MTI Success Stories: Ending Center-Based Work at Rise, Inc.

Description

Rise, Inc. is a Minnesota-based nonprofit agency that provides employment services in support of people with disabilities. In 2021, Rise decided to end piece-rate, center-based employment in favor of competitive, integrated jobs in the community. This shift created opportunities for Rise employees, and the associates and businesses they served. The change also meant that Rise’s business partners no longer needed to send work projects offsite to Rise; instead, Rise associates worked in partners’ regular workplaces, alongside their regular workforce. The video shows a Rise for-profit business partner that embraced this community-employment model. Instead of the old model of piece-rate wages for offsite work, the company shifted to hourly wages for Rise associates, and included them in workplace meetings, friendships, and opportunities. This change to working in the community also opened job and promotion opportunities for Rise employees, strengthening their commitment to competitive, integrated employment.

Details

Date
2024 
Type
Video 
Publisher
Minnesota Transformation Initiative Technical Assistant Center (MTI)
Co-publisher
Institute on Community Integration, University of Minnesota

Topics

  • Employment and postsecondary education
    • Employment and workforce development