Presented to: Project 10: Transition Education Network Region 3 Winter InstituteJanuary 17, 2012

Presented by:Dawn Hamilton, NextGen Recruiter

All Aboard?

Warm Ups!

Why Are you here?

Workforce development is especially important for youth with disabilities because research shows that they are more likely to be out of school, unemployed, or incarcerated. (Source: http://www.ncwd-youth.info/workforce-development)

In the population of youth ages 15 to 24, 11 percent of individuals have disabilities. (Source: http://www.ncwd-youth.info/workforce-development)

24% of NextGen participants have a self-disclosed disability.

Making the Case

Familiar Stats

December 2011

Labor Force Participation

People with disabilities: 20.7%People without disabilities: 69.3%

Unemployment Rate

People with disabilities: 13.5%People without disabilities: 8.1%

(Source: http://www.dol.gov/odep/)

(Isn’t this fun?)

What entities make up the Workforce Development System?

Workforce Development System(State/Local Levels)

• State and local workforce investment boards• State and local career and technical education

and adult education agencies• Vocational rehabilitation agencies• Recognized apprenticeship programs• [Career one-stop centers]• State and local welfare agencies• And/or sub-units of these entities

The Shared Youth Vision

The Shared Youth Vision

In response to the White House task force report, the U.S. Departments of Education, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Justice, Labor, Social Security Administration, Transportation, and the Corporation for National and Community Service formed a Federal Partnership with a focus on serving the neediest youth.

The Shared Youth Vision

Mission

To serve as a catalyst at the national, state, and local levels to strengthen coordination, communication, and collaboration among youth-serving agencies to support the neediest youth and their healthy transition to successful adult roles and responsibilities.

The Shared Youth Vision

Results

By implementing a Shared Youth Vision, all youth service organizations and the youth and communities benefit through:

• Better use of resources

• Better outcomes for programs

• Better futures for our youth and our economy

Our Chain of Command

Who We Are

Local workforce investment boards

One-stop career centers

Who We’re NOT

“The Unemployment Office”

What We Do

Boards– Development / oversight of workforce development

programs in assigned region• Selects One-Stop service providers• Selects occupational skills training providers• Monitors local system performance• Develops local performance measures• Serves under local Board of Directors

– Business driven– Includes Youth Council

What We Do

Youth CouncilIncludes parents, WIA Youth program participants and

other members of the community with special interest or expertise in youth policy, programs, and services.

What We Do

One-Stop Career Centers– Provides training

• Individual Training Accounts (ITAs)– Services that improve employment potential

• Core – available to all• Intensive – available to eligible customers

– Services provided via full service, satellite, and mobile sites, network of mandatory / eligible One-Stop partners

What We Do

One-Stop Career Centers

Core Services– Outreach– Intake– Orientation– Initial assessment– Eligibility determination for additional services– Job search / placement assistance– Career counseling– Labor market information

What We Do

One-Stop Career Centers

Intensive ServicesFor unemployed unable to obtain employment through

core services.– Comprehensive / specialized assessment– Individual employment plan– Counseling / career planning– Short term prevocational services

What We Do

One-Stop Career Centers

(Occupational Skills) Training ServicesFor eligible customers not able to obtain employment

via core and intensive services– Individual Training Accounts (ITAs)

• Choose among approved training providers– Providers approved through competitive process based

on performance-related information

What We Do

One-Stop Career Centers

Youth Services– WIA Youth eligibility applies

• Younger youth (14-18) / Older youth (19-21)• In school • Out of school

– Dropout

– Graduated but are» Basic skills deficient» Unemployed

» Underemployed

What We Do

One-Stop Career Centers

Youth Services– 10 mandated program elements (per WIA regs)– Offered through provider or via referral to other

community resources

Brevard Workforce

The Brevard Workforce Development Board is a regional public/private partnership under Workforce Florida, Inc.  

Workforce Boards create local workforce development systems through one-stop career centers which combine multiple federal, state, and local program funds.

Brevard Workforce

A Workforce In Motion

We provide workforce solutions to help keep businesses operating and thriving.

We assist many businesses with meeting their hiring, retention and training needs–continuing to help businesses evolve year to year.  

We help area companies manage periods of downsizing, partnering with others to bring forward resources to best serve the business and its affected employees.

Brevard Workforce

Brevard Workforce

We help transitioning workers find their way, open doors to new careers and help them meet the challenges of change.

