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DOCUMENT RESUME
ED 269 943 EC 182 729
TITLE Transitional Service Centers Assisting Students withDevelopmental Disabilities into Employment andCommunity Life: A Procedural Handbook [and] AWorkshop Trainers's Guide.
INSTITUTION National Association for Retarded Citizens,Arlington, Tex.
SPONS AGENCY Administration on Developmental Disabilities (DHHS),Washington, D.C.
PUB DATE 86GRANT DHHS-90-DD -00$2NOTE 119p.AVAILABLE FROM Association for Retarded Citizens of the United
States, 2501 Avenue J, P.O. Box 6109, Arlington, TX76011.
PUB TYPE Guides - Non-Classroom Use (055)
EDRS PRICE MF01 Plus Postage. PC Not Available from EDRS.DESCRIPTORS Adjustment (to Environment); Community Programs;
Daily Living Skills; *Devilopmental Disabilities;*Education Work Relationthap; *Employment; JobSkills; *Mental Retardation; Needs Assessment;*Program Development; Program Evaluation; ProgramImplementation; Sheltered Workshops; *TransitionalPrograms; Workshops
IDENTIFIERS *Transitional Service Centers
ABSTRACTTwo documenti focus on Transitional Service Centers
(TSC) programs designed to help persons with mental retardation orother developmental disabilitie3 enter into employment and communitylife. The procedural manual introduces the concept of transition fromschool to work and community living and examines steps in developingTSCs: (1) conducting a needs assessment; (2) formus.ating andassessing TSC objectives; (3) forming a TSC; (4) implementing tt.emodel; and (5) evaluating the TSC. Among appended information areposition statements of the Association for Retarded Citizens (ARC) onproductivity, wages, and the role of work activity centers andregular workshops in vocational training. A trainer's manual isintended to help local ARCs and other agencies in developing TSCs.The guide contains suggested exercises, charts, and handouts suitablefor a one-day workshop. (CL)
************************************************************************ Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made ** from the original document. *
***********************************************************************
DOCUMENT RESUME
ED 269 943 EC 182 729
TITLE Transitional Service Centers Assisting Students withDevelopmental Disabilities into Employment andCommunity Life: A Procedural Handbook [and] AWorkshop Trainers's Guide.
INSTITUTION National Association for Retarded Citizens,Arlington, Tex.
SPONS AGENCY Administration on Developmental Disabilities (DHHS),Washington, D.C.
PUB DATE 86GRANT DHSS -90 -DD -00$2NOTE 119p.AVAILABLE FROM Association for Retarded Citizens of the United
States, 2501 Avenue J, P.O. Box 6109, Arlington, TB76011.
PUB TYPE Guides - Non-Classroom Use (055)
EDRS PRICE MF01 Plus Postage. PC Not Available from EDRS.DESCRIPTORS Adjustment (to Environment); Community Programs;
Daily Living Skills; *Devilopmental Disabilities;*Education Work RelationbAip; *Employment; JobSkills; *Mental Retardation; Needs Assessment;*Program Development; Program Evaluation; ProgramImplementation; Sheltered Workshops; *TransitionalPrograms; Workshops
IDENTIFIERS *Transitional Service Centers
ABSTRACTTwo documenti focus on Transitional Service Centers
(TSC) programs designed to help persons with mental retardation orother developmental disabilitie3 enter into employment and communitylife. The procedural manual introduces the concept of transition fromschool to work and community living and examines steps in developingTSCs: (1) conducting a needs assessment; (2) formumaing andassessing TSC objectives; (3) forming a TSC; (4) implementing tiemodel; and (5) evaluating the TSC. Among appended information areposition statements of the Association for Retarded Citizens (ARC) onproductivity, wages, and the role of work activity centers andregular workshops in vocational training. A trainer's manual isintended to help local ARCs and other agencies in developing TSCs.The guide contains suggested exercises, charts, and handouts suitablefor a one-day workshop. (CL)
************************************************************************ Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made **
from the original document. *
***********************************************************************
,
TransitionalService Centers
Assisting StudentsWith DevelopmentalDisabilities into Employmentand Community Life:A Procedural Handbook
Prepared by
Association for Retarded Citizens of theUnited States
Jeffrey B. Schwamm, Ph.D., Project Director
CI\(N The development of this publication was supported by Grant No. 90-DD-0062 awarded by the Administration on Developmental
Disabilities, Office of Human Development Services, Department of Health and Human Services. Its contents are solely theN responsibility of the ARC of the United States and do not necessarily reflect the position of the Administrationon Developmental
Disabilities, and no official endorsement of the above agency should be infez ied.
1986\)
ARC of the United States 2501 Avenue J Arlington, Texas 76006k..
Foreword
These are exciting times! In Connecticut, people who aredevelopmentally disabled are acquiring the skills to becomewaiters and waitresses, cooks and baker's edes, food checkersand storeroom supervisors. In Delaware, a young woman who isdevelopmentally disabled works full-time in a state agency as aclerical aide, doing bulk copying, opening and distributing mail.Across the country, in California, small crews of people who aredevelopmentally disabled move around a fifty-foot power cruiserscrubbing the deck, polishing brass, and stripping and refiningteakwood railings. A national movement is underway to createand open up employment opportunities previously closed to personswho are developmentally disabled.
What is needed are more job opportunities and better prepar-ation of students who are handicapped and entering the jobmarket. What is needed are employment-related programs andservices to assist these students and recent graduates in makinga smooth transition from school to work and more independentliving in their communities. What is needed are linkages amongstudents and their families, schools, employers, vocationalrehabilitation and other human service agencies and organizationswhich will facilitate collaborative efforts to achieve successfultransition.
I am pleased to share with you this procedural handbookprepared by the ARC of the United States. Supported by fundsfrom the Administration on Developmental Disabilities, this isjust one product in our efforts to establish the beginnings of anational system of Transitional Service Centers. These TSCs willassist students or clients with mental retardation and otherdevelopmental disabilities into employment and community lifethrough referral, coordination and initiation of employmentopportunities and transition programs and services. We reachedout across the country and established ten model sites. Whateach site learns during the course of implementing employment-related and other transition programs and services will benefitall agencies and organizations serving persons who are develop-mentally disabled. We foresee many more parents, volunteers andprofessionals using the material presented here aad establishingcenters in their own communities.
We move a step closer in making society realize thepotential of our children, relatives and friends wno arewentally retarded or with some other developmental disability.We move a step closer in providing these individuals with theopportunity to work and contribute to society. As a result, wesee these individuals living with pride and dignity.
V. K. "Warren" Tashjian, presidentAssociation for Retarded Citizensof the United States
ii
Acknowledgements
For their valuable contribution in the review of this hand-book, I would like to thank the Lembers of the Advisory Committeeof the Transitional Service Centers Project:
Dr. G. Thomas BellamyEugene, Oregon
Dr. Doris HelgeBellingham, Washington
Dr. Carmen MichaelDallas, Texas
Mr. Theodore BergeronNorwalk, Connecticut
Dr. Susan HasaziBurlington, Vermont
Mr. John SeippNew York, New York
Dr. Colleen WieckSt. Paul, Minnesota
I would also like to thank tne following ARC of the UnitedSates staff for reviewing drafts of this publication and pro-,iding me guidance through the duration of the project:
Dr. Sharon Davis, DirectorResearch and Program Services
Dr. Alan Abeson, Executive Director
Special thanks are extended to Dr. Barbara L. Wilcox at theUniversity of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon and Phebe Schwartz atWestern Washington University in Bellingham, Washington for theirextensive reviews of the draft, and Linda Weber at 2'RC of theUnited States for her contribution to the evaluation section ofthis handbook.
The following ten sites were selected from over sixty appli-cants nationwide to become the initial models in a nationalsystem of Transitional Service Centers - ARC-Philadelphia,Pennsylvania: George Horowitz, president, E.A. Gentile, executivedirector; Charles River ARC, Massachusetts: George Smith, presi-dent, Paul D. Merritt, executive director; ARC of South Middle-sex, Massachusetts: Cheryl L. Smith, president, William H. Garr,executive director; South Shore ARC, Massachusetts: MariaPlante, president, Leo V. Sarkissian, executive director; ARC-Wake County, North Carolina: Jo Hughes, president, Sherry Grant,executive director; Macon-Bibb Counties ARC, Georgia: T. LynnDavis III, president, Helen Glawson, executive director; (Michi-gan multi-county collaborative) ARC of Ottawa County, Michigan:Lynn Ihrman, president, Steve Redmond, executive director, ARC ofKent County, Michigan: Matthew P. Woudenberg, president, AndrewE. Sugar, executive director, ARC of Allegan County, Michigan:Robin Melvin, president; ARC-Richardson, Texas: Sharon Bush,president; ARC-Pierce County, Washington: Annette Schuchmann-Bishop, president, Stan Baxter, executive director; and Oppor-tunity Village, Nevada: Steve Miller, president, Gerald J.
iii
5
Allen, executive director.
Each site demonstrates what can be done even given thereality of limited resources. Together, these ten sites ofierother ARCs and developmental disabilities agencies a wealth ofknowledge and experience pertaining to the process of planninga TSC and, over the next few years, its implementation.
Frances Goodman deserves special recognition for her admin-istrative and clerical support as Project Secretary. Her profes-sional skills and personal commitment to the project contributedsignificantly to its success.
Lastly, on behalf of the ,,ssociation for Retarded Citizensof the United States, we are grateful to the Administration onDevelopmental Disabilities, Office of Human Development Ser-vices, Department of Health and Human Services, for its finan-cial support of the project and, in particular, to Dr. JeanElder, Commissioner of the ADD, for her strong leadership onbehalf of all persons with developmental disabilities.
Dr. Jeffrey Becker SchwammProject Director
6
Contents
Foreword ii
Acknowledgements iii
Lib;-. of Exhibits vii
Chapter
1 TRANSITION FROM SCHOOL TO WORK AND COMMUNITY LIVING 1
Background to the Problem
Transition
Definition of Transitioninadequacies in TransitionInitiatives in Transition
Transitional Service Centers
The Purpose of a TSCEstablishing a TSC
TSC Service and Program Qualities
2 DETERMINATION OF NEED 13
Overview
Guidelines and Procedures
Collecting and Analyzing Needs Assessment DataDetermining the Target Population and Its NeedsIdentifying the Interorganizational NetworkDescribing the Organizations in the Network
3 FORMULATION AND ASSESSMENT 02 TSC OBJECTIVES 24
Overview
Guidelines and Procedures
Formulating TSC ObjectivesAssessing Feasibility of Objectives
4 FORMATION OF A TSC 29
Overview
Guidelines and Procedures
IntrJrorganizational StructureParticipants
5 IMPLEMENTATION 33
Overview
Guidelines and Procedures
Implementation StrategiesInteragency Agreements andTransitional PlanningStaffing
6 EVALUATION 43
Overview
Guidelines and Procedures
Selecting an EvaluatorEvaluation Design
References 48
Readings 50
Appendices
A. Transitional Service Centers 52
B. ARC Position Statements 54
C. Major Funding Programs for Adultswith Developmental Disabili.ties 57
D. Supported Employment Initiativeo' Federal Government 64
8
List of Exhibits
Exhibit
1.1 Transition Alternatives 3
1.2 Planning Stages in Establishing a TSC 10
1.3 TSC Service and Program Qualities 11
2.1 Comprehensive Community Services and Programs 17
2.2 Behavioral Skill Training Areas for SelectedCommunity-Living Alternatives 18
2.3 Interorganizational Network 20
2.4 Organizational Description 21
2.5 Glossary of Linkage Mechanisms 22
3.1 Feasibility Assessment 26
4.1 TSC Interorganizational Structures 31
5.1 Essential Elements of Interagency Agreements 37
5.2 Proposed TSC Tasks for Parents, Volunteersand Professionals 40
5.3 TSC Implementation Plan 41
6.1 TSC Evaluation Plan 45
vii
9
1.0 Transition from School to Work and Community Living
BACKGROUND TO THE PROBLEM
One of the first questions usually asked upon meeting some-one for the first time is: "What do you do?" Imagine being aperson with mental retardation or other developmental disability.In the past, the presence of the handicap itself probably servednotice to the person asking that such a question was entirelyinappropriate. But today, there is less hesitation in asking thequestion as work is increasingly plausible.
People with mental retardation and other developmental dis-abilities are succeeding in competitive employment, with or with-out ongoing or time-limited support. Others are succeeding atwork in sheltered environments. They are earning income. Theyare contributing to society. For these individuals, work is notonly possible but desirable.
Today, between 50 to 75 percent of adults in the work forcewho report a disability are jobless (U.S. Commission on CivilRights, 1983). In studies in three states on what happens toformer special education students, the Seventh Annual Report toCongress on the Implementation of the Education of the Handi-capped Act (U.S. Department of Education/OSERS, 1985) indicates a50 to 60 percent employment rate. The more severely handicapped,however, have much less success as only 21 percent of 133 grad-uates were employed. Many who were employed were working in lowpaying, part-time, entry-level positions. These employment fig-ures are less a function of the handicapping condition than areflection of the community in which an individual lives and theprevailing social attitude towards people with disabilities.
Almost 8 percent of the Gross National Product each year isbeing spent on disability programs, and most of it supportsdependence. With an estimated 250,000 to 300,000 students beinggraduated from special education each year there is a potentiallyserious unemployment problem facing an already vulnerable popula-tion (Will, 1984a). What's needed, clear and simple, is prepara-tion for employment, employment opportunities, support for ob-taining and maintaining employment, and the linking of senders,i.e., the public schools, with the receivers, i.e., the jobtrainers and employers.
TRANSITION
A Definition of Transition
Transition is the passage of a student with mental retarda-tio:1 or other developmental disability from school to work andcommunity life with all the opportunities and risks associated
1 10
,
1
with promoting his or her greatest independence, increased pro-ductivity, and fullest integration into the community. Duringthis process a student may require assistance in ensuring:
. relevant elementary and secondary education
. individualized planning with parents/ profes-sionals, and the student her/himself
. relevant post-secondary training
. job creation
. identification of available jobs
. analysis of skills needed to perform jobs
. career counseling
. placement assistance
. job specific teaching
. job adaptation 3r13/or assistive devices
. ongoing support at work
. support services (e.g., transportation,recreation)
. community living arrangements
Because of the heterogeneity of persons who are developmentallydisabled, some may require ongoing special services, while othersonly require time-limited services to make the transition intocompetitive employment. Still others will only require assist-ance from generic services available to all persons entering theemployment sector. These transition alternatives assisting em-ployment are described in Exhibit 1.1. Ultimately, the success-ful transition will be measured by the quality of a person'semployment, residential environment, and social and interpersonalnetwork.
