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Dear Friends ~
Some personal perspectives and final thoughts
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 | | April Tuck, GCEPD Chair |
Over the past nine years as a member and now as Chair of the GCEPD, I have had the great good fortune to work with individuals from diverse backgrounds who share a common passion - barrier-free employment for all Vermonters.
Employers, service providers, representatives from Vocational Rehabilitation, the Department of Labor, and the Veterans Administration, and individuals with disabilities have pooled their experiences and perspectives toward realizing that passion.
For both private employers and the State of Vermont, the GCEPD has reached out to provide information, guidance and connections to support the hiring and retention of individuals with disabilities. For members of the disabilities community, we have sought to offer support as well as help them broaden the mindset of others when it comes to employment.
The GCEPD has been a routine presence at trade shows and the conferences of different professional groups. However, we have also advanced our visibility through social media, newsletters, presentations, symposia, and roundtable discussions. We have networked with like-minded groups both within and outside of Vermont. In order to be effective, we have learned the importance of merging thought with action. Clearly, we are serious about our passion!
Stepping away after the conclusion of my final term on the committee is bittersweet. I do so, however, with the deep sense of relief that the GCEPD remains vital and essential. I know the committee members possess the skills, talents, and dedication to continue in their quest to make our state a barrier-free employer for all Vermonters.
So read on as we strive to expand awareness with some very personal perspectives on the employment of people with disabilities. And as always, we encourage you to share.
Best regards,
April Tuck, Chair
Governor's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities
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Equal Treatment in Employment - It's not just for Some People
- An Interview with Sarah Launderville,
Executive Director of the Vermont Center for Independent Living
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 | | Sarah Launderville |
If you are a person with little to no experience working closely with a person with a disability, you may have certain preconceived notions about individuals with disabilities. Sometimes they are treated as "superheros" for the strides they make in overcoming challenges.
Sometimes they are treated as "takers" - draining the system of resources. However, as Sarah Launderville, Executive Director of the Vermont Center for Independent Living (VCIL)** points out, the most important point for anyone to know is that a person with a disability simply wants to be treated equally. In our society, people with disabilities so often are treated differently - seen or feared first as a disability or a label and not as a person. Unfortunately this is the kind of perspective that hinders an individual's ability to have equal access to employment opportunities. Sarah understands this from firsthand experience - as a person with a disability and as an employer. Many years ago Sarah had the devastating, sad and hurtful experience of being terminated from a job after her employer learned she had a disability and feared the label associated with it. Sarah was young and unaware of laws that protected her. She had to rely on a system that secured disability benefits for her as a first priority and made employment a second priority. She spent years floundering without a purpose and feeling that people didn't want to be around her. Click here to read more!
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What is the Big Deal?
Personal Reflections by Outgoing GCEPD Chair, April Tuck
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 I remember a personal, seminal moment when I was a speech language pathologist at a major medical center many years ago. One of my patients had completed his rigorous course of rehab and was excited to return to his former job. We did not realize at the time that indeed, the position had become his former job.
Irate, I contacted the employer who was startled to receive such a call. The company representative was eloquent in her speech that told me absolutely nothing. Exasperated, I asked her, "What's the big deal?"
I was being rhetorical. Thankfully, she took my question literally. She explained to me that the gentleman in question was now "different." He walked slowly and his speech was "funny." She advised me that since he would receive disability and retirement she did not understand why I was so upset. At that moment, I realized that we were speaking two completely foreign languages and neither was conversant in the other.
He never returned to his job, received a few years of disability payments and passed away far earlier than he should have.
Click here to read more!
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A Message from Incoming GCEPD Chair - Chris Bernier
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Dear supporters,
Welcome to the latest edition of Abilities. I am thrilled to be writing this message for our newsletter as I have recently become the Chair of the Governor's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities.
For the first time, the GCEPD will also have a Vice Chair role, which Chris Loso has ably filled.
