Good Practice: ATC, Personal-Centered Planning and Professional Achievements

Arbeids Trainings Centrum (ATC)

Organisation 

Heliomare/ De Hartekamp Groep

Country Netherlands
Short description Heliomare is a Dutch Rehabilitation Centre which provides a variety of services for people with disabilities. These services are provided on 40 sites in the North region of Amsterdam through five business units: Education, Rehabilitation, Housing day care activities for adults, Sports and Health and Vocational rehabilitation.

De Hartenkamp Groep provides services in Living and daily occupation for clients of all ages with a mentally disability and covers 12 sites. 
The main goal of the Arbeids Tranings Centrum (ATC) are participation in society and (by) preparing our clients for work. The ATC is a cooperation and a new concept between these two service providers and combines daily occupation with labour and education.

The clients experience a working environment and deliver products for market-based prices.
Target group About 60 clients/students work in one of the locations and the client group is very mingled and includes all types of disability. The clients are admitted on a case-by-case basis, taking their specific socio-demographic characteristics in account.
Underlying theories Heliomare Education offers a considerable number of students a tailor-made programme which prepares them for paid work, focusing on vocational training, internships in social firms or regular businesses as well as acquiring key competences which they need for low-skilled work.

Heliomare insists on collaboration with other partners, innovation of our curriculum and our transition services and involving more actively the social networks of our students. Partners can learn from each other through the exchange of good practices in order to be able to improve teaching, support services and students' learning experiences. Collaboration with social firms in particular, should guarantee a smoother and gradual transition process for those students who need more time to gain the necessary competences and self-esteem to enter the world of work.

Heliomare uses the Personal Centered Planning (PCP) theory: 'nothing about me, without me'!
Stakeholders
involved 		Family members
Families participate in the PCP-meetings. The family and student invite their social network and they all have a say as they know the student best.
Families are also actively involved in the execution, development and changes of the plan.
In addition, family members are welcome at the ATC as volunteers and there is a fair and a store/shop where they can order.

Community partners
The power of this project lies in the unique cooperation of all involved: establishing relations with employers and sharing information is of upmost importance. In the vicinity of the ATC are 140 companies operating. Getting a satisfactory percentage of youngsters into paid work calls for more collaboration with other partners, innovation of curriculum and transition services, and involving more actively the social networks of students. 
Contacts are made with companies in the business area and in the region to realise the best possible adjustment between  the offer and demand of social services.
Close cooperation with councils is also an absolute condition due to new rules and regulations/laws.        
Direct impact 

Results can be reported through two measures, one about the experience and the other about professional achievement:

  • One measure lies in the experience of a satisfactory activity combined with a better self-esteem.
  • The second measure lies in the (chance for) achievement of a real job.
Conclusions and results
This project demands both organizational capacity and a different perspective on clients and work processes. With this approach, the focus is much less on health care and much more on entrepreneurship.
This is a pilot project which entails some risks because not all income and expenses are fixed in advance. Therefore, the project requires space to dare to experiment and grow into their ambition.
The added value of the initiative lies in realizing 'de-compartmentalisation', in the cooperation between organizations and target groups, and also in the clients' perspectives of their capabilities. 
Duration The project was launched in 2015 and 2016 was the start of the second, larger site.
Contact/More information Wim Verlaan: w.verlaan@heliomare.nl
Kaspar ScholteAlbers: K.ScholteAlbers@deZevensprong.heliomare.nl
Frank 't Hart: f.t.hart@heliomare.nl