We are one step closer to an Employment First Georgia! On July 7th, Speaker of the House David Ralston appointed the following Georgia legislators to the Post Secondary Education and Employment Options for Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Study Committee:
Chairwoman Katie Dempsey, R-Rome
Rep. Amy Carter, R-Valdosta
Rep. Bubber Epps, R-Dry Branch
Rep. Valencia Stovall, D-Lake City
Rep. Bill Werkheiser, R-Glennville
Please let these representatives know you support Employment First and Inclusive Post Secondary Education! For your convenience, we have included a link at the bottom of this message to send an email to these legislators.
For more information, please go to House Resolution 642. If you want to be even more involved with this effort, contact Employment First Co-Coordinator D'Arcy Robb at .
High school graduation is a rite of passage in the life of most American teenagers. It's full of parties, celebrations, goodbyes and uncertainty. Transitioning to work or college after high school, while exciting, can also be an overwhelming experience. This is especially true for students with disabilities and their parents.
The structure, routine and social opportunities afforded for students with disabilities while in high school are essential to their overall wellbeing. Without adequate post-school planning, many of these students face long, unproductive days at home and a rapid decline in their sense of life satisfaction.
Most students will move seamlessly from high school to either college, technical school or work, but for students with disabilities without the proper information in hand, the options can be limiting.
Employment is a central part of adult life and people often identify themselves by the work they do. What can be done so that a student with a disability can obtain and enjoy a rewarding job experience? Programs such as Project SEARCH, which is offered in dozens of states across the country, and Project Success here in Georgia, aim to ready students with disabilities for adult life and meaningful job experiences.
The Project SEARCH High School Transition Program is a one-year, school-to-work program that takes place entirely at the workplace. In Bartow County, the Cartersville Medical Center partnered with the school district and Project SEARCH to create an internship program that allows students with disabilities to experience on-the-job training.
After three weeks of orientation, each intern participates in three, ten-week internships with various departments. A case manager and a job coach are on site to work with the hospital's department managers and provide support to the interns. Last spring, interested students completed an application, participated in a working interview, and were selected to spend the 2013-2014 school year as interns. The end goal is for all eight interns to be employed by June.
In some cases, a student might need more time than the one-year program outlined by Project SEARCH. In response to that need, Hall County implemented a separate program, Project Success, to reach those students and provide an alternative path to employment.
Susan Wright, the Hall County School System liaison for Project SEARCH and Project Success, said feedback from the families of their students is very positive.
"Students can remain in the program until they are 22," said Wright. "If they achieve their goal before that time and we can successfully transition them out, then they can leave early."
Project Success is housed at the Hall County Lanier Charter Career Academy. The students work there in unpaid internship positions in the facility's child-care center or cafe. They also have partnerships with Walgreen's, a local hospital and local caterers.
Wright explains that Project Success participants are sometimes aiming for supportive employment, not just competitive employment. The program receives frequent visitors from other school districts and requests for information on their program model, but Wright said she cannot say for sure when and where similar programs might be available.
The wheels of program creation can be slow, bogged down by funding issues and the challenges of collaborating with so many different entities: school districts, vocational rehabilitation services and available places of employment.
Because of overwhelming resources and processes, parents are encouraged to start early in their child's school career to plan for a successful transition.
Greg Schmieg, executive director of the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency (GVRA), said post-high school transition is receiving more attention both nationally and at the state level.
"I know part of Governor Deal's plans is to increase the number of work-ready graduates," said Schmeig. "It is much more difficult to re-engage these students if they go home and sit for a few years after high school."
GVRA formed a statewide transition steering committee to help identify areas and ways in which transition services can be improved so that high schools can more fully engage these students and better support their goals by helping to identify their strengths and interests and address their weaknesses. The organization provides resources such as The Georgia Interagency Transition Council (ITC) that brings together a variety of stakeholders who are supporting youth with disabilities so they have a successful life as adults.
Even with all available resources, Schmeig suggests parents begin early to educate themselves about what services are available to their student.
