ACRE Training

Employment for ME Workforce Development System Announces ACRE Certified Employment Specialist Training

Save the Date! February 27 – March 1, 2012 (Lunch Provided)
8:30 AM – 5:30 PM
Viles Arboretum, Augusta, ME
Four 2 Hour Webcasts to be scheduled in March and April (participation required)
Cost: $250
CRC Credits are available 

We have a block of rooms available at the Senator Inn & Spa (207) 622-5804 at a discounted rate of $69.00 per night. Please mention the ACRE Training when reserving rooms to receive the discounted rate.

>>Register Online

We are pleased to announce an on-site ACRE certified training opportunity conducted by Griffin-Hammis Associates!

This comprehensive ACRE Certified Training will include an in person four-day intensive training and four 2 hour webcasts. The training will cover:

• Overview of Customized Employment Strategies and Techniques
• Steps & Stages of Discovering Personal Genius 
• Conducting Respectful Home Visits 
• Designing Discovery Activities that Illuminate Skills, Not Just Interests
• Developing The 3 Vocational Themes 
• Conducting Informational Interviews with Businesses 
• Moving from Smooth Talking to Smooth Listening 
• Constructing the Job Development Lists of 20 
• Using Resource Ownership & SSA Work Incentives
• Systematic Instruction and Job Analysis
• Community Resources, Social Capital and Creative Support Strategies
• Self Employment
• Work Incentives and PASS Plans
• Transition from school to work

Griffin-Hammis Associates, LLC is a full service consultancy specializing in developing communities of economic cooperation. Griffin-Hammis Associates (GHA) addresses this mission by providing:

• High Quality Training and Technical Consultation 
• Project Development and Management Services 
• Inventive Service Delivery 

GHA specializes in community rehabilitation improvement, job creation and job site training, employer development, Social Security benefits analysis and work incentives, self-employment feasibility and refinement, management-leadership mentoring, and civic entrepreneurship. Our customers are wide ranging and include businesses, community rehabilitation programs, state and local governments, universities, individuals, and others from the public and private sectors.

Bob Niemiec will be the lead instructor. Bob is a Senior Consultant with GHA and serves as the Director of the Minnesota Employment Services and Technical Assistance Support Center. Prior to that, Bob was the Director of Employment and Community Supports for Community Involvement Programs in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Bob also serves as a mentor for the Wisconsin Medicaid Infrastructure Grant (MIG) in their CRP Rebalancing Project. A graduate of Indiana University, Bob has been in the field of employment for persons with disabilities for twenty-seven years. He has performed at virtually every level within a human service organization, from direct service to executive director.

Bob served as the Chair of the Minnesota State Rehabilitation Council for seven years as well as being a member of the Minnesota Governor’s Workforce Development council. He is a Past-President of APSE – The Network on Employment, a founding member and former President of the Minnesota APSE, former President of the APSE Foundation, a current member of the Editorial Board of The Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, and a founding member of the Minnesota Employment First Coalition.

Russell Sickles acts as Director of Operations and Business Development at Job Squad, Inc. located in Bridgeport, WV. Job Squad has spent the last few years transitioning from traditional supported employment practices to Universal Economic Development technologies.

Just a few years ago, Russell would have called himself a "Human Services" worker, and a few years before that, a "Social Worker." He feels that these approaches, while sometimes assisting individuals with basic needs, tend to further marginalize, isolate, impoverish—and ultimately harm—recipients. Russell is interested in micro-lending, asset development, and holistic, highly localized approaches that support disadvantaged individuals and communities. He studied Political Science in college and spent a year in Law School before coming to his senses. He is also a Senior Consultant with Griffin-Hammis Associates, owner of Paradox Community Economic Development, and current President of Mountain State APSE.