Finding a job can already be difficult for an individual with a disability, but in a battered economy it’s that much tougher.
In the past year, demand for services at the Tommy Nobis Center — a nonprofit that provides job training to the disabled — spiked more than 30 percent.
As demand grows, the nonprofit hopes to develop a client tracking system that would streamline operations, allowing the center to serve 10 percent more individuals — or about 90 to 100 people — annually. The system would also shorten admission wait times by two to four weeks and increase job placement by about 10 percent.
That initiative helped the Tommy Nobis Center, which provides job training, employment and vocational support to the disabled, become a finalist for TechBridge’s 2009 Technology Innovation Award.
“We have about four different manual ways to track the same client,” said Karen Carlisle, Tommy Nobis Center’s vice president of corporate communications and development. “It’s a lot of extra re-work. It’s very inefficient.”
The TechBridge award recognizes the most innovative idea for tech projects by nonprofits. The winner will receive $25,000 in TechBridge consulting services, $25,000 in Microsoft software and a $5,000 cash grant.
As a finalist, the center is already a winner; it will receive more than $13,000 in software, services and cash.
The Tommy Nobis Center had revenue of about $5.5 million last year and served nearly 900 people in six northwest metro Atlanta counties.
Technology is critical for nonprofits, allowing them to better track return on investment, said Peggy Withrow, vice president of rehabilitation services at the Tommy Nobis Center.
“We will be able to state our case more clearly for funding, for donations,” Withrow said. “This proves our value and our worth.”
Once developed, the proposed tracking system would take about a month to implement, she said. Transitioning from the current multiple-tracking system will be a challenge, she added, as will training staff on how to use the new technology.
Having client-tracking software is critical because community rehabilitation centers must report job placement data to accrediting agencies, said Sheila Zipf, vice president of career services at Bobby Dodd Institute.
The Tommy Nobis Center was one of 80 applicants and three finalists for the TechBridge award. The agency was started after the mother of a special-needs student at Atlanta’s Northside High School and the school’s special education director saw the need for vocational training for soon-to-be high school graduates.
They enlisted the support of a former Atlanta Falcon, Tommy Nobis — an advocate of special-needs youth and a supporter of Special Olympics Georgia.
The center evaluates people with disabilities who need work-related assistance, tracking them through the system using Microsoft Word or handwritten notes.
Winning the award is essential for the nonprofit’s ability to develop the client-tracking system, Carlisle said.
“It’s very significant,” she said, “especially given the fact that we haven’t had the resources to invest in technology.”
In addition to seeing more demand for services, it’s also taking the Tommy Nobis Center longer to place clients in jobs. The average time it takes to place clients has stretched at least 30 percent, to about six months, Withrow said.
“If somebody with an MBA has been laid off and they are willing to take entry-level jobs,” she said, “then the person with a disability is kinda out of luck.”
The Tommy Nobis Center is also seeing an uptick in referrals by the Georgia Department of Labor’s vocational rehab program and from the Veterans Administration.
Tommy Nobis Center
- Founded: 1975
- Mission: Provide job training, employment and vocational support to the disabled
- Impact: Served about 880 people in 2008
|
