Assessment and Individualized Planning with Youth: Charting the Course for Effective Transition

1. Assessment and Individualized Planning with Youth: Charting the Course for Effective Transition Lisa Stern Patricia D. Gill August 30, 2011

2. Who Are We? • Lisa Stern • Patricia Gill • Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) • National Collaborative on Workforce & Disability for Youth • Youth Service Professionals’ Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities Initiative

3. DOL’s Office of Disability Employment Policy • Congress created ODEP in 2000 • Provides national leadership for developing disability employment-related policies and practices to increase employment of people with disabilities. • Worked with Bureau of Labor Statistics to incorporate monthly tracking of labor participation and unemployment of people with disabilities. • ODEP funds national technical assistance centers • NCWD/Youth, EARN Employer TA Center, Job Accommodation Network, NTAR Leadership Center

4. National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth NCWD/Youth assists state/local workforce systems to better serve all youth, including youth with disabilities by: • informing state & local policies, • building system & organizational capacity, and • increasing competencies of youth service professionals to effectively prepare all youth for transition to adulthood

5. NCWD/Youth Partners • Center for Workforce Development • Institute for Educational Leadership (IEL) • National Association of Workforce Development Professionals (NAWDP) • PACER Center • Center on Education and Work • University of Wisconsin- Madison • Institute for Community Integration • University of Minnesota • National Youth Employment Coalition (NYEC)

6. Youth Service Professionals’ Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities Initiative • Identified and validated competencies (KSAs) that youth service professionals need to work with transition age-youth with and without disabilities in workforce development and related systems/settings • YSP Assessment, Organizational Capacity Assessment, PD plan, on-line study guide • Developed 8 KSA Training Modules covering the 10 competency areas

7. Before we begin • ACROSS: • Dogs do it • Mosquitoes do it • Spiders do it • Sharks do it • DOWN: • Insects that buzz • Organs of vision • What big brothers do to little sisters • Without effort Adapted from: Tom Sechrist, Sechrist Associates

8. ACROSS: • Dogs do it • Mosquitoes do it • Spiders do it • Sharks do it • DOWN: • Insects that buzz • Organs of vision • What big brothers do to little sisters • Without effort Adapted from: Tom Sechrist, Sechrist Associates

9. ACROSS: • Dogs do it • Mosquitoes do it • Spiders do it • Sharks do it • DOWN: • Insects that buzz • Organs of vision • What big brothers do to little sisters • Without effort Adapted from: Tom Sechrist, Sechrist Associates

10. ACROSS: • Dogs do it • Mosquitoes do it • Spiders do it • Sharks do it • DOWN: • Insects that buzz • Organs of vision • What big brothers do to little sisters • Without effort Adapted from: Tom Sechrist, Sechrist Associates

11. ACROSS: • Dogs do it • Mosquitoes do it • Spiders do it • Sharks do it • DOWN: • Insects that buzz • Organs of vision • What big brothers do to little sisters • Without effort Adapted from: Tom Sechrist, Sechrist Associates

12. Who are You? (My First Job) • What was your first job? • How did you choose it? • What challenges did you face? • How were they addressed • Describe the relationship to your future (and/or current) career

13. Debrief: My First Job • In what ways did how you found your first job resemble (or not resemble) how youth find jobs today? • How were you prepared (or not) for the challenges of your first job? • How did that first job affect/connect to your career pathway and/or current job? Why is assessment critical to career planning?

14. What is Career Planning? • A set of activities designed to help youth make informed choices about academic programs, training, and work. • Includes access to a range of experiences that allow youth to explore their interests and available career options.

15. Why assessment? • The best decisions and choices made by transitioning youth are based on sound information that includes appropriate assessments focusing on the talents, knowledge, skills, interests, values, and aptitudes of each individual. • Understanding the role of assessment will enhance • the quality of services at the local level, • strategic planning at state and local levels, and • results for youth

16. POP QUIZ! Close your books… Take out a number 2 pencil… Keep your eyes on your paper… No talking…

17. What is Assessment? • Many associate “assessment” with situations like the slide we just saw… a scary room, a timed test, worries about passing or FAILING, not getting in,… • What is the definition and purpose of assessment?

18. Definition and Purpose: Assessment • “The process of collecting data for the purpose of making decisions.” • The part of career planning that closely examines the interests and abilities of each person to establish a basis for identifying appropriate types of career development, training, and employment possibilities.

19. Formal vs. Informal Assessment • Formal – consist primarily of standardized tests or performance reviews that have been validated and tested, have specific test administration and scoring procedures, and test administrator requirements • Informal – include observations, interviews, record reviews, and performance reviews that are less structured and may not be validated or tested for reliability What are the advantages/disadvantages of each?

