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School to Work

Advising Youth with Disabilities on Disclosure
Fact sheet for service providers on working with young people on disclosure issues.
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Internship Program

Information on the AAAS ENTRY POINT! internship program, which was developed to encourage science, technology, engineering and mathematics students with disabilities to apply their skills in a real-world professional setting.

Association for Career & Technical Education (ACTE) Career Links for Students
Links to information and resources on career planning for students.
Building, Developing & Going to Scale: Grant Funded Programs for Youth in Transition

Technical assistance tools to offer guidance in the design and implementation of programs in the field of workforce disability and youth. Resource from the National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability/Youth for workforce professionals, state agencies working with youth, policy makers and others working with transition issues related to youth with disabilities.

Career Voyages
Explore career options and learn about high growth jobs with better wages and a brighter future.
Department of State Student Disability Program
Information on the U.S. Department of State's Student Disability Program.
Encouraging Future Innovation: Youth Entrepreneurship Education
Fact sheet for youth service providers about the benefits of entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial education. Contains a number of resources on making entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial education programs inclusive of youth with disabilities.
Entering the World of Work: What Youth with Mental Health Needs Should Know About Accommodations
Fact sheet provides information on disclosure, accommodations and examples of reasonable accommodations for youth with mental health needs entering the workforce.
Entrepreneurship for Youth with Disabilities

Information on entrepreneurship for youth with disabilities from Start-Up USA.

Explore Your Future Program
Week-long summer career exploration program for college-bound high school sophomores and juniors with hearing loss held at the Rochester Institute for Technology.
Going To Work: A Guide to Social Security Benefits & Employment for Young People with Disabilities
Resource guide offers basic information about Social Security disability and health benefit programs.
Guide for Professionals Serving Youth with Career & Educational Development Challenges
Offers a career planning guide for multiple audiences within the workforce development system. Provides information on selecting career-related assessments, determining when to refer youth for additional assessment and additional issues such as accommodations, legal issues, and ethical considerations.
Guideposts for Success

Guideposts can help steer families, institutions and youth through the transition to adulthood and employment. These approaches are guided by high expectations for all youth, including youth with disabilities.

HSC Foundation Youth Transitions Initiative
Designed to to assist young people with disabilities and chronic illness in the Washington metropolitan area and beyond to move from school to adulthood to the world of work.
Healthy & Ready to Work
Information on a federally funded initiative for youth with special health care needs which helps them transition from pediatric to adult health care and to work and independence.
High School/High Tech

Provides opportunity for students with disabilities to explore exciting careers in science, mathematics and technology.

High School/High Tech (HS/HT) Program Guide

Primary objectives are to promote program improvement and expansion for existing HS/HT programs; to help programs establish the state infrastructure to support HS/HT; and to both encourage and assist in the creation of new HS/HT programs. The complete guide is now available to download on ODEP's Web site in PDF and Word formats.

High School/High Tech Training Manual
Training manual for the High School/High Tech program, which provides careers in technology for youth with disabilities. This link opens a PDF document.
Improving Employment Outcomes for Youth with Disabilities
Report detailing Youth Transition Process Demonstration Innovations that improve employment outcomes for youth with disabilities.
Improving Secondary Education & Transition Services through Research

Information and resources supporting successful transition for people with disabilities (including physical, intellectual and developmental disabilities).

LD OnLine

Helps children and adults reach their full potential by providing accurate and up-to-date information and advice about learning disabilities and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Includes resources on preparing for college and transitioning from school to work.

Marriott Foundation for People with Disabilities

Established with a mission to enhance employment opportunity for young people with disabilities. To help close this gap, the Foundation developed Bridges...from school to work, a program that matches the interests and abilities of young people with the workforce needs of employers, creating and supporting strong employment relationships that work to the benefit of all.

