Monitoring-employment programme for people with a disability - Fundacion Rey Ardid

Fundación Rey Ardid (FRRA) is a non-profit organisation created in 1991 to address the needs of people with mental health issues. After 29 years of experience, the FRRA organisation has grown and increased its social presence, working with other groups (the elderly, migrants, young people in difficulty, etc.). The needs of the target group are identified through interviews with the person with a disability, trying to adapt the intervention with the personal needs of each person in mind. The program includes:

Individual monitoring motivational support, improvement of their curriculum, etc.
Group workshops to improve labour and social skills.

FRRA apply the person-centred methodology. In terms of innovation, Fundación Rey Ardid have implemented more motivation and positive thinking workshops as this was identified as being an important factor that affects how people with disabilities manage their job searching.

The Monitoring-Employment project’s main goal is to socially insert people with disabilities into the labour-market. To accomplish this goal, the employment consultants of Rey Ardid design a personal intervention plan for each participant. It is personal because the employment consultants make sure to adapt the plan to the needs, motivation and abilities that each person has or wants.

Step 1. When people come to the employment agency, foundation’s specialists interview them to know what type of job they are searching for. In this interview it is valued if the person can participate or not in an employment program. In this case, if it is some with a disability, they get an offer to participate in Monitoring-Employment project.
Step 2. In a second meeting Social Workers and Labour Consultants, diagnose the needs and motivations of the people with disabilities interested in the project. Together with the client’s different obstacles are analysed and main targets to work on during the intervention are identified.
Step 3. In the next meetings, the foundation’s specialists work on service users’ social ability skills to help them integrate in work groups, by developing group workshops to improve their labour and social skills. On the other hand, in the individual monitoring sessions, the labour professionals work on individual skills, the improve their curriculum, etc.
Step 4. When the person is ready to enter a labour offer, because he or she has completed the itinerary with his or her professional labour consultant, Fundación Rey Ardid works as an intermediary between the person with disability and the enterprise that is searching for a new worker. Fundación Rey Ardid has Special Job Centres where the client could be hired in the Monitoring-Employment project, as in other local Special Jobs Centres. The idea is to socially insert people with disabilities in companies that do not have a special work program for people with disabilities, but if the circumstances of the person whom we are working with needs these types of centres for the social inclusion, we offer then this alternative.
Step 5. Once the person gets a job, the foundation still monitors them whilst the support is needed. This monitoring can continue between 6 months and 2 years.

The programme is for anyone with a disability. People can register with the Employment Agency through an on-line site or by asking for an appointment with one of foundation’s employment consultants. Both options end up with a physical appointment with a short interview, about 30-45 minutes, where the professional analyses the work profile of each person, in order to help them find a job or to improve their curriculum. If the person is interested, after this first intervention, they are asked if they are interested in monitoring programs that are aimed to help people with disabilities to find a job or to improve their job skills to have more opportunities.

Budget: All projects from the Employment Department are co-funded by public and private funders such as the Regional Public Employment Agency; Municipalities, National Ministries, private enterprises, Banking Foundations, ESF, etc.

The Project has several stakeholders such as the enterprises who are looking for employees; users’ families who can see the improvement of well-being and autonomy of users; other associations working in Employment projects in order to exchange best practices; and several networks at regional and national levels related to Employment and people with disabilities (such as Aragonese Association of Insertion Companies; Spanish Committee of Representatives of People with Disabilities; Aragonese Entrepreneurs Confederation).

Continuity / integration between services By taking care of the quality of the intervention with each person, gaining their confidence and keeping them motivated to find a job. Clients continue to have individual sessions to get help to find a job. It could be in Special Job Centre or it could be in another enterprise, e.g. GRUPO EL SOL, Flores Narvona, Adecco, Arapack, Centro Especial Empleo Aneto, CEE Oliver, etc.

Awareness Internal general Training is implemented in the organization and provides awareness and knowledge about needs and problems that people with disabilities can have in their job. This Internal Training is for every worker of Fundación Rey Ardid, with or without disabilities. This is an annual process organized by the organization and public funds. This internal training is provided by experts for the rest of the staff. For example: How to interact with someone who is having a mental health crisis.

Repeated service accessibility Once the person finds a job but later one loses it or wants to find something better, they can contact Fundación Rey Ardid and ask for an appointment with their labour consultant and start a new plan to find a better or an alternative job.

