2016 Annual Report

2016 was a year of growth and change. We expanded our capacity by hiring new staff and moved into a new fully ADA accessible office in Spring. Advancement Northwest helped its clients obtain 19 paid jobs in our community. Employment opportunities included: Restaurant, Retail, Caregiving, Administrative Support, Automotive, Manufacturing, Social Service and Building Maintenance. In a collaboration between DVR, Ferndale and Bellingham School Districts and Whatcom County Development Disability Program, we were able to place all three of our School to Work clients into paid employment by November of their graduating year. Jason is working at MOD Pizza, preparing the dough for the pizza makers. He’s learning the menu, getting to know his coworkers and is excited about expanding his duties. Jaynie got a job at Office Depot, helping keep the store organized and tidy. She’s learned a great deal about customer service and is looking forward to continuing to explore her employment options. Daniel obtained a job at Denny’s, and has quickly become a favorite employee to the locals who have gotten to know him. In 2016, we hired three new Employment Specialists, and sadly had to say goodbye to Johanna, who is currently attending graduate school for counseling at Western Washington University. Most recently, we hired Kelley James, who has a BA from Western Washington University in Communication, and is currently working towards a Master’s in Adult and Higher Education. Before joining Advancement Northwest, Kelley has worked in the nonprofit field, most recently as Program Manager of a mentoring program in Walla Walla. Kelley enjoys helping adults with disabilities achieve their employment goals and develop connections in the community. In the summer, we added Pat Owen Kachikas. Pat graduated from Florida Southern University in 2014, and moved with his wife to Bellingham. Before joining Advancement Northwest, Pat worked in the summer camp industry, supporting children with disabilities. He also worked in the residential care field here in Bellingham, supporting adults with disabilities. Pat and his wife have made advocacy for adults with disabilities their focus in life, with the belief that independence is driven by having supportive and steady work. In January of 2016, we added Olivia VanNatta. Olivia attended Western Washington University and graduated with a BA in Human Services. Olivia has experience and knowledge of working with individuals with disabilities in the Bellingham community since 2014. She enjoys supporting individuals with disabilities to accomplish goals and to live independent lives. Olivia believes individuals with disabilities can find independence through employment in the community. Advancement Northwest collects and analyzes data in three service categories, Employment Planning, Job Development and Employment Supports. Here are a few highlights from 2016: EMPLOYMENT PLANNING SERVICES (Assessments)  Advancement Northwest was able to decrease our waitlist time to 28 days, exceeding our target of 30 days or fewer.  Our average time to close Assessment contracts was approximately 100 days, approaching our target of 90 days.

JOB DEVELOPMENT (Job Placement Contracts)  We successfully closed 67% of our placement contracts, approaching our target of 75%.  Our closure time for successful job placements was an average of 88 days, exceeding our target of 120 days.

EMPLOYMENT SUPPORTS (Job Retention and Job Coaching Contracts)  10 out of 14 retention contracts closed successfully falling short of our target of 90%.

Client Survey Feedback

We ask each of our clients to participate in a survey yearly or at the end of our contracts with them. Here are some highlights from our conversations with clients:

 “I think everything worked out, all the environments were accessible and (staff) and (other staff) were on top of everything. I had success finding an internship. The informational interviews were very helpful and I learned a lot from the brainstorming session. I wasn't aware of all the places.”  “Everything worked. Everything went really smoothly, I got the help that I needed on time. We reached our goals."  “Everything has worked. (Staff) has been there for me. He is the best job coach I’ve ever had. I’m glad he worked it out that he is my permanent job coach. (Staff) is there whenever I need him like in basketball season when I get a little nervous. What worked was the overall involvement and how active (ANW) was in trying to find something that worked for me.”  “Everything worked. (Staff) were encouraging and helped keep me focused. Very thorough. I never felt pressure in regards to scheduling, finding meeting times or performing. And that was a good feeling when looking for a job. I thought it was the right level for services and support. (Staff) were accommodating to meet me places in the community and take me to interviews.”  “(ANW) communicates well and always has a timely response, willing to work around outside work stuff (like requesting time off). Very on top about the IL stuff. I've enjoyed working with (staff) and (other staff) for years.”  “Excellent communication, wonderful advocacy on your part, being proactive and encouraging. I honestly don’t have any critical feedback for you.”

Here are a few things we learned:

 We need to do a better job informing our clients about the DVR process, our relationship to DVR and the steps it takes to achieve job placement.  We need improve the transition experience when one staff needs to take over for another staff in job coaching duties. Looking ahead to 2017, our focus will be on achieving stability and continuing to develop our existing staff to achieve increasing employment outcomes for our clients.