What are the responsibilities and job description for the Employment Specialist (Vocational Rehabilitation) - Full-Time Position! position at Hopewell Center?
Company Description
The dream of Hopewell Center began in the early 1950's when a group of parents sought services for their children and founded Peter Pan Preschool. The group incorporated in 1966 and officially adopted the name Hopewell Center in May 1983.
As a private, not-for-profit agency, Hopewell has experienced rapid growth in services, personnel, and persons served. While originally focusing exclusively on persons with disabilities, Hopewell has expanded its services to families with infants and toddlers that are 'at-risk' due to developmental or socio-economic factors.
Hopewell now has an array of facility and community-based opportunities, including family services, children's services, employment services, and residential services. Today, nearly 200 caring professionals provide person-centered services to over 450 individuals a year.
Job Description
This Employment Specialist role focuses on supporting individuals in the Vocational Rehabilitation process to help them achieve meaningful community employment.
- Develops consumer employment opportunities, contacting employers throughout the community, reviewing job advertisements, educating local businesses about program, and following up on possible leads.
- Assists consumers with application and interview process, assisting consumer in completing application and attending job interview with consumer as needed.
- Provides job coaching to consumers at the job site, assisting consumer in becoming independent while promoting natural supports within work site culture.
- Develops and performs situational assessments in the community, taking consumers to different work sites to determine how well they perform a particular job, how well they like the position, how they compare to other employees and the supports they will need.
- Maintains daily documentation of job coaching and development; prepares written progress reports for funding sources as required.
- Serves as a consumer advocate to local employers, ensuring that consumer's work performance meets expectations and negotiating possible solution to raise consumer's performance to employer's level of expectation.
- Assists consumers in coordinating daily methods of transportation to and from work. Provides training on accessing public transportation if needed.
- Prepares progress reports for all consumers as required by funding source; performs post placement follow-up surveys and contacts.
- Attends and schedules appointments for staff meetings, contacting vocational rehabilitation, consumers, families and superiors.
- Maintains records and files, prepares necessary correspondence, and updates materials as needed.
- Maintains communication with various governmental agencies, such as Vocational Rehabilitation, Bureau of Developmental Disabilities Services and Social Security, to secure funding for programs and assist consumers with any benefit issues.
- Operates a motor vehicle to travel to job sites, develop jobs, and perform ongoing assessments.
- Performs related duties as assigned, assuring the best interest of both the agency and the consumers' welfare.
Qualifications
Additional Information
All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.
