AASE Events
2009 Supported Employment Conference - Keep on Workin' It: Supported Employment in a Slowing Economy
Red Deer, Alberta November 17 & 18, 2009
The Alberta Association for Supported Employment will be hosting a 1 ½ day conference at the Capri Hotel in Red Deer, Alberta on November 17 & 18, 2009.
Cost to attend:
- AASE members: $150
- Non-members: $175
- Presenters: $100
Keynote Speakers
Karin Naslund - Naslund Consulting Group
Blair Lundy - Company's Coming
Conference Schedule
Tuesday November 17, 2009 | Wednesday November 18, 2009 |
8:00am - 9:00am | 8:00am - 9:00am |
9:00am - 10:15am | 9:00am - 10:15am |
10:15am - 10:45am | 10:15am - 10:45am |
10:45am - 12:00pm | Breakout Sessions: |
12:00pm - 1:30pm | Conference End! |
1:30pm - 2:30pm | |
2:30pm - 3:00pm | |
3:00pm - 4:15pm |
Conference Session Briefs
Keynote Presentations
Naslund Consulting Group is built on the premise that organizations are what they are because of the people who work for them. Employees influence client service standards, organizational culture, work ethic, staff retention (turnover rates), pace of growth, sustainability and ... the financial bottom line.
NCG believes in the talent, skill and potential of each employee and the team of employees who make up your work environment. Our focus is strengthening organizations by capitalizing on human resources.
Company's Coming Our goals at Company's Coming are to focus on a person's abilities, not their disabilities. One of our Core Values is: We succeed by working enthusiastically as a team, while respecting the unique contribution of every individual. Our Mission statement is: We promote a spirit of cooperation and trust among our co-workers and suppliers in service of our customers, our community and our company.
Awards received by Company's Coming Publishing Ltd.:
- 2006 Edmonton Chamber of Commerce, Diversity Business of the Year
- 2007 Easter Seals Alberta, Culture of Ability Award
- 2008 Alberta Business Awards, Employer of Persons with Disabilities Award of Distinction.
- 2008 Alberta Business Awards of Distinction, Premier's Award of Distinction
Breakout Sessions
Job Coaching; Doin' it the N.E. Way
Presenters: Lucille Chisan; WJS Alberta (Vegreville / Bonnyville)
Our Northeast Employment Specialist group had been very proactive in developing a tool for our region in hopes of more consistency among service providers. The "Art of Job Coaching" manual is intended to minimize theories of supported employment and focus instead on information, tools and techniques that can be readily used by front line workers. Our staff contributed real life examples and information from their communities to make the training and workshop materials locally relevant. We invite you to attend this session and see what a great tool we have developed.
Genuine & Meaningful Employment; The Role of Service Provider
Presenter: Bill Foreman; Progressive Alternatives Society of Calgary (Calgary)
Synopsis: TBA
Disability Employer Connections Working Group - Who Are We?
Presenters: Kara Reed; City of Edmonton & Karen Hamilton; AE&I (Edmonton)
The Disability Employer Connections (DEC) Working group is committed to sharing information about hiring persons with disabilities by educating and sharing information with employers. We would like to share with you what events have occurred, including an Employers Forum, Hiring Fair and World Café Conversation, what we have learned and where we are headed as a working group. Come and learn about the events that have taken place and have conversation about what other events could take place to eliminate barrier to employment of persons with disabilities.
Facilitating Natural Supports
Presenters: Rochelle Poncelet & Jolene Brunn; Calgary Alternative Support Services (Calgary)
Natural supports are referred to often in the field of Supported Employment but new staff often don't fully understand the definition, the employers role in these supports - and HOW to facilitate these supports. The CAES Program provides extremely little direct job coaching but rather utilizes existing training mechanisms and co-worker relationships in the workplace in order to ensure that our client base has the 'same work experience' as their coworkers. It's cost-effective and inclusion and retention rates are high. This workshop will define Natural Supports, explain and illustrate facilitation techniques, explore employer roles and participation, and provide examples, of 'Natural Support Success Stories'. Participants will leave this workshop with a full understanding of Natural Supports and the implementation strategies in order to reduce direct service hours and increase job retention for those they serve.
Mental Health First Aid
Presenters: TBA
Synopsis: TBA
WorkForce 2010: Staff Attraction Campaigns
Presenters: Brooks Hanewich; Alberta Council of Disability Services (Edmonton)
How do we compete in a tight labour market when the work is not well understood or recognized? Learn more about how the Alberta Council of Disability Services (ACDS) approached this dilemma and learn from examples of the marketing and branding activities they are currently engaged in.
Panel Session
Presenters / Facilitator: Ken Hokin; EPSS (Red Deer)
Synopsis: TBA
Viable Calgary
Presenters: Richard Lamere & Barry Tischuk, Viable Calgary (Calgary)
Viable Calgary is a workforce initiative focused on assisting employers to increase the engagement of employees with disabilities. Our services are designed to support and assist Calgary employers in diversifying their workplaces to ensure they can find the right person for the right job in the face of the changing workforce environment. We are focused on building productive linkages between industry, job placement agencies and people with disabilities.
