Employment Services

DHE is your source for well-screened, reliable employees!


Think about these scenarios at your place of business:
  • Which tasks take staff away from their primary job responsibilities or critical area(s) of expertise?
  • Which tasks have become backlogged or forgotten altogether?
  • In which positions are you experiencing the headache of frequent turnover or repeatedly hiring expensive temps?
  • Which entry-level duties do not receive the necessary attention from current staff?
  • Which duties, if assigned to supported employees, would make the jobs of others better supported, more productive, or more efficient...and your workday easier?
 
Since 1988, Desert Haven's Supported Employment Department has proudly and successfully served employers throughout the Antelope Valley, helping to resolve the challenging scenarios of the work-a-day world, by providing highly motivated, well-trained, qualified employees specifically selected and carefully matched to the needs and expectations of the employers and their businesses!
 
 

You Hire; We Train!

 
Services offered through Desert Haven's Supported Employment Program support you, the employer, and your new employee, at absolutely no additional cost to your company.

We provide:
 
- Professional needs assessment and worksite analysis;
- Customized job development to successfully pair applicant skills and experience
with identified job duties and requirements;
- Thorough pre-interview screening and guaranteed job matching;
- Effective on-the-job training to company specifications;
- Assistance with tax incentives; and
- Ongoing follow-along services.
 
 

We are There When You Need Us!!!
and
We are Ready to Work for You!!


 

Employer FAQ's about Supported Employment

 
Q: What is Supported Employment?
 
A: Desert Haven's Supported Employment Program is a creative approach to employment for people with disabilities and a valuable resource for local businesses.  Employees with disabilities receive professional, individualized, on-the-job training and long-term support from highly skilled program personnel to ensure their performance consistently meets employer standards for excellence, expectations for success, and hopes for ongoing job retention.  Employers hiring personnel through the program receive highly motivated, reliable employees, who are eager to demonstrate their best and determined to become a key contributor to the productivity of the team and the overall quality of the business.
 
 
Q: How does Desert Haven's Supported Employment Program work?
 
A: Desert Haven's Supported Employment Program is driven by the specific interests and needs of job seekers and community-based employers.  Its success is predicated upon effectively linking the two, which can only be accomplished by having a clear understanding of the needs of those seeking employment, as well as those seeking employees.  To that end, program management staff conduct a thorough assessment of each individual's job skills, experience, aptitudes and vocational interests; while the employment specialist regularly interfaces with local employers throughout the community to gain important information regarding their businesses and the particular hiring needs of each.  Equipped with knowledge of each individual job seeker and an understanding of the local job market, the employment specialist is then able to introduce qualified job applicants to employers with positions suitable to the skills and interests of those particular individuals within their business.  A job site analysis is conducted to gain a clear understanding of the specific job requirements and general work characteristics of the worksite to ensure an effective and successful job match.  Standard job interviews are conducted for those determined to be the best possible fit for the position.  The final hiring decision is the employer's.     
 
 
Q: How is Desert Haven Involved After the Placement?
 
A: Once you hire, it is our responsibility to train your new employee to your standards and expectations in the performance of his or her essential job functions.  First, the employment specialist will accompany your new employee to the job orientation and ensure all information presented is clearly understood.  From that point on, your new employee will be provided ongoing, individualized assistance and training by Desert Haven's specially trained job coach staff in order to promote and ensure work performance that meets your company's expectations for quality, productivity, and professionalism.  Job coaches may also provide job modification assistance to employers and disability awareness training for co-workers, in addition to job retention services to the employee.  This support for you, your team, and your new employee comes at no additional cost to you.  You hire; we train. 
 
 
Q: Will I Be Expected to Make Reasonable Accommodations for My New Employee?  Will This Cost Me Anything?
 
A: A reasonable accommodation is any change in the workplace or in the ways that tasks are performed in order to assist a person with a disability to apply for a job, perform job duties, and/or to enjoy the benefits and privileges of employment.  In performing an analysis of the essential functions of the job and related job tasks, the employment specialist may recommend restructuring how tasks are completed and/or teach task performance differently in order to best meet the needs of the employee, while still meeting the expectations of the employer.  Most accommodations cost nothing at all and while the law requires that an employer provide reasonable accommodation to an employee or job applicant with a disability, such is not required if it would cause significant difficulty or expense to the employer.  As noted previously, job coaching services are provided at no cost to you. 
 
 
Q: What If I Hire Someone and It Doesn't Work Out?
 
A: Desert Haven's highly trained, professional staff offer a variety of support services designed to ensure the success of your employment relationship.  However, as in any employment situation, there are instances when it simply does not work out.  As the employer, you make the final decisions regarding your business and what is best.  In the rare event that an employment relationship must be severed, Desert Haven will again assist you in supporting the employee through the process and can also provide options for additional qualified applicants to fill the position upon your request.
 
 
Q: How Does Supported Employment Benefit the Community?
 
A: Persons with disabilities are among the most underemployed of all people today...not because they cannot work...not because they do not want to work...but because they are not often offered the opportunity to work.  When you provide a job opportunity to an individual with a disability, you help to dispel the myths by offering a medium for showcasing their drive, determination, and capability.  When you provide a job opportunity for a person with a disability, you enhance your own business by contributing to diversity in the workplace, which not only supports your own workforce, but also demonstrates to the community-at-large your care and respect for people from all walks of life, regardless of their differences.  When you provide a job opportunity to a person with a disability, you help them to gain self-sufficiency as an independent wage earner and a tax payer, which further supports our local community, our state, and our nation. When you provide a job opportunity to an individual with a disability, you gain a highly motivated, decidedly dedicated, absolutely qualified team member within your business.  When you provide a job opportunity to an individual with a disability, everyone wins!
 
 

Here's What Our Customers are Saying:

 
"The presence and input from the job coaches has been very helpful. They always ensure that routines, performance, and roles are being completed to job requirements."
-Melinda Torres, Guest Service Team Leader, Target (Lancaster)
 
"The individuals that we have hired from Desert Haven Enterprises...have qualities that we are looking for in our employees. They take pride in their work and come to work every day at the level that is required. We are pleased and we will continue to hire through Desert Haven as needed."
-Antelope Valley Ford
 
For more information regarding hiring qualified employees through Desert Haven, please contact:

Nancy Matherly
Employment Specialist
(661) 948-8402