Design, develop, and evaluate the effectiveness of integrated programs that jointly address work-specific factors such as hazard reduction and work redesign along with employee-specific issues like chronic illness prevention and health improvement.

Oregon Healthy Workforce Center, Oregon Institute of Occupational Health Sciences offered at OHSU

Work to improve the well being of workers through information, education, outreach, and research.

Organizations that make an effort to increase the availability and utilization of community services by specific target populations by providing direct services for targeted individuals in their homes or other convenient locations or by making special efforts to ensure that a particular group is aware of available services and encouraged to participate. Included are programs that do outreach regarding their own services as well as those which encourage a target population to use a wide variety of services.

Outreach Programs

Organizations that advocate for or oppose measures that affect the terms or conditions of employment or the workplace environment. These measures may address equal pay standards; minimum/living wage requirements; occupational health and safety concerns; worker/employer rights; employee benefits including workplace child care; employment discrimination based on age, race, gender, or ethnic background; affirmative action/equal opportunity practices; sexual harassment on the job; workplace violence; hours issues including a shortened work week and flexible work hours; telecommuting; unemployment benefits; self-employment; and other similar issues.

Employment Related Advocacy Groups

Programs that maintain information about community resources that are appropriate for a specific target group or human services sector (for example, youth programs or addiction services) and which link individuals who are in need of specialized services with appropriate resources and/or which provide information about community agencies and organizations that offer specialized services.

Specialized Information and Referral

Programs that promote safe and healthy work environments which protect working people from illness and injury and ensure that risks to health and safety in the workplace (such as exposure to toxic chemicals, biological agents, excessive noise or vibration levels, ionizing radiation, mechanical dangers, heat, cold, work-related stress or unsanitary conditions) are identified and assessed, then eliminated or controlled. Activities may include occupational illness and injury surveillance studies; enforcement of laws that establish health and safety standards for the workplace which seek to eliminate or minimize the incidence of employment-related personal illness, injury or death of workers; education programs and consultation services for employers and employees that address overall health and safety issues as well as specific workplace risk factors; and development and implementation of effective on-site workplace health and safety programs which include policies and procedures, instruction and supervision of workers, reporting and investigation of incidents, workplace inspections, and strong management support and worker participation.

Occupational Health and Safety

Works in committee to claim unpaid wages and improve the situation of workers living and working in King County, Washington.  
Organizes public campaigns, submits complaints to Labor & Industries, and refers cases to attorneys.

Workers Defense Program offered at CASA Latina

Offers bilingual Spanish-English wage-claim advocacy for unpaid wages.

Programs that provide legal assistance for people who want to establish employment practices for their organization that will minimize or eliminate problems in the employment area or who need to resolve a dispute or initiate or respond to litigation which relates to their role as employers or employees, their rights and obligations. Labor and employment law deals with a variety of issues including ADA compliance, wage and hour compliance, workplace health and safety, interview and hiring practices, employee contracts, employee benefits, maternity/paternity leaves, medical leaves, supervision and discipline, workplace privacy, workplace violence, sexual harassment, wrongful termination, and worker's compensation cases as well as protection from a range of employer-committed crimes including wage theft, deliberate worker misclassification, evasion of unemployment and workers' compensation laws, labor trafficking, defamation including false statements by an employer during or after the firing process, violation of state laws related to whistleblower protections or other relevant statutes.

Labor and Employment Law

Programs that provide assistance for people who believe that they have been denied equal access to employment or that they have been treated unfairly as employees, i.e., that they were sexually harassed or denied equal pay for equal work, passed over for a promotion, denied training opportunities or fired on the basis of their age, gender, race or ethnic origin, nationality, religion, disability, sexual orientation or marital status. Also included are programs that provide assistance for job applicants who feel they have been denied employment because of a military service obligation or help restore job seniority and pension rights which have been withheld from military service personnel because of an absence from work due to a service obligation.

Employment Discrimination Assistance

Provides a wide range of services for youth 12-24 years of age. Services focus on housing support, mental health, education, parent support, healthcare, criminal/legal support, and advocacy services. 
-  Advocates can help access services based on unique situation & need, such as transportation, phone cards, obtaining a State ID, food banks, DSHS benefit applications, and job search. 
-  Housing support may include housing search, referral to a shelter, temporary housing, or rapid/immediate housing, depending on the client's circumstances. 
-  Refers to Okanogan Behavioral Healthcare or online counseling for mental health support. 
-  Connects clients to criminal/legal support and services, such as defense attorneys, Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, or Northwest Justice Project. 
-  Parenting support includes baby items, free books, referrals to child services, and more. 
-  Bilingual tutoring is available on site.