B. Inadequacies in Transition
The past failure of smooth transition from school to work hasbeen primarily placed at the doors of our public schools fortheir inability to provide appropriate vocational training andpreparation; but in reality the failure involves many otheragencies, organizations, groups and individuals who touch thelives of persons with mental retardation and other developmentaldisabilities. Employers, for example, may be unwilling to pro-
2
IIIIIIIII11
Exhibit 1.1
TRANSITION ALTERNATIVES
Transition With Ongoing Special Services
Several employment options have been developed which stresscontinual support to the worker. The most prevalent include:
Supported Competitive Employment: Structured assist-ance in job placement and job site training is avail-able along with a job coordinator who provides exten-sive one-on-one -.raining and follow-up. Emphasis isplaced on maintaining a job.
Work Crews and Enclaves: Small groups of individualsare employed in business and industry under the dailysupervision of a trained human services staff person.
Specialized Industrial Training: This employment op-tion is usually based in the community, in a smallindustrial-oriented workshop setting. Workers receivewages earned from contract revenue from business andindustry for performing assembly and production work.
Transition With Time-Limited Special Services
Services, like vocational rehabilitation and on-the-jobtraining, are provided to an individual upon graduation.These services are specialized, time-limited and should lead therecipient into competitive employment.
Transition Without Special Services
The individual has the ability to work competitively. Allthat may be required is assistance from generic services such asfrom a work experience coordinator o: cehabilitation counselor injob seeking and initial adjustment skills.
Adapted (with modifications) from: Wehman P., et al., undated.
12
vide training and employment opportunities without in:entivesthat are good for business. The lack or cooperation in thissystem frequently reflects social value., and attitudes towardpersons with severe handicaps. Worxip in such an environmentoftentimes frustrates attempts by professionals, parents andemployers at improving communication and positive interorganiza-tional relations.
Halpern (1985:484), in a recent study of Oregon's secondaryspecial education programs, reveals the following findings per-taining to the links between the schools ane. community agenciesserving adults:
Less than 50% of the {school} administrators indi-cated the presence of even informal agreements withadult service agencies concerning the transitionneeds of students with disabilities. Only 10% iden-tified the existence of formal agreements. Although60% of the teachers titated that other agencies readbeen contacted concerning transition services, only20% of the parents acknowledged ever receiving suchservices. Further contributing to the lack of link-ages, only one-third of the districts provided otheragencies wiLn census data on the number of graduat-ing students each year, and just slightly more thanone-third collected follow-up information for theirgraduates.
Similarly, in a three-year national study being conducted bythe Research Triangle Institute for Office of Special Educationand Rehabilitation Services (OSERS) (Cox, et al., 1984:24), theauthors document the importance of interagency cooperation inimproving services and programs:
Most school systems and other involved agenciesappeared not to have carried out long-term planningregarding agency roles and the role of the publicschool system in providing linkages to provide abridge from public school responsibility to post-school competitive or supported employment or inde-pendent living for the handicapped.
Furthermore (Ibid.:25):
Virtually no follow-up of handicapped graduates wasdone to ensure a match between the services providedby the schools and the post-school experiences.
In sum, the organizational structure and staffing to bringtogether the schools and appropriate community agencies areeither absent or insufficiently utilized. The coordination andintegration of services and programs is apparently minimal, atbest, in most communities.
4
C. Initiatives in Transition
The recent federal policy initiatives regarding transitionfocus primarily on employment. Under the leadership of Commis-sioner Jean Elder, the AdE'nistration on Developmental Disabili-ties (ADD) in the Office of Human Development Services (ONDS),Department of Health and Human Services, encourages the mobiliza-tion of existing public and private agencies, voluntary organiza-tions, job training and placement resources, the media andcorporate leaders to:
(1) increase public awareness of the employabilityand employment needs of persons with develop-mental disabilities;
(2) enhance training and employment opportunitiesfor such persons; and
(3) place 25,000 developmentally disabled personsin regular places of employment (U.S. Depart-ment of Health and Human Services, undated).
Specific initiatives of OSERS in the Department of Educationinclude:
(1) making schools and curricula more relevant toemployment needs;
(2) improving employment opportunities;
(3) improving programs for disabled high schoclgraduates who seek additional education in com-munity colleges and vocational-technical post-secondary schools;
(4) improving time-limited services such as voca-tional rehabilitation, opportunities under theJob Training Partnership Act, and transitionalemployment;
(5) providing transition to employment with enduringsupport, i.e., "supported work program" as analternative to day activities and day habilita-tion services (Will, 1984b).
On May 1, 1985, OSERS and OHDS/ADD signed an interagencyagreement to expand employment opportunities for persons withdisabilities (See Appendix D). Specifically, its objective is tocombine the financial and programmatic resources of both agenciesin implementing the OSERS Supported Employment Initiative. Sup-ported employment would expand the opportunities for unsubsidizedemployment in a competitive setting with appropriate support forpersons with severe disabilities (e.g., work crews, enclaves,
145
supported competitive employment, specialized industrial train-ing).
While the federal government has clearly been a leader inassisting students with handicaps make a successful transitionfrom school to work, there are many examples of states and localcommunities throughout the country taking their own initiativesin planning and providing employment, and transition services andprograms, without federal support. In Massachusetts, for example,parents and advocates were instrumental in the passage ofChapter 688, a law providing for a two-year transitional processfor severely disabled young adults who will lose their entitle-ment to special education. An assigned state human servicesagency acts as a single point of entry into the adult system andwill: (1) coordinate the transition; (2) work with the school,family and individual who is disabled; and (3) convene an inter-agency team to write an Individual Transitional Plan. Theprocess for each client will be monitored by the Bureau ofTransitional Planning at the Executive Office of Human Services.
At the local level, the Montgomery County Public Schools(MCPS) and County Government in Maryland completed a report inSeptember, 1985 on transition from school to work for studentswith disabilities. For the majority of students in MontgomeryCounty, the data indicated that existing transitional serviceswere either inadequate or not available at all. The reportconcluded that several responsibilities oe met in delivering itsrecommended services, in particular: (1) the coordination andconsistent direction for the activities of MCPS, MontgomeryCounty Government, adult service providers, parents and employ-ers; (2) a mechanism for linking all concerned sectors; and (3)public information to enlist support for transitional goals.Montgomery County is currently responding to these responsibili-ties.
As a consequence of these and other initiatives, many morepersons with mental retardation and other developmentaldisabilities will succeed in competitive employment. Hopefully,they will succeed in community life that goes beyond the hoursspent at work. To ensure such an outcome these students andrecent graduates, like their non-handicapped peers, are entitledto the optimum mix of academic learning, vocational education,vocational rehabilitation and independent living skills training.As is well recognized, that mix should vary in response to theindividuality of each student.
TRANSITIONAL SERVICE CENTERS
A. The Purpose of a Transitional Service Center
Responding to the inadequacies in transition ilt the locallevel and to the federal government's initiative is theintroduction of the concept of a Transitional Service Center. The
6
15
overall intent of a TSC is to improve the quality of life forpersons with mental retardation and other developmental disabili-ties who are leaving or have recently left school. Specifically,its major objective is to increase the employment of the targetpopulation in community-based work settings, promoting greatestindependence, increased productivity and fullest integration.TSCs will facilitate, and where necessary, advocate for the mosteffective passage of these students into a full range of workopportunities and community living alternatives.
The concept of a center can be interpreted in several ways.In some communities it can be a centralized location where em-ployment-related and other transition services and programs willbe provided. In other communities a center will be a decentral-ized system of agencies and organizations working together for acommon purpose. In some communities the local ARC will admin-ister a center, while in other communities a similar agency orcombination of agencies will assume overall administration. Thesystem may be designed to serve one community or several in closeproximity using only those agencies and organizations locatedwithin these communities' boundaries. On the other hand, thesystem may be designed to involve state and/or county (i.e., sub-state) governmental units outside the communities' boundaries inthe administration and delivery of services and programs.
Successful transition is contingent upon the adequate prep-aration of students during their school years and the provisionof an appropriate range of community resources for fullest integ-ration. What are appropriate functions for an individual TSCdepend on what currently exist in the community. For example,where a full range of employment-habilitation programs, communityliving alternatives, and social and interpersonal networks exist,the TSC may be needed to function only in a coordinating capacityamong the participants to the transitional process. On the otherhand, where gaps in programs exist, the TSC may be needed toadvocate for the creation of new programs.
Four principal functions, which constitute the conceptualframework of a TSC, are proposed to ensure appropriate directionand availability of needed services and programs for studentsor clients with mental retardation and other developmental disa-bilities who are preparing to leave or who have recently lefthigh school:
1. Assist in the location of and access to the mostappropriate combination of services and resourcesto meet the needs of students or clients withmental retardation and other developmental disabil-ities.
Example:
A TSC might assist in providing parents withlegal counsel and initiating the process to appealthe decision made by the school on the vocational
7
16
placement of a student with mental retardationor other developmental disability.
2. Systematically collect, maintain and disseminateinformation on services and resources availableto meet the needs of students or clients withmental retardation and other developmental disa-bilities.
Example:
A TSC might train personnel in schools and serviceagencies in the use of computerized informationsystems related to community services and pro-grams, and coordinate the placement of computerterminals at these sites for such a system.
3. Assist in the development and support of rela-tionships among agencies that promote coordi-nated services to students or clients with mentalretardation and other developmental disabilities.
Example:
A TSC might coordinate the development of formalinteragency agreements, specifying roles and re-sponsibilities of the school and vocational re-habilitation agency upon graduation of studentswith mental retardation and other developmentaldisabilities. The TSC may consider establishinga formalized transitional planning process foreach of these students.
4. Assist in the development of new programs andservices for students or clients with mental re-tardation and other developmental disabilities.
Example:
A TSC might highlight the incentives and economicbenefits of employing adults with mental retard-ation and other developmental disabilities in sup-ported competitive employment through an educa-tional program aimed at state/local policymakersand employers.
Each of these four functions will fill some void in the presentsystem serving persons with mental retardation and other develop-mental disabilities. Each function bridges the gap betweenschools, work and community life.
817
B. Establishing a Transitional Service Center
The planning stages and procedures for establishing a TSCare presented in the following chapters and illustrated in Exhi-bit 1.2. Five discrete stages are identified following the defi-nition of the problem which in this chapter has emphasized thelack of coordination and integration of employment opportunitiesand tyansitionervices and programs. The transition problem isfurther defined by an ineffective process linking the criticalparticipants involved in the transition of students or clientswith mental retardation and other developmental disabilities.
Stage one is the determination of need. It includes col-lecting and analyzing needs assessment data, determinfng thetarget population, identifying the interorganizational ,letwork,describing the agencies, organizations and linkages in the cur-rent and future networks.
Stage two is the formulation and assessment of TSC objec-tives. Proposed objectives are examined in relation to theforces working for or against efforts to implement them.Critical participants are identified who may be instrumental inthe implementation of these objectives.
Stage three is the formation of a TSC. In this stage aninterorganizational structure to operate a TSC is selected. Rep-resentation from participating agencies, organizations and othercritical participants is achieved with the establishment offormal committees.
Stage four is implementation. Here, formal procedures forimplementing TSC objectives are established, implementationstrategies are determined and staff are assigned task responsi-bilities.
Stage five, evaluation, concludes the planning process. Theevaluator(s) is selected and an evaluation design is constructed.
Consistent with good planning, what is learned during eval-uation feeds back into the planning process, refining the needsassessment and revising the TSC objectives where appropriate.Thus, planning a TSC is viewed as an ongoing process that isconstantly subjected to review, new ideas and change.
TSC SERVICE AND PROGRAM QUALITIES
Exhibit 1.3 describes TSC service and program qualitieswhich are suggested as reference points for selecting strategiesfor implementing TSC objectives. They are consistent with thenormalization ideology: the residential, educational, employ-ment, and social and recreational conditions of the individualmust be as close to the cultural norm for a person of that age asthe extent of the individual's disability reasonably allows.They also are consistent with the position statements of theAssociation for Retarded Citizens of the United States (1984).
918
ProblemDefinition
Exhibit 1.2
PLANNING STAGES IN ESTABLISHING A TRANSITIONAL SERVICE CENTER
19
Determinationof
Need
o collecting and ana-lyzing needs asseos-ment data
Formulation
o determining target and Assessment ofpopulation and its TSC- Objectives
needs
o identifying the in-terorganizational o formulating ot)3ec-network tives
o describing the or-o assessing feasibil- Formationganizations in the ity of a TSCnetwork
Evaluation
o choosing interorgan-izational structure
o ensuring participa-tion
Implementationof
TSC Objectives
o selecting evaluator o establishing respon-sibility
o constructing evalua-tion design o selecting strategies
BEST COPY AVAILABLEo staffing
20
Exhibit 1.3
TSC SERVICE AND PROGRAM QUALITIES
1. Integration: The daily life of the parson with mentalretardation or other developmental disability is to come asclose as feasible to that of a non-handicapped person. Ser-vices are to be delivered in settings reflecting the inte-grated and heterogeneous nature of society.
2. Age Appropriate: Programs should be appropriate to the indi-vidual's chronological age. Programs that non-handicappedpersons participate in should be designed to accommodatetheir peers with mental retardation or other developmentaldisabilities. Persons with handicaps should be given oppor-tunities to make decisions, to exercise choice, to takereasonable risks, to accept consequences of their own behav-ior and to associate comfortably with peers and others whodiffer in appearance, interests, beliefs, abilities and lifeexperiences.
3. Community Referenced: Selection of goals, training proceduresand contingencies for the target population should be refer-enced to the current and future demands and expectations ofthe local community. Emphasis is given to acquiring every-day skills needed to function independently as an adult.
4. Comprehensive: The focal point is the person's needs forpreparation and transition services in order to function asindependently as possible in the community. Increased inde-pendence and productivity in post-school environments re-quires competence by the graduate at various tasks and invarious settings. Education and training programs must de-velop strategies for fitting into the local economy and forteaching skills that may not normally be practical in theclassroom.
5. Self-Advocate Involvement: The planning, implementation andevaluation of services and programs should acknowledge thepreferences and choices of persons with mental retardationor other developmental disabilities. Every possible attemptshould be made to empower self-advocates to make decisionsaffecting their lives.
6. Family Involvement: Successful movement into the local com-munity requires input of parents, legal guardians or advo-cates. Family knowledge about the person who is mentallyretarded or with another developmental disability should en-sure that appropriate choices are made among options withinvocational, domestic, community and leisure domains.
21
7. Effectiveness: A program or service that does not achievespecified goals for persons with mental retardation or otherdevelopmental disabilities fs restrictive. The effectivenessof a TSC - its services and vograms - should be measuredin terms of increases -n indedtndence in daily performancein residential, vocational, leisure and community environ-ments.
