Seminar shows benefits of hiring those with disabilities

Several local business learned about the advantages of hiring people with disabilities during a seminar Tuesday hosted by the Kansas Department of Commerce.

The Business Leadership Network Lunch and Learn event, held at Mercy Hospital, focused on building a workforce that includes people who have physical and/or intellectual disabilities. Information was presented on programs and training tools that can help get the disabled into the state's workforce centers and the advantages to employers and businesses who hire people with disabilities.

Lacie Worcester, business leadership network administrator with the KDOC, discussed the Disability Employment Initiative, which is aimed at adult workers and seeks employers who don't hire people with disabilities and encourages them to do so. The initiative is funded through a $2 million federal grant through the U.S. Department of Labor.

The goal of the grant is to provide programs and training tools to help people with various disabilities obtain training and jobs.

The Business Leadership Network focuses on the southeast and south-central Kansas regions and works with agencies such as Tri-Valley Developmental Services, which serves developmentally disabled people in Allen, Bourbon, Neosho and Woodson counties.

At the gathering, Tri-Valley representative Darla Hanks said Kansas is an "employment first" state, meaning there is a state law that benefits people with disabilities. It says, "the first option for people with disabilities is to work and get gainful, competitive employment."

"People with disabilities come from all over," Hanks said, and anyone can become disabled at any time. She and other Tri-Valley staff go door-to-door and send emails in the community to inform firms about clients' particular skills in an effort to help Tri-Valley clients get jobs.

"Employees help clients learn the job in order to be successful," she said.

There are Tri-Valley clients who have jobs locally and are active in the life of Fort Scott.

"These are dedicated workers," Hanks said.

There are a few local companies that currently employ people with disabilities.

Nancy Hoffer, a Heidrick's True Value staffer, said the store currently employs two Tri-Valley clients who are valued workers.

"It's probably the most rewarding thing that's happened in our store," she said, adding the employees are "dedicated; they want to do a good job and are a productive part of our store. They make the store look good and (foster) a good environment."

Tony Hanks with Klein/Neice, a local plant, said the company also has "two good employees."

"They don't miss work. They're on time. They don't argue like some of the current employees do. They go above and beyond and stay over if needed," he said.

Sue Morrell, a vocational rehabilitation counselor with Vocational Rehabilitation Services, talked at the meeting about the purpose of her office, which tries to find jobs for people with a wide variety of disabilities, which are "things that create an impediment to being able to work." These can include mental health, physical disabilities and drug and alcohol issues.

"We work with people with disabilities who want to go back to work," she said.

Morrell said she has clients who range in age from 14 to 72. The agency helps pay for supplies and services for people with disabilities, provides job placement vendors who work with employees and pays to have job coaches help clients learn various jobs.

The agency uses a combination of state and federal funding, but is "limited on what we can spend," Morrell said.

Working is better for clients because it "keeps them more active," she said.

She added there are two tools she uses frequently -- a community-based work assessment, which answers questions about the person's job skills; and a community-based job tryout, which helps people with disabilities who are interested in pursuing a new type of job.

Morrell said there are some tax breaks available to employers that have to make physical adjustments to the work environment.

Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Lindsay Madison, who participated in the seminar, said there may be other Business Leadership Network meetings conducted in the future to allow more discussion on the topic.