"The more informed the parent is, the better the chance the services will be rendered when needed," he said. "The best way for [vocational rehab] to get involved with the school is to have the vocational needs identified as part of the Individualized Education Program (IEP). Once it gets on the IEP, it is a mandate that the school must pay attention to."
Schmeig said a parent cannot be too informed when it comes to the IEP process. Additionally, forging relationships with the school counselor and teachers is essential.
"Most of them are very receptive to this," he said. "I think all schools want to see all of their students go on to be successful."
Schmeig is pleased with the results Project SEARCH is generating. "It is a fabulous model because these internships are made to match the students' interests," he said.
During the last phase of the Project SEARCH internship, vocational rehabilitation services are brought in to assist with job coaches and other support to help with the transition.
"We want them to find competitive employment in a sheltered environment where there is a career path," said Schmeig.
The Road to College
Employment is not the only post high school option. Of course many students with disabilities successfully enroll in college and it is important not to downgrade the expectations of these students and their families.
Lu Nations-Miller, PhD, transition specialist for the Georgia Department of Education, said it is vital that parents familiarize themselves with the law if their child plans to enroll in college.
"It is so important for parents to know these things," said Nations-Miller. "Parents need to know their own rights, not just the student's rights. When the student turns 18, for example, everything shifts over to students' rights, not parents' rights. That is extraordinarily shocking to most parents when their child enters college."
Under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) the privacy of student education records is protected. At the postsecondary level, parents have no inherent right to inspect the education records of their sons or daughters. These rights transfer to the student when he or she reaches the age of 18.
Generally, schools must have written permission from the student in order to release any information from a student's education record. Parents who wish to keep a close watch on their student must make sure this consent is filed with the school.
Nations-Miller also suggests parents and students learn the ins and outs of the BRIDGE Act and the IDEA Act. The BRIDGE (Building Resourceful Individuals to Develop Georgia's Economy) Act, signed into law in 2010, provides middle school and high school students with career counseling and regular advisement to choose a focused plan of study.
Under the BRIDGE Act, every 8th grade student is required to create an Individualized Graduation Plan (IGP). The IGP is developed in consultation with parents, students, counselors and teachers.
The IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) Act was passed in 1987 and revised in 2004 with an emphasis on transition. Under IDEA, public schools are required to provide services to students with disabilities to help them transition to post-school activities such as employment, training, college and other aspects of community living.
Nations-Miller explains that a student is legally allowed to remain in high school through the age of 21 and she recommends taking full advantage of the extra time. A student with a developmental disability can benefit from the added experience, maturity and confidence the extra years can provide.
At Kennesaw State University's (KSU) Academy for Inclusive Learning and Social Growth (AILSG), Karla Wade sees first hand how extra time in high school can benefit a student.
Wade, a longtime educator who works as a career education fellow at the Academy, suggests that parents and students use the extra time in school to focus on time-management skills and to familiarize themselves with technology and social media.
"A smartphone is a way of life on college campuses these days," she said of the trend of iPhones and Android devices. "Announcements of classes being cancelled are sometimes made via Twitter or Facebook, for example."
A student who is not comfortable with these methods of communication when they arrive on campus will have some extra work to do so that they can best interact with their instructors and peers.
KSU's Academy for Inclusive Learning offers a fully inclusive two-year college experience to students with intellectual or developmental disabilities who do not meet the university requirements for admission as a degree seeking student.
Although they are non-degree seeking, the students have the opportunity to participate in courses alongside degree seeking students while also devoting time to social integration, career exploration and training resulting in a Certificate of Social Growth and Development.
The certificate shows that they completed the program but does not take the place of a GED.
Independence is one of the Kennesaw program's ultimate goals. Currently, 17 of the 18 students enrolled at the academy live in a dormitory.
"The students do have a support staff during the day, but after 5 p.m. they must be able to navigate campus on their own," said Wade, who points out that parents need to make it a priority to teach their child how to properly manage their own health, well-being and any medications they may need.