Adapted (with modifications) from: Bellamy, G. T. and Wilcox, B.(1982)
2.0 Determination of Need
OVERVIEW
The purpose of the needs assessment is to identify whatemployment opportunities and transition services and programs thetarget population needs in order to work and live as independ-ently as possible in the community. The list of comprehensivecommunity services and programs presented in this chapter,coupled with the descriptions of transition alternatives and theprogram and service qualities in the previous chapter, provide areference point, or ideal, of what ought to be in a given commun-ity. Assessing the behavioral skills needed by a student orclient with mental retardation or other developmental disabilityto successfully function in these work and community environ-ments will assist in identifying the agencies and organizationsproviding appropriate skills training,'and the gaps in employmentopportunities, transition services and programs.
A TSC will operate primarily within a network (i.e., group)of agencies and organizations in serving persons with mentalretardation and other developmental disabilities. The networkconsists of: (1) those agencies and organizations that giveapproval and legitimacy to the existence and operation of the TSC(e.g., schools, municipalities); (2) suppliers of necessaryresources (e.g., sheltered workshops, United Ways); (3) consumersof services and programs (e.g., students or clients, theirfamilies and advocates); (4) competitors for both resources andconsumers (e.g., unions, community mental health and retardationcenters; and (5) various collaborators that enhance theavailability, accessibility, accountability, effectiveness andefficiency of programs and services (e.g., Epilepsy Foundation,State Developmental Disabilities Councils). The needs assessmentdescribes the current interorganizational linkages among theseparticipants, identifying service, program and employment gaps inthe network that other linkage mechanisms might alleviate.
In sum, the needs assessment will assess students andclients with mental retardation and other developmentaldisabilities and the service system to move them into employmentand the community. The results of such an assessment aredocumentation for prioritizing the needs and proposing TSCobjectives.
GUIDELINES AND PROCEDURES
collect and analyze needs assessment datadetermine target population and its needsidentify the interorganizational networkdescribe the organizations in the network
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A. Collecting and Analyzing Pata
Many questions are asked in the determination of needpertaining to students, clients, agencies, employers, forcesworking for or against a TSC, and critical participants in thecommunity. Some of the basic questions that each TSC shouldrespond to include:
1. What are the demographic and other characteristics(e.g., behavioral skills) of the target population?
2. What are the employment and other transition needsof the target population?
3. What employment opportunities and transition pro-grams and services are available in the community?
4. What are the linkages among agencies, organizations,groups and individuals providing employment oppor-tunities and transition programs and services?
5. What is the employment market for the target popu-lation?
Answering these questions is a prerequisite for forml,lating TSCobjectives which reflect an assessment of the current gaps inemployment opportunities and transition programs and services fora defined population.
The answers to the above questions are dependent upon theavailable data and the time given to its collection and analysis.No less important are the costs involved. An agency should lookat accomplishing this task as efficiently and effectively aspossible. It should not feel compelled, and indeed it wouldprobably be unproductive, to try to collect and analyze allavailable information. A good rule of thumb is to determine needwith whatever secondary information is readily available andeasily accessible. Primary data from surveys or interviews ofstaff, clients and other agencies and organizations are excellentsources of information on needs but collecting such data iscostly and time-consuming. Surveys should be used sparingly andonly when other sources of data do not address major informa-tional needs.
It is important that there be a variety in the sources ofdata to avoid inaccurate conclusions based on limited and biasedinformation. Individualized education programs and other plansprovide comprehensive information on the target population.Statements of organizational mission and agency promotionalmaterial reflect what agency directors believe will impress sig-nificant individuals, groups and organizations. Similar infor-mation may be obtained through funding proposals. Program eval-uations may reveal agency vulnerability related to a change inthe current way ser/qces and programs are delivered. Annualbudgets reflect patterns of change over time and highlight
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24
developmental trends. Personnel practice codes may uncoverformal authority arrangements and patterns of accountability.
Much can be learned from the behavior of key individuals.Important are records (e.g., minutes of meetings) of individualcomments on organizational matters and positions taken (e.g.,statements on issues related to the effort to establish a transi-tional service center, the degree of risk-taking that has beendemonstrated and on which issues). Attendance at, and observa-tions of public meetings, hearings and advisory boards are apotentially useful source of information on key individuals.
Another means of organizational assessment is to listen forcomplaints or aspirations from students or clients with mentalretardation and other developmental disabilities and theirfamilies legal guardians or advocates. Such information canyield valuable insights as to what will facilitate or hinderestablishing a TSC and implementing its objectives.
Knowledge of the employment sector is best provided throughmarket studies and information collected by such organizations asthe Chamber of Commerce and United Way. A guide to marketing byCorthell (1982), which focuses on persons with disabilities, iscited in the Readings included in this handbook.
Lastly, who should collect this information? And, howshould it be analyzed? Responsibility for data collection isclearly dependent upon the capabilities of the prospective parti-cipating agencies, organizations, groups and individuals andtheir respective willingness to undertake it. It would seemreasonable for the agency taking the lead in establishing the TSCto coordinate data collection in the early planning stages untilthe roles and responsibilities are clearly defined in the forma-tion of the TSC and the implementation of its objectives.
The analysis of the data (and its presentation) shouldinvolve people who are responsible for or influential in fundingand delivering jobs, services and programs for the target popula-tion. Included in analyzing data should be individuals whohelped define the transition problem in their community andproposed the questions guiding the data collection; otherwise,many of these individuals would have little stake in defendingthe findings and subsequent formulation of TSC objectives. With-out such involvement, the lead agency may have to expend finiteorganizational resources in campaigning for needed changes basedupon what has been learned in the needs assessment. Descriptivenarratives from students and clients with mental retardation andother developmental disabilities, family memers, employers andprofessionals should supplement statistical presentations. Sum-maries should be used at all times since most people areunimpressed with extensive documentation and do not have the timeto labor over it.
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B. Determining Target Population and its Needs
A good estimate of the population-in-need (or target popula-tion) will assist the TSC to be responsive to persons-in-need.The population-in-need is a sub-group of the population-at-risk.This designation is more specific and identifies those indivi-duals who, because of specific characteristics (e.g., severe orprofound retardation, students 16 to 22), need a certain serviceor program. For example, all students with mental retardation- -the population-at-risk--do not need community-based vocationaltraining; but, all students who are severely or profoundlyretarJed and from 16 to 22 years of age--the ?opulation-in-need--do need this training. The organizational descriptions outlinedin Exhibit 2.3, especially that of the local school system,should provide the most current figures on the served,underserved and unnerved population-in-need for the present ser-vices and programs in the community.
Once identified, a more comprehensive assessment of thetarget population proceeds with preparing a profile of the behav-ioral skills required by persons-in-need to adapt successfully tocommunity living alternatives, employment-habilitation programsand other community services presented in Exhibit 2.1. Conduct-ing such an assessment is beyond the current capabilities ofmany individual agencies. Short of instituting a formal processdeveloped to systematically gather this information, each partic-ipant should do its best to provide whatever documentation isavailable on the target population. Many of these behavioralskills (e.g., independent money usage, interpersonal relations,meal planning), illustrated in Exhibit 2.2 for community livingfacilities, should be included in individualized plans; there-fore, the local school system is a primary source of such infor-mation. It is conceivable, however, that other agencies (e.g.,Department of Mental Health/Developmental Disabilities, Depart-ment of Vocational Rehabilitation) are responsible for preparingindividualized plans, especially if the person has been out ofschool for several years. Parents and other family members arecertainly a vital source of information in preporing this aggre-gate picture of required behavioral skills.
Of utmost importance to this assessment of behavioral skillsis obtaining approval for the release of confidential informationfrom the appropriate parties. The rights of each student orclient with mental retardation or other developmental dis-ability should be protected. The interagency agreement is onemethod to help to ensure such protection.
The assessments of the population-in-need and the behavioralskills needed to function successfully in community living alter-natives, employment-habilitation programs and other communityservices increase the accuracy in determining the actual needrelative to the availability of current services, programs andemployment opportunities. With modifications in the futureenvironments, and with special aids to eliminate the effects of aperson's disability, the result would surely be a larger number
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26P
Exhibit 2.1
COMPREHENSIVE COMMUNITY SERVICES AND PROGRAMS
Community Employment-Living Alternatives Habilitation Programs Support Services
Independent living Competitive employment Health
Staffed apartment Supported employment Mental health
Group home Sheltered workshop Legal
Living at home Work activity Home assistance
Adult foster home Day training programs Recreation
Protective
Adult education
Transportation
Advocacy
Case management
27
Exhibit 2.2
BEHAVIORAL SKILL TRAINING AREASFOR SELECTED COMMUNITY LIVING ALTERNATIVES
Group Home
Health Care
Laundry skills
Meal preparation
Social integration
Uses an expressivelanguage system
Home safety
Money concepts
Unprompted daily routine
Recreation and leisureactivities
Community access
Independent Living
Handles medication
Clothing repair/replacement
Meal planning and shopping
Interpersonal relations
Language generalization
Coping skills
Independent money usage
Independent scheduling
Uses communityrecreational facilities
Independent community use
Adapted (with modifications) from: Schalock, R.L. (1985)
28
of students and others with mental retardation and other develop-mental disabilities ready to take advantage of their new environ-ments.
C. Identifying the Interorganizational Network
Descriptions of the agencies, organizations and otherparticipants serving persons with mental retardation and otherdevelopmental disabilities are essential for determining gaps inemployment opportunities and transition services and programs.Any gaps will emerge by comparing the target population and itsneeds with the current and possible future service system andemployment alternatives. To do so, it is necessary to firstidentify the network of agencies, organizations, etc. in thecommunity which serves or should serve the target population.
The identification of these interorganizational networksincludes the following steps (Lauffer, 1982):
(1) Place the ARC or similar agency in the center ofExhibit 2.3;
(2) List those participants (i.e., agencies, organi-zations, groups, individuals) in the agency'scurrent network in the boxes on the periphery ofthe square. The square design may be modified tofit your situation;
(3) In a different color (or lettering), circle cur-rent participants and add those that are notpresently in the network but ones you thinkshould be :r order to operate as a TSC and meetthe needs of the target population.
The diagram now indicates what is and what ought to be in tele-tion to the agency's current and possible future networks.
D. Describing tho Organizations in the Network
Once the current and possible future interorganizationalnetworks are determined, an analysis of each organization consi-dered important to the functions of a TSC will contribute to theformulation of TSC objectives. Exhibit 2.4 provides a list ofitems appropriate to such an analysis. Exhibit 2.5 presents aglossary of linkage mechanisms for describing the relations amongthe organizations in the network.
The collection of information on the network participantsassists in completing one of the four major functions of a TSC:systematically collect, maintain and disseminate information onservices and resources available to meet the needs of studentsor clients with mental retardation and other developmental dis-abilities. It is a function that meets an immediate need forstudents or clients and their families, and one that all ARCs and
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Exhibit 2.3
INTERORGANIZATIOHAL NETWORK
Suppliers of Resources
ShelteredWorkshops
Departmentof Vocation-al Rehabil-
itation
United Way ReligiousInstitutions
Schools
ill1111111111
Unions
State DDCouncils
CommunityMental
Health/Re-tardation
Ctrs.
EpilepsyFoundation
Students Families Employers
Consumers
30
Exhibit 2.4
ORGANIZATIONAL DESCRIPTION
1. Cite official statements which describe the goals,objectives and responsibilities of the agency.
2. Identify the specific problem and issues that the agency isset up to handle. What is the rate or extent of the problemin the community?
3. Identify the services and programs that the agency offersvis-a-vis the problem and issues it attempts to handle.
4. Identify the interorganizational linkage mechanisms thatthe agency employs (See Exhibit 2.5).
5. Identify those clients eligible for the services andprograms offered by the agency.
6. Profile the clients served by the agency:
a. age and sexb. socioeconomic statusc. place of residenced. most frequent presenting problem or concern
7. What admission criteria do clients have to meet in order tobenefit from the services of the agency?
8. What mechanisms do staff use to select and screen clients?
9. What are the various methods used by the agency to assessclients' needs?
10. Describe any pressures (e.g., presenting problem, survivalof the agency) exerted on the agency to accept or rejectcertain client groups.
11. Do clients or their advocates have any form of representationin the agency (e.g., Advisory Council)? If so, describe.
12. What are the conflicts and gaps in client services? Whatsteps have been taken to resolve conflicts and close suchgaps?
13. Describe staff of the agency in terms of experience, profes-sional training and functions.
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7t.
Exhibit 2.5
GLOSSARY OF LINKAGE MECHANISMS
1. Case Management: Staff at one agency are given responsi-bility for coordinating the services provided by severalagencies to meet the needs of particular clients.
2. Client team: Staff from two or more agencies coordinateservices to meet the needs of mutual clients throughcontinuous and systematic interaction.
3. Information clearinghouse: Staff at one location haveresponsibility for collection, classification anddistribution of information to several agencies.
4. Budgeting, fundraising and allocation: Two or more agenciescoordinate development of annual budgets; cooperate infunding drives, establishing endowments and securing grantsor contracts; contribute dollars or in-kind resources for acollaborative project or independent program.
5. Intake, screening, and diagnosis: Two or more agenciesdevelop a common system of processing new clients anddiagnosing their needs.
6. Program design, operation and evaluation: Two or moreagencies unite their efforts to plan, implement and assesseffectiveness of a program.
7. Public relations and community education: Two or moreagencies join efforts in educating the public or raisingcritical consciousness on behalf of a client population orfor their own resource needs.
8. Training and staff development: Two or more agenciescooperate on training and development by co-sponsoringevents, sharing successful programs or trading theirexpertise.
9. Purchase of services: One agency pays for specific services(e.g., intake, transportation, diagnostic services) fromanother agency.
10. Staff outstationing: Staff from one agency are assigned todo their work in the fac4_lities of another agency.
Adapted (with modifications) from: Lauffer, A. (1982)
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similar agencies should attempt to accomplish. Furthermore, itis one of the most highly visible for the agency; seizing theopportunity to serve as an information clearinghouse could onlyenhance the agency's credibility in its interorganizationalnetwork and strengthen relations among the critical partici-pants necessary to the fulfillment of other TSC functions.
Lastly, many of the items presented in the organizationaldescription (Exhibit 2.4) are applicable, with minor modifica-tions, to the employment sector. When applied, the informationon the current businesses and companies in the interorganiza-tional network will contribute to a basic market analysis thatshould be useful in determining job prospects.
In sum, the descriptions of the organizations in the networkconclude the collection of needs assessment data. Contrastingand assessing the information gathered on the target populationwith the current and future interorganizational networks providesa clearer picture of the gaps in employment opportunities andtransition programs and services. TSC objectives can now beproposed which address the gaps and the needs of unserved andunderserved students and recent graduates with mental retardationand other developmental disabilities and their families.
