed by angels.
I like to go camping. I also enjoy being loved by my family. I hope to one day fall in love with a beautiful women of my dreams and give her tender loving care. I will give her fresh, beautiful roses.

By: Todd Buckmaster

If you like this story you can read the whole book by purchasing one at:

https://app.etapestry.com/cart/EmploymentandCommunityOptio/default/category.php?ref=931.0.98692131

Enjoy,

CA Budget Subcommittee #1 Health & Human Services Testimony

admin — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 15:57:03 +0000

The CA Legislature is gearing up for budget decisions by holding hearing . Recently I attended the Health & Human Services Sub-Committee #1 on the budget. They were discussing the budget for the Department of Developmental Services which funds the programs and services for individuals with developmental disabilities in CA. Here is my testimony to the Committee:

Dear Assembly Woman Mitchell and committee members:

I am Nancy Batterman, CEO of Employment & Community Options serving 1,200 individuals in the communities of San Diego, San Bernardino, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties.

First and foremost, I strongly want to urge you and your fellow legislators to maintain the sunset of the 4.25% rate reduction scheduled for June 30, 2012. The sunset of the 4.25% payment reduction is included in the Governor’s budget proposal and is essential to the stability of our system. The sunset would be one small bit of relief in our world of rising employer costs, frozen rates, mandatory closure days and other social service budget cuts whose cumulative effects have severely limited our ability to provide services to Californians with developmental disabilities. In my organization, we have laid off middle management staff including job developers, reduced operating costs, reduced healthcare coverage to employees, relocated offices, consolidated offices, and reduced holiday pay. We have examined every expenditure to determine if there is another cheaper way to accomplish the same goal. There is nothing else to cut.

We would use the money returned to us if the 4.25% rate reduction was to sunset to rehire job developers. Not only we would be adding jobs to our communities we would be able to return to more quickly placing adults with developmental disabilities into paid employment. This is key to our delivering quality services. But we need the 4.25% back to be able to afford to hire these job developers back to work!

Additionally, no further reductions should be taken from direct services to people with developmental disabilities. The people we serve have taken all of the budget cuts they can handle. Respite cuts have pushed families to the edge, transportation cuts have reduced access to services, and other cuts have reduced opportunities for integration in communities.

We understand the terrible budget situation faced by the State and encourage you to find reductions from alternative sources, including maximizing federal funding, increasing efficiencies within the system and reducing Developmental Center spending. If alternatives like these don’t achieve the whole $200 million in savings proposed for the Department of Developmental Services, then the amount of the cut needs to be reduced so that no further reductions are taken from direct services.

Sincerely,

Nancy Batterman

CEO

Building New Partnerships with the Gold Diggers

admin — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 16:21:27 +0000

We have been invited by the Gold Diggers to participate in their Hats Off to San Diego Salute to Broadway on May 3rd. The “Gold” in their name stands for Gifts of Loving Donors. This group of 150 women raises money all year long and then gives it to nonprofits through grants. Employment & Community Options submitted a grant request to them on March 2, 2012.

One of their fundraising activities is called Hats Off and is a hat contest. Each year they invite 10 nonprofit groups to participate in their hat contest. We are invited to participate this year. We have identified a participant, Wayne from our Lemon Grove program to be our model of our hat at the event on May 3rd.

Our hat model Wayne

The North County Coastal program has agreed to design and make the hat.
Here’s how the contest works. Each non-profit is asked to sell $25 ballots. With the ballot you can then vote for our hat. You can also attend the event on May 23rd and vote for us as well. The nonprofit that receives the most votes (raises the most money) wins $2,000. Second prize is $1,000 and 3rd prize is $750. We will be asking for votes through our social media starting in mid-April. The event is May 3rd. We will post photos on our Facebook page as the hat is developed. We are also going to ask a tuxedo rental company to donate the day’s rental of a tux for Wayne.

Watch for more information and please vote for us!

April is Autism Awareness Month New Statistics on Numbers of Children Identified With Autism

admin — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 16:28:04 +0000

April is Autism Awareness Month. How timely that the Center for Disease Control announced last week new information about the rates of autism in the U.S. Employment & Community Options is taking this opportunity to explore news ways to serve this growing population.
Recently the Center for Disease Control came out with new estimates for the number of kids having an autism spectrum disorder. The startling news is that once again this number increases now to 1 in 88 children. They also reported that autism spectrum disorders are almost five times more common among boys than girls with 1 in 54 boys identified. The largest increases were among Hispanic and black children. Back in 2000 it was reported that 1 in 150 children was identified with an autism spectrum disorder. During 2000-2006 it was also reported that 1 in 6children in the U.S. had a developmental disability. This was an increase of 17.1%.
What does this mean for adult agencies like Employment & Community Options? We need to prepare to serve more individuals identified within the autism spectrum. We are already looking at new models of employment that would better fit young adults with autism. One of these models is the micro-enterprise where individuals take control of their own life and start their own business. We have launched three new businesses with small groups of 3 individuals starting their own business. The next step is to identify a funding model that will support individuals to start and own their own business.
It’s important to note that most of the funding for autism currently is directed to children. Hopefully soon funders will realize that kids with autism will become adults and that they will actually be adults longer than they were children. New funding resources need to be redirected to better prepare adult agencies to serve this growing population.

