Bringing Family Employment Awareness Training (FEAT) to New York

 

Project Goal: 

FEAT has been implemented in several states. It introduces families to employment possibilities by giving them knowledge, discussion, and real-life success stories. Through FEAT, people with disabilities, their family members, and the professionals who serve them increase their expectations for competitive employment. And FEAT shows them the resources they have available to help them achieve it.

 

Project Summary: 

The FEAT consulting team operates out of Indiana University and is led by Dr. Judith Gross. Judith and her team help local organizations to adapt and implement FEAT. In New York, the FEAT team will be working with the Chinese American Planning Council (CPC), a non-profit organization based in New York City, to bring FEAT to underserved populations in New York. This project will focus on reaching the underserved Chinese American, immigrant, and low-income communities.

Through individualized trainings and technical assistance, the FEAT team will help CPC to find specific local resources and examples as well as adapt the training to better serve the specific cultural context it is in. By bringing this evidence-based practice to New York we can raise awareness for developmental disabilities services, and employment possibilities and services available in the local community. CPC already has strong ties to this historically underserved community and is best positioned to find and reach families who need the training as well as speakers for these trainings.

 

Key Activities for Indiana University:
  • Train CPC in New York to adapt and deliver FEAT
  • Provide ongoing support and technical assistance
  • Facilitate communication and knowledge-sharing
  • Assist CPC with long-term project sustainability options

 

Key Activities for CPC:
  • Receive training on adapting and delivering FEAT in their local context
  • Build the capacity of the Chinese American community to understand and use state services including disability and employment services
  • Find relevant community speakers for trainings
  • Pilot FEAT programming
  • Adapt and improve trainings as necessary
  • Compile a final Sustainability Plan for the CDD, which includes identification of specific strategies to sustain the program beyond the life of the grant.

 

Project Details:

Both Contracts Start: July 1, 2023

Geographic Reach: OPWDD Region 4

Current Status: Active

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Video Featuring the FEAT program

Press Release

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    Family Employment Awareness Trainings Press Release

    The New York State Council on Developmental Disabilities (CDD) is pleased to announce $1.5 Million in grant funding for a three-year project to provide training and employment resources for people with disabilities, including those in underserved communities in New York State.

     

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