Opening Doors & Changing Lives: Easterseals Champions People With Disabilities in the Work Force

October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month 

As we celebrate National Disability Employment Awareness Month in October, Easterseals Southern California proudly highlights the impact of our WorkFirst Employment Services. Since its launch in 2008, WorkFirst has supported thousands of people with physical and intellectual/developmental disabilities in successfully entering or re-entering the work force.

“It’s not about the disability,” said Maureen Carasiti, MA, director of Easterseals WorkFirst Employment Services, “it’s about democratizing the work force. It’s about the individual and their unique strengths, skillset and value … just as it is for anyone with career aspirations. We have a zero-exclusion policy at Easterseals. If you have a disability and you want to work, you can work. You can gain access to rewarding jobs.”

Employing the Individual

Easterseals Employment Services empowers people to build robust lives, gain confidence, make friends, become valued members of the community and increase their economic self-sufficiency through employment. In turn, it’s of equal benefit to the community due to reduced reliance on public benefits, contributions to the work force and volunteerism. 

“We are not looking to place someone in just any job anywhere,” said Maureen. “We find people work that is meaningful to them and which best utilizes their particular talents, which exist in everyone. If it’s hidden in the people we serve, we help to reveal those talents and then look at how and where those skills and interests complement the work force. It’s one person at a time.”

Following a discovery process, Easterseals vocational specialists begin to engage with businesses within the job seeker’s interests and skills. They identify companies and develop customized work opportunities through job negotiation, job carving, worksite analysis and other job accommodations as needed. Once a job is secured, Easterseals assists with identifying natural supports and onboarding, then provides on-the-job support as needed to ensure that it’s a successful match for both the employee and the employer. 

Comprehensive Employment Services

Easterseals offers a range of employment support services tailored to meet diverse needs:

• Direct Placement, which supports job seekers by setting employment goals and by providing resume development, job search techniques, interview preparation and retention support.
• Transition Resources, which helps students ages 14-25 from underserved communities plan for their future to attend college or gain employment.
• NEXTPATH, a one-on-one, custom service that helps people who have committed non-violent crimes, referred by the courts, to secure jobs.

Easterseals has helped individuals secure positions in the following industries: 

• Hospitality
• Food service
• Retail
• Customer service
• Administrative and office support
• Education and childcare
• Transportation and logistics
• Social services and community work
• Maintenance and facility services
• Technology
• Entertainment and recreation
• Property and real estate
• Finance and legal
• Security

Empowering People Through Employment 

Maureen tears up while talking about employment success stories, mentioning Jordan, who was diagnosed with autism as a toddler, was non-verbal until the age of four and whose parents were offered little support as they envisioned what his future held as an adult. His mom said, “Easterseals found out what his abilities were, not just disabilities, but his abilities.” 

Mechanically inclined and determined, Easterseals developed an opportunity for a position for Jordan at U.S. Battery, a job he loves, working for an employer who appreciates his contributions to the company. It’s also a job where he earned more money during his first week of employment than he had in the previous 11 years of being paid just $1.38 an hour through a federal program that allows sub-minimum wages for people with disabilities. His proudest moment? When he went Christmas shopping for his family that year.

“It leaves me speechless to know we are having such an impact on people’s lives—not just on those we serve, but on their families and on the communities in which they live and work,” said Maureen.

To receive support from Easterseals WorkFirst Employment Services, a CARF-accredited program, individuals must be referred by a Regional Center and/or the Department of Rehabilitation in Southern California. Learn more about our WorkFirst progam on our website.