Hello Quinny, I work closely with a couple ASD non-profits in my area, so I might actually have some insights on what does and doesn't work. Most of what I do involves employment/unemployment within the autism community, because I find the 90% unemployment figure appalling and I think it's one of the biggest issues facing the community. With that said, let me outline my latest plan that I'm currently working on.
First, what doesn't work: until recently I worked with a self-sustaining non-profit that sought to employ people with autism to work 40 hours per week on work contracted with the agency itself. This was a good idea with a noble purpose, but in practice it didn't work out for a few reasons:
1) Any way you slice it, even with work of a favorable nature, 40 hours per week is just too much for us. Burnout was near 100%, then we'd have to replace and train someone else at our own expense. It's just too much.
2) The company insisted on contracted work that would take place at the company office. This limited who would/could contract with us, because usually contractors need the work to take place on their job site.
3) The aim of the company was to provide "skilled work", requiring technical skills that none of the employees actually had. This is another reason not many wanted to contract with us.
4) Pursuant to #2 and #3, there was not a thing "self-sustaining" about this non-profit. In fact, in order to make salaries for the business pros running the show, the organization sucked up donor funds like nothing I've ever seen before, with almost no results to show for it.
Now, I like the premise under which that organization operated, so instead of scrapping those ideas and goals I figured I would learn from what doesn't work. Here are my main points about what I would like to substitute for that failure of an organization:
1) Most Aspies can't do 40 hours/week, but they could do 20. Many of us are on Social Security Disability, which allows for up to 20 hours/week without losing benefits. I was figuring on working with SSDI recipients exclusively to match them with such employment. In theory, at 20 vs 40 we could help twice as many people; also relevant is my assertion that one of the biggest hurdles to employment for Aspies is all the hoops that must be jumped through in order to get there. An employment agency would cut that part out and simplify and tailor the employment process to meet Aspie needs and preferences.
2) It might not be quite as ideal, but if we want to get employers on board the work will necessarily take place at their job site. This also cuts out the cost of running an office. Those business pros were expensive and that's what I'm seeking to eschew. How I figure to reconcile that less-than-ideal workplace is to work with employers and work it into their contracts to provide ALL accommodations an Aspie needs to be effective and comfortable, not just the ones that are convenient.
3) Of course, no attempting to get Aspies jobs for which they are not qualified. I'm not talking about $25/hour jobs here, I'm thinking more like simple $10/hour jobs. Jobs that are actually get-able. Sure, that might not best serve Aspies who do have technical skills, but I'm trying to think about helping those most in need which will necessarily exclude some Aspies for the greater good of the majority.
4) Trim the fat as much as possible. As mentioned, this means running a bare-bones office for administrative purposes only, and only hiring as few paid workers as is necessary to ensure smooth and effective operations.
5) Employers must be strongly incentivized to be willing to do something as scary/full of risk (as it is perceived) as hiring an autistic person. It may be possible to subsidize wages, making it cheaper for the employer, but that does cost money. A less expensive way to do it would be to agree to create good publicity for the employing companies, leveraging my organization's media connections. One of the cheapest ways to look good is to appear disability-friendly in the public eye.
Still very much a plan in development, I'm waiting to collaborate with some people who know more about the government grants/programs than I do to see what possibilities that could bring about, but I find that I'm generally right about most things so I think this plan could gain some legs once I fully flush it out with all the details and connect all the dots.
Not sure if that's the kind of thing you were looking for, but outside the obvious that's what I have.
