Career Planning Begins with Assessment Meeting the Needs of Youth and Young Adults

1. Career Planning Begins with Assessment Meeting the Needs of Youth and Young Adults

2. What this session will cover: • The factors that contribute to career planning challenges faced by vulnerable youth and youth with disabilities • The experiences that support their transition to adulthood and the career planning process. • How assessment is used during transition to ensure quality career planning for youth.

3. What is Career Planning? • Career planning is a set of activities designed for youth to make informed choices about academic programs, training, and work. • To be successful, youth need access to a specific range of experiences that allow them to explore their interests and the many options available to them.

4. What is Assessment? • Assessment is “the process of collecting data for the purpose of making decisions.” • It is the part of career planning that closely examines the interests and abilities of each individual to establish a basis for identifying appropriate types of employment, training, and career development possibilities.

5. Nine factors that often lead to transition challenges • Diagnosed disabilities • Hidden or undiagnosed disabilities • Chronic illness • Poverty • Immigrant status—culture and language • Teen parenthood • Involvement in the juvenile or adult justice system • Homelessness • Involvement in the foster care system

6. Experiences supporting development and the career planning process—The Five Guideposts • School-Based Preparatory Experiences • Career Preparation & Work-Based Learning Experiences • Youth Development & Youth Leadership Opportunities • Connecting Activities & Support Services • Family Involvement Activities

7. 1. School-Based Preparatory Experiences • Standards and high expectations • Based on meaningful indicators of student learning and skills • Career and technical education options • Accommodations and adaptive technology for youth with disabilities

8. 2.Career Preparation & Work-Based Learning Experiences • Secondary and postsecondary • In-school and community-based • Structured exposure in paid and unpaid work • Mentoring and Internships • Ongoing assessment • Collaborative support

9. 3. Youth Development & Youth Leadership Opportunities • Activities that allow youth to control and direct their own lives based on informed decisions • Self-advocacy • Conflict resolution • Personal leadership • Community Service • Mentoring

10. 4. Connecting Activities & Support Services • Physical and mental health services • Transportation • Tutoring • Financial planning and management • Postsecondary supports • Assistive technology for youth with disabilities

11. 5. Family Involvement and Supports • Access to community resources • Opportunities to be engaged in decision making • Opportunities to learn about legislation, disabilities, and career options

12. Autism Deafness Deaf-blindness Hearing Impairment Mental Retardation Multiple Impairments Orthopedic Impairment Other Health Impairment Serious Emotional Disturbance Specific Leaning Disability Speech or Language Impairment Traumatic Brain Injury Visual Impairment or Blindness IDEA & Thirteen Categories of Disability

14. Hidden Disabilities • Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD) • Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder— (ADHD) • Traumatic Brain Injury • Mental Health or Emotional Problems • Mental Retardation • Chemical Health Issues

15. Issues Related to Hidden Disabilities • Disclosure • Screening and Assessment • Referrals to Consultants • Education and Training Programs • Judicial System and Treatment Programs

16. Out of School Youth with Disabilities • Eligibility and access to services • Vocational Rehabilitation • Workforce Investment Act -Youth Services -Adult Services

17. Meeting an Individual’s Career Planning Assessment Needs—Five Goals • Multiple Options • Self-Advocacy: Person Centered Planning • Bridging Academic and Career Needs • Access to Critical Information • Professional Adult Assistance

18. The Four Domains of Assessment • Educational • Psychological • Vocational • Medical

19. Formal Testing Instruments in Assessment Seven Areas of Testing and Performance Review • Academic Performance or Achievement • Cognitive Abilities • Behavior, Social, and Emotional Issues • Vocational Interests • Job Aptitudes • Certification of Occupational Competencies • Physical and Functional Capacities

20. 1. Academic Performance or Achievement Testing Purposes of Assessment in Academic Planning: • Determine eligibility for special services • Aid student placement and instruction • Support accountability efforts The goal is to identify the academic skills, learning styles, cognitive abilities, and educational challenges of individual youth.

21. 2. Cognitive Abilities Testing • Educational Domain • Intelligence Testing • Psychological Domain • Neuropsychological testing • Testing for learning disabilities

22. 3. Behavioral, Social, and Emotional Issues • Their impact on youth • Behavioral testing and assessment • Mental health diagnostic testing • Chemical health diagnostic testing

23. Vocational Assessments • Interest testing • Job aptitudes • Certification of occupational competency • Physical and functional capacities

24. 4. Vocational Interests Tests • Lead to pragmatic academic and career planning • Can be purchased or found on line at many Web sites • Many government sites have forms of these tests • Should not be used to “screen out”

25. 5. Job Aptitudes, Habits, and Skills • Wide variety of written or performance assessments • KSAs—knowledge, skills, and abilities • Situational work assessments • Work sample testing • Analysis of work environments

26. 7. Physical and Functional Capacities—Vocational • Work Capacities • Work Tolerance • Motor Skills and Manual Dexterity • Assistive Technology Assessments • Post-secondary and Workplace Accommodations

27. 7. Physical and Functional Capacities—Medical • Medical Diagnostic Testing • Speech/Language, Physical, and Occupational Therapies • Treatment

28. Independent Living Skills Assessments • Transportation and mobility • Personal care • Recreation and leisure • Home maintenance • Communication skills

29. Testing Accommodations • Reliability and Validity • Publisher Guidelines • Institutional Guidelines • Four Types of Accommodation • Presentation Format • Response Format • Setting • Timing

30. Factors in Choosing Published Tests and Assessments • Reliability • Validity • Fairness • Cost • Time needed to administer and score • Qualifications of test administrator • Ease of use • Reporting format

31. Career Planning Begins with Assessment—The Guide Other Features: • Directory of Commonly-Used Published Tests • Building an Assessment Infrastructure • Ethical and Fair Assessment Practices • Confidentiality and Privacy Issues • Useful Forms and Exhibits

32. Our Web Sites The National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth www.ncwd-youth.info The National Center on Secondary Education and Transition www.ncset.org

33. Types of Products and Resources • How to Guides • Information and Policy Briefs • Background Papers • Facts and Statistics • Hot Topics Syntheses • Funding Sources • Training Materials

34. Presenters • Joe Timmons timm0119@umn.edu • Jen Fitz-Roy fitzroyj@bc.edu • Peter Squire psquire@gmu.edu