1. Let’s Get to Work
A Community Approach to Improving Employment
Outcomes for Youth
Beth Swedeen, Lisa Pugh, and Russell McCullough
TASH, November 2012

2. Learning Objectives
• Use evidence-based and promising practices at the
local and systems level to measure employment
outcomes
• Identify policy and practice barriers
• Identify practical strategies for engaging policymakers

3. Project framework includes all stakeholders
Combines what research/data shows are:
• Most significant barriers;
• Strategies and practices that work;
• policies that act as both facilitators and barriers to
employment.

4. Project framework includes all stakeholders
• School staff
• Service agencies: Voc
Rehab; Long-term care
system
• Students
• Families
• Broader community
(including employers)

5. Four project components
• Statewide consortium
• Pilot schools
• On-site coaches
• Policy team

6. Consortium’s Role
• Large: includes representation from all stakeholders,
60-70 people.
• Provides input on what is and isn’t working, what
directions to pursue; what policies need to change or
improve
• Includes progress updates from schools and three
state agencies on progress: practice and policy
changes
• Include youth and family tracks, particularly to build
self-determination

7. Pilot Schools
• Did a statewide competitive application reviewed by
all six major partners (3 state agencies; 3 ADD
partners)
• Looked for interest/ability to develop a broader
stakeholder group in their school and community
• Had to commit to implement evidence-based or
promising practices…

8. Practices:
• Person-centered planning
• School/community mapping of opportunities
• Connection general education and co-curricular activities
• Summer paid/volunteer community-based jobs
• Early connection to DVR
• Engaging broader community through a Community
Conversation
• School learning circle/community of practice to learn from
each other

9. Schools Also Developed Their own Creative
Approaches to Engaging with their Communities
Grafton Holmen
http://youtu.be/2ysq3AYANaA http://youtu.be/M0rMo-uaQqI

10. Jobs First! of Manitowoc County

11. Schools also Provide Stories to Illustrate the
Project
Here’s Russell’s story

12. Russell’s Story
• Person-centered planning
• School/community mapping of opportunities
• Connection general education and co-curricular
activities
• Summer paid/volunteer community-based jobs

13. Always wanted to be a driver

14. As a young student, I really liked riding the bus

15. How I got my job
Russell

16. My current position at BPDD

17. August Consortium meeting at the Madison Concourse Hotel

18. At work, the people who support me are….

20. Coaches
• On-site supporters/cheerleaders/practitioners who
show school staff how to try new practices
• Provide resources and direct instruction training
• Connect them to other professional development,
training and resources

21. Policy Team
• Members
• What it does

22. Policy Barriers:
Vocational Rehabilitation
• Too many facility-based
assessments for youth
• Lack experience and
comfort in supporting
individuals with
significant
disabilities, both among
counselors and provider
networks

23. Voc Rehab Policy Solutions
• Guidance to staff and the public from DVR leadership
on community-based assessments
• Youth Transition On the Job Training (OJT)
• Strengthening statewide training to new/existing DVR
staff on how to support individuals with the most
complex disabilities (assumption that all are
employable)

24. Vocational Rehabilitation: In the Hopper
• One pager for families/schools
describing range of voc rehab
services
• Meeting with leadership to
share promising practices from
other high-performing states
• Legislation guiding schools to
encourage early conversations
with VR

25. State Education Agency
Policy Barriers
• No clear guidance on LRE for
youth in transition (ages 18-
21)
• Inadequate pre-service
preparation in transition
• Absence of guidance from
state leadership
• Lack of collaboration with
general education

26. State Education Agency Policy Solutions
OSEP guidance on LRE in community worksites

27. State Education Agency: In the Hopper
• Transition
endorsement/certification
• Work with higher education
statewide to increase masters’
training in transition
• Legislation to strengthen focus on
community-based work
assessments if employment is a
post-school outcome

28. Long-Term Care Policy Barriers
• Lack of competitive
employment focus in long-term
care system
• Lack of understanding about
the impact of employment on
public benefits

29. Long-Term Care Policy Solutions
• Expansion of promising “pay
for performance” pilot in
managed care
• Work with Department of
Health Services and
Governor’s office to increase
work incentives benefits
counseling
• Strengthen managed care
contract language to
incentivize employment

30. Long-Term Care Policy Solutions
• Work with children’s long-term
care system to create “culture of
expectations” around employment
for families
• Identified vocational services as
part of children’s long-term care
waiver
• Include increased employment as
part of state’s Medicaid long-term
care sustainability effort.

31. Long-Term Care: In the Hopper
• Work with legislators on
Employment First legislation
• Pursuing a pre-voc policy that
would prohibit/limit new entries
to facility-based pre-voc
• Embed benefits counseling training
into statewide long-term care
system parent training and have
benefits counseling expertise
available at ADRCs

32. Practical Strategies for Engaging Policymakers
• Make a solid case for change: using data, research to
create targeted asks
• Focus on policy issues prominent in your state
• Look at what is happening in the general population
of youth regarding employment in your state

33. Practical Strategies for Engaging Policymakers
• Put a face and story with the issue: have legislators
meet real youth and their families
• Don’t take “no” for answer: go to the next level

35. Practical Strategies for Engaging Employers
• Outreached directly to largest employer lobbying
organization in the state
• Worked to promote disability employment awareness
month
• Connected businesses with legislators on the youth
employment issue
• Connected schools to local chambers

36. Partner with other agencies/leaders to create
a “buzz”
• Council’s “Take Your Legislator to Work”
• Employment First statewide coalition
• People First priorities
• WI Manufacturers and Commerce
• Walmart corporate interest

37. Beth Swedeen, WI-BPDD
beth.swedeen@wisconsin.gov
Lisa Pugh, ADD Public Policy Coordinator
lisa.pugh@drwi.org
Russell McCullough
russell.mccullough@wisconsin.gov