Jason Caputo: Hello and welcome; you're listening to the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development podcast series, where you hear all about how the department helps Alaskan workers, job seekers, businesses, and communities. Jason Caputo: I'm Jason Caputo and my guest today is the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation director Duane Mayes, and today we're going to be talking about the Work Matters task force. Duane, thank you so much for joining us today. Duane Mayes: Yes thank you for having me. I appreciate it. Jason Caputo: Now, we just heard from you a little while ago. We said we were going to have you come back on and talk about our services for businesses, which we still intend to do, but something happened in the meantime that's really exciting and very important, so we need to get you right back in here, and that is that the Department of Health and Social Services and the Department of Labor and Workforce Development got together and created this Work Matters task force. I was hoping you could just give us a brief overview of what is this task force. Duane Mayes: So there are twenty four members to the task force and then of course supporting cast, so I actually chair the task force and I'm the director for the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development. So I was asked by our Commissioner, Dr. Tamika Ledbetter, as well as Adam Crum who's the commissioner for the Department of Health and Social Services, so I'd share that, and so we have -- when I was looking at the number of people that called in, it was about thirty eight people, so we were very happy, but twenty four official members of the task force. And it includes, you know, members and directors from the Department of Labor, the Department of Health and Social Services specifically the Division of Juvenile Justice, and then there's the Division of Behavioral Health, Senior and Disabilities Services. We have the Department of Education; there is representation from them. The Department of Transportation, the Department of Administration. In terms of personnel: five Alaskans with disabilities, three employers that are part of that task force, and then a variety of beneficiary boards, the state independent living council, the governor's Council on Disabilities and Special Education, the Alaska Mental Health Board, the Alaska board on drug abuse and then the governor's Council on Disabilities and Special Education. I'm pretty excited as the chair to that task force, but we just had our first meeting on March sixteenth and we're going to have three more over the next twelve months, so, excited about the task force and we're addressing competitive and integrated employment of Alaskans with disabilities. That's what it's about: what can we do to really enhance that? Jason Caputo: Well that is a huge group of people and I could see why you've been picked for a number of reasons, but one of the most basic is that I know you have experience working at the Department of Health and Social Services at a very high level and then you're also working at the Department of Labor a high level so you probably know a lot of these people already and were working with them but how do you -- is it a challenge to bring all these different facets together to work on one problem? How was that first meeting? Duane Mayes: Actually I was very happy, I mean I when I looked up on the screen -- we did this virtually, obviously, because we're addressing and dealing with the pandemic; many of us are teleworking -- but looking up on the screen, we have a lot of people: directors, deputy commissioners, directors of the boards. And we had a well-engaged audience of members. The five Alaskans with disabilities were very engaged, the three employers showed up and stayed for three hours and were very engaged, so I walked away from that knowing, okay, we got our A-game going. I think we now are going to be able to truly address all programs, all policies that have to do with the employment of Alaskans with disabilities. Jason Caputo: That's fantastic. Yeah, business owners do not have time to just waste. Time is money and so if they were there for three hours and felt it was valuable, that's an amazing sign. So you say it's about addressing that integrated competitive employment. For those listeners who may not be familiar with those terms, can you talk about what integrated and competitive means? Duane Mayes: Sure, so Alaskans with disabilities working side by side with those Alaskans without disabilities in Alaska businesses, in state government, federal government here in Alaska, in positions that actually pay minimum wage or more, and so we're working side by side with those that are not disabled, that's really who we are as a state: competitive integrated employment. Jason Caputo: Real jobs. Duane Mayes: Real jobs. Real jobs paying good money. Jason Caputo: Right, and a good value to the employers who are hiring them. So what led to the creation of this task force? Why is the state doing this? Duane Mayes: Well there's a little bit of history. So let me go back to the year 2014, and this I believe was the Parnell administration and at that time I was the director for, within the Department of Health and Social Services' Division of Senior and Disability Services. So at that time there was a bill brought forward to the Alaska legislature by the governor's Council on Disabilities and Special Education and it was a bipartisan bill. Duane Mayes: On both sides, both Republican and Democrat got behind it and it passed and it was called the -- Alaska becomes the first Employment First state, so employment first for Alaskans with disabilities in this state, the provision of publicly funded services in Alaska to people with disabilities, the first number for an outcome is competitive and integrated employment. And the other piece to that bill is that we would actually track our performance from year to year with those relevant divisions and departments: Department of Education, Department of Health and Social Services, and the Department of Labor, and so there are divisions that either directly or indirectly address the employment of Alaskans with disabilities, so they would report, at the end of the calendar year, the outcomes, the numbers of Alaskans with disabilities that went to work as well as any policy changes for the better. And all this would be packaged into a report and it goes to the Alaska Mental Health Trust and goes to the commissioners for the departments of