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North‑Central Kansas pilot nets 176 jobs; OCCK urges scaling and benefits planning
Summary
OCCK described an Employment First pilot that created 176 integrated jobs across rural and urban Kansas, with average wages above $13/hour, and urged the Legislature to invest in training, infrastructure and benefits planning to scale the model.
Kendra Krier, vice president for rural outreach and services at OCCK, described a multi‑site Employment First pilot that OCCK participated in with technical assistance from national partners. The pilot selected diverse providers across Kansas, provided mentoring and accredited job‑development training, and reported 176 people placed in competitive integrated employment across four pilot organizations.
Krier told the committee the pilot emphasized cross‑program staffing and training, bringing together IDD, autism, brain‑injury, workforce and self‑directed services into a single navigator team to focus on career discovery, employer outreach and job coaching. Pilot participants averaged more than $13 per hour and typically worked over 20 hours per week. OCCK and KU estimated strong rural results in Salina, Ford and other counties.
Krier said the pilot exposed needs for sustained infrastructure: trained job developers and job coaches, consistent benefit-planning supports to address families’ concerns about how earnings affect eligibility, transportation tailored to nonstandard shift hours and funding for milestone staffing. OCCK described next steps including leadership ownership, board support, expanded training and a scholarship fund to support postsecondary education for people with disabilities.
Committee members praised the results and asked about funding, technical assistance and Medicaid match. KDADS and KU told lawmakers the pilot had used federal ARPA funds for initial investments; scaling will require ongoing budget authority and further partnerships among KDADS, community providers and workforce agencies. Legislators asked OCCK to provide more detail about costs and recommended KDADS consider expanding similar technical-assistance partnerships to more providers.
No formal committee votes were recorded. OCCK invited the committee to examine pilot materials and to consider policy or funding steps to expand training and benefit planning statewide.