Wrap Around Support Foundation for Youth Resiliency and Engagement (FYRE)

Provides a wide range of services for youth 12-24 years of age. Services focus on housing support, mental health support, education, healthcare, parenting, criminal/legal support, and advocacy.

Programs that pay all or a portion of the telephone expenses of people whose telephone service has been or is at risk of being disconnected including any reconnection fees that may apply. Also included are programs that help qualified low-income consumers connect or hook up to the telephone network by paying a portion of the hook-up fee or encourage telephone companies to offer a deferred payment schedule for hook-up charges. Telephone service payment assistance programs may have age, income, disability, need or other eligibility requirements.

Telephone Service Payment Assistance

Programs that link people who are in need of counseling services with private therapists who are qualified in the desired area of specialization.

Therapy Referrals

Programs that provide money or vouchers to purchase gasoline, most frequently for individuals who need their automobile for necessary local or out-of-town travel but cannot afford to run their vehicle without assistance, but occasionally for people driving through the local area who have become stranded.

Gas Money

Programs that provide advocacy and/or other forms of legal assistance for students, their families, advocates and others who have issues that have an impact on the learning environment in public and private educational institutions and affect the ability of students to attend and succeed in school. Specific issues may include school choice, student discipline and dismissal, search and seizure, privacy rights, freedom of expression, religion in schools, student testing, student achievement, promotion and retention policies, graduation requirements, student use of the Internet and other technologies, bullying on campus, student-to-student sexual harassment and school safety. General education advocacy relates to issues that have relevance for all students rather than focusing more narrowly on those related to special education.

General Education Advocacy

County or state offices that accept Food Stamp applications, determine eligibility for the Food Stamp program and allotments, and issue Food Stamp EBT cards which are presented at the grocery checkout counter when purchasing food. Certified households receive their EBT card and instructions for setting up a PIN number within 30 days of the date their application was filed. Expedited food stamps are available within seven days for people who are in an emergency situation and whose income and spendable resources for that month are within specified limits. Also included are other programs that help people prepare and file Food Stamp/SNAP applications and/or are authorized to do eligibility determinations for the program.

Food Stamps/SNAP Applications

Programs that provide individualized or small group instruction for people who need assistance in learning one or more components of a prescribed curriculum. Tutoring usually supplements a regular school program and may be provided at school, in the person's home or at a community agency site.

Subject Tutoring

Programs that maintain listings of available employment opportunities and assign a staff member to help people who are searching for a position to choose and obtain the most suitable option.

Job Search/Placement

Organizations that support measures that address the needs of people who are, or are at risk of becoming, homeless including the need for shelter, transitional housing, permanent housing, medical care and basic human rights.

Homelessness Advocacy Groups

Programs that provide financial assistance to help people pay fees associated with obtaining an identification card or replacing an identification card that has been lost or stolen in situations where they cannot otherwise afford one.

Identification Card Fee Payment Assistance

Programs that help people navigate through the maze of doctors' offices, clinics, hospitals, outpatient centers, insurance and payment systems, patient-support organizations and other components of the health care system with the objective of supporting timely delivery of quality care and ensuring that patients, survivors and families are satisfied with their encounters with the health care system. Personal health care advocates are trained health care workers, often nurses, or volunteers familiar with the health care system who work independently of any health care institution. They help patients identify specialists, coordinate appointments with providers to assure timely delivery of diagnostic and treatment services, provide "cheat sheets" of questions, and lay out the choices patients have in plain English. They may also ensure that appropriate medical records are available at scheduled appointments, accompany patients to medical appointments, arrange language translation or interpretation services, facilitate financial support and help with paperwork, negotiate insurance claims, arrange transportation and/or child/elder care, provide access to clinical trials and facilitate linkages to follow-up services.  Some programs contract with employers to serve as personal advocates for employees who are ill. Others work exclusively with individuals who have specific illnesses, e.g., cancer.

Personal Health Care Advocate Services

Programs that assign a staff member to assist people who are looking for housing to survey the available residences and to choose and obtain the most suitable option.

