Via Employment Services - Community Employment
Types of Employment

There are several types of employment opportunities Via offers to adults with disabilities.  Based on the individual needs and supports necessary, Via works to provide the best employment option for each adult and business we work with.  We excel at creating innovative employment solutions for adults and matching those solutions with business needs.
                                                                                                                                           
Supported Employment
Supported Employment assists an individual in getting, learning and keeping a job in a community work setting.  Via works with employers to make effective job matches and provide onsite instruction and support to people with disabilities.  Supported Employment is provided in partnership with area high schools, Intermediate Unit’s, the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation, and Lehigh and Northampton Counties.  Supported employment facilitates competitive work in integrated work settings for individuals with disabilities for whom competitive employment has not traditionally occurred.  Supported employment provides assistance such as job coaches, transportation, assistive technology, specialized job training, and individually tailored supervision.

Customized Employment
Customized Employment is an individualized relationship between employees and employers that meets the needs of both.  Customized Employment identifies specific job duties or expectations that are negotiated with potential employers.  Via targets individualized job goals based on the needs, strengths, and interests of the employment seeker and identifies the discrete, emerging needs of the employer.  Via helps people with disabilities develop employment opportunities through diverse scenarios including: Job Carving, Resource Ownership, Self-Employment and Resource Sharing.

Resource Ownership
Resource Ownership involves an individual bringing added value, usually equipment, to a job site that helps an employer capture more revenue and potentially higher more people.  For example, a Resource Owner might bring some type of equipment or resource with them to meet a business’ need like mailroom services or copying equipment.  The individual purchases and owns the equipment or property and is paid wages by the business where they are hired.  If the individual moves to another position, the resource still belongs to the individual.

Job Carving
Job carving begins with the idea that each person has unique contributions and assets and then matches those unique qualities to the needs of a business.  Job carving involves melding job seeker and employer needs through workplace analysis and person-centered career planning.  Job carving is based on the concept of using a person’s unique contributions and matching those to an employment setting.

Self-Employment
Self-Employment is booming in the United States with estimates of over 20 million Americans working in home-based businesses and the self-employment rate is growing at 20 % annually.  This cultural and economic shift of taking individual opportunity, presents another promising career option to individuals with significant disabilities.  Recognizing that people with disabilities have historically demonstrated a strong interest in working for themselves, the Office of Disability Employment Policy initiated a project to ensure that people with disabilities will have equal access to the same programs and other resources available to all small businesses, that employment programs for people with disabilities, such as vocational rehabilitation, will offer small business ownership as a viable option, and that potential entrepreneurs with disabilities know about the process and resources used for starting a business.

For more information, contact:
Corey Smith, Director of Employment Services
c.smith@vianet.org | 610-317-8000 x496