Fema Employment - Questions to uncover hidden disabilities?

Questions to uncover hidden disabilities?

I work for the administrative entity of a government program that helps people find employment. I work under a federal grant to help people with disabilities navigate their way through our system and the other systems that we deal with, and provide assistance in understanding how working will affect benefits. The project I am currently working on is coming up with a questionnaire that will help the people who work directly with our customers ask questions that may help uncover hidden disabilities and/or things people may not even think of as a disability but may allow them to receive additional services/accommodations if they would like (such as if a person has trouble standing/sitting for a long period of time, or if their reading/comprehension skills are considered low). Continued below :) I am hoping that someone can help point me in the right direction to find questions that can be asked to uncover hidden disabilities so that we can assist our customers by providing information to programs and/or accommodations that may help them to find and maintain employment. I want to make sure that my customers are aware of all services and rights that are available to them so that they are able to make an informed choice when choosing services. Does anyone know of any good websites that address this? Thank you! The biggest barrier for people with disabilities (pwd) isn't always their disability, but those trying to assist them to get services. The people I am writing the questionaire for are generally people that have not been trained on the services that are available to ALL of our customers (not just those with disabilities) and trying to teach them that the person they preceive as "lazy, unmotivated" etc may be someone that doesnt comptehend all that they are asking them to do, or may be so frustrated by the forms that we require them to fill out that they are masking their frustration with anger. sorry - rant over lol Chillswoman – thank you for the job description idea – that is a wonderful idea! That could also be used to open up discussions on appropriate workplace behavior for all of our program participants! I understand that people have the right to not disclose, and the questionnaire would not be a mandatory document. As with everything we do here (unless mandated by state or federal government) it would be completely voluntary and strictly confidential, and would in no way affect employment. We are not employers or an employment agency nor are our service providers. We provide workforce development skills to the people in our community through federal, state and private funding. Think Work First or TANF funding. Also........ ..........in my community, a lot of people have hidden learning disabilities and do not know it. For example, it is not unusual here for someone who may only be able to read at a 4th grade level to graduate high school without ever having been tested or given the opportunity to participate in classes that would help to raise reading comprehension. Most of the people who have a known disability will self disclose since they know that opens up funding and other supportive services to them that can help with accommodations. No Tech, we are not job coaches and I definitely don't do it for the money as my paycheck proves :-) My title is Disability Program Navigator and it is a federal grant. The service providers do have job developers, and we have some that specialize in working with pwd, (this just means that they are more knowledgeable about social security and the benefits to the employers and potential employees). But I understand about the job coaches - some of my customers that I have worked with in the past have worked with job coaches, and some had good experiences and some had bad, just like with anyone. I'm sorry you had such a bad experience with yours. Thank you Jobees :)

Public Comments

u r askin bout question as a questin in Yahoo Question ?? wow !! how many questions i hve askd u now >....LOL !
I would turn it around - state that there are programs for those who have any of the following restrictions (don't say disabilities): and then list them (like a doctor's checklist) trouble standing for more than 30 mins trouble sitting for more than 30 mins poor vision pain while typing difficulty hearing ... and whatever else you might find a loophole (er, service/accommodation) for.
If you are helping people just come up with 30 interview type questions (some complex but not too hard ) requiring them to elaborate on a response after talking to them for extended period of time you can tell if they are capable of comprehending. I worked for the government and I know that they have a disability questionnaire in place as far as sitting, standing, legally blind, handicaps, etc.... some people do not disclose this information but after a thorough interview you would know.
You have to be very careful with this. People have the right not to disclose their disabilities. People do not have to answer any questions related to their disabilities. I realize you are asking with the best of intentions. An employer or potential employer cannot ask if a person is disabled. or what their disabilities are. They can ask questions about how a person would accomplish a specific task required to do a job. So what I would suggest is to come up with employment job descriptions and ask how a person would do the specific tasks involved in that job. If they say that is a job they can't do - problem solve how they could do it.
I hope you help the people with disabilities and not doing it more for the $$$. I got betray by my own job coach because she just want to get rid of me for someone who rely on her longer. Most of them have mental disabilities so I figured that she wanted to replace me with someone who far worse than me. She backstab me by lieing in the report that I was misbehaving at an interview when there weren't any.
Test by a specialist doctor would be a good way. I tried twice for DSP in Australia. By having a specialist he could tell me what I had. Other question how long can you go out before your tried Do you pay your bills on time
Why not just give them a simple assessment test based upon their performance skillls by having them do some simple tasks on a volunteer basis. I once took part in a program that was designed to gauge if I would fit into a group home environment. It was a hidden "test" that was actually a gift by way of a grant or donation from the mental health agency I was referred to. I had physical problems & I did not fit into the boundaries of having any mental problems that qualified me, yet I will share it with you: After the intake interview, I was offered a hotel voucher for 3 days. The room had a refrigerator, microwave, & coffee maker. I was given a $25 shopping trip. I was driven to the local grocery store, told to purchase 3 days worth of food for $25. I was also given 3 days worth of free food coupons from McDonalds for free breakfast, lunch, & dinner, that were good for one year! We were given one hour to complete our shopping & meet at the checkstand for our "sponsors" to pay for our purchases. The hitch came when we were paired up with 2 unknowns who observed us & took notes regarding our shopping habits. They also asked us to explain why we chose certain foods & if we were aware that we could buy in bulk for a better bargain. Since I was living alone & had no idea of what it was to be in a group, I chose items that were going to be easy to transport, prepare, & utilize for my own needs. Afterall, I WAS going to be staying in the room for 3 days & this food was going to have to last. I could not use those McDonalds Coupons because I could not get to McDonalds without paying for the bus & I had no money & no tokens, so those coupons would have to wait for another day! Although I was the ONLY participant whose order ended up totaling $24.95, (everyone else went at least $10 over), I was not accepted to become part of the "group" because I failed to fail the test! They were looking for followers & I proved myself to be a potential leader who might not be as easy to control as the others might have been. I learned all of this YEARS after the fact, yet I thought it might help you in thinking up some type of a similar type of assessment for people in need of placement...whether it be jobs or housing!
What we did at the group home I worked at is called a task analysis....meaning you break every task down into each individual step and the consumers were trained to follow them or they were used to access how much modification or steps they required to be successful...for example.....table setting...we would put poker chips on the table and that told the consumer where to put the place settings...others required jigs.....a mat with a plate, cup spoon fork, knife traced on it...some could figure out from the mats how many plates, cups, etc...were needed but others needed a way to determine how many and we did a jig for that too....TEAACH has some very interesting ideas.
did you realize your question is a joke in that the more hidden disabilities you find the more that person will be unemployable? Disband that program. It's not helpful at all. If you were "not" in the employment section, and only worked for the "assistance" side of the government then that might be helpful, but doing it from the "employment" standpoint it will only hinder and hurt the individual who is hopeful to work a job.