I’ve worked with a large number of One-Stop agencies across the state of California. As part of my technical assistance and training, we often engage staff in a conversation around the agency’s Reasonable Accommodation Policy. I’m often surprised at the number of staff that are either unaware of whether they actually have a policy (most do) or what exactly the policy says. Now, we all know if you haven’t had to use certain information, what often happens is that you hear it once, you store the information away somewhere, and you move on to issues that are more pressing. If you don’t use it, you lose it. Right?
As a good rule of thumb, I’d like to suggest the following…and I’m saying this from the perspective of a consultant who has seen what can happen when you don’t do these things…First, locate your policy. As I mentioned before, most of you will find that you DO have one. If the policy is more than two years old, review it for accuracy and make sure that the contact information and instructions still make sense. Next, get your staff together and share and discuss the policy with EVERYONE. Interestingly, I’ve found that for some reason, the person who answers the phones or sits at the front desk isn’t included in the EVERYONE. In a Secret Shopper survey we conducted, I can tell you that excluding administrative staff in this discussion led to a significant amount of misinformation going to the public. These are your gatekeepers! If anyone needs to be trained on your policies and procedures, it’s the person or persons who interact most with your customers. Lastly, put a 20 minute placeholder for policy review on your staff meeting agenda every quarter. With staff turnover and the many other things that fill our days, a review of the information will make sure that everyone is on the same page.
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