Kentucky Employment Partnership for Youth with Significant Disabilities

The Human Development Institute – University of KY (KY UCEDD), with the KY Office of Vocational Rehabilitation (OVR), KY Department of Education, KY Division of Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities, KY Protection & Advocacy, KY Office for the Blind, Commonwealth Council on Developmental Disabilities, KY Office of Autism, and the KY Autism Training Center propose a Partnership in Employment Systems Change to directly impact post-school outcomes for youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities in our state. We will create this state-level intervention at the point of greatest leverage – in youths’ final years of school. Our aim, over the five years of this grant, is to impact youth outcomes within each of the state’s 174 school districts, Our target population is defined as all KY transition-age students with disabilities with the IDEA classifications of Moderate or Severe Intellectual Disability, Autism, and Multiple Disabilities; that is, youth with the most significant disabilities, with a special focus on students ages 18-21. The over-arching goal of our Partnership is to increase positive post-school outcomes (integrated employment; participation in post-secondary education; or both) for students with the most significant disabilities in our state by 20 percentage points over the five years of this grant. As one of the few states in the nation that measures the post-school outcomes for every student with an IEP exiting one year after school completion, we have both the baseline data and the data-analysis tools to track this measure for students with significant disabilities throughout the life of this grant. We intend to achieve this ambitious but measurable goal by these four objectives: 1) Establishing a state-level employment work group that consists of the above partners, with representation from self-advocates, family members, and our state’s Regional Special Education Cooperatives, to conduct a statewide needs assessment, and develop policies fostering competitive, integrated as the first, preferred choice of youth with the most significant disabilities. 2) Conducting, within each year of the grant, sustained professional development and Communities of Practice focused on implementing evidence-based transition services, in collaboration with our partnering agencies. 3) Developing and disseminating information resources to families and students, as well as practitioners and employers. 4) Annually tracking and continually reviewing outcomes data related to post-school outcomes for students with significant disabilities to ensure that state level policies promote employment outcomes. The intended impacts of our consortium are: 1) post-secondary employment for youth with the most significant disabilities in our state will improve by 20 percentage points over the next five years; 2) policies and practices both within and across agencies will be fully aligned with an Employment First perspective for youth in transition; and 3) youth and families will receive accurate and timely information on the benefits of employment, the role of different agencies, and how employment impacts eligibility for such programs as SSI, SSDI, and Medicaid. The intended products of our consortium are: 1) on-line, interagency training modules on evidence-based practices for youth with significant disabilities; 2) accessible, print and down-loadable information packets for youth and families on integrated employment in both English and Spanish; and 3) an accessible project website for professionals, youth, and families. KY Employment Partnership