Season 2, Episode 2 — 6 April 2018 About this episode We talk with Kristin Vandagriff, the Planner for the Governor’s Council on Disabilities and Special Education and lead of Alaska’s PIE project about the innovative steps that Alaska has taken to engage with employers, as well as the resources that Alaska has made available on their engagement efforts. About the presenters Kristin Vandagriff is the Planner for the Alaska Governor’s Council on Disabilities and Special Education, joining the Council in October 2013 as an Employment Program Coordinator. Kristin is the project lead for Alaska’s Partnerships in Employment project, the Alaska Integrated Employment Initiative (AIEI) working on the following major changes since the inception of the grant: Alaska becoming an Employment First state Repeal Alaska’s graduation qualifying exam with retroactive provision Passage of the Alaska ABLE Act Becoming only the third state in the nation to repeal subminimum wage regulation. She leads an interagency employer engagement team comprised of Alaska state staff from the Departments of Health and Social Services and Labor and Work Workforce Development called the Business Employment Services Team (BEST) which is dedicated to improving hiring outcomes for individuals with disabilities. Kristin facilitated the creation of an Alaska Disability Benefits 101 website to assist Alaskans with disabilities in better understanding the important interplay of benefits and work. In addition, Kristin is the Statewide Coordinator for Alaska Project SEARCH. Previously she worked for the Division of Senior and Disabilities Services in the Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Unit. Before coming to work for the State of Alaska, Kristin was employed for more than six years with a developmental disabilities provider agency working directly with people who experience disabilities. Kristin graduated from the University of Alaska Anchorage with a Bachelor of Arts in political science. Kristin has been involved with advocacy in the realm of people with disabilities for over 24 years and is very personally invested in this work, as her brother has an intellectual and developmental disability. She is very proud of his achievements and greatly looks forward to continuing to grow opportunities for people with disabilities in Alaska. Donald Taylor is the Training Manager at the Youth Employment Solutions Center and the producer of YES To Employment. Links to State of Alaska resources “Alaska Case Study: Pathway to Employment for All in the Last Frontier“, Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, vol. 47, no. 3, 2017, pp. 295-306, doi:10.3233/JVR-170903 “Alaska Transition Handbook: Pathway to Adulthood and Employment“ “Partnerships in Employment Brief: Guidance on How to Obtain Data on the Use of Subminimum Wages Within a State to Inform Systems Change Activities“ “Partnerships in Employment Brief: Influencing Changes in State Policy and Practice with Data on Subminimum Wages“ Transcript Announcer: You’re listening to YES! To Employment, a podcast series that seeks to improve competitive, integrated employment outcomes for transition-aged youth and young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Today we are talking to Kristin Vandagriff, who is the Planner at the Governor’s Council on Disabilities and Special Education, which is […]

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