Advance Social and Labor Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities
Albanian Disability Rights Foundation in partnership with National Agency for Employment and Skills(co-applicant) and Tirana Municipality (associate partner).
Beneficiaries:
All people with disability in Albania, specifically those at the working age, most specifically those living in Tirana;
National Agency on Employment and Skills/its regional/ local offices and municipalities in Tirana, Elbasan, Durres and Shkodra mandated to provide social and employment services to persons with disabilities.
05.2022 - 06.2024
Overall Objective
The project aims to strengthen capacity at national, regional and municipal levels to effectively support access of citizens with disabilities in inclusive social and labour programmes and services. This will be achieved through building a strategic and operational partnership between municipalities, public and non-public agencies to learn, advance and embed an innovative practice of supported employment service, contributing to social and labour inclusion for persons with disabilities.
Through project interventions, necessary mechanisms, infrastructure, material and human resources will be created/strengthened and adopted by municipality of Tirana, NAES and its regional and local offices and ADRF, to improve the PES (Public Employment Service) to serve persons with disabilities and to embed in the system the innovative practice of Supported Employment Service for persons with disability, through transferred experience/expertise of ADRF;
The innovative practice of Supported Employment for Persons with Disabilities piloted by ADRF will benefit round 180 job seeking persons with disabilities;
Standards of the service will be adopted and supportive public and private nets and mechanisms effectively used to ensure its effectiveness and sustainability;
A communication platform, including an e-platform will be created to share and transfer the experience built in Tirana, on the design, management, governance, funding, and delivery of the innovative practice of specialised supported employment service for persons with disabilities, in three other targeted municipalities, Elbasan, Durres, Shkodra, but also national wide, to ensure scaling up, replication and sustainability.
A local network of supported employment service for persons with disabilities will be created and strengthened, as a mechanism for policy dialogue and practice learning and further developments in the social and employment service sector.
Summary of the Project
Albanian Disability Rights Foundation, National Agency for Employment and Skills (NAES) together with the Municipality of Tirana are implementing the project” Advance Social and Labour Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities”, that will be run for 26 months through the financial support of the European Union in Albania.
The project aims to strengthen capacity at national, regional and municipal levels to effectively support access of citizens with disabilities in inclusive social and labour programmes and services. This will be achieved through building a strategic and operational partnership between municipalities, public and non-public agencies to learn, advance and embed an innovative practice of supported employment service, contributing to social and labour inclusion for persons with disabilities. Through project interventions, necessary mechanisms, infrastructure, material and human resources will be created/strengthened and adopted by municipality of Tirana, NAES and its regional and local offices and ADRF, to improve the PES (Public Employment Service) to serve persons with disabilities and to embed in the system the innovative practice of Supported Employment Service for persons with disability, through transferred experience/expertise of ADRF; The innovative practice of Supported Employment for Persons with Disabilities piloted by ADRF will benefit round 180 job seeking persons with disabilities; Standards of the service will be adopted and supportive public and private nets and mechanisms effectively used to ensure its effectiveness and sustainability; A communication platform, including an e-platform will be created to share and transfer the experience built in Tirana, on the design, management, governance, funding, and delivery of the innovative practice of specialised supported employment service for persons with disabilities, in three other targeted municipalities, Elbasan, Durres, Shkodra, but also national wide, to ensure scaling up, replication and sustainability.
A local network of supported employment service for persons with disabilities will be created and strengthened, as a mechanism for policy dialogue and practice learning and further
developments in the social and employment service sector.
