Workforce Investment Partnership

Need

The Hawaii Workforce Investment Partnership (WIP) project is a federally funded grant by the Department of Labor to University of Hawaii’s-Center on Disability Studies. The purpose of the Project is to develop and implement a web-based information infrastructure in partnership with the Workforce Investment consortium of key stakeholders who provide services through the Statewide One-Stop Employment Centers. With a vision of providing comprehensive, seamless services to individuals with disabilities, this multi-access web-based system will be the first cross-disability, universal use information system in the country, serving consumers, service professionals, public agencies, and employers alike statewide.

The Workforce Investment Partnership project will provide consumers and service providers statewide with in-depth, up-to-date information on available private and public services, resources and products that will support persons with disabilities seeking to enhance their vocational skills and/or obtain employment.

By providing information about community and employment options, individuals with disabilities will be able to participate in decisions that affect their lives, giving them an opportunity to participate in their community in ways meaningful to them.

Overall Goals and Objectives

The Project has involved all stakeholders in a proven systems change process designed to build on the progress already made in creating a One-Stop delivery system. Focus has been to: The design and implementation of a web-based multi-access information system (www.RealChoices.org) that will provide a virtual infrastructure of the One-Stop delivery system.

The website will be:

• User friendly
• Provide information about existing services statewide
• Match consumer needs with existing services
• Address continuous quality assurance

Provide statewide training to consumers, family members, and agencies on using the Web-based information system.

Provide cross-training to personnel of the One-Stop Centers and service provider agencies (both public and private) with the attitudes, skills, and knowledge needed to effectively support persons with disabilities.

Establish a consumer-driven Governing Council with industry representation to continually monitor the Project’s progress and promote policies that will enable people with challenges to make self-determined decisions about employment and community options.

Unusual Features

User-friendliness of the site

In order to address barriers to training and employment faced by persons with disabilities, a proven collaborative systems change process will be used to bring representatives of all key stakeholder groups together in a Governing Council to collaboratively prioritize needs, develop strategic action plans to address those needs, and recommend changes in policies and procedures to institutionalize and sustain innovations. Concurrently, workgroups comprised of consumers, interested individuals, and representatives from public and private organizations are working together to ensure the Web-based system addresses choice, access, and self-determination issues.

In addition, through the use of the latest computer networking and Web technologies along with training of key personnel, the Project will have provisions for the following user-friendly features:

• An interactive assessment process that will help persons with disabilities to identify services/supports for which they are eligible.
• A unified database describing all services/supports offered by the state, counties, and private organizations, with listings according to geographical location.
• A quality assurance component that will identify services/supports gaps by tracking requests and allowing users to periodically rate their services/supports and their employment outcomes.

Governing Council

The Governing Council is the decision-making body of the project and is tasked with ensuring that goals and objectives are met.

• The membership is comprised of all stakeholder groups, with disability community representatives comprising at least 51% of the membership.
• Consumer members include people with disabilities, family members, or other concerned individuals, and representatives of consumer/family organizations.
• The Governing Council has five members (15%) that are neighbor island residents.
• Members of the Governing Council serve on committees that are driving the creation of the Web-based system and additional support services, such as training and quality assurance.
• Representatives of all key stakeholder groups work together with the Governing Council in collaboratively prioritizing needs, developing strategic action plans to address those needs, and recommending changes in policies and procedures to institutionalize and sustain innovations.

Expected Benefits

There are many benefits to using the Real Choices website.

As a consumer one will be able to:

• Investigate alternative employment related services and financing.
• Find and interact with service providers.
• Register for services with providers.
• Find and interact with other Real Choices consumers.

As a service provider one will be able to:

• Describe and offer services online.
• Interact with new users and get their requirements instantaneously.
• Keep service information up-to-the-minute accurate