Committee on Disability & Employment Meeting

May 24, 2017: 9:00 AM
Frances Perkins Room, 45 Commerce Drive Augusta

State Workforce Board COMMITTEE ON DISABILITY AND EMPLOYMENT May 24, 2017 9:00 AM ? 12:00 PM Central Maine Commerce Center 45 Commerce Drive, Augusta Frances Perkins Room Call in: 877-455-0244, Conference code: 9218175360 AGENDA 9:00 Welcome, Review/approve March meeting?s minutes 9:15 SWB and SWB Committee Chairs? Update 9:30 Presentation: Jean Dempster from New Ventures Maine Financial Literacy and Asset Development Resources 10:30 Break 10:45 Discussion with Edward Upham, Director of Bureau of Employment Services CareerCenter/WDS Program access for PWD 11:45 Other Business 12:00 Adjourn Next Meeting: July 19, 2017 9:00 ? 12:00 Central Maine Commerce Center Frances Perkins Room AGENDA: Review of Statewide Efforts related to Employment of PWD

COMMITTEE ON DISABILITY AND EMPLOYMENT MEETING MINUTES

05/24/2017

Present: Jennifer Kimble, Don Rice, Jeanie Coltart, Gayla Dwyer, Karen Fraser, Rachel Dyer (Phone), Mel Clarrage (Phone), Jane Moore (Phone)

Staff: Garret Oswald, Joshua Howe, Cheryl Moran

Welcome, Review/approve March meeting?s minutes Jennifer Kimble opened the meeting with welcomes and introductions and asked for approval of the 03/22/17 meeting minutes. Don Rice motioned. Gayla Dwyer seconded. Minutes were approved after corrections.

SWB and SWB Committee Chairs? Update Garret Oswald reported the federal budget has proposed cuts for WIOA (39%). Garret stated he will be surprised if this is allowed to go through because there has been a lot of support from both sides. He pointed out that this is an unknown not really an update ? happened yesterday.
Joshua Howe added there will be significant cuts to education as well. Jennifer Kimble asked could SWB as a whole be empowered to make a statement in terms of Labor and WIOA cuts. Garret replied, there is no public comment period. Our avenue is our delegation so the answer is yes, we can definitely do it. There is a SWB meeting next Friday - this can be put in motion. Garret stated what bothers him is that the Plan was just approved and has not been fully implemented. Chairs? meeting update: As far as being a small state, there?s been a little bit of success in terms of overall funding. Revise funding formula ? Garret stated the NGA wants to help us but now here comes these cuts. Announcement: Jeanne Paquette, Commissioner of Labor has accepted a new position with USM. Her last day will be June 16th. John Butera, Economic Policy Advisor to the Governor, has been recommended and proposed to be the new Commissioner. This proposal is required to be posted for 10 days, needs to be confirmed by the LCRED, and then confirmed by the full Senate. Even though under the same Governor, it is unknown if he will have the same or different agenda as Jeanne. If confirmed, John will start on June 19th. Jennifer Kimble ? Chairs? update: Jennifer reported they are still planning to invite the LWB Directors to attend the September meeting. Jennifer stated at the July meeting, they will finalize questions so the Directors will be prepared prior to the September meeting. Joshua Howe stated he still is moving forward with the State Plan as planned.