Monitoring Monitoring is provided always when the person asks for it. The monitoring sessions do not have a final deadline. If the person still needs the monitoring sessions or wants to participate in a group workshop, they can always ask for it from Fundación Rey Ardid’s Employment Agency. The Foundation can recommend them to continue with the monitoring sessions, but this is an individual choice.

Direct and wider impact During 2020 the foundation worked with 80 people with disabilities during this monitoring program, and 60% of them have found a job. Labour insertion is shown to improve people’s self-confidence, especially people with disabilities. Foundation’s specialists register all the improvements in a data base, which interventions and improvements the person has made during their intervention are documented.

Success factors The Foundation service has a high rate of labour insertion and the feedback that is received from the people who form part of these programmes is very positive. They also provide Fundación Rey Ardid with a lot of suggestions on how services can be improved for future projects. Which is very helpful, and the foundation usually gets this information from quality surveys that are given after each workshop. All workshops where clients work in groups with other people to improve their social skills are efficient. Also, the need for personal and individual interviews and monitoring sessions has been found very important.

Dialogue with policy makers In the entity's governance structure there are representatives of administrative entities (policy and Public Service’s representatives) who exercise their functions, insofar as they have political representation. In addition, the entity participates in entities of sector representation: CERMI (Spanish Committee of Representatives of People with Disabilities); Network for the fight against exclusion (EAPN European antipoverty network); PADIS (Representatives of Companies of People with Disabilities); Aragonese Coordinator of Volunteering. Foundation’s specialists explain the needs of the social sector on Regional level to the policy and Public Service’s representatives.

Adaptation for other countries The service is possible to adapt and implement in other countries’ practice.

Continuity / integration between services	By taking care of the quality of the intervention with each person, gaining their confidence and keeping them motivated to find a job. Clients continue to have individual sessions to get help to find a job. It could be in Special Job Centre or it could be in another enterprise, e.g. GRUPO EL SOL, Flores Narvona, Adecco, Arapack, Centro Especial Empleo Aneto, CEE Oliver, etc.
Awareness	Internal general Training is implemented in the organization and provides awareness and knowledge about needs and problems that people with disabilities can have in their job. This Internal Training is for every worker of Fundación Rey Ardid, with or without disabilities. This is an annual process organized by the organization and public funds. This internal training is provided by experts for the rest of the staff. For example: How to interact with someone who is having a mental health crisis.
Repeated service accessibility	Once the person finds a job but later one loses it or wants to find something better, they can contact Fundación Rey Ardid and ask for an appointment with their labour consultant and start a new plan to find a better or an alternative job.
Monitoring	Monitoring is provided always when the person asks for it. The monitoring sessions do not have a final deadline. If the person still needs the monitoring sessions or wants to participate in a group workshop, they can always ask for it from Fundación Rey Ardid’s Employment Agency. The Foundation can recommend them to continue with the monitoring sessions, but this is an individual choice.
Direct and wider impact	During 2020 the foundation worked with 80 people with disabilities during this monitoring program, and 60% of them have found a job. Labour insertion is shown to improve people’s self-confidence, especially people with disabilities. Foundation’s specialists register all the improvements in a data base, which interventions and improvements the person has made during their intervention are documented.
Success factors	The Foundation service has a high rate of labour insertion and the feedback that is received from the people who form part of these programmes is very positive. They also provide Fundación Rey Ardid with a lot of suggestions on how services can be improved for future projects. Which is very helpful, and the foundation usually gets this information from quality surveys that are given after each workshop. All workshops where clients work in groups with other people to improve their social skills are efficient. Also, the need for personal and individual interviews and monitoring sessions has been found very important.
Dialogue with policy makers	In the entity's governance structure there are representatives of administrative entities (policy and Public Service’s representatives) who exercise their functions, insofar as they have political representation. In addition, the entity participates in entities of sector representation: CERMI (Spanish Committee of Representatives of People with Disabilities); Network for the fight against exclusion (EAPN European antipoverty network); PADIS (Representatives of Companies of People with Disabilities); Aragonese Coordinator of Volunteering. Foundation’s specialists explain the needs of the social sector on Regional level to the policy and Public Service’s representatives.
Adaptation for other countries	The service is possible to adapt and implement in other countries’ practice.