My Future My Plan: A Transition Planning Resource for Life After High School
Curriculum designed to motivate and guide students with disabilities and their families as they begin early transition planning for life after high school.
National Alliance for Secondary Education & Transition (NASET)
NASET is a national voluntary coalition of more than 40 organizations and advocacy groups representing special education, general education, career and technical education, youth development, multicultural perspectives and parents.
National Center on Secondary Education & Transition

Seeks to increase the capacity of national, state and local agencies and organizations to improve secondary education and transition results for youth with disabilities and their families.

National Collaborative on Workface & Disability for Youth (NCWD/Youth) Knowledge, Skills & Abilities Initiative
Knowledge, Skills & Abilities (KSA) initiative, identifies key competencies that youth service practitioners, policymakers, organizations and individuals can use to improve program quality and youth outcomes. Youth service practitioners with the necessary KSAs can provide all youth with a wider variety of opportunities, resources, and services to make a positive transition to adulthood and the world of work.
National Collaborative on Workforce & Disabilities for Youth

Provides resources that serve youth with disabilities transitioning into the workforce, including materials for workforce development professionals, the disability community, employers and policy makers.

National Collaborative on Workforce & Disability for Youth - Pro-Bank
Online database of promising programs and practices in the workforce development system that effectively addresses the needs of youth with disabilities.
National Collaborative on Workforce & Disability for Youth - Technical Assistance Tools
Documents offer guidance in the design and implementation of programs in the fields of workforce, disability and youth.
National Consortium on Leadership & Disability for Youth (NCLD-Youth)
Youth-led resource, information and training center for youth and emerging leaders with developmental disabilities.
National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities (NICHCY) Transition Guides
Information series focuses on preparing youth with disabilities to move from high school to the adult world.
National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities (NICHCY) eNews: Employment
Electronic news service that brings you resources and information that are relevant to your interests and concerns related to employment.
National Longitudinal Transition Study (NLTS) Reports

Reports from the U.S. Department of Education regarding the NLTS, the first effort in this country to document the experiences and outcomes of youth with disabilities. This link opens a PDF document.

National Rehabilitation Information Center

Database of federally-funded research projects, including projects on youth employment.

National Secondary Transition Technical Assistance Center (NSTTAC)
Designed to assist states to build capacity to support and improve transition planning, services, and outcomes for youth with disabilities.
National Standards & Quality Indicators: Transition Toolkit for Systems Improvement
The Transition Toolkit combines the findings of current research on effective schooling, career preparatory experiences, youth development and youth leadership to help students with disabilities transition to work or higher education.
National Youth Leadership Network

Promotes leadership development, education, employment, independent living, health and wellness among young people with disabilities.

Negotiating the Curves Toward Employment: A Guide About Youth Involved in the Foster Care System
Provides statistics and information about youth in the foster care system in the transition years, identifies areas requiring further attention by policymakers and service providers and provides resources and tools on the topic.
Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP)/Youth
Information from the Department of Labor on employment of youth with disabilities, including resources related to transition.
President Obama Launches White House Internship Program

President Obama has launched the White House Internship Program and announced that applications are currently being accepted for the summer of 2009. Those selected to participate in the program will gain valuable job experience and an inside look at the life of White House staff while building leadership skills. Submission deadline was March 22, 2009.

Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA)

Information on RSA, which oversees formula and discretionary grant programs that help individuals with physical or mental disabilities obtain employment and live more independently through the provision of such supports as counseling, medical and psychological services, job training and other individualized services.

Road to Self-Sufficiency: A Guide to Entrepreneurship for Youth with Disabilities
Explains how entrepreneurship education can be implemented in programs and offers suggestions on how to introduce self-employment as an option for all youth, including youth with disabilities.
School-to-Career Transition Self-Paced Modules
Online learning modules to promote the successful transition of youth with disabilities from school to work and adult life.
Self-Empowerment for Young People

Fact sheet from the National Council on Disability designed to help young people with disabilities make decisions about their future. This link opens a Word document.