Labor and Health and Social Services so they're able to see, what does that look like as we evolve as an employment first state? So that was in 2014. So fast-forward to 2018. Duane Mayes: The Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development took the lead and it was the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation to repeal Alaska's sub minimum wage regulation. At that time we were only the third state in the country to do that, so we should be very proud of that. Duane Mayes: And then the other piece of that is, you know, I should state is that the Division of Voc Rehab led that effort so now competitive integrated employment is front and center. We're not in certain situations on a contractual basis paying Alaskans with disabilities sub or below minimum wage, so that's pretty exciting. And then in that same year we sent a team from Alaska to the National Governors' Association employment learning lab, so the U.S. Department of Labor at the federal level created this lab to the National Governor's Association and we sent a team there to identify specifically what are the recommendations that can help Alaska to further enhance their employment programs for Alaskans with disabilities. So the team went to that, came back, and one of their recommendations was to create this task force -- the Work Matters task force. So in 2019 the federal government created a national contractor referred to as the State Exchange of Employment of Disabilities -- SEED is the acronym -- and so they came to Alaska to further discuss the formation of that task force. So as a result of that history, we then approached this administration, this governor, to seek his support as well as support of the most relevant departments in government -- Health and Social Services and Labor -- so that happened. And so all that led to this task force. Well, just little bit of history as to how it actually came to be. Jason Caputo: Right, I think that's very important to know, because when you have all those high level people spending time doing something, you don't just do that on a whim, but you kind of just explained how this is built on a long history of moving in this direction successfully and getting the information to find out how can we make this happen, how can we get more Alaskans with disabilities working in in real jobs and valuable jobs? So I think that's that's really helpful to know. So you approached this governor, Governor Dunleavy, with that. What was the response? Does the governor support it? Duane Mayes: Absolutely. Actually, it is a privilege and honor to be a part of this administration so it was not a heavy lift. He absolutely gets it and he put together a letter dated February eleventh of this year. And, you know, I'm not going to read you the letter, but there's a section I think is very relevant to this podcast interview, and that's that he says in his letter, 'Employment is the most direct and cost effective means to empower individuals with disabilities to achieve independence and economic self sufficiency. My administration seeks to improve and enhance the recruitment, hiring, advancement, and retention of individuals with disabilities through the state as a model employer.' So that's the other piece, you know. There was legislation a long time ago whereby it passed that the state will become a model employer in hiring Alaskans with disabilities. So his letter of support really helped me to gain the membership of the task force. When they saw that the governor's behind it, and they saw that the two commissioners were behind it, they were ready to step up and be a part of the solution. Jason Caputo: That's fantastic. So just to sum up a lot information there, you got this group of widespread throughout state government, leaders in state government, businesses, people with disabilities coming together on this task force and working to figure out how can they make it so that more Alaskans with disabilities get into the work force, make a good wage. Businesses have valuable employees, we've got less people who need benefits, so people are contributing to the economy by working. And the governor supports it. Jason Caputo: Now let's get down to brass tacks of what specifically is this task force going to try to do -- what are the outcomes going to be from this work? Duane Mayes: Excellent question, and I know many people are wanting to ask that question. They hear that we have this task force, so, what are you gonna do? Duane Mayes: And so, the state is a model employer of individuals with disabilities, so think about that. Duane Mayes: Provisional hire is a component within the state system whereby hiring managers can hire people with disabilities working through the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation to create that product, to put into place that process to make that happen. So provisional hire within the state system, building the capacity of the private sector to enhance employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities is a second task that we are going to address, priority that we're going to address. Designing transition programs, providing career development, work-based learning experiences, and parental involvement. So what are we doing to really prepare youth with disabilities coming out of the educational system and having some kind of awareness of what work looks like, the value of work, work matters. Duane Mayes: Establishing the employment first initiatives, recognizing that work in the general workforce, as a competitive integrated employment is the first and preferred outcome in the provision of publicly funded services and supports of all working age individuals with disabilities, including individuals with the most significant of disabilities. Everyone can work. Duane Mayes: And you may have somebody with multiple disabilities, but the belief is that they have value. Work matters, and you can work. Duane Mayes: Implementing a state at-work and return to work policy program for individuals who become ill or injured on or off the job '-- so with the pandemic, telework now being such a significant aspect of our world, what can that do for people with disabilities that may struggle to get from point A to point B? You know, the value of telework, work matters. Enhancing rural traditional skill development such as subsistence, self employment, etc. -- so what are we doing to really address the value of employment using some of those innovations that have occurred in the past specific to rural