The perfect job and personalized services
Thursday, Jan. 29, 2015
Today’s ‘throwback Thursday’ photo comes from the 1980s at a Martin Luther Homes workshop. Receiving a paycheck -- maybe it was her first -- was clearly satisfying for the young woman. While Mosaic is moving away from workshop settings today, at the time, workshops were the leading edge in services.
A paycheck is a symbol of something bigger. A job can bring self-respect, make a person feel a part of a team, help build relationships with others, bring satisfaction and enjoyment – and help people contribute to society as taxpayers.
Yet, the experiences that help people develop work skills, learn what they like and dislike, and choose a career are often missing in the lives of people with disabilities. People are expected to be satisfied in jobs that, for others, are often ‘starter’ jobs.
One tactic of the Mosaic 2.0 strategic plan is, “Increase expertise in customized employment.” Customized employment starts with learning – learning about the person. It’s not just asking questions, but helping people find new experiences that highlight talents and interests. With that information a vocational profile is created to help determine their ideal job or maybe even help them create their own business.
A key component of customized employment is working with small businesses, which comprise nearly two-thirds of employers in the US and are job creators. They also are more likely to have the kind of working environment where people with disabilities can excel and less likely to use online applications and tests, which can put people with a disability at a disadvantage.
Customized employment is one tool to help move people into personalized services. Mosaic’s goal is to make personalized services a reality for 5 percent of the people served. That goal sounds small, but achieving it would make Mosaic a leader in personalized services today.
Creating a relationship through service
Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2015
Asking a local business to save cans for people to recycle led to something much more.
“The Syngenta relationship began with the people we serve simply asking them to save cans,” said Kelli Joseph, Resource Development Manager at Mosaic in Omaha. “The cans would be left outside the back door and staff would take the clients to pick them on a weekly basis.”
But soon, the cans were left inside the building. When people went in to pick them up, the employees at Syngenta started knowing them and caring about them.
“The employees soon began to love those we serve and invited them to come in and have coffee with them. It is now a ritual for our senior clients to have coffee with Syngenta employees every Wednesday,” Kelli said.
Now, the employees at Syngenta provide Halloween, Christmas and Easter parties for the people served by Mosaic. The parties are complete with decorations, food and games, welcoming the people from Mosaic with open arms and smiles.
It doesn’t stop at parties. They have made meaningful days for several of the people served by providing rides in tractors, semis, and even a combine at harvest time. They have supplied tickets for community events. One Syngenta employee helped a person served develop his art skills and provided several clients with a painting she had painted for them. Many Syngenta employees have come to Discover the Possibilities tours and one has regular outings with a person served.
A Mosaic staff member who takes people to Syngenta on a regular basis said, “These are good people!”
Yes, they are.
In the photos, Russell Munson and Grace Isler enjoy activities provided by Syngenta. (Click on the photos to see full-size versions.)
New online coursework available
Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2015
The first segments of two new e-learning series from Program Training and Development are now available online at mymosaicinfo.org.
Personal Outcome Measures courses
The 22 Personal Outcome Measures are each being developed into short (three to ten minute) online courses. These courses support the Mosaic 2.0 strategic focus to “Discover the life each person wants and partner with them to make it happen.” The following two are now complete:
- People Choose Personal Goals
- People Are Connected to Natural Support Networks
These courses can be used in many ways:
- During new employee training when introducing concepts covered by POMs (i.e., People Choose Personal Goals fits nicely with Introduction to Services or Service and Support Planning)
- 1:1 training with staff when talking about personalized services
- Topics for department or staff meetings
- To strengthen POM interviewer understanding of each outcome
- To provide DSPs and DSAs information about each outcome and their role in supporting people to have the life they desire.
Access at:
MyResources>Training>Personal Outcomes OR MyBenefits & Development>Training>Personal Outcomes
To learn more, contact Brenda Sims (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).
Self-Advocacy courses
Find Your Voice – Lead Your Life is a new series designed to teach staff how to support people and help them determine the direction of their own lives. The first course, now available, focuses on the strong connection between Personal Outcome Measures and self-advocacy. Supporting the strategic focus to “Positively influence issues that impact the lives of people with disabilities,” this series has a goal to increase the number of self-advocates across Mosaic.
Access at:
MyBenefits & Development>Training>Self Advocacy>Find Your Voice-Lead Your Life
To learn more, contact Danny Queen (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).
How do I find …
Friday, Jan. 23, 2015
Insurance and benefit forms?
Insurance claim forms and other information about benefits can be found in multiple places on mymosaicinfo.org. If you have a login to the site, go to MyResources > Forms > Human Resources and find claim information as well as other benefit and employment-related forms. Without logging in, you can insurance and benefits forms by going to MyBenefits & Development > Benefits and Wellness.
Mosaic 2.0 Strategic Plan?
To access the Mosaic 2.0 Strategic Plan and Forward in Faith documents, you must be logged in to the mymosaicinfo.org site. The far right tab on the top menu is the Login button. If you are logged in, “Strategic Plan” appears at the bottom of the left menu on the homepage, below “Citrix.” If you are not logged in, “Citrix” is the last menu item. Clicking the “Strategic Plan” link will take you to the documents and other supporting materials for Mosaic 2.0 and Forward in Faith.
The person I need to contact? I know their job but not their name.
Anyone who has a Mosaicinfo.org email account is listed in an online personnel browser. You must be logged in to access it. It is available at MyMosaic > Directories > Directories > Personnel Browser. You can search by name, agency or job title at Mosaic.
Daughter of Mosaic's founder soon turns 100 – help her celebrate!
Friday, Jan. 16, 2015
Miriam Lindgren, daughter of Mosaic founder the Rev. K.G. William Dahl, will turn 100 on January 27, 2015. Her family is celebrating with a card shower for Miriam. Her granddaughter notes that Miriam “enjoys receiving cards and letters – she reads every one!”
Throughout her life, Miriam has been a great supporter of Mosaic. Although her father died when she was a toddler, Miriam, along with her mother Lillian and brother Sam, stayed involved with Pastor Dahl’s beloved Bethphage Mission, which later became Mosaic. Miriam was featured in Mosaic’s centennial book, “The Reason We Exist.”
“I have wonderful memories as a child,” Miriam said. “We used to walk up from town on Sunday afternoons, my mother, my brother and I, and visited. I just loved going up there.”
Miriam stayed in Axtell, Neb. where she married and raised a family. With her husband, Emerald, she was a regular volunteer at Bethphage. Many long-term Mosaic employees remember Miriam for other reasons, too – she was the first-grade teacher for Linda Timmons, Mosaic President and CEO.
Just two years younger than Mosaic itself, there is no doubt that Miriam has the longest history with this organization of any living person. Along with many family members, she attended the Centennial Festival in Axtell and Kearney in 2013. Through her support, she has helped shape Mosaic and we grateful for all she has done.
We hope that every agency, along with staff members and people served by Mosaic, will send cards to congratulate her and show how far and wide her father’s vision has spread. Please send cards to:
Miriam Lindgren
Christian Homes – Lilac Lane
1923 West 4th Ave.
Holdrege, NE 68949