Creative Workforce Solutions Summit Thursday, December 2 - Saturday, December 4, 2021 ***Now Available On Demand for 6 Months!***
A virtual conference to promote special needs focused entrepreneurship and social enterprises.
Need for a Creative Workforce Solutions Summit:
People with disabilities have the same life goals as most everyone else: from childhood to adulthood they want to enjoy supportive friendships and relationships, achieve academically, and obtain viable career options. Until age 22, schools provide a world of benefits for people with special needs, including academic enrichment, therapeutic services, and consistent opportunities to socialize and develop friendships. All this ends when they age out of the school system at age 22, leaving neurodiverse individuals with little support and few options. Despite a willingness and desire to go to work at this point -- nearly half of those without a job say that they would like one (Human Services Research Institute, 2012) -- the employment rate of people with disabilities is just 27% (U.S. Census Bureau’s 2011 American Community Survey).
Jobs not only provide financial support, they are also an important source of social interactions for most adults. Friendships are one of the most important factors influencing a person’s quality of life and influence both mental and physical health; however, research has shown that for many people with disabilities, significant interpersonal relationships are rare or non-existent, which contributes significantly to rates of depression, anxiety, and challenging behavior (‘I Get by with a Little Help from my Friends’: Adults with Intellectual Disability Discuss Loneliness, McVilly et al., 2006). Parents are often unable to be as supportive as they might like, as the physical and psychological strain, unpredictability, and uncontrollability of caring for a loved one with disabilities all create chronic stress that impacts personal health, work, and family relationships. Research by the Family Caregiver Alliance, the National Center on Caregiving, reveals that 76% of adults with special needs reside with their parents and in 25% of these homes the parents are 60 years of age or older.
The Creative Workforce Solutions Summit will give entrepreneurs and social enterprises the tools needed to start or grow a business. Successful businesses will share keys to success and needs of special needs focused businesses will be addressed. The Summit will create a community of collaboration and support, while enabling opportunities of creative workforce solutions for individuals with special needs during this unprecedented time.
Summit Overview & Schedule
We will review options for school- or agency-based enterprises and offer continuing education for Certified Rehabilitation Counselors (CRCC), Certified Employment Support Professionals (APSE CESP) and Florida Supported Employment Coaches (APD).
We will hear from successful social enterprises and entrepreneurs from around the country, who will share their business models and provide a roadmap for those interested in starting a business.
In addition, we have partnered with business experts to provide tools and solutions for both start-up and seasoned businesses.
The conference will continue with experts providing general information for families and entrepreneurs, such as benefits planning, support programs, and industry training options.
All of the presenters were excellent speakers and very knowledgeable!! They all need to be commended on their insight and experiences! Also thank you for making the website user friendly!! That is so important, when you are trying to do 2 things at the same time, its easy to navigate! Thank you for that!! - Renee P.
Loved hearing the real life experiences of people who started their own businesses. - Angela L.
I liked the variety of sessions. The sessions I liked most were the ones that gave real tips of how to make my business better. - Dina L.
I believe this will just get better and better. Congratulation on a wonderful event! - Monica D.
I enjoyed the diverse group of speakers, from parents and business owners to professionals. - Anonymous