Alaska? Self-employment? What does that look like? Duane Mayes: And then of course, I would say that the national contractor SEEDS, they're gonna be part of this. They're doing this in other states. And I'm a fan of looking to what other states are doing, so, what models have you implemented that actually are working? So, save us time not having to reinvent the wheel. Bring some of those possible models to Alaska to really improve the value of a competitive and integrated plan. So I'm not gonna cover all of that but that'll give you a taste of what we're going to try to accomplish through the next twelve months in terms of deliverables, if you will. Jason Caputo: Right, there a lot a lot of really concrete ideas that are building, a lot of it building on what you have found to work in the past, both in this state and other states, so it's -- you've got these things that you want to make sure we're implementing correctly here, so it really does sound very grounded, which I would imagine is important when you have such a vast initiative, when you look at all those people involved, and I know that we've both been talking about what you're doing at this very high level that's going to trickle down throughout all these different agencies, and you've talked about the concepts, but I know that you also have come up through the disability system. I have worked directly with people with disabilities, and I was wondering if you might have a specific story that really brings home on a personal level what is this all about. Is there something you can share that shows a picture of the type of change that can happen when someone with a disability gets these services? When we get the services right, we can help someone with a disability? Duane Mayes: You bet. Duane Mayes: I'll share with you a story, my parents are both deaf, and I mentioned that in the last podcast interview with you. They both communicate through American Sign Language so they are in the, the term I often use is they are culturally deaf because they hang out with other deaf people because they want to be able to have ease of communication through American Sign Language. We grew up in a small little farm town in Wisconsin. Dairy land. They call it holy land ' it's a very specific area of the state where there's a lot of farming going on. And the town that I grew up in was referred to as New Holstein, Wisconsin. So there you go. Cow Town USA was the acronym that they often used. Duane Mayes: So there was a farmer and his wife who had a son that was born deaf, much younger than my dad. And my dad would often say, let's go see Art -- his name was Art -- so I hop in the car with my dad, we drive out there, and we would hang out with Art. So Art loved it; because he is fluent in ASL he was able to talk to my dad and talk with me and so I really enjoyed him. He was very engaging. He would always give me a hug and I just was so impressed with him. And he was a wrestler for the school for the deaf, from Wisconsin, so just to kind of give you an idea ' Well, I move on. You know, I go to college and I get my bachelor's and master's degrees in vocational rehabilitation. Along that journey I found out when I graduated from college and then went to Alaska that Art suddenly lost all of his eyesight. He was diagnosed with Usher's syndrome and so he dramatically loses eyesight. In my mind I'm thinking there's nothing that this guy's going to be able to do. He's deaf, he's blind, and I just I felt terrible about that, so I move on with my life and I'm in Alaska, and I fly to the east coast and I go to [inaudible] university. And it's a deaf college, where the majority of students on that campus are deaf, and they're attending a variety of whatever major they have. As I'm walking across campus, I look up and I see Art. Duane Mayes: So I walk over to him and I tap him on the shoulder and hes put his hand up about shoulder level. And so I started signing, and he's following my hands and signs to me: who are you? I said my name is Duane Mayes. He throws his arms around me and he picks me up off the ground and he just starts crying. And of course, I did the same thing because I hadn't seen him in a long, long time. And so I asked him, I said, Art, what are you doing? Duane Mayes: And he says I'm a professor. Duane Mayes: I went to college, I got my Ph.D. Duane Mayes: And I do national presentations throughout the country. Duane Mayes: And I was speechless, thinking ' here I thought he was probably just going to be sitting at home and his parents would have to provide twenty four-seven care for him. Duane Mayes: And he lost his eyesight and he just said, oh well, and he goes off to college. He adopts, he gets his PhD, and he's highly recognized now on a national level. Duane Mayes: That to me really defines the last Work Matters task force. Duane Mayes: Anybody, it doesn't matter what type of disability or if it's multiple disabilities -- you bring value. The value of work. And so he was very proud of his accomplishments. That really tells me a lot about what we're trying to accomplish here in Alaska. The power of work. Jason Caputo: Well that is very powerful. Thank you so much, Director Mayes, for joining us. I think that does bring it very clear, the vision that, what this task force is hoping to do for more and more Alaskans with disabilities. Jason Caputo: I probably should mention too that if you are listening to this podcast and you have a disability and you're saying, well, yeah, I want that kind of help, I need that kind of help, I've been trying to work and I can't work: The Division of Vocational Rehabilitation -- we're talking as a director right now, he is director of that agency. They can help Alaskans with disabilities in getting, keeping a good job. We'll put the information in the description of this podcast so you can get the telephone number, the website. I'll also give it you now, it's labor dot Alaska dot gov forward slash DVR. So if you're thinking about, hmm, is this for me? Give a call. They're waiting for your call, and they can talk you through how the program can help you. Jason Caputo: This has been the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development podcast series. Thank you, Director Mayes, for talking with us about the Work Matters task force today. We look forward to hearing about the accomplishments of this task force in the future. And thank you listeners for joining us. We hope you found the show informative and that you'll join us again for our next podcast. Duane Mayes: Thank you, Jason.