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MASWM Conference Targets Key Workshop Issues
Data Management Just for Workshops
The formal meetings began the morning of Thursday, April 27, with presenters Stacey Elster, Chief Program Officer for Lafayette Industries, and David Lindell, Co-CEO for SETWorks, software designed specifically for disability service agencies.
Elster, who works with the software and had input into its design, said the comprehensive program automates several important workshop procedures but allows her to separate access so a floor supervisor would not be able to see an employee’s personal outcomes, for example.
“It’s been tremendous,” she said. “Measuring outcomes used to take five days. Now it’s in one place.” The software handles everything from payroll to case management. Measuring outcomes is key data required by numerous public funders of sheltered workshops in Missouri.
Over 80 workshop representatives attended the MASWM Spring Conference April 26-28. One of the event highlights was an exercise critiquing a draft workshop best practices manual. Participants worked in teams to suggest additions or changes to the document scheduled for completion later this year.
Keeping Boards on Track
Thursday’s second session involved one of the biggest jobs for workshop managers, “managing” their board of directors. These issues involve educating directors on governance and agency direction; their responsibility; and managing daily operations, which is the workshop manager’s responsibility. The challenge of ensuring a steady inflow of new board members, and other widespread hurdles that could impact workshop operations, were also discussed.
Led by MASWM board member and Harrisonville manager Robert Greenwood, “board governance” included both general theories and proven practices on something that can be either a major strength or weakness for any workshop.
Greenwood, who has 34 years of workshop experience, said an important step involves defining roles for everyone involved, including directors. “You need a clear set of guidelines,” he said. “That solves a lot of problems.”
DOL and More
Dan Gier, director of DESE’s Sheltered Workshop Division, presented information on Department of Labor 14(c) certifications and other topics. He noted that state data shows workshops are bouncing back well from the COVID pandemic, which kept many workers at home and slowed or stopped several business contracts.
“You’re employing more people than the state of Missouri as a whole,” he said. “You’re doing a good job.”
Gier said the data also shows that workshops are the sole employment option for people with developmental disabilities in many areas of Missouri. “You ARE the only answer in some of our counties,” he said. “Without your being there, a lot of these folks would be sitting at home watching TV.”
Measuring Output
Katie Jones, Chief Program Officer and Advocacy Director for BCI, St. Charles and Lincoln County, presented information on task analysis, the complex and often multilayered process for determining workshop pay rates on individual jobs.
Jones noted calculations in the process are easy to misjudge. One widespread mistake involve ensuring your standard setting process matches your time study process and factoring in PFD (personal time fatigue and delay). There is a hierarchy, so to say, of tasks that must be met to ensure DOL compliance. The base of that hierarchy being the assurance in an accurate prevailing wage and the process with that, up to the employee’s wage.
“If someone comes in and is having the worst day of his or her life, you don’t want to test them that day,” Jones said. “It won’t be useful.”
Balancing Budgets
Scott Skarstad, chief financial officer for Lafayette Industries in Manchester, addressed workshop financial management, including both formal requirements and lessons he’s learned from years of experience.
Skarstad shared instances where businesses have lost significant amounts of money because of poor management practices like failing to require multiple staff members to approve expenditures. With a single approval, an individual could more easily divert funds for personal use. Skarstad said small workshops may struggle here because small staff numbers make such double-checking difficult.
“That might be a case where you look for a retired accountant or someone who could come in part-time and help with that,” he said. He said parttime consultants, even volunteers, can help in many such areas provided they are qualified.
Learning and Helping
Thursday’s final training session was perfect in several ways. Although it came at the end of a long day, discussion of MASWM’s best practices manual brought valuable suggestions for the draft document and provided an exciting close to the afternoon.
Board member Heather Pugh, who serves as chair for the best practices committee, led a “musical chairs” event to gather input on the working draft. After the group was divided into 11 teams, each took turns reviewing 11 areas of the manual. Everyone had an opportunity to write suggestions to what will be a guide for new managers and help for veterans.
A related conference topic involved a proposed manager mentoring program to formalize and expand efforts to assist new workshop leaders. Both efforts continue.
Evening Speaker
The annual dinner featured Bob Odenwald as the keynote speaker. Division chief for the Sunrise Beach Fire Protection District and formerly the training officer for a St. Louis area department, Odenwald compared his work with that of workshop managers. He also told how members of his department learned by helping a special needs student.
“We’re kind of in the same business,” Odenwald said, “helping people.”
Odenwald recalled a high school student with a disability who was extremely withdrawn and struggling in school. He had one interest about which he was passionate, however – firefighting. Odenwald suggested the young man visit the Sunshine Beach fire station, which soon became a regular event.
“He liked it and the firefighters liked it,” he said. “The firefighters couldn’t wait until he got there. That feeling of doing good and making someone’s life better is worth a lot.”
Another factor is involved as well, Odenwald said. “Passion leads to trust, which in turn leads to loyalty,” he said, “in any industry, and in life.”
The young man benefited, too. His mother soon reported he was becoming less withdrawn and showed interest in new things every day. “She told me, ‘That never would have happened without you and the firefighters,’” he said.
