Transition from a Human Resource Development Council Perspective -
Linkages to Employment

By Lyn Rodgers,
Youth Coordinator, HRDC IX Bozeman

The Bozeman Human Resource Development Council, Inc. (HRDC) applied to the University of Montana’s Rural Institute for a “Linkages to Employment” grant to serve youth with severe disabilities currently enrolled in the school system. HRDC saw this as an opportunity to partner with the special education department at the high schools in the Gallatin Valley. Teachers and staff were encouraged to take advantage of the free training in Systematic Instruction, Discovery, Profiling, and Job Development offered by the Rural Institute as part of the grant. Other local agencies that provide services for people with disabilities were also invited to participate in these trainings.

Traditionally, HRDC has served youth with disabilities to provide work experience and meet other life skills needs. However, the Linkages project created the environment that supported partnering with teachers, school staff, local agencies, and HRDC and the result was a more comprehensive employment plan for students. With this networking in place, our community will definitely benefit from the combined effort to best meet the employment needs of youth with disabilities.

Through Linkages, we developed “personal budgets” for the five youth selected to be part of the project. These budgets can include paying for job coaching, equipment to accommodate employment, transportation, and a host of other possibilities that a particular student might need in order to work. One youth used the funds to purchase a backpack to carry his oxygen tank and a cell phone with prepaid minutes for emergencies. Once his job coach fades from his employment placement, this youth (who has significant physical limitations) will be walking to his job. The backpack will facilitate his journey to work and the cell phone will provide security and safety should he run out of oxygen or energy.

Job coaching and job development are other services being paid for by the personal budgets at this time. Personal budgets were created with the intent to actively involve families in purchasing goods and services for the youth’s employment-related support needs. This is a great tool to encourage families to help their child make decisions based on their employment contributions and job placement needs and to be an ongoing source of support for their employment success.

Schools and the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) Youth Development Program administered by our HRDC are valuable partners in designing employment plans for youth with disabilities. By working together and sharing information at the youth’s Individualized Education/Employment Plan (IEP) meetings, WIA case managers can better job-develop and provide work experience opportunities based on the youth’s skills, abilities and interests. The school staff and teachers spend a great deal more time with these students than the WIA staff; therefore, their information can support a more comprehensive assessment of the youth’s needs and contributions in an employment situation.

The WIA Youth Development Program can, in turn, work with potential employers and job-develop for the work experience that best meets the employment plan guidelines. With WIA funding, we can pay the student’s wages, FICA and Worker’s Compensation for a period of time so employer costs will be minimal; the employer is required to provide the work site and supervision. Job coaching needs can be met through the school and other local service providers for the youth. Community partnerships are critical in developing a strong network that will support and guide the transition of young people with disabilities from high school to employment.

As a direct result of the Linkages to Employment project, HRDC Youth Development staff is being invited to almost all IEP meetings at the local high school. Vocational Rehabilitation is encouraged to attend these meetings starting in the spring of the youth’s junior year. This partnership is very valuable to all providers and it is important for the schools to get them involved with all juniors by the end of that school year.

The biggest challenge, as we see it, is developing strong partners in the local business community. Many have been employing people with disabilities for years; however, some still have a difficult time understanding how people with disabilities can contribute to their business or organization. We believe by taking the time to truly learn about the interests, contributions, and support needs of students, and then by creating customized job matches based on that information, we can help employers understand the tremendous contributions these students can make. Collaborating with schools, families, and other agencies, we have met the challenge of helping students with disabilities succeed in the workplace and we will continue to grow and develop as strong advocates for our local youth!

Linkages is a four-year grant (2002—2006) funded by the U.S. Department of Education to create an innovative model of transition.

Teamwork Works!
Examples of Fostering Collaboration Between Schools and Agencies
Block Scheduling of Meetings to Increase Agency Participation - High schools participating in the Rural Institute Transition Projects began contacting many of the adult service agencies (such as Vocational Rehabilitation, Tribal Vocational Rehabilitation, Developmental Disabilities Case Management, Employment Providers, Workforce Investment Act Youth Employment, etc.) and inviting them to attend IEP meetings. With plenty of advance notice and by having the meetings scheduled back-to-back whenever possible, agency staff were able to block out the days and attend the IEP meetings. This allowed them to get to know the schools, families and students, and it gave families an opportunity to understand how the different funding and service pieces might fit together to facilitate the student’s transition to adult life. Future appointments, paperwork, or referrals for these other agencies could be addressed at the IEP meeting.

Home Page | Customized Employment | SSA | Self-Employment
Collaborative Funding | Articles & Products | Training Calendar
Completed Projects | Staff | Other Links | The Rural Institute