Serving Youth with Disabilities Under the Workforce Investment Act of 1998: The Basics
Information on the applications of the Workforce Investment Act to youth with disabilities, families and service providers. This link opens a PDF document.
State Resources for Children & Youth with Disabilities
State resource page helps you locate organizations and agencies within your state that address disability-related issues, including governors and U.S. senators, state agencies serving children and youth with disabilities, state chapters of disability organizations and parent groups and parent training and information projects.
Students.gov
Information geared toward teens including community service options, how to pay for college, information about military service and how to register to vote.
Succeeding in College and at Work: Students with Disabilities Tell Their Stories
Students with disabilities share strategies to successfully stay in school, graduate and get jobs. They discuss their struggles with self-reporting their disability, and negotiating accommodations in school and at work.
The 411 on Disability Disclosure: A Workbook for Youth with Disabilities
Publication designed for youth and adults working with them to learn about disability disclosure. This Workbook will help young people make informed decisions about whether or not to disclose their disability and understand how that decision may impact their education, employment and social lives.
Transition Coalition Web Site

Provides online information, support and professional development on topics focusing on the transition from school to adult life for youth with disabilities.

Transition Information

Information from the Family Village Web site on transition issues faced by youth with disabilities (including physical, intellectual and developmental disabilities) as they transition from school to work.

Transition Resource Directory

Descriptions of federally funded projects and centers that focus on youth transition. The entire directory can be downloaded in PDF format.

Transition Resource Directory
Directory from the Federal Interagency Partners in Transition Workgroup lists federally funded projects and centers focusing on youth transition. The directory provides a brief description of each center's purpose, the services they provide and links to center Web sites and publications. Link opens a PDF document.
Transitioning Youth with Mental Health Needs to Meaningful Employment & Independent Living
Study on successful strategies to help youth with mental health needs transition to post secondary education, employment and independent lives. This link opens a Word document.
Transportation Training for Youth in Transition
Resource for secondary school educators includes a booklet, slide shows, questionnaire and links to additional information to support young adults' needs for public transportation through travel training.
Tunnels & Cliffs: A Guide for Workforce Development Practitioners & Policymakers Serving Youth with Mental Health Needs
Guide helps workforce development practitioners, administrators and policymakers increase their understanding of youth with mental health needs and the supports necessary to help them transition into the workforce successfully.
Vocational Assessment & Its Role in Career Planning
InfoBrief from the National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability (NCWD)-Youth discusses career planning and vocational assessment for transition-age youth.
Washington Center for Internships & Academic Seminars
Through a partnership with the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy, The Washington Center helps students develop leadership skills and gain valuable work experience in public service. Competitive scholarship awards are offered to eligible students with disabilities interested in working in the executive, judicial or legislative branches of the federal government.
What Works Transition Research Synthesis Project
This project will review and synthesize the past 20 years of research and advancements in the area of transition for youth with disabilities.
White House Internship Program

The White House Internship Program provides a unique opportunity to learn more about the daily operations of the White House. In addition to normal office duties, interns attend weekly lectures, volunteer at special events, participate in tours and contribute to a community service project in the Washington, DC area.

Work Incentive Planning & Assistance (WIPA) Projects

List of Community Work Incentive Coordinators who offer information and technical assistance in your state on the work incentives that help Social Security Disability (SSDI) and Supplementary Security Income (SSI) beneficiaries return to work.

Workforce Intermediaries: Strategic Connections for Youth with Disabilities
Fact sheet from the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) provides information on workforce intermediaries, organizations that proactively address workforce needs using an approach which considers the needs of both employees and employers, and how they can help youth with disabilities become employed.
Workforce Recruitment Program (WRP) for College Students with Disabilities

Presentation from the Department of Agriculture's TARGET Center about WRP, a nationwide program that includes nearly 1,769 students at the undergraduate and graduate levels who help employers fill both short and long term staffing needs.

Youth Employment

Information from the Social Security Administration (SSA) on employment and employment-related opportunities for the one million youth under the age of 18 receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments.

Youth with Disabilities: The State of Transition
Web-assisted audioconference regarding youth with disabilities (including physical, intellectual and developmental disabilities) and issues related to transition from school to work.
Youth, Disclosure & the Workplace
Fact sheet for young people on disclosure in employment situations.

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