3323
3.0 Formulation and Assessment of TSC Objectives
OVERVIEW
Completion of the needs assessment provides the informationfor formulating TSC objectives. Each proposed objective is thenexamined to determine what has to occur in the community for itto succeed. The ARC or similar agency must determine the criticalparticipants who may be instrumental in influencing successfulimplementation of the objective.
The feasibility study is a preliminary step in preparing acompleted implementation plan. The following questions areanswered by conducting the feasibility study:
(1) Does the ARC or similar agency have sufficientsupport of critical participants (i.e., agen-cies, organizations, groups and individuals) inthe community to meet the TSC objective?
(2) What has to happen to allow the TSC objectiveto be implemented?
With such knowledge, the agency can determine appropriate imple-mentation strategies that will move critical participants in thecommunity to work.for the creation and operation of a TSC.
There are various approaches for determining feasibility.The assessment tool suggested here is only one approach. It isintended to yield as comprehensive a picture as possible withminimal effort on those conducting the study. The comprehen-siveness is dependent upon the quality of the informationcollected in the needs assessment.
Typically, the responsibility for completing the feasibilitystudy will be assumed by the professional staff of tne ARC oranother agency with active involvement from its board members.In some situations it will be assumed by volunteers. Thoseassessing feasibility will be responsible for recommendingobjectives to the agency board which they can reasonably under-take as a TSC.
GUIDELINES AND PROCEDURES
. formulate TSC objectives. assess feasibility of objectives
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A. Formulating TSC Objectives
The needs assessment provides a clearer picture of factorscontributing to gaps in employment opportunities and other tran-sition services and programs. The agency is in a position topropose objectives. To illustrate the development of new objec-tives, the needs asessment may reveal that in community "X" thereis a lack of vocational programs and employment opportunities forstudents or clients with severe and profound mental retardation.Three possible TSC objectives emerging from this situation mightread:
To work with employers for purposes of identifyingand creating job opportunities for persons with mentalretardation and other developmental disabilities.
To work with parents to ensure them of their due pro-cess rights under Public Law 94-142 when the schooldoes not provide appropriate education.
To ensure comprehensive documentation and dissemina-tion to parents, legal guardians and adult serviceproviders of model employment programs for personswith severe and profound mental retardation and otherdevelopmental disabilities.
Each objective is now assessed to determine what must be done,and by whom, in order to meet it.
B. Assessing Feasibility
In a feasibility assessment the ARC or similar agency func-tions within a community. The community includes all the forces(e.g., community norms, expressed needs, political and economicpressures) which will influence the agency's implementation ofTSC objectives. The following method described by Lauffer (1982)and illustrated in Exhibit 3.1 is one by which the ARC or otheragency can assess the community factors which will impact uponits implementation of TSC objectives:
(1) Describe the problem or need as precisely as pos-sible. This is the situation that needs to bechanged which was iaentified in the needs assess-ment.
Example: Many students with mental retardationand other developmental disabilitiesleaving school are unable to obtainmeaningful employment.
25 35
Problem Situation or Need
Many students with mental re-tardation and other develop-mental disabilities are un-able to obtain meaningful em-ployment upon graduation
NI
Exhibit 3.1
FEASIBILITY ASSESSMENT
Restraining Forces(against change)
1 lack of funds
back-to-basics()school curriculum
orientation of voc.3 training program
lack of interagency()cooperation
5
6,
Objective
To work with employers toidentify and create job op-portunities for persons withmental zetardion and otherdevelopmental disabilities
Driving Forces(for change)
tax incentives (I)
federal legislation2
new employmentmodels
enlightened
existence< of an ARC
6
employers
O
Critical Participants
Dir. of SpecialA Education D
B Dept. of Voc. Rehab.
C Pres. of Bank It Parents
H = high; L = low; U = uncertain
36
(2) Specify the objective to be reached.
Example: To work with employers for purposes ofidentifying and creating job opportuni-ties for persons with mental retarda-tion and other developmental disabili-ties.
(3) Identify all the restraining forces: forces thatreinforce the status quo or move away from theobjective.
Example: Lack of funds; back-to-basics schoolcurriculum; vocational training programsoriented to students with less severehandicaps; lack of interagency cooper-ation.
(4) Identify all the driving forces: forces that alterthe present condition in the desired manner.
Example: Tax incentives; federal legislation; newemployment models; enlightened employers;existence of an ARC.
(5) Estimate the importance and amenability to changeof each of the forces listed. Do this by designa-ting each as H (high), L (low) or U (uncertain)in the appropriate columns to the left of re-straining forces and to the right of the drivingforces. Importance refers to the extent of aforce's influence on maintaining the status quo,resisting change or achieving the change objec-tive. Amenability refers to the extent of aforce's potential for modification, i.e., de-creased if a restraining force or increased if adriving force.
(6) Identify those forces that are considered to beworking forces, because they are high on impor-tance and amenability to change. Circle the num-ber to the left or to the right of those forces(depending on whether they are restraining ordriving forces). These are the principal forcesto be modified or acted upon in a planned changeeffort.
Example: Back-to-basics school curriculum; lackof interagency cooperation; tax incen-tives; new employment models; existenceoi an ARC.
(7) Identify the critical participants who are bestable to influence the working forces in the boxbelow the list of forces. Then indicate by placing
27
37
a letter(s) in the appropriate column to the leftof the restraining forces and to the right of thedriving forces which participant(s) is most likelyto be influential as regards the working forcesidentified.
Example: Director of Special Education;Department of Vocational Rehabilitation;President of Bank; ARC.
This feasibility assessment increases the knowledge ofcritical participants who must be involved in meeting stated TSCobjectives and the working forces likely to be more importantand/or amenable to change. The assessment has answered the twoquestions presented in the overview. Any uncertainty related toa force's importance or amenability to change should not auto-matically result in its exclusion. If there is a perceptionthat this force will be critical to a successful outcome in theimplementation of the objective under review, then effortssimilar to those addressing the identified working forces shouldbe adopted.
Controversy may emerge as to who should be responsible forcarrying out the various TSC objectives. If there is controversyover responsibility, it should be revealed in the course ofconducting a feasibility study. Successful resolution for meet-ing TSC objectives is specifically addressed in Chapter 5 inselecting strategies for establishing a TSC during the implemen-tation stage.
2838
4.0 Formation of a TSC
OVERVIEW
The organizational structure of a TSC should correspond tothe functions described in Chapter 1:
(1) Assist in the location of and access to the mostappropriate combination of services and resources.
(2) Systematically collect, maintain and disseminateinformation on services and resources.
(3) Assist in the development and support of relation-ships among agencies that promote coordinated ser-vices.
(4) Assist in the development of new services and pro-grams.
A successful and comprehensive TSC, able to meet the above fourfunctions, usually involves several agencies and or!anizationsworking together. The underlying assumption is that the deliveryof comprehensive services and pro,:-ams to assist students orclients with mental retardation and other developmental disabil-ities in the transition process requires interagency collabora-tion. As a consequence, such collaboration results in greaterefficiency in the distribution of scarce resources and increasedeffectiveness in the services and programs provided.
GUIDELINES AND PROCEDURES
. choose TSC interorganizational structure
. ensure participation
A. Interorganizational Structure
In Chapter 1, it was stated that a center may be more thana centralized location where services and programs will be pro-vided or it may be a decentralized system of agencies and organi-zations working together for a common purpose. It was furtherstated that either a local ARC, similar agency or combination ofagencies will assume overall administration. The importantfactor is that some level of interorganizational collaboration isrequired among independent agencies and organizations to effect-ively serve the target population. Such collaboration might becompletely at a local level or involve participants in a specificcommunity with, for example, those at a regional or state level.
3929
Two interorganizational structures, contrasted in Exhibit4.1, are proposed for operating a TSC: (1) a formal structure,e.g., center, collaborative, Istem, etc.; and (2) an informalstructure, e.g., coalition, task force, etc.
Under a formal TSC structure one agency is the focal orcentral organization. There is some formal organizing ofagencies, organizations and other participants, and staffing forthe accomplishment of TSC objectives. The participants, forexample, may formally agree that one agency will assume fullresponsibility for the planning and management of a TSC.Similarly, each participant may agree on assuming major responsi-bility for providing other services, e.g., transportation, intakeand diagnosis, case management, marketing. In addition, a major-ity or all participants may agree to support the establishment ofa new service or program that will be shared by all. To illus-trate, a sheltered workshop may wish to establish a subsidiaryprogram which provides gardening and maintenance services on acontract basis. This employment opportunity will become a com-munity resource for other members in the TSC to refer clients. Inreturn, the sheltered workshop may draw upon the marketing andjob development talents of other TSC members.
Decision-making in a formal structure is located with theboard and administrative staff of the central organization; allfinal decisions, however, are subject to ratification by theparticipants where authority ultimately resides. There is moder-ate commitment to the leadership of the central organization.Although the participants are independent, they may agree to adivision of labor which could affect their structure withoutmaking them departments of the TSC. Exhibit 2.5 in Chapter 2suggests several interagency linkage mechanisms, e.g., clientteam, staff outstationing, which modify staff roles and responsi-bilities vis-a-vis staff from other participating TSC agencieswithout the creation of a formal department. An interagencyagreement may be all that is needed.
Under an informal structure, each participant, as in aformal structure, is independent and has its own set of objec-tive: separate from the TSC's. An agency may collaborate on anad hoc basis when there is commonality with other participants inthe community on a TSC objective and, by working together, thereis a greater likelihood of accomplishing it. There is no centralorganization nor TSC staffing. Decision-making evolves from theinteraction of the agencies, organizations and other partici-pants. No single participant has authority over another. Any adhoc division of labor to fulfill common TSC objectives usuallyinvolves a minimum of restructuring of the cooperating partici-pants. Agencies, for example, might form an ad hoc coalitionwhich meets regularly prior to the state legislative session inorder to develop its legislative agenda, strategies and tactics.Lastly, there are no expectations of commitment to the leadershipof any single participant.
Exhibit 4.1
TSC INTERORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURES
Formal Structure
(Center, Collaborative,Consortium, Federation,
System)
Agency B
Agency X
(Organization outsidethe formal structure)
Informal Structure
(Coalition, Task Force)
Agency P
Agency D
.........- Sub -group
41
Agency I
It is important to note that the need for a specific serviceor program may require a significant departure from the waythings currently proceed among TSC participants in the moreformal structure. A more advocate and less collaborative role,for example, may be required of an agency or sub-group to re-spond to the population-in-need. Thus, assisting in the develop-ment of a new program, e.g., supported employment, may necessi-tate independent action on the part of the ARC, another agency,or the development of a coalition of agencies. This informalstructure might include any combination of the current agencies,organizations and other participants in the formal structure,e.g., C, D and ARC or any combination of them with others out-side this TSC structure, e.g., Agencies A, B and X.
There are risks involved in initiating coalitions and taskforces. Perhaps the most obvious risk is the one impacting uponthe formal structure and the ability of all participants to workcollaboratively in the future. The agencies, organizations andother participants demonstrating such independence must assesstheir ability to withstand possible opposition from others inthe formal structure who might view a new program, service ororganization as a threat to their respective program.
Formalized interorganizational collaboration may be estab-lished through interagency agreements described in Chapter 5.These agreements recognize the interdependence among the agen-cies, organizations and others, ensuring their accountability toappropriate funding sources, regulatory bodies and consumers.Roles and responsibilities of the participants are clearly de-fined.
B. Participants
Interagency agreements do not ensure accessibility to theboard of the agency responsible for overall policy formulationand TSC decision-making. One way to ensure that policies anddecisions adequately reflect the needs of the target populationwould be for the board to establish a formal committee on transi-tion. If there is currently a professional advisory committeefor the agency, attention should be given to expanding it toinclude other TSC participants; otherwise, such a committeeshould be developed. Representatives from the business commun-ity, for example, will ensure the inclusion of the employmentsector's perspectives.
Lastly, it is imperative for the ARC and other concernedagencies to ensure that persons with mental retardation or otherdevelopmental disabilities, their families, legal guardians oradvocates are represented. These individuals provide valuableknowledge and insights. Str:h representation should be standardpractice in all agencies anc; organizations serving the targetpopulation.
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5.0 Implementation
OVERVIEW
An implementation plan describes tasks and activities inconcrete terms so that objectives will be accomplished. Up tothis stage in the process of establishing a TSC, a conceptualframework highlighting four major TSC functions has been pre-sented, needs determined, objectives formulated, feasibilityassessed and an organizational structure selected under whicha TSC will operate.
In the current stage in the planning process, programs aredesigned! agencies assigned responsibilities, tasks determinedand people identified to carry them out. A formal implementationplan is written detailing the TSC objectives, strategies andassignment of responsibilities. Timelines are also assigned.The plan should be consistent with the TSC functions and writtenobjectives.
There are numerous ways to effect the transition of studentsfrom school into employment and community living. The foundationfor each student with mental retardation or other developmentaldisability begins with a good Individualized Education Program(IEP) mandated under P.L. 94-142. The planning of appropriatetransition services and programs for these students extendsbeyond the school and is also addressed in other federally-mandated plans such as the Individualized Written RehabilitationPlan (IWRP), Individualized Habilitation Plan (IHP) and the Indi-vidual Service Plan (ISP). The net result of all this planningis often fragmented. Interagency agreements are important waysto ensure a coordinated effort among the various agencies andorganizations in delivering employment-related and other transi-tion services and programs.
GUIDELINES AND PROCEDURES
select strategies to meet objectivesestablish location of responsibilitystaffing
A. Implementation Strategies
There are three major strategies available to all TSCs inthe implementation of their objectives: cooperation, campaign andcontest. In the cooperation strategy, the TSC encounters agree-ment on the objective(s) and its participants work cooperativelyon the objective so that their combined activity will accomplishit. In the campaign strategy, the TSC seeks to bring aboutagreement on its objective(s) with the various participants,
33
43
making a cooperative strategy possible as well as reducing thelikelihood of outright opposition. The TSC may need to modifythe objective; or it may need to offer inducements for coopera-tion so that the objective becomes acceptable on some basis otherthan its own merits. In the contest strategy, agencies, organ-izations, groups and/or individuals in the community are seekingincompatible outcomes and the TSC attempts to defeat oppositionto its objective(s) (Warren, 1971).
Frequently, the implementation of a TSC objective will em-ploy more than one strategy. A campaign strategy, for example,might be called for when an objective involves a redistributionof agency resources (e.g., funds, personnel, facilities) inorder to effectively deliver services and programs to the targetpopulation. In this situation, the agency ma} need to campaignfor the objective, drawing upon its political savvy, bargainingand negotiating talents to reach agreement among the criticalparticipants on services and programs. At the same time, theagency may be required to engage in some level of contest andadvocate for the unmet needs of the target population.