Housing Search Assistance

Programs that help individuals and families experiencing episodic or transitional (as opposed to chronic) homelessness transition more quickly out of the shelter system or avoid it altogether, and move into permanent housing ideally within 30 days of becoming homeless. Rapid re-housing assistance is generally offered without preconditions (such as employment, income, absence of criminal record, or sobriety) and the resources and services provided are typically tailored to the unique needs of each household. Services include housing search and selection support, assistance in negotiating the terms of a lease, short term rent subsidies and move-in assistance, individualized case management after the individual/family has moved into the home, ongoing crisis prevention and crisis management services as needed, facilitated access to community resources (e.g., benefits, employment) and other supportive services.

Rapid Re-Housing Programs

Programs that pay for or provide new or secondhand clothing and layettes for infants and young children.

Baby Clothing

Programs that pay for or provide cloth or disposable diapers.

Diapers

Programs that work to ensure that children and youth with disabilities receive a free, appropriate, public education often by providing assistance for parents who need support in seeking and obtaining needed early intervention, educational, medical or therapeutic services for their children.

Special Education Advocacy

Organizations that advocate for constructing, renovating or otherwise improving the availability of safe, affordable rental and purchasable housing for low-income individuals and families, older adults, people with disabilities, migrant workers and others who are unable to purchase a home or rent a home or apartment under current market conditions or who are forced to spend an excessively large proportion of their income on housing to the detriment of other necessities.

Housing Advocacy Groups

Programs that supply infant formula and/or baby food, usually in addition to other groceries.

Formula/Baby Food

Organizations that advocate for the development and ongoing improvement of local and regional transportation options for community residents that increase safety, reduce air and noise pollution, improve walking and cycling conditions, increase opportunities for physical activity and reduce automobile travel. Specific issues may include improved access to transportation services for older adults, people with disabilities, rural area residents and other groups; improved paratransit services; support for the development or expansion of specific transportation modes, e.g., light rail transit systems, ferry systems, inter-city rapid rail; increased use of the local public transit system, bicycle commuting, walking and other alternatives to automobile travel; safe and easy pedestrian access to popular destinations; highway construction and other infrastructure improvements such as bicycle paths/trails from outlying/suburban to city centers, pedestrian-oriented streets and safe bicycle parking facilities; and multimodal navigation tools that offer guidance for walking, cycling, driving and public transit use.

Transportation Advocacy Groups

Programs that provide legal counseling and/or representation for low-income individuals who need assistance in routine legal matters, usually in the area of bankruptcy, housing, public benefits, family law, elder law or immigration/naturalization.

General Legal Aid

County or state offices that accept applications and determine eligibility for the TANF program. Also included are other programs that help people prepare and file TANF applications and/or are authorized to do eligibility determinations for the program.

TANF Applications

Programs, usually sponsored by community organizations or coalitions, that provide temporary shelter for homeless people, generally in dormitory-style facilities with very little privacy. Most community shelters offer support services which may include counseling, advocacy, referrals and help with future plans; and enforce house rules including curfews and mandatory household chores. Participation in religious activities is either optional or not a part of the program. There may be differences in intake, length of stay and amenities in family oriented facilities and those that target other specific populations.

Community Shelters

Organizations that promote a particular practice like bilingual education, support the passage and enforcement of laws and other social measures that will result in specific types of educational reform or other improvements in the educational system, or support specific changes in local educational institutions that will improve the delivery of services to local students.

Education Advocacy Groups

Programs that employ the Wraparound Facilitation model, a family centered, community-oriented, strengths based and highly individualized approach to meet the needs of children with complicated, multi-dimensional problems. The approach involves the development of a child and family team which creates and implements a wraparound plan that identifies a set of community services and natural supports to promote success, safety, and permanence in home, school and community. The Wraparound facilitator coordinates team meetings and ensures the team identifies and prioritizes goals, provides crisis and safety planning, and tracks the family's progress towards goal attainment.  The family is prepared and supported as they transition from formal services to independence. While the major initiative to develop Wraparound Facilitation originated with the mental health system and has been particularly successful for children and adolescents with severe emotional and behavioral problems, the intervention is being employed in a number of other child service sectors including education, juvenile justice and child welfare.

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Oregon Healthy Workforce Center, Oregon Institute of Occupational Health Sciences offered at OHSU

Workers Defense Program offered at CASA Latina

Wrap Around Support Foundation for Youth Resiliency and Engagement (FYRE)