Coronavirus/COVID-19 Update

March 16th, 2020

Dear valued DD/IDD State or County Service Provider,

I am writing to inform you that in light of the ever-changing landscape of Covid-19 and the state requirements for closure and/or quarantine, at this time Meadowlark Employment Services will remain operating to provide safe and consistent services. We are taking all mandatory precautions as required by the State of Oregon. As this situation is rapidly changing, we will continue to reevaluate and make needed adjustments to remain in compliance and to keep our clients, providers, employers, referral sources, and community safe. As of now, these are the processes we are following for the services we provide.

On-Going/Maintenance Job Coaching - Our job coaches will continue to make only necessary and/or emergency check-ins with our community integrated clients. We will sanitize our hands before and after interacting with clients, maintain the required spacing and refrain from unnecessary physical touch. Meadowlark job coaches will also make clients aware of future changes to their schedules should their employer be under guidelines for temporary closure. We will contact all necessary parties to make sure that the team is aware of the closure and keep everyone posted for when the client is allowed to return to work. Should the team member become ill or need to be in quarantine, another staff member will be assigned so that support services are not interrupted. In the circumstance that a job coach is unable to provide services, we will notify the client’s support team immediately to make sure everyone is aware of the issue moving forward. Once a job coach is available to resume services, we will again notify the client’s support team to let them know that we will be resuming our job coaching supports. 

Discovery - Our providers will continue their Discovery process with a modified contact arrangement. The provider will contact each client to make sure that they are able and willing to continue the Discovery service with modified contact. Modified contact is defined as text messaging, Skype or video calls, emails or direct phone calls. The Discovery provider will remain available to the client should they have questions or would like to relay information. We will also be making phone calls to prospective volunteer sites in order to set up volunteer experiences for appropriate times. Should a client want to meet face to face we will again take the required steps to ensure the safety of both the client and provider.  The provider will sanitize their hands before and after meeting the client and keep the appropriate distance from the client to ensure we are following the requirements. We again will encourage modified contact when appropriate to limit exposure of both client and Discovery provider.

Job Development - While the landscape of COVID-19 is changing daily, Meadowlark will continue to provide as much job development as it had previously. We will work more closely on only contacting employers face to face when it is absolutely necessary. We will make significantly more modified contact with employers and arrange times to meet when appropriate. Again, Meadowlark will do its best to remain fully operational and provide continuous service until otherwise necessary. Job Developers will again follow all required rules should a community face-to-face be necessary. We will sanitize hands before and after meeting and remain the required distance in order to keep the Job Developer and the client safe. Should job development need to be put on hold, we will notify team members and create a plan for when the service can resume. Should the team member become ill or need to be in quarantine, another staff member will be assigned so that support services are not interrupted. In the circumstance that a job developer is unable to provide services, we will notify the client’s support team immediately to make sure everyone is aware of the issue moving forward. Once a job developer is available to resume services, we will again notify the client’s support team to let them know that we will be resuming our job developing. 

All other contact and/or services - Meadowlark prides itself on providing continuous quality employment services. We will do everything in our power to provide this through these trying times, keeping the health and safety of everyone involved in mind. If at some point we need to stop any or all services for a period of time, we will notify all clients, support staff, referral sources and state agencies to make necessary changes to the client’s plan.

Meadowlark will remain up to date on changing recommendations as we move forward through COVID-19. We will provide updates to all clients, support staff, referral sources and state agencies when necessary.

Sincerely,

Harmony Redmond
Executive Director
Meadowlark Employment Services