- link Copy Url - [ Share on twitter ](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Rhode Island’s Groundbreaking Agreement to Move Toward Inclusive Employment https://www.3blmedia.com/markdownify/node/45901?absolute=1&via=3blnews "link to 3 B L Media's Twitter") - [ Share on linkedin ](https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://www.3blmedia.com/markdownify/node/45901?absolute=1 "link to 3 B L Media's Linkedin") - [ Share on facebook ](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://www.3blmedia.com/markdownify/node/45901?absolute=1 "link to 3 B L Media's Facebook") - [ email Share via email ](mailto:?subject=Rhode Island’s Groundbreaking Agreement to Move Toward Inclusive Employment&body=ESG News from Keystone Human Services https://www.3blmedia.com/markdownify/node/45901?absolute=1 "Share via email") [Diversity & Inclusion](/CSR-News/diversity-inclusion) # Rhode Island’s Groundbreaking Agreement to Move Toward Inclusive Employment Apr 21, 2014 5:30 PM ET Campaign: [Inclusive Employment](/news/campaign/inclusive-employment) [Rhode Island’s Groundbreaking Agreement to Move Toward Inclusive Employment](http://inclusiveemployment.wordpress.com/2014/04/18/rhode-islands-groundbreaking-agreement-to-move-toward-inclusive-employment/) Last week, Rhode Island and the Justice Department came to a groundbreaking agreement to reform the system of sheltered workshops and day programs for people with disabilities. The agreement includes minimum wage guarantees and opportunities for competitive employment, among others. You can read the article from the *New York Times* [here](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/09/us/developmentally-disabled-get-more-workplace-protections.html?_r=0) and read a wonderful editorial from the *NYT* editorial board [here](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/12/opinion/doubly-disabled-in-life.html). Over the next 10 years, Rhode Island will be working to integrate people with disabilities into the workforce. Under the agreement, Rhode Island will be moving people out of the sheltered workshops, where many people perform menial tasks such as sorting small items—tasks that do little to showcase their actual abilities. Sheltered workshops were not originally started to segregate people with disabilities from the rest of the workforce. Often, they began because parents felt their children were capable of more and just needed a place to learn skills to help them transition to competitive employment. Although sheltered workshops may have worked successfully for some people, a majority simply ended up segregated from the rest of the community. This change to an inclusive employment model will involve a shift in the way many people think about people with disabilities and their ability to work. Rather than focusing on what they can’t do, it will drive people to think about theirabilities and the ways they can contribute to the workforce. People with disabilities can and do make valuable contributions to the workforce. Inclusive employment opens up many possibilities for people’s lives. They’re working, earning a paycheck, making a positive contribution, building friendships. All of this takes time, and it can be difficult to see the possibilities of integration when you aren’t seeing immediate results. It’s important for family members to know that their loved ones are not losing services through sheltered workshops. They will benefit from inclusive employment and all the possibilities it opens. We are excited to see how these changes unfold in Rhode Island and how this model is then applied in other states. **More Information about Integrated Employment** The Office of Disability Employment Policy and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services held two webinars in February about integrated employment: - [Innovative Strategies for Using Medicaid State Plan and Waiver Options to Promote Integrated Employment of People with Disabilities](http://www.leadcenter.org/webinars/innovative-strategies-using-medicaid-state-plan-and-waiver-options-promote-integrated-employment-pwd) - [Implications of HCBS Final Rule on Non-Residential Settings—The Impact of New HBCS Guidance on Employment and Day Services](http://www.leadcenter.org/webinars/implications-hcbs-final-rule-non-residential-settings-impact-new-hcbs-guidance-employment-day-services) [![](/sites/default/files/Clients/keystone-human-services-logo.gif)](/profiles/keystone-human-services) ### More from Keystone Human Services ###### [ABLE Accounts Allow People with Disabilities to Save Without Losing Benefits](/news/able-accounts-allow-people-disabilities-save-without-losing-benefits) Aug 8, 2017 11:55 AM ET ###### [Pennsylvania Treasurer Torsella Hosts Roundtable in Dauphin County to Discuss PA ABLE Program](/news/pennsylvania-treasurer-torsella-hosts-roundtable-dauphin-county-discuss-pa-able-program) Aug 7, 2017 12:45 PM ET ###### [Football and Service Dogs—It’s the Perfect Pairing](/news/football-and-service-dogs-its-perfect-pairing) Jul 24, 2017 11:35 AM ET ###### [Making Deinstitutionalization Real: Moving from the Idea Toward the Ideal](/news/making-deinstitutionalization-real-moving-idea-toward-ideal) Jun 12, 2017 3:40 PM ET ###### [Contact Your PA Senator to Support the Proposed Budget for Intellectual Disability and Autism Services](/news/contact-your-pa-senator-support-proposed-budget-intellectual-disability-and-autism-services) May 22, 2017 2:40 PM ET ###### [Join Susquehanna Service Dogs for the Highmark Walk for a Healthy Community](/news/join-susquehanna-service-dogs-highmark-walk-healthy-community) May 17, 2017 6:40 PM ET ###### [PA House of Representatives Passes Budget with Increased Disability Services Funding](/news/pa-house-representatives-passes-budget-increased-disability-services-funding) Apr 25, 2017 5:35 PM ET ###### [The Difference a Service Dog Makes](/news/difference-service-dog-makes) Apr 10, 2017 11:25 AM ET