Our Objective Is to Help You Develop Your Potential

This describes your first visit or two with us when we attempt to get to know each other. 

This program provides work-skills training and support services that advance consumers towards competitively paid employment in community jobs. Services focus on strengthening fundamental work skills and achieving individualized work-skills goals through meaningful work experiences and vocational training in one of our facilities. 

These are community-based services to help you gain a better understanding of competitive employment opportunities. Activities and experiences will strengthen your knowledge, interests, and preferences to help you make informed decisions about competitive employment.

These individualized services area designed to help you achieve competitive, integrated employment, become self-employed, or establish a microenterprise business. May include assessments, discovery opportunities, job seeking skills, orientation support, etc.

The individualized services and supports are to help you maintain paid employment in community businesses/settings. Services occur in integrated community settings, may be long-term, and may include individual sites or groups up to six.

A process of job try-outs either within the facility or in a community setting. You and your team have a chance to learn more about you as a worker. This information will help you make further plans. The results of your EPS will be reviewed with you before the final planning meeting. You will begin earning wages and accumulating benefits.

This often follows EPS when you and your team have decided on specific things you should learn about work. For example, you may have decided you need the practice to work faster, or you need to learn how to operate certain machines, or you need to develop better work habits. Sometimes EDS can help you develop the confidence you need to be a good worker and may help you more clearly define your vocational interests/goals.

In some cases, you may not be ready for a competitive or a community job even after EDS. In such cases, you may be hired in the facility's Center-Based Employment Program. If accepted, you will be paid based on what you are able to earn. If your skills improve over a period as a Center-Based Consumer then you will be helped to find a competitive or community job. When you are hired as a Center-Based Consumer, you will receive a new set of policies that are specific to the employment program.

This is similar to Center-Based Employment except that your job would be located at a business site in the community. All the C.V.S., Inc. support services are included, but your job would be outside of the facility. C.E. is oftentimes a good way to prepare for and develop skills necessary for competitive employment.

In Supported Employment, your job would be in a community setting that is fully integrated with non-disabled workers. Your wages would be customary for that type of work; and would be at least minimum wage. Support Services are offered specific to your needs on the job.

When you and your team decide you are ready to handle a regular job in the community, it is time to start job hunting. Remember you are on the team. Usually, job hunting is done by you and a C.V.S. staff who now becomes a part of your team. If you don't already know, you will learn about how and where to look for work, how to interview for a job, how to fill out an application for work, and all the other things that make a job hunt successful. If placed in a job in industry and if circumstances beyond your control result in the loss of employment within 60 days of the start date, you are guaranteed a workstation in your previous program as soon as a suitable opening is available.

These are individual or group services for students between the ages of 14-21. Services include: Job Exploration Counseling; Workplace Readiness Training; Instruction in Self-Advocacy; Work-Based Learning. Referrals are made through the Vocational Rehabilitation Department.

This program provides individualized, community-based training and support services that help a consumer develop and maintain essential and personally enriching life skills so that they can access and participate in activities they prefer in the community. Services may be provided in one of our facilities or in the community.

These consumers are provided specialized services specific to their mental health needs. The Mental Health Vocational Programs are designed to assist persons who have serious and persistent mental illness in obtaining and retaining appropriate employment.

The Seniors Program is designed to provide our senior population with appropriate community activities, socialization and assistance with skills development for the retirement years. Senior services are usually provided in small group settings.

C.V.S. provides residential living services in two homes in the Owatonna area. Each home services four individuals - women in one and men in the other.

Support for advocacy activities may be provided within the organization, through support for participation in activities such as employee committees, or support for self-facilitation of a person's individual planning meeting; or in the community, through support for participation in activities sponsored by advocacy groups, or support in self-advocacy to access benefits, services, etc.