We welcome youth into the workforce and help them gain soft skills, training, experience and confidence.

Brevard Workforce

We welcome veterans home, show them opportunities and help them make their way back to work. We assist military families to transition to work here, and help them prepare to be successful in their next location.

We counsel mature workers, assist disabled workers, meet welfare to work challenges and work to cut the red tape for those who can work and want to work.

Brevard Workforce

We help businesses and individuals plan ahead.

We help discover or create specific training our workers need to succeed.

We’re a community agency with deep roots and great pride in our role.

We keep the pulse on workforce trends, regional evolution and economic developments.

Brevard Workforce

We partner with others to make certain our efforts are effective, sustainable and collaborative.

We’re a catalyst for workforce development and a link in the chain of economic development.

We study the region, the state and the nation to bring best practices to Brevard.

“Bring it Back Y’all”

We welcome youth into the workforce and help them gain soft skills, training, experience and confidence.

We counsel mature workers, assist disabled workers, meet welfare to work challenges and work to cut the red tape for those who can work and want to work.

FOR TEENS AND YOUNG ADULTS 16-21.

Make a choice.  Make a plan.  Make it a reality.

The world of work is changing at an ever-increasing pace! Are you ready to compete? Do you have the skills?

Discover NextGen.  Plot your course, get needed skills, develop a professional image and gain confidence!

The j-trackIf your goal is to become immediately employed, choose the j track—

Job Track and quickly get the tools you need to start earning money.  This track gives you access to the following available assistance**:

• Learn job search techniques

• Get work readiness training

• Get career coaching and planning assistance

• Achieve placement into employment or military

• Look into assistance with transportation and/or childcare

• Achieve a goal … Earn a bonus!**Assistance is offered as-needed and based on available funding.

The t-trackIf your NextGen plan indicates that you’ll need additional skills

training to meet your goals, then enter the t track—Training Track* and gain access to the following available assistance**:

• Enroll in a skills training program

• Get career coaching and planning assistance

• Look into assistance with transportation, childcare, tuition, exam/credential fees and/or tutoring

• Get continued support after placement

• Achieve a goal … Earn a bonus!*Training must lead to a recognized credential.

**Assistance is offered as-needed and based on available funding.

Eligibility (Per DOL WIA Youth Funding Policy)

• Youth must be ages 14-21

AND…

• Low income– There is a five percent window for non-low-income youth if they experience one

or more specified barriers to school completion or employment.

AND…

Eligibility (Per DOL WIA Youth Regs)

• Meet at least one of the specified barriers to employment:– Basic Skills Deficient

– School Dropout

– Homeless or Runaway

– Foster Child

– Pregnant or Parenting

– Offender

– Is an individual (including a youth with a disability) who requires additional assistance to complete an educational program or to secure and hold employment

Program Elements (Per DOL WIA Youth Regs)

• Objective assessment of each youth’s skill level and service needs

• Individual service strategy• Preparation for postsecondary educational

opportunities and unsubsidized employment• Strong linkages between academic and occupational

learning• Effective connections to the job market and employers

Program Elements (Per DOL WIA Youth Regs)

• Tutoring, study skills training and instruction leading to completion of secondary school, including dropout prevention

• Alternative school services• Adult mentoring• Occupational skills training• Paid and unpaid work experiences including internships

and job shadowing

Program Elements (Per DOL WIA Youth Regs)

• Leadership development opportunities• Supportive services (i.e. transportation)• Follow-up services for not less than 12 months as

appropriate• Comprehensive guidance and counseling• Summer employment opportunities

Appreciate

Diversity!

• Local control over program design = variations in how services may be accessed / offered. – Branding– Referral / admissions process– Services provided onsite or by referral – Level of “face time” engagement– Targeted age groups (younger, older, combination)– At the One-Stop vs. through a youth-based CBO– Career Coaches, Staffing Specialists, Youth

Specialists

Brevard Workforce Initiatives

Special Project Grants• Project CRAFT

– Construction pre-apprenticeship program• Business Learning Sessions

– Tapping into the hidden job market• Project SEARCH

– Healthcare internship program

Federal Initiatives•Disability Mentoring Day•Job Shadow Day•Employment Network / Ticket to Work•Disability Program Navigator

Project CRAFT (Community, Restitution, and Apprenticeship-Focused Training)

• Designed to improve educational levels, teach vocational skills and reduce recidivism among adjudicated youth, while addressing the home building industry's need for entry level workers.