The following three TSC objectives illustrate the strategicoptions available to implement them.
Objective 1:
To work with teachers and school administrators to en-sure that IEPs for students with mental retardationand other developmental disabilities include objec-tives pertaining to vocational preparation and inde-pendent living in the community'.
Strategies:
To provide "X" seminars/workshops on supported employ-ment models for all junior and senior high schoolspecial educators. (Campaign)
To train all special education personnel in the behav-ioral skills needed by a person to successfully func-tion in competitive employment programs and communityliving alternatives. (Cooperation)
The objective evolves from a lack of knowledge by educators inthe community preparing students with mental -retardation andother developmental disabilities for work. Agreement existsamong educators and other critical participants in the communitythat something must be done in making the curriculum morerelevant to increase employment opportunities and fullestintegration into the community. Resources need not be redistri-buted among agencies to meet the objective; rather, agencies needto examine and modify their current budget utilization. Theproposed strategies underscore the need for Interagency coopera-tion.
34 44
Objective 2:
To work with parents to ensure them of their dueprocess rights under Public Law 94-142 when the schooldoes not provide appropriate vocational education.
Strategies:
To appeal decisions made by the school regarding thevocational education placement of students who arehandicapped. (Contest)
To distribute information to parents on their child'srights ender P.L. 94-142. (Campaign)
The objective is a product of the rights to minimum due processstandards in evaluation, classification and educational placementof children who are handicapped. Serious disagreement is some-times encountered between the parents of the student with mentalretardation or other developmental disability and the schooladministration. Resources will probably need to be redistributedor new resources found for providing the additional services andprograms that the school system is either unable or unwillingto provide.
Objective 3:
To work with employers for the purpose of identifyingand creating job opportunities for persons with men-tal retardation and other developmental disabilities.
Strategies:
To educate state and local policymakers on supportedemployment models and the economic benefits of em-ploying adults with mental retardation and other de-velopmental disabilities. (Cooperation/Campaign)
To initiate a supported employment demonstration pro-gram in industry. (Campaign)
The objective is in response to the poor integration of recentgraduates and adults with mental retardation and other develop-mental disabilities into competitive work opportunities. Thereis some disagreement among vocational educators, rehabilitationcounselors and employers over the employment qualifications ofpersons with mental retardation and other developmental disabili-ties. Resources may need to be redistributed and new resourcesfound to generate and disseminate information on employment mod-els, and to promote the supported competitive work concept in ademonstration project.
In sum, strategies emphasizing collaboration should be de-veloped with the intent of encouraging greater cooperation among
35 45
the critical participants. Strategies emphasizing negotiation,bargaining and advocacy should aim at neutralizing or winningover potential opposition to stated objectives.
B. Interagency Agreements and Transitional Planning
A successful TSC depends upon interorganizational collabor-ation. The decision to collaborate encourages formal and infor-mal agreements among participants. Three classes of interagencyagreements have been identified (Audette, 1980):
1. Commitments to baseline standards regarding whodoes what to whom, when, where, how often, underwhose supervision and to whose advantage.
2. Commitments to allocation of public school andother agency resources.
3. Commitments to uniform procedures, forms, andactivities by public schools and other agencies.
Exhibit 5.1 describes the essential elements in interagencyagreements. Agreements may vary in the elements they contain andin their formality. At the local level, ARCs or similar agenciesmay be party to one or more interagency agreements with otherlocal and/or state agencies and organizations responsible foremployment-habilitation programs, community living alternativesand support services. In such agreements, the responsibilitiesof agencies are shaped by their current resources.
One of the essential elements in interagency agreements isdeveloping procedures for planning the needed transition servicesand programs before and soon after a student leaves school.Presently, the IWRP mandated under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973and the IEP mandated under the Education for All HandicappedChildren Act of 1975, are plans responding to supportive rehabil-itation services and vocational education. The IHP under theDevelopmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act andthe ISP under Section 1615 of the Social Security Act, are plansaddressing all service needs important to successful transition.These current individualized planning processes may yield a moreeffective plan with an ARC or similar agency coordinating theseparate agency planning efforts into one comprehensive and inte-grated transition plan. The transition plan should be seen as anintegral piece of the current IEP, IWRP and other plans.
36
46
Exhibit 5.1
ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF INTERAGENCY AGREEMENTS
1. Definitions: When students are evaluated to determinetheir service needs, the public school and other partici-pating agencies use uniform terminology, free of jargon,on all forms to ensure a common understanding of the pro-gram requirements.
2. Forms and formats: When students are evaluated, reportscan be made on a uniform packet of forms. For example,when screening is conducted, all basic informationused by the public school and other agencies will be in-cluded in a single packet of forms, including those forgeneral as well as specialized information.
3. Referral: When students are identified as needing ser-vices, a commitment is made to use a single intake systemto ensure that all necessary services are provided.
4. Entitlements: When individual programs are designed, acommitment is made to coordinate all entitlements forservices offered through various agencies.
5. Complementarity: When individual programs are designed,a commitment is made to ensure that services by the pub-lic school properly mesh with services from other agen-cies.
6. Transitions: When long term individual programs areplanned, public schools and other agencies are committedto respond to automatic triggering mechanisms for cooper-ative effort. For example, the public school and thestate vocational rehabilitation agency agree that when astudent is evaluated for special education services a re-habilitation counselor will participate for purposes ofplanning programs that will be necessary when the studentleaves school.
7. Planning and budgetary calendars: Uniform calendars forplanning and budgeting can be used by participating agen-cies.
8. Coordinated, comprehensive community planning: Variouslyrequired annual and multi-year community and substate re-gional plans can be developed in concert so that contri-butions promised from the public schools and other parti-cipating agencies are included in each plan.
9. Coordinated staff development: Staff who offer similarservices, but in different agencies, can be trained to-gether.
47
10. Fiscal administration: Administrative arrangements canbe made so that payment for services follows the studentand family regardless of which agency provides services.
11. Integrated data base: Information that is collected bythe public school and other participating agencies can bestored in a commonly controlled data system, and can beused by each agency for its own purposes or to assistanother agency.
12. Cooperative evaluations and monitoring: Public schoolsand other participating agencies contribute resources toimplement qualitative evaluation and compliance monitor-ing of their individual and coordinated services.
Source: Audette, R. (1980)
48
C. Staffing
Responsibilities for implementing strategies must be as-signed to specific agencies, organizations, groups and indivi-duals. These tasks, when combined, become the programs andservices that move plans into practice. Exhibit 5.2 describesproposed TSC tasks. Filling any TSC position is certainly sub-ject to the overall functions of the TSC, its specific objectivesand the available manpower in a given community.
The descriptions of the agencies and organizations in theinterorganizational network give some assessment of potential ';'SCstaff. Without the infusion of new funds, the participants in aTSC may need to review and possibly redefine job descriptions ofcurrent staff, recruit volunteers, and provide internships forcollege and graduate students in order to meet the task responsi-bilities for each implementation strategy. The advocacy expertiseof many ARCs and other agencies, for example, might lead them toassume greater responsibilities for TSC campaign strategies. Theinteragency agreements should spell out what are reasonable ex-pectations of staff of participating agencies and organizationsin collaborative TSC efforts.
While many task responsibilities in Exhibit 5.2 (e.g.,enrollment, monitoring, assisting vocational placement) may becurrently addressed by one or more agency or organization, it isdoubtful that the determination of placement alternatives, thecoordination with specialized and generic services, the advocacyfor resource development, and the influencing of policy/regula-tion formulation are being successfully accomplished. In mostcommunities no agency or organization is formally 'esponsible forlinking students or clients with mental retardation and otherdevelopmental disabilities with the larger service system andemployment sector, even though schools sometime assume this re-sponsibility. Operating at the systems-level within a givencommunity may come under the domain of the TSC. A revised jobdescription of a current ARC employee, a newly-funded position oran experienced volunteer located within the TSC is deemed crucialfor accomplishing systems-level tasks and to the broader successof the TSC.
Exhibit 5.3 summarizes the elements in a TSC plan, illustra-ting the flow from TSC function through the formulation of ob-jectives and implementation strategies to the assignment of taskresponsibilities. Only the dates to complete each task and theevaluation design need to be included to complete the implementa-tion plan.
3949
2xhibit 5.2
PROPOSED TSC TASKS FORPARENTS, VOLUNTEERS AND PROFESSIONALS
Enrollment
1. Case finding2. Certification
Monitoring
1. Maintains records2. Information system
input (computer)3. Client progress/
movement documen-tation
Maintenance
1. Appointments2. Errands3. Correspondence4. Recertification
Community livingassistance
1. Medication2. Clothing repair/replace-
ment3. Meal planning/grocery
shopping4. Crisis intervention/
emergency services5. Money usage6. Time awareness and
utilization
Vocational placementassistance
1. Career counseling andguidance
2. Work-adjustmentcounseling
3. Develops and uses sim-ulated job applicationand interview proce-dures
4. Provides and/or coord-inates job placementserrices
5. Trains employers andsupervisors to workeffectively with specialneeds learners on-the-job
Community integrationassistance
1. Recreation/leisure2. Transportation3. Community utilization4. Interpersonal relations
Systems-leveloperation
1. Determines place-ment alternatives
2. Coordinates indi-vidualized tran-sitional planningand services
3. Interfaces withgeneric services
4. Advocates forresource develop-ment
5. Influences formu-lation ofpolicies andregulations
Adapted (with modifications) from: Schalock, R. (1985)
50
Function
(1) As 'la in the location of andaccess to the most appropriatecombination of services and re-sources
(2) Systematically collect andmaintain information on ser-vices and resources
51
Exhibit 5.3
TSC IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
Objective
To work with teachers and schooladministrators to ensure that IEPsfor students with mental retarda-tion and other developmental diaa-bilities include objectives per-taining to vocational preparationand independent ling in thecommunity
To work with parents to ensurethem of their due process rightaunder Public Law 94-142 wherethe school does not provideappropriate vocational education
To work with schools and serviceagencies to develop an informationsystem on current programs andservices for students or clientswith mental retardation and o0-erdevelopmental disabilities
Strategiea
To provide "X" seminars/work-shops on supported competi-tive employment models for alljunior and senior high schoolspecial educators
To train all special educationpersonnel in the behavioralskills needed to successfullyfunction in competitive employ-ment programs and communityliving alterneives.
To appeal decisions made by theschool regarding the vocationaleducation placement of studentswho are handicapped
To distribute to parents infor-mation on their child's rightsunder Public Law 94-142
To train all information and re-ferral personnel in schools and membersservice agencies in the use ofcomputerized information aytems
Assigned Task Responsibilities
School liaison; ARC staff mem-bers; employers
School liaison; professors; orthe-job supervisor; grouphome staff members
Parents; ARC staff and members
ARC staff member
Computer firm; ARC staff and
To provide computer terminals in Computer firm; ARC staffall schools and service agencies
52
Function
(3) Assi .at in the development andsupport of relationships amongagencies that promote coordi-nation of services
(4) Assist in the development ofnew programs and services
Objective
To work with local schools andvocational rehabilitation agencyto promote understanding andagreements which will result inimproved vocational servcies forstudents or clients with mentalretardation and other develop-mental disabilities
To work with employers for pur-poses of identifying and creatingjob opportunities for personswith mental retardation and otherdevelopmental disabilities
Strategies Assigned Task Responsibiliti
To develop interagency agreementon roles and responsibilities ofschool and vocational rehabili-tation agency upon graduationfrom high school of studentswith mental retardation andother developmental disabilities
To involve vocational rehabili-tation agency in a formalizedtransitional planning processfor each student with mentalretardation or other develop-mental disability
To educate state and localpolicymakers and employers onsupported employment models andeconomic benefits of employingadults with mental retardationand other developmental d.sa-bilities
To initiate a supported employ-ment project in industry
Superintendent; Director ofVocational Rehabilitation
Director of Special Educa-tion; ARC staff; Directorof / ocational Rehabilita-tion office
Vocational educators; ARCstaff members; researchers
Employers; ARC staff mem-ber; Job coach
6.0 Evaluation
OVERVIEW
Throughout this handbook the stages in establishing a TSChave been referenced to its four principal functions:
(1) Assist in the location of and access to the mostappropriate combination of services and re-sources.
(2) Systematically collect and maintain informationon services and resources.
(3) Assist in the development and support of rela-tionships among agencies that promote c.cordi-nated services.
(4) Assist in the development of new programs andservices.
The proposed TSC objectives provide greater specification ofthese functions. In the evaluation stage, one assesses whetherthe TSC objectives have been met. The information generated fromevaluating these objectives, and their strategies for implementa-tion, can be used to enhance the internal management, planningand delivery of services and programs in a TSC.
Frequently, an ARC or similar agency will be required by itscurrent funding sources (e.g., federal agency, United Way) todocument the effects of its services and programs on studentsor clients with mental retardation and other developmentaldisabilities. Successfully demonstrated results should lendsignificant credibility to the agency responsible for implement-ing the TSC objectives. The evaluation could be designed todemonstrate immediate benefits tc the target population. Suchcredibility may yield increased funds from current and newfunding sources interested in one or more TSC objectives. Moreextended outcome evaluations are also useful to demonstrate bene-fits over time.
Prior to evaluation, there should be agreement between theTSC participants and the evaluator on the TSC objectives. Other-wise, the evaluation results can be legitimately questioned asbeing inconclusive. Administrators, for instance, could say thatthe program was not designed with the evaluator's objectives inmind. Differences in political philosophies and interventionstrategies among funding agencies and their recipients couldprovoke staff resistance to evaluation efforts. This might leadto reduction in funds, regardless of the merits of the program.Recognizing such possible barriers to evaluation at the outset,and properly attpading to them, should reduce many harmfuleffects (Weiss, 1972)'.
43 55
GUIDELINES AND PROCEDURES
A
. Select evaluator
. Construct evaluation design
A. Selecting an Evaluator
The first concern in evaluation is determining what you wantto know. The second is determining how to obtain the informa-tion; that is, the evaluation design. In both instances, thepresence of an evaluator will enhance the process. Should theevaluator come from within the organization or should the organi-zation hire an external evaluator to either perform the evalua-tion or act as a consultant? The possibility of the organiza-tion's performing its own evaluation increases with the avail-ability of existing evaluation instruments; and volunteers tomonitor and collect information. If, however, the problem ofevaluation becomes increasingly complex, it may be necessary togo outside the organization to select an evaluator. At a mini-mum, the evaluator should have demonstrated competence irt conduc-ting evaluations and substantive knowledge of the specific areaof evaluation.