Job Hazards
Alan Schmitt and Tom Shults, who serve as safety advisors for Sheltered Workshop Insurance of Missouri (SWIM), discussed job hazards and how to avoid them during the first training session Friday morning, April 28. Their presentation included several surprises.
“Ninety percent of the time, accidents are because of unsafe behavior,” Schmitt said. “Only 10 percent involve unsafe conditions. There are usually 331 near misses that precede and accident.”
Behavior is hard to change, however. One key is often to reinforce positive behavior, rather than simply criticizing bad behavior. He recommended something like this: Bob, I really appreciate you wearing your safety glasses, rather than focusing only on the negative. “That will go a long way,” Schmitt said. “You get a lot of bang for the buck on that one.”
Topping off that discussion, Allison Benney, VP Gallagher and administrator for SWIM, shared workmen’s compensation statistics, and oversaw an interactive exercise to demonstrate incident writing. A key is to write only what you saw, not what you surmise and assume what happened.
Advocacy Efforts
Wearing another hat, board member Heather Pugh outlined efforts to continue and increase Missouri A-Team, grassroots organizations largely comprised of parents, guardians and other supporters of people with disabilities. She said a goal of the advocacy committee is to see A-Team committees of parents and other supporters for every workshop in the state. She added that the group is also planning events throughout the year to build on the success of the Day of Choice in Jefferson City in March.
“It’s really important that we put positive messages out there,” she said.
Business Meeting and More
The annual business meeting contained several significant topics, starting with the legislative report by Chair Kit Brewer. Brewer discussed multiple important announcements and upcoming challenges related to workshops. One is because Missouri is the largest user of 14(c) certificates nationally and the state’s workshops are becoming a target. The results are playing out on several levels, including interpretation of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act.
“In Missouri, an individual’s choice to not pursue CIE (Competitive Integrated Employment) is sufficient to close a case,” he said. “The rest of the nation reads that as, ‘The Individual must go through that process to the end, and in many states, there must be three separate attempts and failures, and it often takes three to four years.’”
Even in Missouri, where legislative support for workshops is strong, there are challenges. One involves a $3.7-million funding request, which required critical action almost immediately following the meeting. Fortunately, the Senate has included that request after communication by Brewer and Legislative Consultant Lynne Schlosser. The request must now be agreed to in a Budget Conference Committee with House and Senate members.
“If you wonder what MASWM does, look at your bank account,” Brewer said, citing as one example a sliding scale mechanism that provided additional support for employee wages. “Workshops are getting that because MASWM went down there and got the sliding scale,” he said. Other important initiatives by MASWM include a recent cooperative agreement with the Lt. Governor’s Buy Missouri program, the Missouri Association of Manufacturers and MASWM.
FY 2023-2024 Budget
Following the legislative presentation, the proposed budget, previously sent to all MASWM members, was presented again to the membership. Following the presentation and discussion, voting was conducted via individual ballots. The budget passed unanimously.
The Area Directors, elected by their local area, were introduced, along with the Officers, who still have a year to serve on their current term. MASWM will go into the upcoming fiscal year with the same Board as the current year.
Communication Efforts
Another national issue involves misinformation or a lack of accurate information, starting with an assumption by many that without workshops all people with development disabilities could still find employment. Workshop managers often see firsthand that this is not true when employees in community employment are terminated just months or even weeks after finally finding a job, or face bullying and worse in community settings.
“No one’s ever done follow up,” Brewer said, citing states like Vermont that closed workshops. “We know what the data will say, but people can claim otherwise because solid information is lacking.” Libera added that MASWM is investigating options for collecting that information.
MASWM is also working with the Coalition to Preserve 14(c). Brewer and other members of the Legislative Committee are scheduled to present in 10 meetings over three days this month in Washington, D.C., part of a years-long effort to bring workshop perspectives to the nation’s leadership. The meetings are part of the outreach of 535 Group, MASWM’s federal lobbyist.
Other MASWM efforts were also discussed, including Katie Jones’ representation on the Missouri Governor’s Council and MACDDS, and Heather Pugh’s work on the Missouri Developmental Disabilities Council. These and other efforts often involve lone workshop representatives carrying employment perspectives into sometimes hostile environments.
“I speak up to represent the 5,000 people we serve,” Pugh said. “Workshops are one choice, but they are an important choice that must be available to ensure inclusion and equity. These changes (to end workshops) are affecting our adults with disabilities.”
And Still More
Vice President Jeff Jones, manager at Carthage and Joplin, reported on efforts with the Missouri Department of Transportation. Maintenance services at Missouri highway rest stops are important business contracts for several small, largely rural workshops. However, the business is facing questions due to the conversion of several stops to low-maintenance truck parking areas, upcoming contract negotiations and more.
Conference attendees represented a wide range of workshops, from one of the newest and smallest to some of Missouri’s largest employers of people with disabilities and everything in-between. One critical item not on the agenda was the extensive networking by attendees, who gathered during every break, reception or other pause to discuss challenges and solutions.
Along with MASWM leaders who worked hard to organize the event, the conference was supported by two sponsors. SWIM was the conference sponsor and SETWorks was the welcoming sponsor.
Videos of the nine training sessions are now available in the MASWM password protected Resource Library.