Presentation: Jean Dempster from New Ventures Maine Financial Literacy and Asset Development Resources Jean stated New Ventures mainly assist low income families (to help them develop a plan).
The 3 main areas they cover are: 1. Employment or Career 2. Education and training 3. Money management New Ventures also assists with job search, building resumes and the Maine JobLink. She stated they have a close relationship with the University of Maine System, Community Colleges, Adult Ed and the CareerCenters. They provide free tax preparation know as CA$H Maine. They work with micro-businesses (5 or less employees and $50,000 or less in capital) to get started and with small business centers such as SCORE. New Ventures sends people to the small business centers all the time. They were also part of the Disability Employment Initiative (DEI). Announcement: New Ventures is offering an online Career Planning class that will start on June 7 for 6 weeks, tuition-free. During the 6 week timeframe, you will be able to work online at your own pace. This class is for anyone ready to explore career options.
Credit Checks Connected to Employment ? Jean stated there are federal changes coming which will encourage organizations to have alternative credit requirements. The system is actually set-up to help lenders not consumers. Jennifer Kimble suggested checking with David Leach, Consumer Protection Bureau and look into inviting him. Criminal Background ? Jennifer stated an applicant should be provided an opportunity to speak about it. Money ? Jean stated attitudes and behaviors around money may be challenging. Therefore, knowledge and skills, attitude and confidence are what come together to make a decision about money ? to become financially capable. Setting goals around money is a huge piece in improving management around money ? learning to live within your limits. Jean stated a lot of people are not aware that almost every hospital and medical facility will work with you in paying your medical bills. Jean?s biggest advice, please do not talk to creditors on the phone. New Ventures will assist even if you brought in a pile of bills. Another fear is that people do not want to file for a tax refund fearing it will hurt their assets. Please encourage people to file, as there are protections in place from benefit-granting agencies. Family Development Accounts ? is a savings account that you open at a local bank or credit union. For every dollar you save, the FDA Coalition matches it with four additional dollars. Your FDA savings can be used to buy a house, start or expand your business, and or further your education. There are income guidelines. Household gross income is at or below 200% of Federal Poverty Guideline. The applicant must be working (at least part-time) or is self-employed. Jennifer asked how many use the FDA per year. Or what is the average? Jean ? There are 60 active accounts each year however this year plenty will hit the ceiling. Rainy Day Savings Account ? enables income-eligible individuals and families to have matched savings that will be used for emergencies. Participating families open a savings account and these savings will be matched upon withdrawal for approved emergencies. Families must save for at least six months and may save for up to one year. Account holders usually save between $20 and $50 per month for a maximum personal savings of $300.This is New Ventures program so they have more leeway. This program is very successful and there is no limit in participation. Maine Jump Start is a coalition that works with promoting financial literacy in schools. New Ventures generally work with adults.

Discussion with Edward Upham, Director of Bureau of Employment Services CareerCenter/WDS Program access for PWD Ed passed out a chart that illustrated the structure of the Bureau of Employment Services and he explained the structure as it relates to PWD. He briefly explained about the Core and Training Partners. Core Partners ? receive formula funding money for dislocated workers and youth. The formula funding amount is based on the unemployment insurance rate. Training Partners ? the job is to put people back to work. The customer receives intensive services (one on one). 80% of this funding actually goes to other than training. He then briefly covered the CareerCenter. The Information Center is located in each CareerCenter and is the initial point of contact (triage, where to direct customers properly to services and training).
The CareerCenter is also self-directed but not exactly self-service. PWD is posted to disclose if they want. Staff still has fear of how to approach (language) or how to properly serve. Ed pointed out that referring PWD automatically to V.R. was the old practice. This was not supposed to happen. Equipment Accessibility is another concern. He stated they are not up-to-date with staff using the equipment frequently. The question is, how do we get PWD to use the CareerCenter and disclose their disability? Employers fear hiring PWD because 1) taking on a liability (perhaps they had a bad experience), 2) will they be able to perform the job and 3) fear of the cost of accommodations. Q&A Jeanie Coltart asked Ed in reference to a background check how does he feel? Ed stated it?s not how he feels. Some employers have to conduct a background check. Jeanie Coltart also stated she is against credit checks because it puts the applicant at a disadvantage most of the time due to no fault of their own. Ed stated unfortunately sometimes a credit check is mandated. Gayla Dwyer pointed out that transportation is a big issue. People want to work but cannot get there. Ed stated unfortunately we do not have the funding. So what we do is refer them to V.R. or another entity. There has been more progress and conversations between BES and V.R. Joshua Howe pointed out that one of the requirements of WIOA is how do we braid services. Ed stated the breaking down of silos is really happening. During high unemployment, the main customer is the job seeker. The main customer they are working with right now is the employer.
Every program available in the CareerCenter has its own eligibility requirement. That is why every customer needs to be navigated. DEI Navigator ? Ed thought this was fantastic. He stated if we can reproduce this and keep it up, will help. Without direct funding, this will be hard to keep up. Ed feels this committee is in a good position to advocate of where the money may come from. Jennifer Kimble feels any Program that is state funded, front-line staff should have basic knowledge and awareness of disability. Jane Moore stated in reference to accessibility equipment, most PWD already have the knowledge of how to use the equipment they need. Joshua Howe stated the Universal Access Group is talking about this. Ed stated there is a little phobia over this that needs to overcome.

Meeting adjourn

Next meeting will be held on July 19 from 9am ? Noon in the Frances Perkins room, CMCC Augusta AGENDA: Review of Statewide Efforts related to Employment of PWD and to re-invite Senator Amy Volk

Respectfully submitted by Cheryl Moran

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