B. Evaluation Design
The design for evaluating the services and programs of a TSCincludes the evaluation question, the part of the service orprogram to which the evaluation question refers (i.e., input,process, outcome), the information need, the source of informa-tion, and data collection and analysis (Yavorsky, undated). Exhi-bit 6.1 presents these elements with the exception of data col-lection and analysis. They correspond to several objectives andimplementation strategies under the TSC function of assisting inthe development of new programs and services for studentsor clients with mental retardation and other developmental disa-bilities.
The evaluation questions must encompass concrete, measurablephenomena which describe the kind of performance informationsought for each TSC objective. For example, questions based uponthe TSC objective of working with employers for purposes ofidentifying and creating job opportunities for persons with men-tal retardation and other developmental disabilities might in-clude:
(1) At the input level: how many and what type ofeducational programs have been initiated forstate and local policymakers and employers onsupported employment models and the economic
44 56
Exhibit 6.1
TSC EVALUATION DESIGN
TSC Function: Assist in the deve-opmnent of new programs and services for students or clients with mental retardationand other developmental disabilities
Objective Strategies
To create job opportunities To educate state and localfor persona with mental re- policymakers and employers ontardation and other develop- supported employment modelsmental disabilities. and the economic benefits of
employing adults with mentalretardation and other de-velopmental disabilities.
To work with students orclients for purposes ofincreasing job oppor-tunities
57
To train clients in jobsearch skills
Evaluation Questions
Input:How many and what types ofeducational programs havebeen initiated for stateand local policymakers andemployers on supported em-ployment models, and theeconomic benefits of em-ploying the target pop-ulation?
Process:Do employers utilize know-ledge obtained on tax in-centives when developingnew jobs?
Outcome:Have employment opportuni-ties increased afterstate and local policy-makers and employers ex-perienced an educationalprogram?
Input:How many and what types ofjob search training pro-grams have been initiatedfor clients?
Process:Do clients utilize jobsearch skills when search-ing for jobs?
Outcome:Do clients have a higherrate of employment afterutilizing this trainingprogram?
Information Need
The program planners haveagreed that educatingstate and local policy-makers and employers is anecessity for increasingjob opportunities.
The information needed isthat information whichprovide evidence that in-dividuals attending educa-tional programs understandthe material presented;that employers bee the taxincentives in developingnew jobs; that employershire persons with mentalretardation and other dev-elopmental disabilities;and policymakers work tocontinue these tax incen-tives.
The TSC staff will utilizethis information to improvethe design and content ofthe educational program.
The program planners haveagreed that improved jobsearch skills is anecessity for clientemployability.
The information needed isthat information which willindicate the number and typeof job search training pro-grams provided: the clientsin attendance; what jobsearch skills taught areused by clients; the employ-ment rate of these clients.
The TSC staff will utilizethis information to deter-mine which job search train-ing programs to continue.
Source ofInformation
Direct observationby the evaluator;survey of state andlocal policymakersand employers; re-cords of attendanceat educational pro-grams; voting re-cords; employmentstatistics.
Direct observationby the evaluator;employment records:report of thetrainers
58
benefits of employing the target population?
(2) At the process level: do employers utilizeknowledge obtained on tax incentives when de-veloping new jobs?
(3) At the outcome level: have employment oppor-tunities increased after the state and localpolicymakers and employers experienced an ed-ucational program?
Input refers to the amount and distribution of resources; processrefers to how these resources are utilized; and outcome refers tothe extent of service or program effectiveness. In the aboveexamples, reference is being made to an educational program atthe input level; utilization of knowledge at the process level;and employment opportunities at the outcome level.
Frequently, the student or client will be the focal point atthe input, process and outcome levels of evaluation. For exam-ple, the objective of working with students or clients for thepurpose of increasing job opportunities may be refined into astrategy which trains clients in job search skills. The evalua-tion questions asked might include:
(1) At the input level: how many and what type ofprograms pertaining to job search skills havebeen initiated for clients?
(2) At the process level: do clients utilize jobsearch skills when searching for jobs?
(3) At the outcome level: do clients have a higherrate of employment after utilizing this program?
In order to justify an evaluation question, the informationneed is described. It includes a rationale for the question,types of information needed to answer the question and how theinformation will be used. The documentation is illustrated withthe first objective - to work with employers for purposes ofidentifying and creating job opportunities for persons with men-tal retardation and other developmental disabilities:
(1) Rationale for the question: the program plan-ners have agreed that educating state and localpolicymakers and employers is necessary for in-creasing job opportunities.
(2) Types of information needed: the informationneeded is that information which will provideevidence that individuals attending educationalprograms understand the material presented; thatemployers use the tax incentives in developing
46 59
1
new jobs; that employers hire persons withmental retardation and other developmental disa-abilities; and that policymakers work to con-tinue these tax incentives.
(3) Method of utilization: the TSC staff will util-ize this information to improve the design andcontent of the educational program.
A listing of the sources of information acts as a guidelinefor a realistic approach to evaluation. In the first examplepresented above, the information may be obtained through suchsources as direct observation by the evaluator, survey of legis-lators and employers, records of attendance at educational pro-grams, etc. If the source of information is unavailable due tocost or inaccessibility, the evaluation question must be modi-fied or discarded.
The final aspect of the evaluation design is informationcollection and analysis. The ARC or similar agency should assumeresponsibility for coordinating the collection of data. Thisresponsibility assists in completing one of the four TSC func-tions: systematically collect and maintain information on ser-vices and resources available to meet the needs of students orclients with mental retardation and other developmental disabili-ties. The evaluation supplements the information collected dur-ing the needs assessment and may result in a revision of the TSCobjectives. Simple descriptive analysis (e.g., tabulations,frequencies, correlations) can be complEted by staff or membersof an agency and used to answer many evaluation questions. Thetype of evaluation questions which have been presented here arewithin the capabilities of most ARCs or similar agencies. Thefindings can influence moderate changes in the operations of aTSC.
647
0
References
Association for Retarded Citizens of the United States. Positionstatements on programmatic issues. Arlington, TX: ARC ofUnited States, 1984.
Audette, R. H. Interagency collaboration: The bottom line. In:J. Elder & P. Magrab (eds.), Coordinating services to handi-capped children: A handbook for integrating collaboration.Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co., 1980.
Bellamy, G. T. & Wilcox, B. Secondary education for severelyhandicapped students: Guidelines for quality service. InK. Lynch, W. Kiernan, J. Stark (eds.), Prevocational andvocational education for special needs youth: A blueprintfor the 1980s. Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co., 1982.
Brown, L., et al. Longitudinal transition plans in programs forseverely handicapped students. Exceptional Children, 1981,47, 624-630.
Cox, J. L., et al. An exploration of issues regarding transi-tion services for handicapped students in secondary schools.Volume II, Phase I: Preliminary Study. Research TrianglePark, North Carolina: Center for Educational Studies, Re-search Triangle Institute, 1984.
Delahanty, D. S. & Atkins, G. L. Strategic local planning: Acollaborative model. Washington, D.C.: Project SHARE, De-partment of Health and Human Services, 1981.
Halpern, A. S. Transition: A look at the foundations. Excep-tional Children, 1985, 51, 479-486.
Lakin, K. C. & Bruininks, R. H. Contemporary services for handi-capped children and youth. In: R. H. Bruininks & K. C.Lakin (eds.), Living and learning in the least restrictiveenvironment. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.,1985.
Lauffer, A. Assessment tools for practitioners, managers andtrainers. Beverly Hills: Sage Publications, 1982.
Rights of passage: Final report of the task force on the tran-sition from school to work for Montgomery County studentswith disabilities. Rockville, MD: Montgomery County Pub-lic Schools and Montgomery County Government, 1985.
Schalock, R. L. Comprehensive community services: A plea forinteragency collaboration. In R. H. Bruininks & K. C. Lakin(eds.), Living and learning in the least restrictive environ-ment. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co., 1985.
4861
Schalock, R. L. Training in the natural environment: Criticalissues related to training techniques, manpower utilizationand program evaluation. TASH Journal. In press.
The seventh annual report to Congress on the implementation ofthe education of the handicapped act. Washington, D.C.:U.S. Department of Education/OSERS, 1985.
U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. Accommodating the spectrum ofindividual abilities. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Commission onCivil Rights, 1983.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Initiative forthe employment of developmentally disabled persons: A factsheet. Washington, D.C.: Human Development Services, U.S.Department of Health and Human Services, undated.
Warren, R. Truth, love, and social change. Chicago: Rand McNally& Co., 1971.
Wehman, P., et al. From school to work: A vocational transitionmodel for handicapped students. Virginia Commonwealth Uni-versity: Rehabilitation Research and Training Center,Schoolof Education, undated paper.
Weiss, C. H. Evaluating educational and social action programs:A "treeful of owls." In: C. H. Weiss (ed.), Evaluatingaction programs: Readings in social action and education.Boston: Allyn and Bacon, Inc., 1972.
Will, M. Bridges from school to working life. Programs for thehandicapped. Washington, D.C.: The Office of SpecialEducation and Rehabilitative Services, Office of Informa-tion and Resources for the Handicapped, Mar/Apr 1984(a).
Will, M. Youth with disabilities: The transition years. Pro-grams for the handicapped. The Office of Special Educa-tion and Rehabilitative Services, Office of Information andResources for the Handicapped, Sept/Oct 1984(b).
Williams, L., et al. Social cervices planning manual. State Uni-versity of New York at Albany: Continuing Education Program,School of Social Welfare, 1976.
Yavorsky, D. K. Discrepancy evaluation: A practitioner's guide.University of Virginia Evaluation Research Center, Divisionof Personnel Preparation of the Bureau of Education for theHandicapped. USOE, undated.
Zeller, R.W. Direction service: Collaboration one case at atime. In: J. Elder & P. Magrab (eds.), Coordinating ser-vices to handicapped children: A handbook for integratingcollaboration. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.,1980.
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Readings
Association for Retarded Citize.ts of the United States. Job de-velopment workshop trainer's manual. Arlington, TX: ARC ofthe United States, 1982.
Association for Retarded Citizens of the United States. Makingjob opportunities for mentally retarded people a reality.Arlington, TX: ARC of the United States, 1980.
Association for Retarded Citizens of the United States. Transi-tional Service Centers. Assisting students with develop-mental disabilities into employment and community life: Aworkshop trainer's guide. Arlington, TX: ARC of the UnitedStates, 1986.
Chapter 688 (The "Turning 22" Law) implementation: Guidelines andinstructions for local school districts. Boston: ExecutiveOffice of Human Services/Bureau of Transitional Planning,1984.
Cohen, M. Learning to work: Transitioning youth with develop-mental disabilities. Oakland, CA: Steppingstones GrowthCenter, 1984.
Cooperative programs for transition from school to work. Wash-ington, D.C.: U. S. Department of Education/OSERS, 1985.
Corthell, D. W. Continuum cf services: School to work. Univer-sity of Wisconsin-Sto,A: Research and Training Center, 1984.
Corthell, D.W. Marketing: An approach to placement. Universityof Wisconsin-Stout: Research and Training Center, 1982.
Ellien, V. and Vandergoot, D. A supported work approach: Em-ployer-based rehabilitation facilities services.Washington, D.C.: National Association of RehabilitationFacilities, 1985.
Horton, B., et al. The adult transition model: Planning for post-school services. University of Washington: Child Develop-ment and Mental Retardation Center, undated.
Kiernan, W. and Stark, 3. (eds.), Pathways to employment for de-developmentally disabled adults. Baltimore: Paul H. BrookesPublishing Co., 1986.
Lakin, K. C. and Bruininks, R. H. (ecs.), Strategies for achiev-ing community integration of developmentally disabled cit-izens. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co., 1985.
McCarthy, H. (ed.), Complete guide to employing persons with dis-abilities. Albertson, NY: Human Resources Center, 1985.
50
63
Miller, J., et al. Career development for handicapped students.Alexandria, VA: ERIC Document Reproduction Service, 1982.
Moon, S., et al. The supported work model of competitive employ-ment for citizens with severe handicaps: A guide for jobtraining. Virginia Commonwealth University: RehabilitationResearch and Training Center, 1985.
Wehman, P. and Hill, J. (eds.). Competitive employment for per-sons with mental retardation: From research to practice(Volume I). Virginia Commonwealth University: Rehabilita-tion Research and Training Center, 1985.
Whitehead, C. Guidelines for evaluating, reviewing and enhancingemployment-related services for people with developmentaldisabilities. Washington, D.C.: National Association ofDevelopmental Disabilities Councils, 1985.
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Appendix A
TRANSITIONAL SERVICE CENTERS
Chapter
ARC-Philadelphia2350 W.WestmorelandPhiladelphia, PA 19140215/229-4550
Charles River ARCE. Militia HeightsP.O. Box 169Needham, MA 02192617/444-4347
ARC of South Middlesex705 Waverly StreetFramingham, MA 01701617/879-6364
South Shore ARC371 River StreetBox 58North Weymouth, MA 02191617/335-3023
ARC-Wake County1100 Wake Forest RoadRaleigh, NC 27604919/832-2660
Macon-Bibb ARC4664 Sheraton DriveMacon, GA 31210912/477-4473
Executive Director President
E. A. Gentile
Paul D. Merritt
William H. Garr
Leo V. Sarkissian
George Horowitz
George Smith
Cheryl L. Smith
Maria Plante
Sherry Grant Jo Hughes
Helen Glawson
Multi-County collaborative effort including:
ARC of Ottawa County246 S. River AvenueHolland, MI 49423616/396-1201
ARC of Kent County1331 Lake Drive, S.E.Grand Rapids, MI 49506616/459-3339
ARC of Allegan CountyP.O. Box 32Allegan, MI 49010616/673-8841
T. LynnDavis III
Steve Redmond Lynn Ihrman
Andrew E. Sugar
5265
Matthew P.Woudenberg
Robin Melvin
TRANSITIONAL SERVICE CENTERS
Chapter
ARC-RichardsonP.O. Box 830953Richardson, TX 75083214/644-1644
ARC-Pierce County402 Tacoma Ave., SouthSuite 100Tacoma, WA 98402206/383-2643
Opportunity VillageARC307 West Charleston Blvd.Las Vegas, NV 89102702/384-8170
Executive Director
Stan Baxter
Gerald J. Allen
53 66
President
Sharon Bush
AnnetteSchuchmann-B
Steve Mill er
shop
Appendix B
ARC POSITION STATEMENTS
Position re: Productivity
The ARC believes that the vast majority of persons who arementally retarded have the capability, or can be prepared, toenter the competitive labor market or to perform in well-paidsheltered work situations, earning at least the minimum wage.Adults with mental retardation must be provided the opportunityto receive appropriate vocational training, to receive assistancein securing appropriate employment and to participate in realwork.
