The Community Observation Project in Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania) has helped more than 100 secondary students with disabilities to learn prevocational skills and behaviors through observation and hands-on experience at 20 local businesses. Details of program implementation, including recordkeeping forms, are provided. (DB)

A community based (Conejo Valley, California) vocational program was designed to give handicapped junior and senior high school students a variety of real world experiences in the natural setting. Advantages of the community based approach include immediate transfer of learning, opportunities for generalization, provision of role models by other…

This study assessed the effects of a Brevard County (Florida) high school-based vocational training and community-based on-the-job training program called Brevard's Exceptional Students in Transition (BEST). Results indicated positive improvements in vocational skills and behaviors of participants in the BEST program. (JDD)

A program was implemented to provide a community-based living and work experience for students with mild/moderate mental retardation making the transition from high school to adult life. The program focuses on independent living skills, vocational education, and functional academic instruction. It incorporates shared resources, community-based…

The State of New York conducted a follow-up study of the 76,000 students who completed an occupational education program in New York in 1987. Students were followed up by mail and telephone interviews, with an overall rate of return of 67 percent. Some of the major findings of the study were the following: (1) for all occupational education…

This module provides information on supported employment as outlined in the Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1986, P.L. 99-506. It discusses models of supported employment; the roles of vocational rehabilitation counselors, school district personnel, and job coaches; and what school district personnel can do to prepare students for supported…

Project COMPETE (Community-based Model for Public School Exit and Transition to Employment) was a model demonstration project designed to develop linkages between public schools and community rehabilitation agencies, in order to provide work training to severely handicapped youth, aged 16-22. The schools took on responsibility for providing…

This report on youth employment programs is intended to help prime sponsors and program operators implement innovative youth employment efforts under the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) and the Youth Employment and Demonstration Project Act (YEDPA). The content is in two chapters. Chapter 1 covers the introduction, meeting…

This book on evaluating social programs is an outcome of the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) Evaluation Design Project, which produced a set of 10 guides for the evaluation of state and local JTPA programs. This book distills ideas from these guides and applies them to a larger context. Part 1 presents a general approach to program evaluation…

This study surveyed the parents/guardians of 97 youth (ages 18-24) throughout the United States who are deaf-blind and who left school in June 1996. The survey was conducted 18 months after these youth had left school. Following an introduction, this report first presents findings related to characteristics of the youth in the areas of…

This paper describes a three-phase program which places students with disabilities into job sites in strip malls, enclosed malls, industrial parks, and individual businesses to prepare them for their transition to independent living. The paper explains that in phase 1 of the program students train at a different site each day; in phase 2, students…

A study examined the impacts of different education and training (E&T) assignments in Ohio's Job Opportunities and Basic Skills (JOBS) Training Program on the employment and earnings of Aid to Families with Dependent Children recipients who became mandatory JOBS clients in 1989 or 1990. Data on the JOBS assignments and earnings and employment…

This book describes experimental demonstration programs in the United States on different ways to link school and work more meaningfully for disadvantaged teenagers. The programs are sponsored by Youthwork, Incorporated, a public-private partnership concerned with youth unemployment and the transition from school to work. The book provides…

The Los Angeles Area Business/Education Partnership provides numerous services designed to encourage youths who have been identified as being at high risk of dropping out of school to complete high school and continue in a formal postsecondary education program. Among the services offered by the partnership are the following: clustered…

This document examines strategies for promoting job retention and career advancement for recipients of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). The document begins by considering the problems faced by less-skilled TANF recipients in finding, retaining, and advancing in jobs. Section 2 examines the following policy issues: (1) the aims of…