CESP Employer Engagement 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: An employment specialist is preparing for a meeting with a small business owner who has never hired someone with a disability. Which talking point is MOST likely to resonate?
- Federal tax incentives available for hiring people with disabilities (Correct answer)
- The moral obligation businesses have to the disability community
- Statistics about the national disability unemployment rate
- The legal penalties for ADA non-compliance
Correct answer: Federal tax incentives available for hiring people with disabilities
Concrete financial benefits like the Work Opportunity Tax Credit speak directly to a small business owner's practical concerns and are often the most persuasive entry point.
Question 2: Which federal tax incentive provides businesses a credit of up to $5,000 for making their facilities or services accessible to people with disabilities?
- Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC)
- Disabled Access Credit (Correct answer)
- Architectural Barrier Removal Tax Deduction
- Americans with Disabilities Business Credit
Correct answer: Disabled Access Credit
The Disabled Access Credit (IRS Form 8826) helps eligible small businesses offset the cost of making accessibility improvements.
Question 3: A job seeker discloses their disability to a potential employer before the job offer without being asked. As their employment specialist, you should:
- Intervene immediately to stop the disclosure
- Respect their choice while ensuring they understood the implications beforehand (Correct answer)
- Advise the employer to disregard the disclosure for legal reasons
- Document it as a protocol violation
Correct answer: Respect their choice while ensuring they understood the implications beforehand
Disability disclosure is the job seeker's personal decision; the specialist's role is to ensure informed decision-making beforehand, not to control the outcome.
Question 4: An employer contacts you six months after a placement saying the employee's performance has declined. Your FIRST step should be:
- Arrange an immediate job site visit to observe and assess the situation (Correct answer)
- Notify the funding agency that the placement may fail
- Suggest the employer put the employee on a performance improvement plan
- Contact the employee's family for background information
Correct answer: Arrange an immediate job site visit to observe and assess the situation
A job site visit allows the specialist to directly observe the work environment and behavior, which is essential for accurate problem assessment before taking any action.
Question 5: The concept of 'employer as customer' in supported employment means:
- Employers pay the employment specialist directly for services
- The employer's hiring needs are treated with the same priority as the job seeker's employment goals (Correct answer)
- Employers have final authority over all supported employment decisions
- Job seekers must compete in an open market without specialist advocacy
Correct answer: The employer's hiring needs are treated with the same priority as the job seeker's employment goals
Treating the employer as a customer means understanding and responding to their workforce needs, creating a dual-customer service model alongside the job seeker.
Question 6: Which of the following BEST illustrates 'job creation' as distinct from 'job development'?
- Helping a job seeker apply for an existing posted vacancy
- Persuading an employer to create a brand new position that didn't exist before to meet both their and the job seeker's needs (Correct answer)
- Carving tasks from several existing jobs into one role
- Connecting a job seeker with a temp agency for short-term work
Correct answer: Persuading an employer to create a brand new position that didn't exist before to meet both their and the job seeker's needs
Job creation involves proposing a new position to an employer that addresses a genuine business need while matching the job seeker's unique skills.
Question 7: When an employment specialist uses a 'community mapping' strategy, they are primarily:
- Identifying geographic barriers to transportation for job seekers
- Cataloging local employers, community resources, and social networks to target for outreach (Correct answer)
- Mapping the physical layout of a worksite for accessibility planning
- Documenting commute routes between a job seeker's home and potential workplaces
Correct answer: Cataloging local employers, community resources, and social networks to target for outreach
Community mapping systematically identifies potential employer partners, community connectors, and local resources that can support employment outcomes.
CESP Employer Engagement 4
An employment specialist is preparing for a meeting with a small business owner who has never hired someone with a disability.
Which talking point is MOST likely to resonate?