Movement into more work-oriented programs should be an on-going goal. In this regard, the ARC believes that vocationalprograms must be planned and conducted in a manner consistentwith the jobs that exist in the community as well as those thatare likely to be available in the future.
Incentives should be provided to employers who offer employ-ment opportunities to persons with mental retardation. Examplesof incentives are reimbursement or tax deductions to employersfor excess costs in initial employment, on-the-job training, oradaptation of the job or work place.
The ARC supports the concepts of work stations in industry.The developers of work stations in industry attest to the impor-tance of built-in normal setting expectations and the crucialrole of non-handicapped individuals as "model workers." Alsoessential are appropriate training technology, job analysis, andadaptive devices for workers who find learning job tasks moredifficult when customary methods are used.
The ARC strongly encourages the use of high technology toincrease employment opportunities for adults who are mentallyretarded through the adaptation of machinery, job redesign andthe control of health and safety factors. Employment opportuni-ties for persons who are mentally retarded can be greatly in-creased if emphasis is placed on wide dissemination and utiliza-tion of new technology in both competitive and sheltered set-tings.
Work-ready persons who are mentally retarded should not bedenied access to government-sponsored employment and job programssimply because they are mentally retarded. Government-sponsoredwork retraining programs should be open to individuals who arementally retarded who are otherwise capable of working.
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Position re: The Role of Work Activity Centers and RegularWorkshops in Vocational Training
Regardless of the severity of the handicapping condition,all persons who are mentally retarded should be provided theopportunity for work related training. Individuals who are men-tally retarded should enter the training program most suited totheir needs.
Workshops should develop a wide variety of training and workopportunities to maximize work skills, pay and placement inoutside employment. Transitional training prog,7ams or extendedsheltered employment in workshops should be designed to offer awide variety of tasks and opportunities and systematic advance-ment from simple to complex job situations.
Existing practice (regulations) should be modified to permitemployees in work activity centers to be integrated with employ-ees in regular workshops to enhance opportunities for increasedproductivity of both groups. Attitudes and program approacheshave shifted to the point where requiring segregation of workersinto separate activity centers and regular workshops is neitherjustifiable on programmatic grounds nor practical on grounds ofefficient use of resources. Whatever the setting, individualswith mental retardation should receive vocational and other hab-i1itative services based on their individual needs. They shouldbe able to participate in a common program without segregatinglower producing from higher producing workers.
Services should be provided which emphasize training forwork to increase productivity of all individuals with mentalretardation. These individuals should receive vocational train-ing that prepares them for jobs that will be available followingthe training. Placements should be selectively based on anindividual's projected capabilities, not on what job happens tobe most available.
Workshop managers who lack business skills should haveavailable to them consultation and training to develop improvedbusiness and production methods. Any business competing in theopen market must maintain the technology necessary for efficientoperations and productivity.
Position re: Wages
The ARC believes that adequate safeguards, including stand-ards and enforcement procedures, should be established and im-plemented to protect sheltered workshop employees from economicexploitation. Wages must be commensurate with those paid forsimilar work performed by non-disabled workers. To this end,workshops must submit to periodic outside evaluations. The per-iodic reviews should ensure that piece rates are based on reason-able production standards, hourly rates are based on adequateproduction evaluations, and prevailing wage rates are adequatelydocumented.
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The Department of Labor should review its special exemptionpolicies to ascertain if disincentives exist which prevent work-ers from increasing their productivity.
Persons whose productivity, after completing training andbeing given appropriate supports and accommodations, is not suf-ficient to justify a competitive living wage, should have theirincomes supplemented through the income maintenance and associ-ated health care systems. Financial supplementation should beprovided in a manner that rewards efforts to work and encourageachievement. The Department of Health and Human Services shouldreview its relevant programs (e.g., the various titles within theSocial Security Act) to ascertain if those programs create disin-centives for persons with mental retardation for full employmentopportunities.
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Appendix C
MAJOR FUNDING PROGRAMS FOR ADULTS WITHDEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES
Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
Title XVI of the Social Security Act, as amended in 1974,authorizes Supplemental Security Income (SSI), a need-based pro-gram for the blind, aged or disabled. Disability is defined as aphysical or mental impairment which prevents a person from doingany substantial gainful activity and is expected to last for acontinuous period of at least 12 months or result in death. Inaddition to the presence of a disabling condition, an individualhas to show low income and possess few assets to quality forbenefits. States may elect to supplement the basic Federal SSIpayment. Under Section 1615 of the Act, adult beneficiariesunder age 65 must be referred to the state vocational rehabilita-tion agency.
Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI)
Section 202(d) of Title II of the Social Security Act of1935 (as amended in 1956 and 1971) provides Social Securitybenefits to the children of workers who either are receivingSocial Security retirement or disability insurance benefits ordied and were insured for Social Security benefits at the time ofdeath. After these children become age 18, they can receivebenefits as adult disabled children if they are under a disabil-ity which began before age 22.
Section 222 of the Act requires that all individuals who areentitled as adult disabled children to be referred to the statevocational rehabilitation agency. In addition, this section ofthe statute authorizes the transfer of funds from the DisabilityTrust Fund to state vocational rehabilitation agencies in orderto reimburse such agencies for the provision of certain rehabili-tation services provided to disabled Title II beneficiaries.
Grants to States for Medical Assistance (Medicaid)
The 1965 amendments to the Social Security Act authorizedgrants-in-aid to states for the establishment of Medical Assist-ance (Medicaid) programs. Eligibility is based on financialneed. Handicapped individuals may be eligible, if they meet thefollowing criteria: (1) Categorically needy. States must covera) all persons receiving cash benefits under Title IV-A of theAct (Supplemental Security Income) or at least, those who meetadditional, more restrictive Medicaid-eligible conditions set bythe particular state; (2) Medically needy. In addition, statesmay elect to cover certain groups of people who have higherincomes, but still cannot afford needed medical assistance. A
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separate income level is established for these groups. TheFederal share of reimbursable costs ranges from 50 to 78 percent,according to a formula which takes into account the state's percapita income.
o Intermediate Care Facilities for the Mentally Retarded(ICF/MR)
In 1971, amendments to Title XIX (P.L. 92-223) authorizedMedicaid reimbursement for intermediate care facilities(ICF). Public institutions for the mentally retarded canbe certified as ICFs if (1) the primary purpose of the in-stitution, or distinct part thereof, is the provision ofhealth or rehabilitation services to the mentally retarded;(2) institutional residents participating in the programare receiving "active treatment"; (3) the facility is incompliance with HHS standards; and (4) states are main-taining their prior level of state-local fiscal support forfacilities certified as ICF/MRs.
o Community-Based Care Waivers
The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981 (P.L. 97-35)added a new provision to Title XIX of the Social SecurityAct (Section 1915(c)), granting the Secretary of Health andHuman Services authority to approve home and community-based care waivers.
These waivers permit states to finance, through the federal-state Medicaid program, non-institutional services forelderly and disabled persons who otherwise would require in-stitutional care.
Social Security Disability Amendments of 1980(Public Law 96-265)
Section 201(a) of P.L. 96-265 adds Section 1619 to Title XVIof the Social Security Act, providing "Benefits for IndividualsWho Perform Substantial Gainful Activity Despite Severe MedicalImpairment". The purpose of Section 1619(a) is to protect andcontinue the SSI benefits portion of the total income of thatdisabled recipient whose work earnings would normally cancel outbasic S3I benefits, even though he or she remains severely im-paired. Without this protection, a recipient would lose benefitsthe month after the second month of earning at the SGA level.Instead, 1619(a) continues the SSI benefits as an incentive forthe recipient to continue working. Benefits are paid on thebasis of a formula until earnings reach $713 per month for aneligible individual and $1,029 per month for an eligible couple(1984 levels). At that "breakeven" point, all SSI benefitscease. People who receive the special benefits continue to beeligible for Medicaid on the same basis as regular SSI reci-pients. States have the option of supplementing the federalbenefit standard.
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Under 1619(b), a blind or disabled person continues to beeligible for Medicaid even if his or her income is at or abovethe "breakeven" point (and he or she is no longer getting SSIbenefits), if it is determined under regulations that the person(1) would be seriously inhibited in continuing employment throughloss of Medicaid eligibility, and (2) does not have earnings highenough to allow him or her to provide a reasonable equivalent ofthe SSI benefits and Medicaid he or she would have in the absenceof earnings.
Section 505 of P.L. 96-265 directs the Secretary of DHHS todevelop and carry out experimental projects designed to determinea more effective way of (a) encouraging SSDI disabled beneficia-ries to return to work and leave the benefit rolls, and (b)improving administration of the SSI program. For example, suchexperimental projects might include a) permitting some benefitseven when earnings exceed the "substantial gainful activity"limit; b) extending the benefit eligibility period that follows 9months of trial work, perhaps coupled with benefit reductionsrelated to earnings; c) extending Medicare enticlement for se-verely impaired beneficiaries who return to work, even thoughthey may no longer be entitled to monthly cash benefits; d)altering the initial 24-month waiting period for Medicare enti-tlements; and e) stimulating new forms of rehabilitation.
Final regulations for Section 505(b) published in the Fed-eral Register (Vol 48, No. 37) on 23 February, 1983, also includean amendment to the Code of Federal Regulations providing that"If, as a result of participation in a project under this sec-tion, a project participant becomes ineligible for Medicaid bene-fits, the Secretary shall make arrangements to extend Medicaidcoverage to such participant and shall reimbuse the states forany additional expenses incurred due to such continued participa-tion."
Title XX of the Social Security Act
Title XX of the Social Security Act authorizes block grantsto help states provide a broad range of social services to reci-pients of public assistance and other low-income individuals andfamilies, including the handicapped. In particular, Title XXenables states to a) help individuals achieve or maintain econo-mic self-support, thereby preventing, reducing or eliminatingdependency; b) help individuals achieve or maintain self-suffi-ciency; c) prevent or remedy neglect, abuse, or exploitation ofchildren and adults unable to protect their own interests; d)preserve, rehabilitate or reunite families; e) prevent or reduceinappropriate institutional care by providing for community-basedcare, home-based care, or other forms of less intensive care; f)secure referral or admission to institutional care when otherforms of care are not appropriate; or g) provide services toindividuals in institutions.
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Title XX funds also can be used for a) training workersdirectly responsible for the prov!sion of social services fundedunder the act and b) educational institutions preparing studentsfor social services employment.
Developmental Disabilities Assistance andBill of Rights Act (1970)
(Public Law 91-517)
The Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of RightsAct authorizes grant support for planning, coordinating and deli-vering specialized services to persons with developmental disabi-lities. The specific purposes of this title are (a) to assist inthe provision of comprehensive services to persons with develop-mental disabilities, with priority to those persons whose needscannot be covered or otherwise met under the Education for AllHandicapped Children Act, the Rehabilitation Act of 1978, orother health, education, or welfare programs;( b) to assistStates in appropriate planning activities; (c) to make grants toStates and public and private, nonprofit agencies to establishmodel programs, to demonstrate innovative habilitation tech-niques, and to train professional and paraprofessional personnelwith respect to providing services to persons with developmentaldisabilities; (d) to make grants to university affiliated facili-ties to assist them in administering and operating demonstrationfacilities for the provision of services to persons with develop-mental disabilities, and interdisciplinary training programs furpersonnel needed to provide specialized services for these per-sons; and (e) to make grants to support a system in each State toprotect the legal and human rights of all persons with develop-mental disabilities.
Rehabilitation Act of 1973(Public Law 93-112)
The Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, authorizes Fed-eral support for training and placing meltally and physicallyhandicapped persons into remunerative employment. The Act de-fines the term "handicapped individual" to mean "any individualwho (1) has a physical or mental disability which for such indi-vidual constitutes or results in a substantial handicap to em-ployment; and (2) can reasonably be expected to benefit fromvocational rehabilitation services provided."
Title I of the Act authorizes formula grants to designatedstate vocational rehabilitation agencies to provide basic rehab-ilitation services such as counseling, referral, training, physi-cal and mel,tal restoration services, transportation, placement,and income maintenance during the rehabilitation period. Statevocational rehabilitation agencies are directed to give priorityto serving "those individuals with the most severe handicaps."
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For each individual served, state agencies must design anindividualized written rehabilitation program (IWRP), jointlydeveloped by the rehabilitation counselor and handicapped indivi-dual. FY 1980 appropriations for the developmentally disabledwere $110 million.
Title VI of the Act establishes three special programs aimedat enhancing employment opportunities for handicapped persons(1) The Community Services Employment Pilot Program providescommunity employment to handicapped persons referred by statevocational rehabilitation agencies. (2) Projects with industryenables the Federal Government to enter into agreements withindividual employers and others to establish jointly financedprojects that deliver training and employment services to phys-ically and mentally handicapped persons in a realistic work set-ting. (3) Section 622 established a program to expand opportuni-ties for handicapped persons to open small businesses.
Part A of Title VII authorizes formula grants to statevocational rehabilitation agencies for the provision of indepen-dent living services (counseling, housing, transportation, jobplacements, etc.), with priority given to disabled persons notcurrently served by other programs under the Rehabilitation orDevelopmental Disabilities Act. Part B authorizes RSA to makegrants to vocational rehabilitation agencies to establish andoperate centers for independent living.
Education for all Handicapped Children Act of 1975(Public Law 94-142)
The Education for all Handicapped Children Act of 1975requires participating states to furnish all handicapped childrenwith a free, appropriate public education in the least restric-tive setting. In addition to formula grants to the states, thelegislation authorizes an array of discretionary grant programsaimed at stimulating improvements in educational services forhandicapped children. Included are grant programs designed topromote the recruitment and training of special education person-nel, the conduct of research and demonstration projects, and thedevelopment and dissemination of instructional materials.
Targeted jobs Tax Credit (TJTC)
The Targeted Jobs Tax Credit (authorized by the InternalRevenue Code of 1954, Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981, and TaxEquity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982) is an electiveincome tax credit that can be applied to the wages private em-ployers pay to ten targeted groups of employees including 1) SSIrecipients; 2) general assistance recipients; 3) handicappedpersons referred by state vocational rehabilitation or VeteransAdministration programs; 4) 18 to 24 year-olds from economicallydisadvantaged families; 5) economically disadvantaged Vietnam eraveterans; 6) 16-19 year-olds from economically disadvantagedfamilies who participate in a qualified cooperative educationprogram; 7) economically-disadvantaged ex-offenders; 8) recip-
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ients of Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) andparticipants in the Work Incentive (WIN) program; 9) involuntar-ily terminated CETA employees hired before January 1, 1983; and10) economically disadvantaged 16-17 year old new summer youthemployees.
