Employment

Philosophy of the Program: At Oak Tree Support Services our mission is to eradicate homeless by meeting people where they are and helping them get to where they want to be through county and federal programs. We support people to achieve the change they want while embodying unwavering integrity with joyful presence. Employment in an integral part of achieving this goal for our clients. 

Program Description: Our Employment Supports Division offers 3 categories of supports - Employment Exploration for clients who need help defining what type of employment they desire and exploring all options before seeking competitive, paid employment. Employment Development plan and find stages for those ready to seek and gain employment. And Employment Support to help clients maintain, grow, and become as independent as possible on the job.   

 

Employment Exploration: 

Employment Exploration is achieved through person-centered tools and planning, with the goal of putting the client in a place where they are ready for sustainable employment and subsequent income to continue the path to independence. Employment Exploration Services are designed to help a person improve their understanding about their own unique strengths and gifts so they can obtain employment. Employment Exploration focuses on discovering what is possible in a person’s local community. Individualized education, job shadowing, informational interviews, personal inventories, self-advocacy training/support, aptitude tests and assessments as well as volunteering may all be activities under this service.  

 

Employment Development – Plan & Find: 

Employment Development also achieved through person-centered planning, assists clients in planning for and finding employment. The first part of this service, plan, is available to those clients on waivers and focus on getting ready to look for a job. This can include coaching skills, resume building and interview techniques. The second part, or find stage, is offered through our E1MN Partnership as an approved VRS partner established in September 2021. In this phase, our specialists help clients find a job. This includes developing or updating resumes, applying to jobs, preparing for interviews, attending interviews, researching organization who are hiring, and job engineering. 

 

Employment Support: 

Employment Support assists clients in sustaining their employment. This can include assisting with or shadowing successful on-boarding for a new job, job adjustments including advocating for reasonable accommodations, coaching for navigating successful relationships with co-workers and managers, and job advancement coaching. This support can include one on one on the job supports or periodic check ins. It is designed to get the client to be as independent as possible on the job. This phase can also assist clients in gathering and reporting income based on benefits they receive from the SSA.  

 

Level of Care:  Employment Services provides direct and indirect services. These include services provided in the person’s home, within their community, at the job site or virtually based on the client’s preferences. These preferences are discussed and determined at in-take with waivered clients and at the Placement Plan meeting for DEED clients. Services for Pre-ETS clients are provided in a group or one on one in the clients’ school. The length of service is client driven and can vary greatly depending on client’s readiness for work, level of communication with our specialists, physical and mental health, as well as resources available to them such as transportation.  

 

Program Goals: Oak Tree Employment Services strives to help clients identify the best type of stable, market-based employment for everyone served.  The goal is to move the client/person served through our various stages of support (Exploration, Development & Support) as needed to gain and maintain stable competitive employment. For Pre-ETS clients, the goal is to expose students to all possibilities for future education and job seeking skills that will set them up for successful employment in the field of their choice. 

 

Treatment or Service Modalities:  Employment services are provided in-person, in the classroom, on the job and virtually as needed. Supports are direct and indirect. Modalities are determined at intake or during the Placement Plan meeting and focus on person centered planning as well as the clients preferred method of communication. Most of our clients receive one-on-one supports except for Pre-ETS which may be in a group setting at the client’s school.  

 

Population Served: Employment Services serves adult and adolescent populations, ranging from 14-100+ years old. Services are divided among people who have qualified for waivered services and those who qualify for services through the Vocational Rehabilitation Services of the Department of Economic and Employment Development. All Employment Services are designed to help people who have physical and/or mental health illness diagnosis, as determined by a medical professional and state assessment prior to receiving services.  This program assists people who are struggling with determining if employment is feasible, cannot gain employment independently, or need support while working within the community. 

 

Credentials of Those Providing Care: Employment Services are provided Employment Specialists and the Employment leadership team.  Our staff are all salaried, hourly employees, or contractors.  All staff and contractors are required to meet all training requirements as laid out in Minnesota Statute 245D. Likewise the program director is required to meet the qualifications of a Designated Coordinator/Designated Manager as identified in 245D. All Employment Specialists serving clients through DEED will have obtained all competencies serving waivered clients for a minimum of 3 months and passed competency tests to serve the population in VRS and Pre-ETS. 

 

Settings: Employment Services are provided within the community setting most comfortable for the person served.  OTSS has one physical office within the state of MN and it's located in Newport.  Services may be provided at this site but are most commonly provided within the community or in the person’s place of residence, school, or job site. 

 

Hours of Service: Our typical hours of operations are Monday through Friday 9 AM to 6 PM, weekends and evenings only as needed.  Employment Services is not a 24-hour program and resources for emergency care is provided to all clients at beginning of services. Wait times to start services can vary depending on staffing status and referral volume. The program goal is to minimize wait times and serve people within a few weeks of receiving referrals.  

 

Payors, Fees and Funding Source: Funding for Employment Services is provided through the MN waiver program and paid by state and federal dollars.  VRS provides payment through the MN DEED department through state and federal dollars.  The person receiving services does not pay for services out of pocket.  

 

Referral Sources: We receive our referrals from various providers in the community, including case management agencies, government entities, VRS counselors, hospitals, health centers, non-profits, schools, word-of-mouth, individuals looking for services for themselves, family members, guardians, and online searches.