April 17, 2012
We’re excited to be featured in the April 2012 issue of NISH Workplace magazine for our Administrative Services AbilityOne™ contract at Fort Huachuca Army Base, staffed with 100% U.S. Veterans.
The contract, based in our newest location in Sierra Vista, Arizona, has been thriving since last fall and is especially unique to AbilityOne, as it requires workers with higher-functioning skills for jobs such as administrative assistants, supply and warehouse technicians, and mail couriers…
March 28, 2012
We’ve formed a new partnership with Albertina Kerr Centers, Port City Development Center, and Bethesda Lutheran Communities to expand the nationally-acclaimed Project SEARCH program in the Portland metro area. Our four organizations will combine resources to work together with large local businesses to improve employment opportunities for people with developmental disabilities.
Project SEARCH is a national workforce development program designed to simultaneously serve businesses and people with significant intellectual and developmental disabilities through an innovative career development approach. Participants are hired directly by large businesses and, working side-by-side with non-disabled colleagues, are supported by an on-site Project SEARCH job coach who acts as a single point of contact for training and accommodation. In this setting, participants have shown to decrease turnover rates and increase morale. DePaul Industries began spearheading the program in Oregon and has established successful partnerships with The Standard, Providence Health & Services, and Oregon Health & Science University.
Erin Riehle, Co-Founder of Project SEARCH at the Cincinnati, OH Children’s Hospital in 1996, weighs in with her thoughts: “I am very excited about The Project SEARCH Partnership, as I believe that this will enable the organizations involved to take the next step in the growth and development of the program. I am very appreciative of DePaul Industries’ efforts in spearheading Project SEARCH and in establishing relationships with some of the most prestigious businesses in the area.”
We’re excited for this collaboration particularly as an ideal methodology for Oregon’s ‘Employment First’ initiative, requiring that employment in integrated work settings be the priority option for adults with intellectual and other developmental disabilities. The primary focus of the partnership, however, is on the business solutions that Project SEARCH provides—reducing turnover, stabilizing departments, and leveraging a dedicated, qualified workforce.
“The Project SEARCH Partnership will result in fulfilling, integrated jobs for people with developmental disabilities,” says Dave Shaffer, our President & CEO. “In turn, these jobs will produce positive business results—as they already have shown in our current sites.”
We are determined to do more. To learn more about growing your business through Project SEARCH, get in touch today.
Here’s more information about our partnering organizations:
- Albertina Kerr Centers
Every day Albertina Kerr helps children, families and adults living with developmental disabilities and mental health challenges, empowering them to lead fuller, self-determined lives. A private non-profit organization founded in Portland in 1907, Kerr utilizes more than 91 cents of every dollar on programs and services for Oregonians. For more information about Albertina Kerr, call 503.239.8101 or visit AlbertinaKerr.org.
- Port City Development Center
Since 1978, Port City Development Center has been providing employment, job training and support services for people with developmental disabilities in the Portland metro community. Its production, art and farming, job development, community volunteers, fabric arts, silk-screening, woodworking, custodial and other programs provide meaningful work, skills building and community integrations opportunities for individuals with disabilities. For more information on Port City Development Center, visit portcitydevelopment.org.
- Bethesda Lutheran Communities
Bethesda Lutheran Communities provides resources to educate friends, families, congregations and other service providers about developmental disabilities. For more information on Bethesda Lutheran Communities, visit bethesdalutherancommunities.org.
March 19, 2012
On the heels of a U.S Labor Department effort to encourage federal contractors to hire a minimum number of disabled workers or face penalty, the Wall Street Journal reported that a number of companies have “flooded the department with complaints that the rule amounts to a first-ever government quota for hiring disabled workers that would expose them to a thicket of legal pitfalls.” Bayer Corporation’s CEO Greg Babe responded with his two cents, maintaining his company’s support of the effort in contrast to what appeared to be a uniform distaste for the new policy by businesses—perhaps due to misconceptions about what employing people with disabilities really means. Babe makes a great point about our larger community: “Fifty million people with disabilities represent a broad cross-section of job seekers and a target market for goods and services.”
For all of the reasons to employ people with disabilities—and make a concerted effort to overcome misconceptions in order to do so—support for a business’ bottom line is the best way to get through to the vast majority of employers. If it makes good business sense, they’ll get on board.
Want more information about our employment of people with disabilities? Read more here.
March 5, 2012
Great news! We released our 2011 disability employment statistics today, showing an increase of 21% of hours worked by people with disabilities for DePaul Industries.
This announcement comes on the heels, of course, of our organization being named one of the ‘100 Best Companies to Work For in Oregon’ by Oregon Business magazine for the second year in a row. We’re proud to be able to employ such a large number of people, including a significant percentage of people with disabilities—and to have those employees enjoy their jobs.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the nationwide unemployment rate for people with disabilities was 13.6% in January 2011, compared with 9.7% for people without disabilities. In our combined Staffing, Security, and Food Packaging & Contract Manufacturing divisions across Oregon, Washington, and Arizona, we employed 1,513 people with documented disabilities in calendar year 2011 and paid those individuals wages & benefits of nearly $11.4 million. Those numbers are rising.
Our President & CEO, Dave Shaffer, chimed in with a comment regarding our growth and expansion: “With plans in place to nearly triple our employment of people with disabilities within five years, we’re excited about this significant increase in hours worked. It’s made possible by business with our customers—the more our customers outsource their staffing, packaging, or security work to DePaul, the more we can leverage the highly effective and highly underutilized workforce of people with disabilities.”
Questions about our expansion plans or about our integrated social venture structure? Leave a comment below or get in touch.
February 6, 2012
There’s a great radio overview of the DePaul Industries’ business model at 105.1 FM The Buzz, highlighting our various business units and how we operate a integrated social venture—successfully helping business and people with disabilities simultaneously. It’s an interview with CEO Dave Shaffer from a little over a year ago, but it is still supremely relevant to the way we operate:
“Our business is completely competitively driven. There are no excuses. People are not hiring us or engaging us because we employ people with disabilities. They’re engaging us because they need to have the work done.”
Listen to the interview at 105.1 The Buzz.
