Harofrd County leads nation in support of jobs for Arc students, clients

Mary Paramore
HBL Associate Editor
5/29/09

If you’re looking for hard-working, reliable employees who appreciate having a job and the money they earn, look no further than the Arc. Summer jobs coordinator Jan Stauffer has 197 students to place in positions, which can range from one hour per week to full-time.

“We match students by ability to what the business needs,” Stauffer said in her presentation to members of the Mason Dixon Business Association in May. “We won’t make you keep a kid who’s not working out. We need a win-win.”

Harford County boasts a 94 percent employment rate for Arc clients who want to work in the community, which far exceeds the national average of 37 percent.

“And in these times of lay-offs, our guys have not been the first ones to go,” she said.

Each student comes with a job coach, who, depending on the person’s needs, may stay just long enough to ensure the student understands the job, or may accompany the student to work each day, ensuring the student stays focused and on task.

“We have found that if students are employed while in school, they are more likely to be successful as adults,” she said. Stauffer is in particular need of positions in northern Harford County for 17 students from North Harford High School to keep them in their home communities.

The Arc Northern Chesapeake Region started the summer jobs program in 2006 with seven students. That grew to 11 in 2007, 115 in 2008 and 127 in 2009. The program is a collaboration of the Arc, Harford County’s Department of Community Services, Harford County Public Schools and the Susquehanna Workforce Network and receives funding from Weinberg Foundation. The grant allowed the program to expand from serving students in their last year of high school to all students ages 14-20 with disabilities.

Stauffer shared a bit of history with the group, as well. As late as the 1950s, parents whose children were born with disabilities were encouraged to relinquish their parental rights, or to at least turn them over to the state for care in institutions. The Arc, which has undergone three name changes since its beginning in 1953 as the Association for Retarded Children, was founded to get these children back into their families or into group homes.

In time, employment opportunities were added, but were mainly group workshops where clients assembled items for 1 cent per item. Stauffer recalled one physically challenged but mentally capable young man earning enough in two weeks for a soda and a candy bar.

“Imagine living and working with the same people 24/7. You wouldn’t like it, either. In the 1990s, there was a shift from group homes to individual living,” she said. “The last real piece of having a real life is having a real job.”

Among area businesses that have hired Arc students in past years are the Bel Air Athletic Club, the Arena Club, Maryland Golf & Country Clubs, the Y of Central Maryland, the Harford County Public Library, Brightview of Bel Air, Weis Markets, the Rite Aid Distribution Center , Medline Industries and Harford County Government. Stauffer said the students are skilled in childcare, animal care, data entry, landscaping, retail, restaurant and other fields.

Stauffer explained that these students are no different than other youth their age. She said, “They need that all important job for their first paycheck.”

For more information, contact Jan Stauffer at 410-836-7177 ext. 374 or email her at jstauffer@arccr.org.

Photo caption: Medline Industries in Havre de Grace hired William Walls to work in its shipping and receiving department.