High school students interested in the two-year program at KSU are required to complete an application in order to be considered but they do not have to have a high school diploma. Many students with disabilities receive a special education diploma when they complete high school instead of a standard diploma.
However, a special education diploma is not recognized by the military or most technical colleges or four-year colleges.
The issue of special education diplomas in place of standard diplomas is a contentious issue in Georgia and raises concerns among parents and teachers who worry that students who know they will not earn a diploma will drop out.
Pat Nobbie, PhD, former deputy director for the GCDD, is outspoken about the State of Georgia's current policy of not awarding diplomas to special education students.
"It is a huge barrier," said Nobbie. "You deprive a kid of a diploma and they are unemployable."
Nobbie and Wade both shared a story about a KSU Academy for Inclusive Learning participant who, after completing the two-year program, went back to earn her GED.
"It was so silly," said Nobbie. "Obviously she could have gotten a high school diploma."
Wade suggests that students who are not able to earn a standard diploma but have participated in programs like KSU's Academy for Inclusive Learning take their transcripts with them when they apply for jobs.
For example, someone with an interest in working for a childcare facility can show proof that they have that experience. Wade believes the inclusive learning environment and ability to live independently can provide the program participants with the necessary confidence to earn their GED.
Partnerships for Success
The boost of confidence that comes from forming relationships and participating in traditional school activities is what led to the creation of Partnerships for Success.
The goals of Partnerships for Success are to create an inclusive club at the high school level that provides opportunities for students to become engaged in their school and community. The students participate in social activities and community service projects and are also allowed to hold leadership roles within the club.
"Everything we do is self-determination based," said Cindy Saylor, program coordinator at Partnerships for Success. "Through our program, our students are able to develop these self-determination skills and put them into practice."
Self-determination involves many attitudes and abilities including: self-awareness, assertiveness, creativity, pride, problem solving and self-advocacy skills.
For a student to take chargeof his or her own life, they must be able to set goals, evaluate options, make choices and then work to achieve those goals.
Saylor said well-meaning individuals often have a tendency to "protect" students with disabilities by making all their decisions for them. Also, people sometimes assume that people with disabilities can't think for themselves.
Self-determination skills, along with the communication and leadership skills a student can develop in a Partnerships for Success club, will help them with transition after high school, explained Saylor. And, because the clubs are inclusive, all students who participate come away from the experience more accepting and understanding of their peers.
"We stress to them that these students are their peers," said Saylor. "We tell them they are the same age as you and they deserve the same opportunities as you. Not only are the students changing their mindsets about the abilities of these individuals, but I think the teachers are too."
Saylor is another advocate who fully supports the practice of student-led IEPs. "It is something we have been encouraging for years," she said. "I would love to see people more accepting of students participating in their IEPs from day one in kindergarten. The students who do start early are so much further along than the students who begin participating in high school."
Scott Crain is a Hall County parent to a son with a developmental disability. Crain's son, Will, began leading his IEP meetings in third grade and is vocal about what he wants to do.
"Will has already told us exactly what he wants to do," said Crain. "He is quite vocal about wanting to take printing classes and then, through Project SEARCH, go to work at the hospital."
Project SEARCH interns in Hall County work at the Northeast Georgia Medical Center. Crain serves as a parent mentor for the Hall County School District. In this role he can help families navigate the transition experience but also offer guidance on Medicaid issues and other available resources.
"What I tell my parents is that you may think you have two or three years to plan, but that is really nothing," said Crain. "For example, if you are applying for Social Security Income, you may be denied. Then what? You have to plan. It can be a tricky road and if you don't know where to go, it can be pretty disastrous."
There are now more than 100 parent mentors in the State of Georgia.
A fulfilling high school experience, meaningful work and social opportunities are well within reach for students with disabilities. It is a big job for parents to prepare themselves and their children for the years of planning they will face, but resources are available. The best way to take advantage of them is to do your homework, ask questions, stand firm, and be patient.