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Welcome to the Massachusetts 
Employment First E-Newsletter
November 2017
With this issue of the Massachusetts Employment First E-Newsletter, we're introducing a new section called Stories from the Field. Check it out each month for new perspectives and stories that will inform your work. 
 
Have a story you'd like to share? Contact Katie Allen at [email protected] .
Upcoming webinars and events  
Webinar: The Art of Facilitating Natural Supports and Social Inclusion 
When:   Tuesday, November 14, 2017 from 9:30-11:00am ET  
Cost: FREE  
 
Effective job coaching maximizes employee independence and promotes stability at work. But job performance is only part of what leads to employment success. Equally essential is that the new employee fits in and is included in a meaningful way as a member of that workplace culture. This happens through natural supports from coworkers, supervisors, and others.
 
So, what are natural supports, really? And what can you do you to help make social inclusion happen? This session will discuss concrete strategies to engage coworkers and supervisors while taking full advantage of workplace activities to enhance social inclusion.  
 
Register.   Once you register, you will receive an automated confirmation email. Reminders will be sent closer to the event date with the webinar URL link.  
 
Questions about this webinar? Contact: Lara Enein-Donovan,   [email protected].  
 
For more about natural supports, visit employmentfirstma.org and check out the job coaching resources on the   tools and resources page.
Stories from the field: 
The partnership between employment specialists and job seekers
Photo of Jill Eastman
The partnership between employment specialists and job seekers/employees with developmental disabilities is at the core of quality employment services.  This month , Jill Eastman, the employment services program coordinator at the Institute for Community Inclusion, explains the employment specialist/job seeker relationship.
 
In her interview, Jill discusses the importance of building rapport, following the job seeker's lead, understanding workplace culture, and connecting with families and other natural supports as a resource. She also provides examples of how employees with developmental disabilities take the lead in this partnership to improve workplace inclusion.  
 
Listen to the interview  to learn more about workplace integration from the employment specialist's perspective.  

And check out our webinar archives and tools and resources below to hear directly from self-advocates about what is important to them in the employment process. 
In case you missed it... 
The Truth Comes from Us: 
What Employment Supports Do Self-Advocates Want and Need? 

In September,   Maxwell Barrows and Stirling Peebles from Green Mountain Self-Advocates in Vermont and   John Sheehan from Triangle, Inc. in Malden, MA presented a webinar about the Self-Advocates Becoming Empowered (SABE) paper,   The Truth Comes from Us: Supporting Workers with Developmental Disabilities.  
 
The SABE publication is based on interviews with self-advocates from across the U.S. People with intellectual and developmental disabilities shared their personal experiences receiving support to work, and several themes were identified.  
 
View this webinar  to learn what matters most to our employment service recipients.  
Tools and Resources  

The Truth Comes from Us: 
Supporting Workers with Developmental Disabilities  

People with disabilities can work and handle a job. We know what we are doing. We know how to speak up and speak out for ourselves.  
 
Self-Advocates Becoming Empowered (SABE) is a self-advocacy organization, working for the full inclusion of people with developmental disabilities in our communities. In this paper, people with intellectual and developmental disabilities shared their perspectives based on their personal experience receiving support to work.  
 
Visit ThinkWork   to learn more and download the publication.
Stay in Touch
If you didn't receive this e-newsletter directly and you'd like to subscribe, please go to: http://employmentfirstma.org/signup. Remember to add [email protected] to your contacts to make sure that each issue makes it to your inbox.  
Institute for Community Inclusion | 617-287-4300 voice | [email protected]  |  www.communityinclusion.org
UMass Boston
100 Morrissey Blvd.
Boston, MA 02125