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John's usual--
Production at the Firelands Local LLC workshop went suddenly sideways last week when we found out that the loading docks would be out of use for the week so that the new A/C unit could be installed. On the upside, we should have air conditioning this week after not having it all summer so far. On the downside, this resulted in a 1-week layoff for everybody on the assembly lines. Shredding and the Black & Decker work crews weren't affected. I think CLI staff did a really great job of shifting gears on such short notice. They planned and delivered 3 fun-filled days-- sailing & swimming on Monday, the Toledo Zoo on Wednesday & a big fun Friday picnic at the reservoir on Friday. Those are the 3 normal workshop assembly days. It was a fun week! On a side-note, even though we only rent a third of this building now, CLI & Firelands Local LLC have really appreciated the investments that the Huron County Commissioners have made into the workshop so far-- new roof, new sidewalks & now new A/C. We've really benefitted, so it's been well-worth whatever small inconvenience those upgrades have caused.
CLI has started to get a bit more interest in our Vocational Habilitation services lately. Specifically, since Firelands Local LLC pays $10.46/hour, quite a few people would like to jump in just for those paid working shifts ala carte, without also participating in the other portions that service. CLI must demonstrate that we are helping people progress on the path to (community) employment. Those days where the workshop was the last stop after high school are gone. We know that people need money and we will help people make money. But, those jobs at the workshop are required to be part of a larger push toward community integration and community employment. Not immediately necessarily, but it has to be an honest, ongoing discussion. As we move into fall this year, we'll be stepping up the educational portion of Vocational Habilitation, so that it dovetails into what we already offer people who are employed in the community and participate in some of our T.H.R.I.V.E. services. This will mean a bit more of an educational element in our day-time vocational services. It will also mean that we'll be expanding our evening and weekend offerings.
On a slightly separate note-- it's probably helpful to point out that Firelands Local LLC makes it's money by selling document destruction and subcontracted labor to other businesses. CLI does not provide any direct financial support to Firelands Local LLC. We sometimes pay FL for things that they do for CLI-- such as provide people rides to Black & Decker or running payroll for summer youth-- but most of CLI's money comes to us as a reimbursement by Medicaid for the services we provide to people who have Medicaid Community Waivers. It is illegal for CLI to use Medicaid money to subsidize the employment of people on Medicaid-funded waivers. So we don't do that because I look terrible in both jumpers and stripes (although weirdly-enough, orange seems to be my color). This is important, because it means that Firelands Local can only afford to stay in business if their work crews generate more money that Firelands Local pays them. This means that if the work crew is 15 people, that crew needs to output at least $188.28 per hour just to stay ahead of wages + payroll tax. This doesn't even count administrative and indirect costs. It's a big lift. But, I think having open conversations with people about their productivity is helpful from a work-readiness perspective. Every employer has the same math problem. At the same time, I think it is productive for ISP teams to have frank discussions about what kind of work is really the best fit for people. It's already supposed to be person-centered and we listen to what people say they want to do. However, I think we also slot people into fine motor work when they have physical limitations that will never allow them to hit quota. This is a waste of everyone's time-- particularly the person served. CLI does not pay sub-minimum wages and hasn't for almost 10 years now. But, the real victims of sub-minimum wages are people with significant physical disabilities. In my experience, many people with cognitive disabilities were easily able to hit quota and earn way more than minimum wage. This is not true if your physical disability makes grasping difficult or fine motor control very slow.
Anyway, CLI & Firelands Local LLC are proud that we're able to help individuals with developmental disabilities earn tens of thousands of dollars each year-- and we intend to continue the programs that do that-- but we will be shifting how we do this to focus a bit more aggressively on the transitional mandate in regard to our vocational habilitation services. Don't panic-- as always, CLI's efforts are always 100% about sustainability. We intend to be around to help people for the next 40 years. And we want to see our clients thrive-- socially and economically.
Have a great week. The latest word that I have is that the Firelands Local Workshop is back on track this week, so if that's your day job on Monday, Wednesday, and/or Friday-- be ready to report to work!
John
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