Accomplishments of the Employment Now Coalition

July - December 2010

Administrative

• Hired new Coordinator for ENC.  
• Created 34 file folders for ENC documents where none existed before, to promote sustainability after grant period has ended. 
• Created an Outreach Plan for increasing membership in the ENC
• Customized work environment/computer in DPC office with JAWS and Kurzweil software so work can be done by a person with a visual disability

Governance

• Reinvigorated nine-member Executive Strategy Committee of the ENC and held four meetings 
• Established calendar for 2010-2011 year, with dates for 7 meetings of the ENC general membership and seven meetings of the Executive Planning Committee
• Solicited nominations and conducted search for two new co-chairs of the ENC; completed a smooth transition to new leadership. 

Membership and Outreach

• Reached members in all parts of the Commonwealth through live webstreaming  with captioning of two ENC meetings.
• Webstreamed version of meetings, as well as minutes of meetings for those where webstreaming was not available, were posted on ENC website.
• Revised registration/membership form on ENC website to include information about geographic location and institutional affiliation, etc. in order to permit assessment of effectiveness of outreach efforts and to facilitate communication with all parts of the state
• Created hardcopy registration forms with a space for recording address that will allow ENC to  recruit new members and record geographic diversity of group
• Held meetings in Cambridge and Natick and made room reservation for March at Bridgewater University in order to increase opportunities for attendance by members who do not live in Boston.  Reached out to WWL and to members to locate meeting space in other parts of the state.  Currently exploring Worcester locations for spring. 
• Reached out to members of under-represented groups by creating a mailing list of  organizations representing the deaf community,  those with Multiple Sclerosis, cognitive and psychiatric impairments, etc.  Invitations to ENC meetings were mailed to all groups on the list.
• Created a double-sided flyer about the ENC that can be used to promote the group at events and recruit new members

Website

• Hired a  part-time web administrator to assist with revising the ENC website.  Began to develop A Powerful Web Presence to Enhance Communication and Promote Employment Opportunities for People with Disabilities
• Consulted with ENC members to get member feedback on accessibility and content of site
• Reorganized site to provide easy access to content by type of stakeholder visiting the site  
• Reviewed and categorized all content based on new organization.  Removed old content
• Centralized scattered links and created a list of job boards
• Cleaned up  content that had bad Microsoft or HTML code which caused issues for screen readers
• Updated job opportunity board on a more regular basis 
• Added syndication capabilities so visitors could subscribe by RSS feed to receive updates 
• Added an events calendar to make events easier to find 
• Added a contact form to enable site visitors to send questions and feedback
• Added pictures to make content more visually appealing
• Identified issues for further consideration

Youth

• Incorporated youth in Executive Planning Committee through group that meets through the Boston Center for Independent Living on Saturdays, since work day hours don't fit students' schedules.
• The ENC Coordinator represented the ENC at a three-day national conference of the organization Career Opportunities for Students with Disabilities. Made professional contacts and gathered information about best practices in other parts of the country  around the issue of youth in transition, best practices, and career advising at colleges, community colleges, and universities.  Shared conference highlights with ENC membership at ENC meeting and posted summary of conference on ENC website.  
• Met with Director of Boston Center for Independent Living and their youth director to discuss youth initiatives through their grant.  
• Created a new section on youth on ENC website and offered it as a resource for BCIL and to Easter Seals, as well as to the group Act Today, Influence Tomorrow, to provide targeted content.
• Created a mailing list of Disability Services offices at Boston-area colleges and universities and sent monthly invitations to all colleges about ENC meetings, including background information about the ENC and meeting times.

Partnerships

• The ENC hosted leaders from two regional collaboratives at meetings, where they updated ENC members on their groups' activities
• Partnered with Greater Boston Employment Collaborative to distribute their "Business to Business Assessment Tool".  Distributed tool at national conference and also to Governor's Model Employer task force.  
• Worked with regional collaboratives to coordinate calendars and events.  
• Met with representative of Bristol Regional Collaborative to discuss PCA training program and employment opportunities as PCAs for people with disabilities  
• Worked with Massachusetts Clubhouse Coalition and the Perkins Library recording studio to initiate and pay for the creation of the first accessible version of a book, "Roots to Power: A Manual for Grassroots Organizing," which will be available in digital  format in approximately six months to any print-disabled person who is a member of a talking book library in the US. 
• Authorized the creation of a glossary of disability-related terms and abbreviations for distribution to the disability community to facilitate communication among members and empower new advocates

Model Employer

• Met with the Model Employer Task Force to discuss the one-year report and provide input about new initiatives in the Executive Branch. 
• Provided input on establishment of state's efforts to establish a baseline of
• Hosted Kathy Petkauskos, Senior Program Director from Work Without Limits, to present report to the Governor entitled, “Recommendations from Massachusetts Businesses: Increasing Employment Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities.”
• Posted one-year report and report to Governor on eNC website.   Report to Governor presentation was also webstreamed throughout the state. 

Research

• The ENC Coordinator conducted internet research, informational interviews, and telephone inquiries on the following areas of interest in order to clarify and define a policy agenda for the upcoming 2011 year.
  • State certification through the State Office of Minority and Women Business Assistance
  • Certification practices in other states
  • Randolph-Sheppard Act 
  • National Business Leadership Network
  • Southwest Airlines call centers/Jet Blue
  • Social Security disincentives and policy
  • Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (set up meeting with Director of Testing for January, 2011)
  • Vendor accountability in Massachusetts and at Federal level
  • Project Impact and other benefits counseling programs
  • Department of Labor statistics
  • History of ENC and opinions about future of the group

Representation

• The ENC Coordinator represented the ENC and participated/presented at the following events:
  • Quarterly meeting of Massachusetts Disability Commissioners 
  • Meeting with Massachusetts State Representatives James O'Day and Kay Kahn in regard to DPC legislative initiative to reintroduce HB1911 to create accountability for state Vendors 
  • Organizational meeting of new committee through AARP on Social Security reform 
  • Providers' Council explorative session
  • Meeting with President of Carroll Center
  • Monthly meetings of the Disability Policy Consortium  
  • Quarterly meeting of the Advisory Council for Work Without Limits 
  • Gaining Momentum" workshop through WWL 

Press and Publicity

• Wrote article for WWL fall newsletter (featured partner)
• Issued press release in August about hiring of new Coordinator and ENC fall initiatives
• ENC featured in newsletter of Disability Policy Consortium