20. Four Major Assessment Activities • Observation • Interviews • Reviewing Records • Testing and Performance Reviews

21. Assessment Considerations When a Youth Enters a Program • Confidentiality • Non-Discrimination (ADA, WIA…) • Screening (keeping youth out) vs. Assessment (understanding what they need)

22. Assessment Tools During Entry • Observations • Interviews Structured Interview Sample – Handout 3A.6 • Performance & Record Reviews Compiling Personal Transition Data – Exhibit 3.1 in Guide

23. During Program/Service: Guiding Principles for Assessment • Self-determination based on informed choices is an overriding goal. • Assessment is a dynamic process, not an end in itself. • Purposes and goals of assessment should be clear. • Assessment should be integrated into a larger plan of individualized services. • Assessment should consider environmental factors affecting the individual.

24. During Program/Service: Guiding Principles, continued • Formal assessment instruments should be carefully chosen with attention to their documented reliability and validity. • Formal assessments should be administered and interpreted by qualified personnel. • Assessment reports should be written in easily understandable language. • Assessment activities should be a positive, empowering process.

25. Assessment Tools During Program/Service Formal: What do you use in each domain? • Educational • Psychological • Vocational • Medical

26. Formal Testing Areas • Academic Performance and Achievement • Cognitive Abilities • Behavioral, Social, and Emotional • Vocational Interests • Job Aptitudes and Skills • Occupation Specific Certification • Physical and Functional Capacities

27. Selecting Published Tests and Assessments • Validity • Reliability • Fairness • Time needed to administer and score • Qualifications of test administrator • Ease of use • Reporting format • Cost

28. Directory of Commonly-Used Published Tests • Over sixty different tests commonly given to adolescents and young adults • By major domain categories and subdomains for learning disabilities, reading, and mathematics

30. Assessment Tools:During Program/Service Informal: • Strengths and Areas for Improvement (Handout 3A.3) • Work Values (Handout 3A.8)

31. Preparing Youth to Leave: Assessment & Transition Planning • Engaging Youth In Long- and Short-Term Goal-Setting • My Journey (Handout 3B.2 & Example) • What are some ways your program does goal-setting and planning with youth? • How often are these plans revised and why? (Examples from Handout 3B.5)

32. Career Planning Begins with Assessment Guide • Understanding the Terrain of Assessment • The Dynamics of Disabilities • Selecting and Using Assessments • The Organizational Perspective • Appendices • Quick Reference Charts and Sample Forms

33. NCWD-Youth Products & Resources • Intersection (e-newsletter) • YSP/KSA Professional Development Resources (YSP assessment, organizational assessment, pd plan, on-line study guide, training modules) • Background Papers • Information Briefs • Disability Basics & Legislation • Youth populations: foster care & juvenile justice • Specific disabilities: mental health & Learning

34. National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth Institute for Educational Leadership 202 -822 -8405 1-877-871-0744 (toll free) www.ncwd-youth.info Collaborative@iel.org Lisa Stern Patricia D. Gill gillp@iel.org 202.822.8405 x154

36. Guideposts for Success • School-Based Preparatory Experiences • Career Preparation and Work-Based Learning Experiences • Youth Development and Youth Leadership • Connecting Activities • Family Involvement and Supports

37. Assessment Settings and Potential Partners • Classrooms and Educational Settings • One-Stop Workforce Centers • Community-Based Organizations • Mental Health Agencies and Clinics • Chemical Health Clinics • Community Rehabilitation Organizations • Medical and Therapeutic Testing or Screening Clinics • Private Industries and Businesses • Other Community Service Providers

38. The Dynamics of Disabilities • Language/Definitions • Philosophy • Legislation • Practical and Functional Aspects

39. Youth with Disabilities in Public Schools • IDEA and Eligibility for Special Education Services • Thirteen Disability Categories • Transition Planning & the Individualized Education Program (IEP)

40. Out of School Youth with Disabilities • Eligibility and Access to Services • The Dilemma of Language & Definitions • State and Local Latitude • Vocational Rehabilitation Services • Workforce Investment Act Title I • Youth Services • Adult Services

41. Issues Related toHidden Disabilities • Disclosure • Screening and Assessment • Referrals to Consultants • Education and Training Programs • Treatment Programs

42. Accommodations • Definitions/Federal Law • Testing Accommodations • Reliability and Validity • Publisher Guidelines • Institutional/State Guidelines • Post-Secondary & Workplace Accommodations

43. Institutional Assessments Two Purposes • to determine eligibility for services • to document achievement of program goals Common Performance Measures

44. Building an Assessment Infrastructure • Collaboration • Resource mapping • Formalizing Interagency Agreements • Memorandum of Understanding • Funding • Coordinating Services

45. Ethical and Fair Assessment Practices • Code of Fair Testing Practices in Education • Developing/Selecting Tests • Interpreting Results • Informing Test Takers • Appropriate, fair, correct, clear

46. Confidentiality and Privacy Issues • Responsibilities of educators and youth service practitioners • Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) • Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)

47. Useful Forms • Sample Release of Records • Personal Transition Data Form • Learning Needs Screening Tool • Assessment Resource Mapping Tool • Sample Interagency Data-Sharing Agreement

48. Appendices • Assessments mandated or permitted by federal law • Glossary