I step into this role with many years of working with people with disabilities as I am the Director of Marketing and Development for Special Olympics Vermont. Creating opportunities to showcase people's abilities and building inclusive communities and work environments is something that I have great passion for.
 | | Chris Loso |
Vice-Chair Chris Loso is Vice-President of Loso's Professional Janitorial Services, Inc. Chris has been involved with the company since 2011, which is when he instituted a program that focuses on hiring people with disabilities, having hired 7 employees to date. Chris and his staff at Loso's Professional Janitorial Services, Inc. are the recipients of the 2012 Employment/Accommodation award from the GCEPD .
The GCEPD committee and network has wonderful representation from both public and private sector and we look forward to new and varied activities to promote equal employment for all citizens of Vermont.
Let's continue building a better Vermont.
Sincerely,
Chris Bernier, Incoming Chair
Governor's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities (GCEPD)
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A Busy May for Outreach Activities
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In May we took our show on the road.
 | GCEPD members Ann Russo, Jeremy Metcalf,
Chris Loso, Diane Dolan |
On May 14th we had
the opportunity to speak with supervisors at the Veterans Administration in White River Junction. We appeared at the invitation of committee members Barbara Nadeau and Ann Russo.
Committee members Jeremy Metcalf, Chris Loso and Diane Dolan shared their wisdom and insight from their direct experience in employing people with disabilities.
 Then, on May 22 and 23 the GCEPD had our booth at the Vermont Chamber of Commerce's Business & Industry Expo. This year we displayed an interactive workspace showcasing various assistive technologies to support successful employment.
We thank Amber Fulcher of the Vermont Assistive Technology Project and Leslie Ermolovich of the AT Tryout Center for all of their assistance with the technology. We also thank Red Thread for contributing an adjustable height work station for our use.
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More On - Equality In Employment -
An Interview with Sarah Launderville
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After a few years she began looking for work. While her dream had been to work as a preschool teacher, she found that her path took a detour and led her to VCIL where she started in 1997 as a personal assistant, working only 8 hours per week. Gradually over time she moved into different roles of increasing responsibility. She had incredible opportunities to put her skills to use and to blossom professionally because she had the help and support of many who believed in her. Ultimately, the preschool teacher wannabe found her voice and calling as an advocate. In April of 2009 Sarah interviewed for and was selected as Executive Director of VCIL.
VCIL has a large staff and many of them have some kind of disability. In some positions such as peer counselor, it is a requirement of the position; in others it is not. As Executive Director and as a person herself with a disability, Sarah looks at employment issues through a very unique lens.
Unique is a good term, because this is what Sarah will tell you:
- Employees with disabilities bring a unique perspective to the table, and
 | | Kenny Young |
as team members they are able to broaden the perspective of their colleagues;
- Individuals with disabilities who find successful employment uniquely understand what it's like to go through the funding systems, to live on benefits, to have employment barriers, to be discriminated again - and most especially to feel the sense of value and empowerment that comes when one can move beyond benefits to being a full participant in society;
- A successful employment situation for a person with a disability comes when an employer can move beyond the label and look at the unique individual - at the skills, talents, and life experiences they bring to the table - in order to assess if they are a good match for the essential functions of the job;
- Furthermore, employment success happens when an employer recognizes that no two people with the same disability are the same; each is unique.
There is a tendency for people to see the label and judge people based on their own past experiences with someone with that or another disability. Sarah stresses how crucial it is to break down that judgment piece and look at the value of the person first. That's why when Sarah and her staff look to hire someone at VCIL, they start with a solid understanding of the position and its essential functions. Then they look at their applicants to see who has the top skill set to match those functions. Even though they are a disability rights organization, they aren't going to bring someone in or keep them just because they have a disability, and they certainly don't want to set someone up to fail. So all applicants start on an equal playing field where the key is how their skills match the job functions.
 To that end, Sarah would also advise that it is important for employers to have good job descriptions - and well crafted policies around performance, attendance, etc. Employees with disabilities should also be treated equally with regard to expectations to comply with policies and procedures.