• Program initiated in 1994 when the U.S. Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration awarded a Youth Offender demonstration grant to Home Builders Institute (HBI).

• Incorporates the apprenticeship concept of hands-on training and academic instruction. Under the supervision of instructors, students learn residential construction skills while completing community service construction projects.

Project CRAFT

• Utilizes industry validated Pre-Apprenticeship Certificate Training (PACT), numeracy, literacy and employability skills curricula.

• Nearly 60% of participants have a disability, with special education planning a key component of the program.

• Since 1994, Project CRAFT has served more than 2,000 high-risk youth at 15 sites in ten states (Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Mississippi, New Jersey, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas). Project CRAFT currently operates at nine sites in four states, including Florida, Tennessee, New Jersey, and Mississippi. Each year it serves about 400 youth.

Project CRAFT

Project Craft – Brevard

Project CRAFT (Community, Restitution, and Apprenticeship-Focused Training)

• Grant from Workforce Florida, Inc.• Replicated best practice program• Target population

– SED students at Riverdale Academy

• Construction training provider– Home Builders Institute

• 12 graduates with PACT certification• 4 employed

The Project SEARCH High School Transition Program is a unique, business led, one year school-to-work program that takes place entirely at the workplace. Total workplace immersion facilitates a seamless combination of classroom instruction, career exploration, and hands-on training through worksite rotations

Project SEARCH

The sole definition of a successful outcome is competitive employment in an integrated setting for each Project SEARCH intern. – Employment in an integrated setting

– Year-round work

– 20 hours/week or more

– Minimum wage or higher

• Project SEARCH is a business-led program. This means that students learn relevant, marketable skills while immersed in the business and those businesses are active partners, participating without subsidies.

Project SEARCH

True collaboration among partner agencies is essential. This leads to seamless transition services and sustainability through braided funding streams. True collaboration requires a willingness among partner organizations to share resources and adapt policies and procedures.

• Businesses• Education / Schools• Vocational Rehabilitation• Community Rehabilitation Providers• Long-term Support Agencies• Families• Social Security Administration

Project SEARCH

• The Program focus is on serving young adults with a variety of developmental disabilities (acquired before age 22 such as intellectual disability, visual impairment, hearing impairment, orthopedic impairment, autism,

etc.).

• Program participants experience total immersion in the workplace. Students are on site at the business each school day for a minimum of six hours for an entire academic year.

Project SEARCH

The partners provide consistent on-site staff including a special education teacher from the school district and job coaches (usually funded by Vocational Rehabilitation and a supported employment agency and/or the school).

Project SEARCH

• Program activities are tied to these federal IDEA (2004) Indicators: – 1 - Graduation– 2 - Dropout Rates– 5 - Least Restrictive Environment– 8 - Parent Involvement– 13 - Compliant (Quality) IEP's and Transition Goals– 14 - Post School Outcomes

Project SEARCH

• Project SEARCH graduates receive effective follow-along services to retain employment.

• Each Project SEARCH program site has a licensing agreement signed with Project SEARCH Cincinnati through Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.

Project SEARCH

Project SEARCH - Brevard

– Best practice program replication

– Grant from Workforce Florida, Inc.

– 35 participants

• 24 completed work-site rotations

• 17 obtained employment

– First project site in Florida, TA agent for other replication sites

– Sustained by community partners

– Two statewide awards

• Florida Division on Career Development and Transition’s 2006 Collaboration Award (awarded to Brevard Public Schools

• Agency for Persons with Disabilities for supporting the employment and retention of persons with disabilities (awarded to Holmes Regional Hospital/Health First).

How WE Can Help

• Employer Intermediary• Work experience opportunities• Support services• Incentives• Career exploration/planning• Work readiness / life skills training

How WE Can Help

• Occupational skills training (scholarships)• Innovative program replication

– Project SEARCH– School Based Enterprise– Project Sting Ray– ARTthread– High School / High Tech

How YOU Can Help

• Learn more about your local workforce development (investment) board

• Attend Youth Council meetings• Engage in cross-referral• Be a resource!

– Cross-training:• Disclosure• Accommodations• Resource identification / referral• Education planning• Transition planning• Shared case management strategies

Making the Connection

24 Florida Workforce Regions– 100 Career One-Stop Centers

www.floridajobs.org

See handout for directory!

• Q & A

• Best Practice Sharing

Wrap Up

All Aboard!