Outreach Workgroup
Members
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Chairs: Beth Pinkham |
PARI |
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Chairs: Susan Shapiro |
RI Office of Rehabilitative Services |
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Susan Babin |
RI Department of BHDDH DDD |
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Anne Boyd |
East Bay Mental Health Center
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Rory Carmody |
Cranston ARC |
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Andrea Casteneda |
Governor's Commission on Disabilities |
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Dianne Cook |
RI Department of Human Services |
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Frank Depetrillo |
RI Department of Human Services
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Jon Dupree |
Mental Health Consumer |
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Vicki Ferrara |
Rhode Island College |
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Steven Florio |
RI Commission on the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
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Elaina Goldstein |
Executive Director, Rhodes to Independence |
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Mitch Henderson |
RI Mental Health Consumers Advocacy Association |
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Anne Mulready |
RI-ILC |
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Mary Lou McCaffrey |
RI ARC |
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Kathy Partington |
RI Department of Labor and Training
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Paul Pickens |
Goodwill |
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Lorna Ricci |
Ocean State Center for Independent Living |
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Cheryl-Ann Ring |
Kent County ARC |
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Michael Spoerri |
RI Department of Health |
2003 Accomplishments
In its 2002 Final Report, the Rhodes to Independence Information and Outreach Workgroup made recommendations to achieve its goal of enhancing employment prospects and opportunities for large numbers of Rhode Islanders with various disabilities. These recommendations were:
1. The formulation and dissemination of the message that people with disabilities can work and should be given the opportunity to do so. The Workgroup's first priority was the development and propagation of this message.
2. The creation of a professional marketing campaign to spread the message. Concepts in the marketing campaign included:
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Communication plan(s) should address the specific, specialized
outlooks and needs of the distinctive audiences identified above; should take a discreet, rather than a �cookie-cutter' approach to promoting the message.
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"Focus Groups" representing people with disabilities and members of all relevant constituencies should be central to development of the marketing campaign.
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Once the campaign is up and running, it should be carefully
monitored to make certain that the message is continuing to be delivered effectively to each of its intended targets.
3. The professional marketing campaign must be carefully coordinated to take advantage of all existing resources, and be multimodal both in character and approach. A professional marketing firm should be hired to develop and implement this campaign.
Accomplishment Details
2003 was a busy, productive year for the Outreach Workgroup. The Workgroup's activity was focused on retaining a public relations firm to develop and coordinate a marketing campaign to bring the message of the Rhodes to Independence initiative to employers, persons with disabilities and other stakeholders, as well as the general public. Many of the Workroup's meetings were dedicated to undertaking a competitive Request for Proposal process. In September 2003 the firm of Cote & D'Ambrosio (C&D) was hired.
Since then, the Outreach Workgroup has worked with Eric Cote and Ken D'Ambrosio from C&D to develop and begin implementing this campaign. In September, C&D held three focus groups, one for persons with disabilities, one for family members of persons with disabilities and one for employers to get input as to what these various groups saw as the barriers to employment, and what these groups felt needed to happen to increase the rate of employment for persons with disabilities.
C&D used this feedback to propose a marketing campaign to the committee. The multifaceted plan includes a Rhodes to Independence logo and tag line to be used on all materials, a quarterly newsletter and other print materials, website, an employer information packet, trade show booth, grassroots education, etc. On-going press coverage began in November when C&D organized a press conference through Representative James Langevin's office to announce the kickoff in RI of the �Ticket to Work' program through the Social Security Administration. This program is designed to be an incentive for persons with disabilities to pursue employment. The Providence Journal covered this event.
The Collateral Materials subcommittee completed work on the logo and tagline, layout of the quarterly newsletter, and outreach to disability related organizations, employers, etc. for development of a mailing list. C&D also began initial development of the Rhodes website.
Another subcommittee was formed to establish a Business Leadership Network (BLN) in RI. Key members of this group attended the national Business Leadership Network Conference in September and gained insight into the best practices of BLNs throughout the country and completed a survey of BLNs across the country. A written report was produced for the subcommittee to use as it organizes RI's BLN.
The Outreach Workgroup will carry the momentum gained in 2003 into 2004. The first edition of the newsletter will be mailed out, the website launched, and further collateral materials will be discussed and developed. Planning for the BLN in 2003 will continue in a formative meeting scheduled for early 2004.
