Hampstead Employers Stepped Up with Summer Jobs for Students with IDD

Michele Alessi owner of Snickerdoodles Bakery & Coffee House, posed with WBLE summer program students Kylie, Caris, and Emily.

This past summer, the Maryland State Department of Education Division for Rehabilitation Services (DORS) referred a record number of students from Manchester Valley High School to providers, including Penn-Mar. These students were participating in a Work-Based Learning Experience (WBLE) program that offers job training opportunities designed to help young teens with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) to work and live independently.

It was a full-circle moment for Erin Brady, who spent 10 years at Manchester Valley in Maryland as a Special Education Instructional Assistant. Her career experience eventually led her to her current position as an Employment Coordinator for Penn-Mar Human Services’ Westminster team. 

Between Erin’s former relationship with the school and students, and Penn-Mar West’s broad network of contacts in the Hampstead and Manchester business community, the Maryland Employment teams at the Central and West locations were perfectly positioned to help 15 students find and successfully navigate local summer job opportunities.

“It was a no-brainer for Penn-Mar to send these students our way as I knew many of them personally from my days with the Carroll County School District,” said Erin. “The employment team spent many days in Hampstead because so many businesses there stepped up with job opportunities.”

Summer Youth Program Benefitted Students and Employers

Finding jobs for people with IDD is not always easy. The WBLE program is unique because it essentially offers employers “free” help, plus on-the-job coaching from the Penn-Mar team, to make hiring a student for a short window of time more attractive.

“While DORS pays the wages for the employers, it’s not always as easy as it sounds to get their commitment to participate in the program,” said Erin. “Some of the students need specific supports, in addition to the natural supports of their co-workers, which requires our employment team to coach them on-site to successfully carry out their job responsibilities.”

Even so, small businesses in Hampstead welcomed the opportunity to hire local students and embraced their new employees, as well as the Penn-Mar West team, with open arms.

“It was such a pleasure to be part of Penn-Mar’s summer youth program,” said Greenmount Station owner Denise Richards. “Courtney and Polina were pleasant and did an amazing job, working hard every day that they were here.  We look forward to working with Penn-Mar again in the future.”

Kylie secured a job at Pam’s Daycare, a private home that offered a quieter environment and more one-on-one interaction with the children.

Even businesses that were uncertain whether a Work-Based Learning Experience would be a good fit remained open minded and were ultimately impressed by their student employees. Pam Huber, owner of Pam’s Daycare, admitted she was initially hesitant. “I wasn’t familiar with the summer youth program, but after meeting Kylie, I knew right away she would be a perfect fit for the job. She turned out to be a true blessing, and we were fortunate to have her help throughout the summer.”

And whether it was rolling silverware in napkins, power washing golf carts, serving customers in a restaurant, or taking care of animals in a shelter, the nearly 2-month Summer WBLE program offered amazing experiences and interactions for the students and their coworkers and provided employers with a unique resource for part-time summer help.

Good Job Matches and Coaching Made the Difference

Identifying community businesses that were willing to give students a shot is one piece of the customized employment puzzle. But beyond connecting with companies, Penn-Mar’s employment team works to carefully match students’ skills and interests to an employer’s needs. The team also offers job coaching, supporting each student to be successful.

There were many examples of Penn-Mar’s onsite job coaching that proved to be extremely valuable. By closely observing Emily at her restaurant job, the team was able to improve her productivity by switching her from the kitchen to the front counter area where she received wonderful natural support from her co-worker Ryan.

Another student didn’t like all the noise in a day care center, and thanks to the customized employment team’s strong network and the Hampstead business community’s support, the student instead began working at a private childcare home that offered less sensory overload and more one-on-one interaction.

Caris, who worked at a Cat Rescue Center as part of her summer WBLE experience, is shown here with the cat she adopted at the end of the program named Rooney.

And in another case, Erin spent several days a week shadowing Caris at the Cat Rescue Center where she was responsible for caring for nearly 70 cats and kittens with no natural support! Caris was up to the job, but Erin’s assistance was much appreciated given the sheer number of cats in her care. It turned out to be a positive experience for both women.

Through it all, the Penn-Mar West customized employment team was extremely grateful for the summer job opportunities made possible by local Hampstead employers. “They went over-and-above to give these kids an amazing experience, and with so many students who were seeking a summer job placement, I couldn’t have appreciated it more,” shared Erin. “We have an amazing customized employment team who really went to work leveraging their networks, and the Hampstead business community stepped up in such a huge way.”