Activities
Create the infrastructure and the necessary institutional agreement/arrangements to pilot case the innovative practice of Supported Employment Service for persons with disabilities:
1.1. An operational partnership designed and agreed with the municipality of Tirana, NESA and ADRF to experiment, practice and adopt the innovative service of supported employment service for job seeking persons with disabilities relying on the experience and technical expertise of OPERA, ONLUS social cooperative in Ancona Italy;
1.2. Design instruments, to make the professional and work capacity assessment of persons with disabilities and guidelines on usage of these instruments;
1.3 Design a training curricula on the (a) innovative practice of supported employment service for PwD (b) instruments used to make the professional and work related assessment of persons with disabilities (c) designing, planning, costing and supporting/outsourcing as well as monitoring packages of programs for supported employment of persons with disabilities; and provide trainings to the staff of NESA, its regional and local offices and SSS in Tirana Municipality (counselors/case managers), including ADRF staff of supported employment
service;
1.4. Upgrade the existing registry systems, with data extracted from the professional and work-related assessment of persons with disabilities and link them disability assessment system, to ensure that the data bases of employment and social welfare services provide essentials for the systematic and coordinated introduction of individual case work approaches;
1.5. Offer mentoring to NESA and its regional and local labor offices on designing, planning, costing and supporting/outsourcing as well as monitoring packages of programs for supported employment of persons with disabilities;
2. Implement the innovative program of supported employment for persons with disabilities, through upgrading the available unique program of Supported Employment Service at ADRF;
2.1. Create the referral mechanism for the supported employment service, through building sustainable working relationship, with case management specialist at SSS in the municipality/administrative units, and the job coach (at the regional or local NESA);
2.2. Set up an evaluation/assessment team and strengthen their capacities to conduct the professional/work related assessment for job seeking persons with disabilities (see 1.2 and 1.3 above);
2.3. Develop an individual professional profile, based in a professional/work related assessment, for each job-seeking persons (300 in 20 months) and insert data in the system. Share data with NESA and its regional, local labor offices;
2.4. Review/ improve the curricula and deliver training on soft skills to job seeking persons with disabilities;
2.5. Job search and mediation, which includes the assessment of the job and its fitting to the client, assessment of the environment and the work process, as well as the regulations concerning employment. The job coach, after the assessment of both employers and employees, designs supportive social and labor programs (if and when needed), which are referred to for financial support by employment programs (either through current or the new programs listed in the new employment law that will be supported by the social employment fund);
2.6. Support employed person with disability and the employer for successful work integration, work maintenance and career development.
3. Disseminate the innovative practice, to upscale and replicate it 3 other targeted municipalities and national wide;
3.1 Prepare and disseminate a report on the innovative practice of supported employment service for persons with disabilities. Peer reviews will be used to evaluate the performance of PES, SSS, and ADRF, their effectiveness in providing this service;
3.2 Prepare policy papers/issue briefs with examples of good practice on employment of persons with disabilities created by project intervention in public and private institutions;
3.3. Disseminate the materials through workshops organised with relevant/ same project targeted structures in three other municipalities, Elbasan, Durres and Shkodra;
3.4. Annual Business and Disability Forum and an annual award for inclusive employment by companies, will be used to recognise a good practice, and share cases of excellence;
3.5 A web platform will be created to share e-copies of all project related publications, will relevant stakeholders, or further disseminated through the available platforms or relevant and involved institutions;
3.6. A local network of supported employment service for persons with disabilities will be created and strengthened, as a mechanism for policy dialogue and practice learning and further needs for investment and development in this sector.
Results
Strengthen capacity at national, regional and municipal levels to effectively support access of citizens with disabilities in inclusive social and labour programmes and services. Specific objective(s) (i.e., Outcome(s) Build a strategic and operational partnership between municipalities, public and non-public agencies to learn, advance and embed an innovative practice of supported employment service, contributing to social and labour inclusion for persons with disabilities.
Disabilities run by ADRF for 8 years, is upgraded and benefits in 20 months round 180 job seeking persons with disabilities;
Standards of the service are adopted and public and private supportive nets and mechanisms effectively used to ensure effectiveness and sustainability of the service;
The innovative practice of supported employment is disseminated, to ensure its upscale and replication in 3 other targeted municipalities and national wide.
