Be a change agent: Tools and techniques to support organizational and individual transformation

Amy Gunty, Jody Van Ness, Kelly Nye-Lengerman

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

More people with disabilities are living and working in the community than ever before, including many who receive support from provider organizations and state agencies. These organizations play an important role in facilitating community living and employment. Organizational change is necessary as our system continues to shift away from segregating people with disabilities to a society in which people with disabilities are fully engaged and contributing their strengths and talents in their communities. However, there are well-established patterns of thinking, practice, and policy that make organizational change difficult to implement. OBJECTIVE: This paper will describe lessons learned when working with a large agency to implement organization-wide adoption of person-centered practices (PCPs) using a model of episodic and continuous change (Quinn, 1996). This includes an overview of the episodic/continuous model of organizational change, with detailed information about how to implement each type of change. CONCLUSIONS: Implementing well-balanced organizational change activities and strategies, including elements of episodic and continuous change, is an effective way to work toward lasting change within agencies that support people with disabilities in fully inclusive setting. This can be a useful tool to support increased competitive, integrated employment for people with disabilities.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)325-329
Number of pages5
JournalJournal of Vocational Rehabilitation
Volume50
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - 2019

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
PCPs and employment-first policies can serve as facilitators for increase the rates of competitive, integrated employment for people with disabilities; however, many local and state organizations find it difficult to shift gears to focus on competitive, integrated employment and individualized supports. PCPs can provide a foundation from which to develop and refine policies, procedures, and activities that focus on the individual job seeker; however, the adoption of PCPs can require a significant investment This manuscript is a product of the Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Community Living (RTC-CL) at the University of Minnesota, funded by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation (Grant number HHS-2018-ACLNIDILRR-RTCP-0262). NIDILRR is a Center within the Administration for Community Living (ACL), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), The contents of this publication do not necessarily represent the policy of NIDILRR, ACL, HHS, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 - IOS Press and the authors. All rights reserved.

Keywords

  • Competitive
  • communities of practice
  • integrated employment
  • intellectual and developmental disabilities
  • organizational transformation
  • person-centered practices

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