Operating Sections

1. Authority and References

This SOP is informed by workforce readiness and barrier-reduction principles incorporated into Heaven-Sent program design.[file:318]

ADA employment accommodation concepts guide support for participants with disabilities and limitations who are seeking work or training.[file:318]

2. Purpose and Scope

This SOP governs assistance for participants seeking employment, training, confidence rebuilding, and support during the transition into work activity.[file:318]

It covers resume development, interview coaching, training referrals, employer connections, and early job-retention follow-up for veterans, seniors, disabled neighbors, caregivers, and families.[file:318]

3. Mission and Objectives

The mission is to help participants reconnect with work, contribution, and self-worth in ways that respect their abilities, health limits, and goals.[file:318]

Objectives include creating usable resumes, improving interview readiness, matching opportunities to functional ability, and supporting participants through fragile early employment stages.[file:318]

4. Organizational Structure and Roles

Employment Navigators lead participant assessments, job planning, and coordination with training and employers.[file:318]

Peer mentors and volunteer coaches may assist with mock interviews, confidence building, and workplace transition check-ins under staff supervision.[file:318]

5. Pre-Deployment Planning and Preparation

The program maintains a directory of local employers, vocational schools, apprenticeship partners, disability-friendly workplaces, second-chance employers, and campus-based work opportunities.[file:318]

Templates for resumes, interview preparation sheets, and employer contact logs are kept current before participant enrollment begins.[file:318]

6. Activation and Setup Procedures

Participants enter the program through self-referral, case manager referral, Safe Harbor housing referral, disaster recovery intake, or benefits counseling pathways.[file:318]

Intake includes work history, barriers, legal or documentation issues, transportation constraints, and accommodation needs linked to health or disability.[file:318]

7. Daily Operations

Daily functions include one-on-one coaching, resume editing, application support, interview scheduling, employer outreach, and job-retention follow-up.[file:318]

Staff track participant progress against individualized milestones and coordinate with other service teams when health, housing, or family stress threatens employment success.[file:318]

8. Client Services and Scheduling

Participants may be scheduled for orientation, skills inventory, resume labs, mock interviews, application assistance, job lead review, onboarding check-ins, and workplace stabilization coaching.[file:318]

Evening or remote scheduling is used when caregiving duties, treatment, or transportation barriers would otherwise exclude participation.[file:318]

9. ADA and Functional Needs Accommodations

Employment planning accounts for physical restrictions, cognitive disabilities, PTSD triggers, autism-related needs, fatigue, medication side effects, hearing or vision loss, and literacy or technology gaps.[file:318]

Staff help participants identify reasonable accommodation requests and comfort levels with disclosure, without forcing them to share beyond what is necessary.[file:318]

10. Safety and Risk Management

Participants may not be steered into jobs that exceed documented medical or functional limitations or that predictably destabilize their housing, health, or recovery.[file:318]

Staff flag exploitative employers, unsafe worksites, and transportation arrangements that place participants at preventable risk and adjust referrals accordingly.[file:318]

11. Coordination, Pathways, and Referrals

Each participant receives an employment pathway that links their work goals with housing, health, family, and transportation realities.[file:318]

Referrals may include vocational rehabilitation, workforce boards, training programs, supportive employers, peer mentors, and internal programs such as Safe Harbor, financial stabilization, and transportation support.[file:318]

12. Supplies, Property, and Facility Considerations

The program maintains resume and application workstations, access to printing or digital tools, and basic interview-ready clothing support where resources allow.[file:318]

Shared resources such as laptops, tablets, or adaptive devices are checked in and out using simple logs to protect both security and access.[file:318]

13. Quality Assurance

Supervisors review employment outcomes, job-retention rates, participant feedback, employer comments, and documentation quality.[file:318]

Findings inform adjustments to coaching content, partnerships, scheduling, and coordination with health and housing services.[file:318]

14. Documentation and Reporting

Required records include employment intake, skills inventories, resumes or CV versions, job applications assisted, interview tracking, placement records, and retention follow-up notes.[file:318]

Reporting tracks placements, retention milestones, wages when appropriate, and outcomes for veterans, seniors, disabled participants, and caregivers.[file:318]

15. Demobilization and Closeout

Employment cases may close when the participant stabilizes in work, transitions to a different program, disengages after repeated contact attempts, or chooses to pause employment efforts.[file:318]

Closeout documentation notes current employment status, remaining needs, referrals provided, and re-entry options if circumstances change.[file:318]

16. Training and Qualifications

Employment Navigators receive training in career coaching, disability-aware employment practices, trauma-informed engagement, documentation, and local labor market awareness.[file:318]

Peer mentors and volunteers are oriented to role boundaries, confidentiality, and when to loop staff back in if participants disclose crisis or risk issues.[file:318]

17. Appendices and Forms

• WP-INT-01 Employment Intake & Skills Inventory.
• WP-RES-02 Resume / Application Worksheet.
• WP-EMP-03 Employer and Job Lead Log.
• WP-RET-04 Job Retention Check-In Note.
• WP-CLS-05 Employment Case Closeout Summary.