Cross Level Supports and Services, Addiction and Mental Health Alberta Health Services -Edmonton Zone
Presenters: Kathleen Taubensee & Katherine Hay; Alberta Health Services (Edmonton)
Despite the great strides in Supported Employment for individuals with disabilities and the current job market in Edmonton, people suffering from mental illnesses continue to have the highest rate of unemployment among the disability groups. Individuals diagnosed with a severe mental illness face unique and challenging barriers to obtaining and maintaining personally satisfying and appropriate employment positions in their communities. This presentation will discuss some of the specialized knowledge and skills required to work successfully with this population. In addition, the presentation will provide examples of specific services that have been developed and implemented in partnership with the private sector, funded agencies and various levels of government to improve outcomes for clients in Capital Health's Regional Vocational Program.
Temporary Employment Agency for People with Disabilities
Presenters: Bethann Jones; On Site Placement Services (Edmonton)
Our Temporary Employment Agency for Persons with Disabilities which is new exciting initiative that OSP is providing on behalf of Alberta Employment and Immigration. This presentation will provide an overview of this new project including stakeholders involved, background information, how we differ from other community temporary employment agencies, the growth and development of the agency, the supports and services being offered to workers and host employers, contracts with Edmonton and area employers-how this works, and so on.
Presenter Bios
Blair Lundy
- Distribution Manager, Company's Coming Publishing Limited, 1993 - To date.
- Alderman, City of Leduc - 1986-1995
- Board Member, Psychiatric Nurse's Assoc. Alberta - 1985 -1994
- Board Member, Psychiatric Nurse's Assoc. Canada - 1994 -1998
- Chairman, Michener Facility Board, PDD - 1999- 2002
- Vice-Chair, Alberta Provincial Board for Persons with Developmental Disabilities - 2002 - 2006
- Member, Appeal Secretariat-Persons with Developmental Disabilities - 2007 -2008
- Chair, Edmonton Chamber of Commerce Workforce Diversity Taskforce 2006-2009
- Chair, Edmonton Region Community Board for Persons with Developmental Disabilities - Appointed March 2009
- Board Member - Health Disciplines Board, Province of Alberta - Appointed June 2009
Karin Naslundhas over 20 years of experience working in organizations in senior management positions. She is passionate about developing skills in people and supporting organizations toward greatness.
Karin's skills include everything from organizational development (board management; program development, implementation, monitoring and evaluating; policy and procedure development, etc.) to human resource management (performance management - hiring, evaluating, dismissing staff, teambuilding), to financial management (budgeting, fundraising and managing a $2 million dollar capital campaign to build a service center, social enterprise) to public relations and marketing (public speaking, promotion and customer service training).
Karin is "All about People!" She started NCG to connect with people across provinces and industries. She appreciates the individual talents, skills and perspective people bring to their work and focuses on their importance in organizational success. Karin strongly believes staff impact an organization's culture, reputation and financial bottom-line.
Katherine Hay completed her Bachelor of Science in Occupational Therapy at the University of Alberta in 1997. She worked for five years on the Forensic Rehabilitation Unit at Alberta Hospital Edmonton working with the Not Criminally Responsible population. Five years ago, she was the original Occupational Therapist to be employed in the Regional Vocational Program. Since this time, she has assisted in the growth and development of the program and providing vocational services to clients with mental illness residing in the Capital Health region.
Bill Foreman
Kathleen Taubensee has worked with Supported Employment for the past 5 years. First three years with PDD funded clients and the past two years with clients that have mental illness. Three years ago became involved with the AASE board. This past year she has participated in a certification program through Boston University in Psychiatric Vocational Rehabilitation.
Richard Lamere
Rochelle Poncelet has been in human services for over 7 years and has been involved with the CAES employment program since 2004. Working specifically as a Career Consultant, she assists adults with disabilities to prepare for and maintain competitive employment. Rochelle has extensive experience facilitating the natural supports model within a vast variety of work places. As well, she has developed and presented many employment workshop sessions to individuals with disabilities to prepare them for employment.
Bethann Jones has her diploma in Social Work and a Human Service Administrator Degree. She is also a certified Laughter Yoga Instructor. Bethann has been employed with On Site Placement Services Association (OPS) for over 10 years working as a case manager, facilitator and currently the Manager for the new Temporary Employment Agency. Bethann has extensive experience working with persons with all types of disabilities and assisting then to find and maintain employment. Over the years she has seen how our labour market has changed and greatly influenced the employment opportunities for those our agency assists. In her early years she lived on a farm north of Edmonton but spent most of her years in Edmonton. She has 2 sons and 3 grandsons which are the joy of her life.
Jolene Brunn has been working in the human service field for over 9 years and has been involved with the CAES employment program since 2005. Working specifically as a Career Consultant, she assists adults with disabilities to prepare for and maintain competitive employment. Jolene has used the natural supports model within a variety of work place settings to assist her clients in becoming independent at work.
Lucille Chisan is currently the Chairperson for the Northeast Employment Specialist Group, representing agencies from Barrhead, St. Paul, Vegreville, Bonnyville and Westlock. She has worked as an employment counselor for AE&I projects and now works with Persons with Developmental Disabilities find and maintain employment. Lucille has also been a Rotarian for 10 years and believes her strong community involvement has been a great asset to finding opportunities for the people she works with.
Kara Reed
Ken Hokin
Karen Hamilton
Brooks Hanewich
Mental Health First Aid Presenter TBA
Barry Tischuk
To register, please download and fill out our Conference Registration Form (281KB MS Word Document), if you don't have MS Word, you can download openoffice for free.