Jan Kruger

Jan Kruger is the Executive Director of Imagine More, a family-led organisation in Canberra.  She has been involved in delivering a School to Work project using Customised Employment with a particular focus on people with intellectual disability.

Jan is a wife to Paul and mother to four fabulous young adults. Her youngest, Jack, is a CrossFit member, friend, CIT student, AFL Port Adelaide fan, and Unilodge employee who happens to have Down syndrome.

Jan and her family continuously work towards building Jack an ordinary, inclusive life where he enjoys a sense of belonging as a valued member of his community. She has applied the principles of Social Role Valorisation and customised employment to help Jack find and maintain meaningful paid work and volunteer roles.

Finding and safeguarding a job

For most of us, the most prominent role in adult life is having a job. But so often, people with disability find themselves waiting well into their twenties for support to find and keep their first job.

Jack Kruger’s family started supporting his employment journey much earlier. In this presentation, Jack’s mother, Jan, described the approach their family took to securing valued employment roles for him.

Jan explained how and why Jack’s employment journey began in his teenage years. She described how the family used their networks to find work experience and award-wage jobs, and why and how Jack’s school holidays and exam weeks weren’t just whiled away as downtime.

Jack is now 21 and has been working at his job at UniLodge for almost two years. The family’s attention is now focused on safeguarding this important job and exploring a second job to finance his desire to travel the world.

In this session, Jan discussed

• Why it’s important for everyone to work
• How to get started on finding a job for your family member
• How to get your family member ready for their job
• How to safeguard employment for your family member.

Learn about the other conference speakers and their presentations

Pre-conference webinars

• Webinar 1 – Decision-making in everyday life – Janet Klees
• Webinar 2 – Medical safeguarding – Jo Massarelli and Cathy Ludlum
• Webinar 3 – Now is the time for vision – Darcy Elks

Main conference

• Never too late to get a life – Cathy McMahon and Josey McMahon
• The secrets of fabulous skin self-direction – Margaret Ward
• What happens when I cark it? – Linda Hughes
• Planning ahead: Safeguarding decision-making – Helen Connolly
• The importance of trust and relationship in supported decision-making – Kim Roots
• Dream big! – Laura Esplin and Bernadette Esplin
• Building bridges to neighbourhood – Sarah Faulkner
• Safeguarding a Micro Enterprise for the future – Helen Neale
• Finding and safeguarding a job – Jan Kruger
• What’s the plan? Estate planning consideration for parents and carers – Stacey Bell
• Passing on the “How”: A sibling’s journey – Rebecca Altaffer
• It’s a long game: Planning for a great future for Valen in a constantly changing world – Ann Greer, Valen Litster, and Sally Aubrey
• How to set your Executor up for success – Stacey Bell
• Safeguarding the future: A sibling’s perspective – Libby Ellis
• Dispelling myths about the Disability Support Pension, Rent Assistance, and employment income – Paul Kruger
• Your money, your future – Carolina Albornoz
• Helping relationships flourish – Tim Bavinton
• Who is the person behind the behaviour, and what do they need? – Kane Morgan
• Safeguarding Isaac’s good life through a Service for One – Sheree Henley
• Emma Davidson MLA
• Planning future finances – Chris Oates
• Crafting and safeguarding a meaningful week for Cameron – Karen Caldwell, Cameron Zellner, and Markus Zellner