As an employer of many individuals with disabilities, one might think that VCIL and Sarah have experienced a fair share of personnel problems. Sarah would say that while they've had personnel issues, there have been no more than any employer might experience. Good process and policies can make all the different for any employer in this regard. Nor have there been any liability issues. Over the years she has heard comments such as "what if the person falls?" Yet in her 16 years at VCIL the organization has had less than 5 occurrences where medical intervention was required.
So the fears and the myths related to hiring a person with a disability have been disproved over and over again at VCIL, which of course is no surprise to Sarah Launderville. A person with a disability doesn't want to work they system or take advantage. Just like everyone else, they want fair and equal access to employment, equal treatment at work, and the same ability to contribute and participate in society. And you shouldn't have to be a superhero to earn that right.
** VCIL is a Montpelier, VT based non-profit organization directed and staffed by individuals with disabilities. It works to promote the dignity, independence and civil rights of Vermonters with disabilities. Like other independent living centers across the country, VCIL is committed to cross-disability services, the promotion of active citizenship and working with others to create services that support self-determination and full participation in community life.
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More On - April Tuck's Personal Reflections
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Since that time, I have transitioned to management and then to Human Resources. My former patient has not been lost in the clutter of competing memories. For that matter, nor has his former employer. That one question continues to keep me mindful. So, what is the big deal? Well, for the former employee, it was the opportunity to serve his company and community in a productive manner. His commitment to the company's success was of great importance to him. The company lost the opportunity to benefit from the skills, talents, and dedication of an employee who wanted to contribute in a meaningful way. The memory of that situation and the question I posed informed many of the decisions I have made with regard to hiring and retaining qualified employees.
That memory also was in the forefront of my mind when I accepted a position at Middlebury College. It was clear that there was an atmosphere of active inclusion. While at some level I expected the administration to be advocates for the employment of people with disabilities, I was not prepared for the belief to be so tightly woven into the entire fabric of Middlebury's culture. It was not a matter of whether we made an accommodation; it was rather how quickly we could do so. As a result, the fact that an employee had a disability was of no consequence if she or he had the qualifications necessary to perform the job requirements. The statistics as to the percentage of employees with an identified disability now escape me but I knew they did not accurately reflect reality. We had a greater number of employees with identified and accommodated disabilities than were accounted for. At the college, it was no big deal.
When I assumed the position of Vice President of Human Resources at
 | | Sam Sepah, April Tuck, Owen Milne |
Copley Health Systems, in Morrisville, again, I wondered about attitudes concerning the employment of people with disabilities. The hospital was in my community and I fretted about whether there was an active recruitment and retention initiative that included people with disabilities. My initial concerns were put to rest within the first week. A department head asked to meet with me regarding the need to make some accommodations for an employee who had shared with her that he had a disability. We spent most of our hour talking about other matters since it was apparent within the first five minutes that we were in agreement.
Time and again, members of the hospital demonstrated that for them that it was more important to have all members of the community represented at the hospital rather than to worry about the type and extent of an accommodation. Such an attitude resulted in Copley serving as the site for the Youth in Healthcare summer program. Working with different departments within the Vermont Agency of Human Services, we created a six week program that provided young people with on-the-job training for a variety of healthcare positions. They included the traditional food service and housekeeping arenas as well as medical records, patient access, radiology, rehabilitation, and employee health, to name a few.
The fact that the program participants had disabilities within the mental illness spectrum made no difference to the Copley staff. They wanted to offer interested individuals the opportunity to learn about and experience the multiple facets of health care. I am proud to say that many of the program's graduates pursued avenues that allowed them to accept employment in health care fields. When I was asked to present to groups across the state, it was not uncommon for me to be accompanied by a supervisor and employee with a disability. They wanted to get the word out that at Copley, having a disability was no big deal.
So as I reflect on the end of my tenure as a member of the GCEPD, I realize that we as employers have come a long way since that frustrating conversation that propelled me onto a path that had not been part of my original life's plan. I see the most significant disability is that of limited thinking and there is ongoing progress being made to remedy the situation. With that said, so what really is the big deal when it comes to employing persons with disabilities? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. People with disabilities are members of our community who possess knowledge, abilities, and commitment that fit the needs of employers across the state. And that I guess, is really the big deal after all!
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