ACCE Coordinator

Summary:  

The ACCE Coordinator is responsible for teaching adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities the skills needed to obtain competitive, integrated employment.  The ACCE Coordinator is responsible for identifying and increasing students’ strengths, interests, and abilities related to employmentand is responsible for ensuring students learn competitive, marketable skills during their internships. The ACCE Coordinator will also be responsible for providing supported employment and related services to individuals referred by Arkansas Rehabilitation Services or other referral sources; to include but not limited to employment skills development (in person and virtual trainings), job development, on-site job coaching and monitoring of progress. Requires consistent exercise of discretion and judgment. 

Essential Duties and Responsibilities: include the following. Other duties may be assigned. 

Classroom Instruction: (In person and virtually as applicable): 

• Utilize teaching methods, materials, curriculum fidelity, and adaptations appropriate to meet the individual’s needs. 
• Assess the learning strengths and areas of development and interests of the individual. 
• With the individual’s input and the results of the assessments, develop goals and outcomes. 
• Instruct individuals on employability skills such as but not limited to communication, technology, problem solving/critical thinking, teamwork, personal appearance, financial management, professionalism, self-determination, self-advocacy, resume’ writing, interview skills, and job searches. 
• Assist the individual in developing a portfolio to include certificates of skills attained, letters of recommendation from internships, etc. 
• Assess and document the individual’s progress in the classroom and at the work experience site in weekly case notes and monthly reports. 
• Maintain accurate and complete files for all individuals served. 
• Monitor and record daily attendance in class and at the work experience site. 
• Have monthly written communication with families and other parties as identified and meetings as needed. 
• Coordinate activities with any UA Little Rock department, such as Special Education, Speech Therapy, Social Work, etc., that would mutually benefit their students and the ACCE students. 
• Coordinate with any UA Little Rock department that would strengthen the student’s experience on campus such as Disability Support Services. 
• Educate and train employers at the work experience sites about disability awareness and strategies on how to supervise individuals with disabilities and how to educate co-workers on accommodating and interacting with individuals with disabilities. 
• Instruct students about the UA Little Rock campus and the responsibilities of being a student on campus. 
• Assist the individuals in training about public transportation and teach the individuals to access public or private transportation. 

Recruitment and the Selection Process: 

• Assist in recruitment for the Easterseals Arkansas programs. 
• Review employment development and employment referral applications and ensure they are complete. 
• Ensure that each referral qualifies for Vocational Rehabilitation Services and/or other applicable funding that may be available. 
• Participate in the ACCE and/or other pre-employment and employment program referral selections including interviewing prospective referrals as applicable.  
• Assist in notifying students of their acceptance into the ACCE program. 
• Be available to current and prospective employers, referrals and their parents/guardians (when applicable) to answer questions about the program. 
• Communicate the mission of Easterseals Arkansas as well as provide information about each of the Adult Services programs available to promote the programs to prospective referrals, parents/guardians, community and business leaders/employers 

Internships and Possible Employment Sites:   

• Develop relationships with a variety of businesses for potential work experience  sites and employment. 
• Coordinate job placement opportunitieswith employers and necessary job supports for the individual served. 
• Coordinate work experience and/or employment placements and provide job coaching to the individual and/or assistance to designated business support personnel (natural supports) to ensure the individual served is successful.  
• Provides support to individuals placed, parents/guardians (when applicable), and employers. 
• Provides other trainings that are necessary to ensure that work experience site and/or employment placement is successful, e.g., social skills, reporting earnings, etc. 
• Communicate regularly with the employer’s business liaison or supervisor and respond to questions or requests within 24 hours or schedule a visit when necessary. 
• Assist the individual served on the job site until it has been determined that the fading schedule implemented at time of placement can begin.    
• Compile and submit the documentation, reports and billing as required by the applicable funding agency and maintain copies in an organized individual case file for each referral in compliance with Easterseals Arkansas, HIPPA and other applicable regulatory policies and procedures. 
• Acts as liaison between the individual served, parents/guardians, school districts,  employers and Easterseals.  

Professionalism/Initiative: 

• Maintain professional competence and any training requirements by participation in trainings offered by Easter Seals, other sources and self-study.  
• Use professional development to identify, develop, and initiate new classroom instruction and training techniques to enhance the quality of services.  
• Use professional development to remain current on best practices as it relates to assisting individuals with securing competitive, integrated community employment.  

Supervisory Responsibilities: 

Supervises the Employment Specialist 

Compliance/HIPAA: 

While performing the duties of this job, employee will comply with all federal, state and local laws and regulations pertaining to Easterseals Arkansas. 

Employee has access to all client protected health information of the individuals directly served by this person, except psychotherapy notes.  Employee will not attempt to access any other protected health information unless otherwise approved by Supervisor or Privacy Officer. 

Qualifications: To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. 

Education and/or Experience:       

Minimum of a Bachelor’s degree in Special Education or Education, Master’s degree preferred; with a minimum of four years’ experience preferred working with individuals with disabilities. Experience must include assessment, development of goals, learning strategies for individuals with disabilities, and behavior management.  

Competencies and Knowledge:   

• Knowledge of disabilities and how to adapt instruction to the learning style of each individual served.  
• Knowledge of how an individual’s disability may impact performance in a work environment and how to identify and/or suggest accommodations in the work environment for each individual to ensure success.  
• Ability to utilize virtual meeting platforms to include but not limited to Zoom, Google Classroom and Google Meets to effectively lead online classes and meetings. 
• Excellent communication skills. 
• Excellent organizational skills. 
• Ability to take initiative. 
• Independent work ethic for self-management of schedule. 
• Utilize sound judgment and decision making skills. 
• Work as a team with the referrals and their families. 
• Ensure a productive team relationship with co-workers, school district personnel, businesses and industry. 
• Ensure a productive team with UA Little Rock. 

Language Skills:        

Ability to prepare step by step lesson plans that correspond to curriculum and to implement curriculum to meet goals and objectives of each adult in classroom. Ability to maintain necessary data to measure progress.  

Mathematical Skills:       

Ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals.  Ability to compute rate, ratio, and percent. Ability to teach basic money management and budgeting for an individual.  

Reasoning Ability:            

Ability to solve practical problems and deal with a variety of concrete variables in situations where only limited standardization exists. Ability to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram, or schedule form. 

Certificates, Licenses, Registrations: 

Valid Arkansas Driver's License 

Ability to obtain a Commercial Driver’s License if required 

Ability to obtain additional credentials based on future organizational and/or regulatory requirements.   

Arkansas Rehabilitation Services Job Coach Certification  

Other Skills and Abilities:                   

Ability to lift and transfer adults.  

Physical Demands: The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. 

While performing the duties of this Job, the employee is regularly required to use hands to finger, handle, or feel; reach with hands and arms and talk and hear. The employee is frequently required to stand; walk; sit; climb or balance; stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl and taste or smell. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 100 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and ability to adjust focus. 

Work Environment: The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. 

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently exposed to moving mechanical parts. The employee is occasionally exposed to outside weather conditions. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.