print

School to Work Project

Primary Goal: Help 50 DDD eligible students of King County school districts leave school with a paid job.

Partners

• King County Developmental Disabilities Division
• King County Work Training Program
• State Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR)
• King County School Districts
• Employment Service Providers/ Vendors/ Agencies
• Parents
• Students

Student Eligibility Criteria:

• Attend a participating King County School District
• Be a client of WA State Division of Developmental Disabilities
• Be eligible for DVR services
• Be in their last year of transition services
• Commit to the goal of paid employment, as opposed to a work training experience, with the idea that this job will last and be their ‘day program’ after they leave school.
• This project will involve looking at new ways to use resources from schools, DVR, employment agencies, and King County- so that students leave school with more than work experience, but a paying job.

Participating school districts:

• Sign an agreement with King County DD to participate in the project
• Teachers at participating schools invite students, parents and service providers to an outreach presentation to learn about the project

Students and parents:

• Attend the outreach presentation
• Complete the application for the School-to-Work Pilot Project
• Students that meet all eligibility criteria will receive a confirmation letter
• Students choose an Employment Service Provider

Creating an individualized assessment plan:

Students accepted to the program will have a meeting with a DVR counselor, teacher, Employment Service provider, and King County Work Training Program case manager to create an assessment plan- a time to learn about a student and what kind of job to look for! At that meeting, the participants will

• Talk about the students interests and abilities
• Look at previous training and/or work experiences (through the school transition program, summer jobs, etc)
• Consider new things to try at work training sites coordinated by either the school district or provider agency
• Decide if a student might benefit from a wage subsidy in the assessment period (time limited)
  1. Wage Subsidy= $7.35/hr
  2. Coordinated by Work Training Program case manager
  3. Set up a work-site agreement with the student and supervisor; set goals for student in the paid site

• Job Development: Once the assessment is complete, the student and his/her team will have identified the kind of job to look for the best fit of interests.

• Job Placement/ Initial job training: Once a job is found, students might need initial job training- this can be provided by the employment agency if schools do not have the staff time/ resources to provide it

• Stabilizing Job Training: Once a student is stable on the job, and requires only a minimal amount of job coaching, the school staff will participate in supporting that student on the job until the end of the school year.

Long-term employment support: This will eventually be provided by an employment agency
• KCDDD will provide trainings on the impact of employment on Social Security benefits and Social Security Work Incentives
• Students will receive an individual benefits analysis and planning meeting to help students strategize around funding for long-term employment support

Background

• This project is partly a response to gaps in services due to the DVR wait list, changes in long-term funding priorities for state DDD, employment agency/provider capacity issues and the implementation of the state DDD Working Age Adult Policy.
• Target enrollment is a minimum of 50 students who are exiting school in 2006.
• The Pilot Project was in preliminary stages over the last few years.
o The King County Work Training Program typically offers programs to ‘at-risk’ youth to help them receive job training and support services to help them stay in school.
o King County DDD partnered with the Work Training Program to provide similar experiences to students who were at risk due to their developmental disabilities.
o Due to limited funding, the services were offered to only 4 school districts and about 40 students/ year.
o The county or Workforce Investment Act (WIA) funds paid student’s wages in training experiences, however there was no emphasis on job development. Instead, the goal was a work experience, with increased expectations, and to have students associate work with a paycheck.
o We are now using the wage subsidy more strategically in an assessment process, and when necessary, as a tool to negotiate employment

Responsibilities of participating school districts

• Participating School Districts will sign a Memorandum of Agreement with King County DDD agreeing to have staff provide transition services and support, and receive county training on job coaching and job development tailored to the district's needs.
• When possible, School Districts will use pre-existing training or staff development days for the training; when this is not possible, King County will cover costs for substitute teacher or staff time
• School Districts will agree to work with King County DDD and its technical assistance providers to inventory district trainings for students and parents related to transition to the adult service system.