Celebrating Developmental Disability Awareness in March, and Every Day of the Year

admin — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 16:20:25 +0000

As March nears its end, Employment & Community Options, a non-profit organization that assists people with disabilities to find and keep a job and to live as independently as possible, urges the community to remember what this month stands for– full lives for people with disabilities.
25 years ago, President Ronald Reagan took a step towards achieving equality for individuals with disabilities by signing a proclamation that declared March to be National Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month. The proclamation recognized that Americans are becoming increasingly aware that developmental disabilities need not keep individuals from realizing their full potential at school, at work, and in the community. Now, nonprofit organizations, such as Employment & Community Options (E&CO), carry out that proclamation in March, and every day of the year, helping individuals to find and keep a job and achieve independence and a greater feeling of belonging in the community.
Through its Integrated Employment Program – one of the many programs created to advance and enrich the lives of program participants – we provide adults with disabilities with skills training in the community and job placement in a either paid or volunteer job. E&CO’s goal is to develop customized support plans that fit with the individual’s schedule, and that provide the most benefits to the individual, enhancing life choices and independence. The program is provided to individuals whose developmental disabilities, including mental retardation, cerebral palsy and autism, fall within the moderate to severe range and who require ongoing supervision, training, and assistance by an E&CO staff person.
Working with its employer partners – local businesses who employ individuals from 6 to 20 hours per week – E&CO has successfully placed hundreds of adults with disabilities throughout California in jobs where they can learn and thrive. Tamara is just one of these participants, who learned that her disability need not keep her from living a full, happy life.
When Tamara was diagnosed with autism 30 years ago, her future looked bleak. She had little access to expert resources and was unable to function independently. But when her family moved to California they soon found an organization that changed Tamara’s life: Employment and Community Options, which teaches Tamara the skills she needs to be employed and provides the support services she needs to blossom.
Today, Tamara is a proud employee of Barnes and Nobles with a regular work schedule. She is also spends time giving back to the community and is an enthusiastic volunteer at her local hospital. With support from E&CO’s program, she is living an independent life she helped create, something she – and her parents – never thought possible.
“She surprises me every day,” said Jacqueline Cohen, Tamara’s mother. “Every parent wants their child to have their own path, and she does.”

Tamara’s achievement is just one example of an individual that has found independence, success and happiness through an employment support program. Since its founding in 1985, E&CO has continued to grow and expand its programs and services to reach and provide support to over 1,600 individuals annually in four counties throughout California, including San Diego, San Bernardino, Santa Clara, and Santa Cruz.

2012 San Diego Employer of the Year On the Border Restaurants in San Diego

admin — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 17:01:25 +0000

Each year, Employment & Community Options honors our employers with an Employer of the Year award in each region. This allows us to recognize the great work of businesses who support the hiring of persons with developmental disabilities. These employers are willing to step out of their comfort zone. The decision to hire someone with a disability also has make good business sense.

Here’s a little bit about this year’s 2012 Employer of the Year On the Borders Restaurants of San Diego. Over 10 plus years, On the Border has paved the way for individuals with developmental disabilities to obtain gainful employment in their community. The satisfaction that each employee/participant receives in working in their community raises a high level of self confidence within themselves but equally important the respect and admiration of co-workers and others in the community. The owner, Bret Almquist. Area Manager, Dave Ihm, the four restaurant managers and countless On the Border employees are to be commended for their willingness to build a diverse workforce and embracing the concept of building upon an individual’s strengths rather that identifying their challenges.

On the Border had a problem. They had to have wait staff roll silverware in to napkins before their shift and after their shift. They went through hundreds of these each day. Wait staff were not excited about this task and it was very difficult to get the job done. Then came along the Job Developer for Employment & Community Options. He recommended On the Border hire a group of 3 individuals to come in each morning and roll all the silverware for the day. On the Border said they’d try this out. That was over 10 years ago. Now, groups roll silver in all 4 locations of On the Border in San Diego County. This employment arrangement made good sense for On the Border and for the individuals now employed.

Over the years, there has been very little turnover among the four restaurants in which 12 individuals are employed. This is a direct testimony to the welcoming spirit management and direct line staff have towards their employees, and equally obvious, the employees/participants satisfaction in working for this respectable employer. Thank You Mission Valley. Mira Mesa, El Cajon and Escondido On the Borders Restaurants!

Congratulations On the Border Restaurants!

It Takes A Village

admin — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 18:24:48 +0000

Behind any good organization there are many people who are working hard for its success. Employment & Community Options is holding our 3rd Annual Taste of Our Community fundraiser tomorrow evening. This is an example of many people working tirelessly to support people with developmental disabilities.
Our event highlights many of our employer partners who in addition to hiring folks with developmental disabilities; also donate their time, and food or beverage to support our fundraising efforts. These employer partners include: On the Border Restaurants of San Diego County, Chili’s, Rock Bottom La Jolla, Hometown Buffet, Pat & Oscars and Decker Brothers Gourmet. Walmart, another employer is one of three title sponsors of the event. The other title sponsors include Emerson Network Power and Intercare Insurance Solutions.
The funds raised at this year’s event will go towards increasing the employment opportunities for the people we serve. Our state funding no longer covers the cost of delivering quality services so we must raise additional funds to continue the work we do.
In addition to the employer partners listed above many other local businesses support Employment & Community Options at our event. They are Barr Estate Wineries, Clase Azul (Tequilas Premium Inc.), Hidden Deli, Indigo Café and Catering, Jersey Mike’s, Julian Hard Cider, Lightening Brewery, Passage to India, Pizza Port, PRP International, Stone Brewing Company and the Traveling Tavern.
Sponsors for this year’s event include AFLAC La Mesa, Anthem Blue Cross, CBIZ-MHM, Jacqueline & Jack Cohen, Ken Kisbert, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, Wells Fargo and Iris & Frank Whelan.
As you can tell by this impressive list of supporters, it does take a village. And in this case, a village of civic minded companies who support adults with developmental disabilities and Employment & Community Options. I hope you will support the businesses that support us!