Looking to dive right into Pro-Bank? Explore our Program Profiles here!

About Pro-Bank

What is Pro-Bank?

Pro-Bank is an online database of promising programs and practices in the workforce development system that effectively addresses the needs of youth with disabilities. Pro-Bank was established to:

• Provide you with easily accessible information about promising practices through a trusted resource;
• Supply you with information that can be used to improve products and services within your own programs; and
• Promote quality program services to youth with disabilities throughout the workforce development system.

Programs featured on this site fall into two categories. The first category highlights pilot demonstration projects funded by the Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP). All of ODEP’s grant recipients completed a self-assessment of their programs and services using a guide based on the Malcolm Baldrige criteria for performance excellence quality improvement, and research on what works in meeting the needs of all youth, including youth with disabilities. In addition, an independent evaluation of many of these demonstration projects was conducted by the WESTAT Company, an independent research organization. These two sources of information were used to create profiles of a number of these demonstration programs. The profiles describe the organization and its project, the services provided, guideposts, data collection and use, and the plans and reported outcomes for these projects. Contact information is included. In addition, selected materials that were developed by these grantees are available in our Pro-Bank Resources section.

The second category includes program designs which are either inclusive of youth with disabilities or which specifically serve youth with disabilities. These programs have a proven record of success and a validation of effectiveness by one of the following outside sources:

• Recognized national or state award winner from Baldrige/Education, PEPNet, or similar recognition process;
• Screened by a federally-supported peer review panel (e.g. career-technical education, National Clearinghouse for Comprehensive School Reform);
• Results of a formal third party evaluation; or
• Published in a peer-reviewed journal.

For each non-ODEP funded program profiled on this site, there is contact information, a participant overview, a program description, information about the program structure, evidence of effectiveness and the source of the outside validation of the program’s effectiveness.

All of the practices highlighted on the site are organized around one or more of the following categories:

• Program Structure & Design
• School-Based Preparatory Experiences;
• Career Preparation & Work-Based Learning Experiences;
• Youth Development & Leadership;
• Individual & Support Services (Connecting Activities);
• Family Involvement & Supports

All of these categories, with the exception of program structure and design, were derived from the Guideposts for Success which are based on what research says all youth need to transition to adulthood successfully. The particular categories featured for each program are based on whether the practice shows particular innovativeness, uniqueness or strength of the program.

This section is an evolving feature of the website and additional programs will be added as they are identified. If you feel your organization meets the aforementioned criteria for inclusion and includes practices in one or more of the above areas that are innovative, unique or particularly effective, nominate your program for inclusion in Pro-Bank.

How to Use this Site

We have designed Pro-Bank to make it easy for you to find the programs and practices that are of interest to you. Each Pro-Bank entry has been classified in three ways:

1. by whether it was developed as a demonstration program through an ODEP grant or it was a program funded by other sources;
2. by the categories of innovative practices it features; and
3. by the state in which it is operating or operated.

Our Program Profiles page allows you to filter the entries of Pro-Bank by any of these classifications through use of the following filters:

• The Type of Program filter groups programs and projects by their type of funding. Selecting “All Programs" will return a complete listing of each of our promising practices, both those funded by ODEP and those funded by other sources. Alternatively, you can choose to return only ODEP or only non-ODEP funded practices.
• The Type of Innovative Practice filter organizes the Pro-Bank entries by the practices in which the programs excel. This allows you to discover which programs exist that relate directly to the types of innovative practices that are of interest to you. For example, organizations that run mentoring programs may be interested in exploring the highlighted practices under “Youth Development & Leadership.” Or parents of a youth with disabilities who is seeking to enter the workforce might select “Career Preparation & Work-Based Learning Experiences” to explore programs that can be of assistance in making this transition.
• The Location filter allows you to retrieve a listing of the promising practices developed in the state of your choosing. Each of the states that appear in this dropdown menu have at least one program or practice, so you can easily determine what resources are available in your home state or region. Alternatively, you can use the map of the United States that appears below this filter. States containing Pro-Bank programs are highlighted in orange and are clickable as active links. Clicking on an active state will load the listing of Pro-Bank programs for that state.

Additionally, the Name of Program menu contains an alphabetized listing of every Pro-Bank program. You can browse this list of practices and then go directly to any entry.

You can view a complete listing of Pro-Bank programs here.

If you have any questions about Pro-Bank not answered here, please do not hesitate to contact us.

NCWD/Youth | c/o Institute for Educational Leadership
4455 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 310 | Washington, DC 20008
Telephone: 1-877-871-0744 (Toll Free)
TTY: 877-871-0665 (Toll Free)