SHELTERED INDUSTRY SHELTERED WORKSHOP WORK COOPWhat is a sheltered workshop?Slide 3Sheltered WorkshopsSheltered Workshops Advantages and Disadvantages of the Horticultural Business EnvironmentSheltered Workshops: MissionSheltered Workshops: LeadershipSheltered Workshops: Assessing Community NeedSlide 9Sheltered Workshops: FundingSheltered Workshops: Personnel IssuesSheltered Workshops: Personnel Issues - ClientsSheltered Workshops: Personnel Issues - WagesSHELTERED INDUSTRY SHELTERED WORKSHOP WORK COOPWhat is a sheltered workshop?•Nonprofit corporations chartered by the state in which they are located•Offer training and employment to persons who are physically, emotionally, or mentally disabled. •Governed by a board of directors and administered by a president according to government standards•Mission: to use real work to provide job training and continuing employment to persons with disabilitiesWhat is a sheltered workshop?•Offers work opportunities to eligible adults. Behaviors and skills such as good attendance, work tolerance, appropriate job attitudes, and production skills are stressed. •The work program involves production jobs, for which the consumers are paid on a piece rate basis or hourly wage that meets standards of the U.S. Department of Labor. •The shop contracts with area industry to perform a variety of industrial tasks including inspection, sorting, packaging, assembly, and deburring operations.•Programs with horticulture often produce a finished product for sale to the public or the green industry.Sheltered WorkshopsValues of the Horticultural Environment:•Societal•People-plant interaction•Program Options•Community Integration•Public Relations•Self-earning PowerSheltered WorkshopsAdvantages and Disadvantages of the Horticultural Business EnvironmentAdvantages:•Horticulture works•Trainees / Employees function in the real world of business (deadlines, quotas, wages, paychecks)•Generate part of the income for the programDisadvantages:•Employees with disabilities may be taken advantage of•Training and rehabilitation may lose out to earnings and getting the job done•Realities of the competitive worldSheltered Workshops: MissionIt is essential to establish a mission for the program and periodically re-evaluate the program to see if it is meeting its goals•Employees with Disabilities•Training•Business VentureSheltered Workshops:LeadershipKey Participants:•Board of Directors•Chief Executive Officer / President•Training Supervisor•Plant Production Manager–Nursery– greenhouse•Plant Marketing / Sales•Landscape / Grounds Contract Marketing Specialist•Instructors•Crew Foremen•Facility and Equipment MaintenanceSheltered Workshops: Assessing Community NeedPopulation to be served•Who will be served•How Many people need the Program•From where will the participants comeSelection of the Program:•What types of programs are needed•What phase should be developed first•What are projections for sales and contracts•What is feasible tin the communityEmployment Opportunities•What competitive jobs are available•What is the work-coop potentialSheltered Workshops: Assessing Community NeedAvoidance of community business confrontation•What is the purchasing potential of the center•Is the center's mission to prepare trained employees•Is the community aware that the tax dollar drain to support the clients is reduced•Are the center's leaders aware of competition•Have potential competitors been made aware of on the job man power training assistanceSheltered Workshops: FundingFunding Sources•Are start-up grants and loans available•Will on-going training fees be charged•Sources of funds could include:Fund-raisers Foundations Government agencies Federal ProgramsGovernment Contracts Surplus PropertyCommunity Development Block Grantsetc.Sheltered Workshops: Personnel Issues•Seven day coverage of greenhouse, nursery, etc•Seasonal Workload•Extended hours for retail sales•Vacation time must avoid peak periods•Overlapping duties of training staff and business staffSheltered Workshops: Personnel Issues - Clients•Admission, Evaluation and training Placement•Referral sources•Screening•Evaluation (include trial employment period)Sheltered Workshops: Personnel Issues - Wages•Minimum wage•Dept. of Labor regulations–Special Certificates–Regular Program with special minimum wage–Work Activities Center–Evaluation–Training–Individual Rate•Wage rates and time studies•Record