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Alliance Data partners with Special Care Career Services to keep special needs employment steady
By Kim Nguyen, Staff Writer
The recession has affected people from all walks of life, but according to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, the recession has impacted persons with disabilities the most.
In February, the unemployment rate of persons with a disability was approximately 14 percent, compared with 8.7 percent for persons with no disability. With an estimated 300,000 special needs citizens in the U.S. labor pool, Dallas-based Alliance Data has made a commitment to continue employing special needs workers in fulfilling, quality positions.
The company has partnered with Special Care and Career Services (SCCS), a non-profit organization that provides supported employment services for families and adults with cognitive disabilities by matching them to meaningful jobs.
Three clients with SCCS have been hired by Alliance Data through a unique partnership between the two companies.
Plano resident David Garcia, 30, is in his sixth year working with Alliance Data. At 4-foot-5, Garcia’s life is affected by a type of dwarfism and he has had a lifetime to experience the trials and tribulations of being a little person. Through special training from SCCS counselors and trainers, Garcia and the two other SCCS clients were placed to work at Alliance Data to provide assistance to facility engineers.
In his six years at Alliance Data, Garcia has learned so much independence, said Garcia’s supervisor Ronald Swift.
“When he first got here, he was just happy to get a paycheck,” Swift said. “They [SCCS] analyzed what he could handle, and since then his job has changed 180 degrees.”
At first, Garcia was responsible for doing light janitorial and inventory duties.
“Now, he’s doing the same duties but on a more intensive level and occasionally helping technicians in the field,” Swift said. “He keeps evolving and showing us that he can gain more experience. And he really wants to.”
Garcia’s self-determination gave him the opportunity to move out of his brother’s home into a nearby apartment in Plano and lead a more independent life. Garcia’s newfound self-sufficiency has been an inspiration to everyone around him.
“Seeing him be so committed to his job gives our team and other associates inspiration and makes us drive that much harder,” Swift said.
As a manager, Swift said he’s also learned so much from Garcia.
“I no longer look at him as a small person, but as an individual,” Swift said. “There’s no difference in him compared to the guy in the next cubicle, and I think it would be a huge disservice to David if we did make a big deal of it.”
Garcia reciprocated Swift’s gratitude, saying that there’s no better place to work to build meaningful relationships.
“We’re more than a team, we’re a family,” Garcia said.
Garcia, who worked at a day care center prior to joining Alliance Data, said he is thankful for the opportunity to grow.
“I love it here,” said Garcia. “There are great relationships between everybody here. There are good days and some bad days, but we keep going with the good.”
Alliance Data is one of several employers in Collin, Dallas and Denton counties that have contributed to SCCS’s success.
“One of the key components to the Special Care and Career Services is that we try to select the right job for the client and train them to be an outstanding employee with the company,” said Cathy Packard, SCCS executive director. “When there’s a good match, a company can’t get rid of a person who is a good worker.”
James “Stick” Alexander agrees, saying that the natural support in a company helps determine how likely a client will stay with the company.
“There is a ton of natural support here [at Alliance Data], and I think that’s one of the reasons why David has grown so much,” Alexander said. “The associates here don’t look at David as someone with a disability, but as someone with an ability.”
Packard said when the recession began in January 2008, SCCS coordinators and trainers became concerned about the effects of a down-turning economy on their clients.
“We told the Special Care Board that we’d like to keep staff at the same level and continue the momentum that we had gathered,” she said.
For the current fiscal year, which began on Sept. 1, 2008, SCCS coordinators set a goal to place 30 clients in various companies. By Friday, SCCS had successfully placed 19 clients.
“We’re thankful that the employer demand has more than matched the current decline in jobs,” she said. “The most important thing is having a good relationship between the employer and our client.”
Packard said she is proud that companies like Alliance Data have come to understand the value of individuals with special needs like Garcia.
“David is a very important addition to the Alliance team,” she said. “He has incredible focus and has a strong work ethic.”
Packard said for every dollar invested into the supported employment services program, $16 to $17 is returned to the community.
“The more we help introduce people with special needs back into the community, the less dependency they have on the state’s department of social services and the more potential for our client to be an independent, tax-paying citizen of the community,” she said.
For more than 45 years, Special Care and Career Services has been building independence for children and adults with disabilities. SCCS provides services to children and adults with developmental disabilities so they can lead fulfilling lives in their communities.
Based out of Farmers Branch, Special Care and Career Services supports families, children and adults with developmental disabilities by providing key services to Collin, Dallas and Denton counties with two age-determined programs: Early Childhood Intervention and Supported Employment Services.
Supported Employment Services is a program that matches adults with cognitive disabilities such as intellectual disabilities, Down syndrome and traumatic brain injury to meaningful jobs in companies needing their skills. With thorough assessment and job development, on-the-job training and continued support, the Supported Employment program assures an optimal placement for both its clients and the employers who hire them.
In 2007, Special Care and Career Services served 570 children and families through the Early Childhood Intervention program and 141 adults through Supported Employment Services. The structured activities of SCCS are planned, coordinated and facilitated by tenured healthcare and social service professionals, and each program is individualized based on the needs and interests of children, families and adults.
Information on Special Care and Career Services can be found online at www.specialcarecareer.org.
Contact Kim Nguyen at knguyen@acnpapers.com
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