Except in the case of economically disadvantaged summeryouth employees (for whom the credit is 85 percent of up to$3,000) the credit is 50 percent of first year wages up to $6,000per employee and 25 percent of second year wages up to $6,000.
Job Training Partnership Act of 1982(Public Law 97-300)
The Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) authorizes job pre-paration and job training for people who are economically dis-advantaged and for people who face serious barriers to employ-ment. Emphasis is placed on the achievement of goals to increasethe employment of participants and to reduce dependency.
Under the JTPA Act, funds go from the Federal government tothe Governors of each state. Each Governor appoints a State JobTraining Coordinating Council to propose designated Service Deli-very Areas (SDA) for the dispersal of all funds, including dis-cretionary funds. The chief locally elected officials in eachSDA consider nominations from various agencies in the SDA andthen appoint a Private Industry Council (PIC) to develop a jobtraining plan for spending the JTPA funds.
Under JTPA individuals with handicaps are required to meetincome eligibility criteria in order to be eligible for servicesand this factor has limited the participation of individuals inthe program. However, this eligibility requirement may be waivedby considering an individual with a handicap as a "family of one"even when he/she is living with a family whose income exceeds thedesignated guidelines. In this case, only the individual's in-come would be considered in determining eligibility. The incomeeligibility criteria can also be waived when up to 10 percent ofthe program participants in a service delivery area may be indi-viduals who are not economically disadvantaged but have a barrierto employment such as physical or mental handicap.
JTPA has given the business community greater responsibilityin designing and operating the program. A majority of the mem-bership and the chairperson of each SDA's Private Industry Coun-cil (PIC) must represent business and industry. Furthermore,rehabilitation agencies and community-based organizations arespecifically mentioned for membership on the PICs and on theState Job Training Coordinating Councils. Representation ofeducation and rehabililtation agencies are required on the PICs.
In evaluating the impact of JTPA the President's Committeeon Employment of the Handicapped and a project at the Universityof Wisconsin have found evidence that participation of indivi-dgals with disabilities in JTPA has been quite restricted. This
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may be due in part to the fact that PICs are not required todetail the procedures necessary to meet the employment needs ofpersons with handicaps. On the other hand, PICs are required toestablish performance standards which become the criteria used inprogram evaluation. The standards are often rigid, failing torecognize the unique needs of individuals with handicaps. Thiscan lead to a "creaming effect" in the selection of participants.
Source: Whitehead, C. Guidelines for evaluating, reviewing andenhancing employment-related services for people withdevelopmental disabilities. Washington, D.C.: NationalAssociation of Developmental Disabilities Councils, 1985.
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Appendix D
SUPPORTED EMPLOYMENT INITIATIVE OF FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
Interagency Agreement BetweenThe Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services
And the Office of Human Development Services
A. Purpose
The purpose of this interagency agreement is to expandemployment opportunities for persons with disabilities.
B. Background
The Department of Education received a $4.2 million FY 1985appropriation from Congress to impleLlent a supported employmentinitiative under Section 311(a)(1) of the Rehabilitation Act of1973, as amended. This initiative seeks to stimulate thedevelopment and provision of supported work for persons withsevere disabilities on a Statewide basis. The Office of SpecialEducation and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) will be issuingregulations and a program announcement to open competition forapproximately 8-10 grants. The grant period is expected to befive years.
The Development Disabilities Act of 1984 (P.L. 98-527)recognizes the importance of employment as a means of achievingindependence, productivity and integration into the communityby persons with developmental disabilities. "Employment-RelatedActivities" was added to the Act as a mandated service priorityarea including transitional employment and supported workactivities.
The OSERS Supported Work Initiative is closely related to HDS'initiative to expand private sector employment opportunities forpersons with developmental disabilities. Supported employmentis defined as paid work in a variety of integrated settings,particularly regular worksites, especially designed forseverely handicapped individuals, irrespective of age orvocational potential:
o For whom competitive employment at or above the minimum wagehas not traditionally occurred; and
o Who, because of their disability, need intensive ongoingpost - employment support to perform in a work setting.
The concept of "supported work" encompasses a broad continuumof support options and complements strongly HDS /ADD's effortsto expand competitive employment opportunities for severelydisabled individuals.
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C. Specific Objectives
The objective of the agreement is to combine the financial andprogrammatic resources of OHDS/ADD and OSERS in implementingthe Supported Employment Initiative. HDS, in entering intothis agreement seeks to:
o Strengthen coordination with OSERS around our jointcommitment to meaningful, paid work for persons with severedisabilities;
o Ensure a broad view of supported employment to includeunsubsidized employment in a competitive setting withappropriate ongoing support;
o Develop statewide supported employment models to assistState Developmental Disabilities Councils to implement theirlegislative mandate to be engaged in employment-relatedactivities by Fiscal Year 1987; and
o Evaluate the financial and programmatic impact of convertingexisting programs to supported work programs.
OSERS, in entering into this agreement, seeks to:
o Strengthen cooperative efforts with HDS'/ADD's initiative toexpand private sector opportunities for persons withdevelopmental disabilities by assisting States in theredirection of services for severely disabled individualsfrom existing programs to supported employment programs;
o Assure broad interagency coordination in the development andexpansion of opportunities for unsubsidized employment in acompetitive setting with appEc.priate ongoing support forseverely disabled individuals; and
o Evaluate the benefits from the establishment of statewidesupported employment programs.
D. Strategy and Major Activities
OSERS will publish a program announcement for the SupportedEmployment Initiative in late spring of 1985. Major activitieswill include finalization of the program announcement, reviewand selection of grantees, program monitoring and technicalassistance, and program evaluation. First year grants will beawarded during the summer of 1985. Evaluation questions to beaddressed during the course of the initiative will include:
o Can States convert existing programs to supported employmentprograms?
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o Are there greater benefits from supported employmentservices than from existing programs?
o What impact does conversion to supported employment have onpublic cost of services?
o What factors influence the success of supported employmentprograms?
E. Roles and Responsibilities
o OSERS will carry out the following roles as co-director inthis agreement:
-- Issuing necessary regulations and publishing theprogram announcement;
-- Managing selection of grantees;
-- Awarding and administering the supported employmentgrants;
-- Monitoring grantees and providing technical assistance;and
-- Involving HDS/ADD in all aspects of the initiative andproviding copies of applications, progress reports andsite visit reports to HDS/ADD.
o HDS/ADD will carry out the following roles as co-director ofthis initiative:
-- Full involvement in grantee selection includingco-approval of grantees;
-- Monitoring grantees and providing technical assistance;and
-- Involving OSERS in all HDS/ADD activities involvingsupported work including sharing copies of relevantreports (e.g., site visit reports).
o OSERS and HDS/ADD will jointly review the progress of theinitiative annually.
o. Project Officers for the agreement are:
OHDS: Casimer WichlaczDeputy Commissioner, Administration onDevelopmental Disabilities
245-2890
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OSERS: Jim Moss, Associate Commissionerfor Program Development
Rehabilitative Services Administration732-1287
F. Resources Needed
o OSERS will contribute $4.2 million in FY 1985
o OHDS will transfer $500,000 to OSERS in FY 1985.
G. Duration of...Agreement
This agreement will remain in effect for five years or untilactivities are completed, until amended by mutual consent, oruntil terminated by either party upon 30 days written notice.Participation in future years is contingent upon yearlyassessment of activities and upon availability of funds.
H. Authority
This agreement is entered into under the authority of theEconomy Act of June 30, 1932, Section 601 (31 USC 6866), andunder the provi-ions of general and pertinent regulations ofthe Comptroller General.
Approved:
Ma leine WillAss taut SecretaryOffice of Special EducationEducation and Rehabilitative
ServicesDepartment of Education
Date:
Approved:
Approved:
calJ/P4-bDorcas R. HardyAssistant Secretary for
Human Development ServicesDepartment of Health and
Human Services
MAY I 1Se5Date:
K. Elder}; CommissionerAd inistration on Developmental
Disabilities
Date: /Et's
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IS 0
TransitionalService Centers
Assisting StudentsWith DevelopmentalDisabilities into Employmentand Community Life:A Workshop Trainer's Guide BLANK PACE
DO NOT FILM
'arcAssociation for Retarded Citizens
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81
TransitionalService Centers
Assisting StudentsWith DevelopmentalDisabilities into Employmentand Community Life:A Workshop Trainer's Guide
Prepared by
Association for Retarded Citizens of theUnited States
Jeffrey B. Schwamm, Ph.D.s; Project Director
The development of this publication was supported by Grant No. 90-DD-0062 awarded by the Administration on DevelopmentalDisabilities, OM ce of Human Development Services, Department of Health and Human Services. Its contents are solely theresponsibility of the ARC of the United States and do not necessarily reflect the position of the Administration on DevelopmentalDisabilities, and no official endorsement of the above agency should be inferred.
1986
ARC of the United States 2501 Avenue J Arlington, Texas 76006
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A Workshop Trainer's Guide
Introduction
This trainer's guide was written in conjunction with aprocedural handbook to assist local Associations for RetardedCitizens and other agencies and groups serving persons withdevelopmental disabilities in developing Transitional ServiceCenters. These TSCs will assist students or clients with mentalretardation and °thee developmental disabilities into employmentand community life through referral, coordination and initiationof employment opportunities and transition programs and services.The guide may be used in conducting a one-day workshop. Itincludes suggested exercises, transparencies (or charts) andhandouts more fully described in the handbook. Feel free torefine these resources to meet the unique needs of your commun-ity. Experience in conducting the workshop has indicated that itcan be successfully conducted with as many as forty participants.
Objectives of the Workshop:
(1) To introduce participants to the problems and issuesof transition from school to work and community life
(2) To prepare part.cipants to establish a TSC
. determine need
. formulate and assess feasibility of TSC objectives
. form a TSC
. implement TSC objectives
evaluate a TSC
(3) To evaluate the training curriculum
Learning Methods:
. lecture
. discussion
. brainstorming
. problem-solving
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Trainer Skills:
. adult education and training methodology
. group process
. familiarity with subject
Resource Material:
Schwamm, J.B., Transitional service cent.t.rs. Assisting studentswith developmental disabilities into employment and com-munity life: A procedural handbook. Arlington, TX: Assoc-iation for Retarded Citizens of the United States, 1985.
Morning Session - Three hours
30 minutes - introductions; familiarize participants withworkshop objectives, agenda and trainer;participants are given an opportunity to sharetheir individual experiences and beliefs re-garding the main theme of the workshop.
30 minutes - introduce participants to the problems andissues of transition; emphasis is given tothe definition of transition, purpose of,and stages in planning a TSC.
45 minutes - present the participants with the guidelinesand procedures for determining the population-in-need (i.e., target population) and itsneeds; participants are introduced to an exer-cise for identifying the interotganizationalnetwork and a survey instrument for describingindividual organizations, agencies and employ-ment opportunities in the network.
45 minutes - present, or develop with the participants,possible TSC objectives; guidelines and pro-cedures are introduced and applied forassessing the feasibility of these objectives.
15 minutes - break
15 minutes - discussion/workshop evaluation
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Afternoon Session - Three hours
45 minutes - present the participants with the guidelinesand procedures for forming a TSC; emphasiswill concentrate on the formal and informalinterorganizational frameworks which an ARCor another agency could adopt, and formalparticipation in a TSC.
105 minutes - present the participants with the guidelinesand procedures for implementing TSC objec-tives; participants will be introduced toimplementation strategies, essential elementsof both interagency agreements and individual-ized transition plans, and a proposed TSCstaffing pattern; emphasis will be devoted toa small group exercise for preparing an imple-mentation plan.
15 minutes - familiarize the participants with guidelines(optional) and procedures for conducting evaluations
which will include a description of :heevaluation design.
15 minutes - break
15 minutes - workshop evaluation/wrap-up
Morning Session
Activity 1: WORKSHOP OBJECTIVES, AGENDA AND TRAINER (30 minutes)
. introduce trainer
. discuss transition
introduce participants
. review objectives, agenda and distributed material
The trainer begins by introducing him or herself with appro-priate background information on one's training and experience.
Participants discuss a prepared question in clusters ofthree to five persons and then with the entire group. Theyintroduce themselves to members in their cluster and later to theentire group. One possible question which might be examined is:From your personal or professional vantage point, what do youwant special educators, adult service providers, employers and
385
other community members to know regarding the transition ofstudents or clients with mental retardation and 3ther develop-mental disabilities into work and the community? Another questionmight be: What do you consider to be the major problems oftransition from school to adult life for students or clientswith mental retardation and other developmental disabilities? Inthe subsequent discussion, the trainer may wish to present re-sponses of self-advocates at a 1984 conference sponsored by theMaryland State Planning Council on Developmental Disabilities(transparencies #1, #2 and #3). A comparison of the responsesestablishes a workshop climate that acknowledges, and is respon-sive to the perspectives of the workshop participants and personswith developmental disabilities.
Workshop objectives, agenda and contents of any distributedpackets are reviewed.
Activity 2: INTRODUCTION TO THE PROBLEM AND ISSUES OFTRANSITION (30 Minutes)
. present overview to workshop theme
. define transition
. describe TSC functions
. review stages in establishing a TSC
. review standards for TSC services and programs
A formal presentation by the trainer or other knowledgeableperson focuses on such themes as the barriers to employment forthe target population, the federal, state and local policy,planning and program initiatives, the supported employment modelsaround the country, the operational 'efinition of transition, thefunctions of a TSC, the stages in Establishing a TSC and lastly,TSC service and program qualities. Transparencies #4 and #5,transparencies/handouts #6 and #7, and transparency #8 are to beused for this lecture. The trainer should illustrate key pointswith examples from the community in which the worksnop is beingconducted.
Activity 3: DETERMINATION QF NEED (45 minutes)
. collect and analyze needs assessment data
. determine the target population and its needs
. identify the interorganizational network
. describe the organizations in the network
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Participants are introduced to the types and sources ofinformation that are available to determine the population-in-need, its characteristics and needs, and the gaps in employmentopportunities, transition services and programs.
The population-in-need is determined, in part, through datacollected by other agencies and organizations (e.g., schools,adult developmental disabilities agencies). This information isfound in the descriptions of each agency and organization in theinterorganizational network. Transparencies #9 and #10 are usedto illustrate how to increase accuracy in determining the actualneed of the target population in relation to its work and commun-ity environments. In clusters or collaboratively, participantswill complete a behavioral skills assessment for a supportedemployment setting (transparency/handout #11). Special aids orenvironmental modifications that eliminate the effects of a per-son's disability should be highlighted since they will alter thecharacteristics and totl number of persons-in-need relative tothe currently available services and programs.
Transparency/handout #12 is provided to each participant fora brainstormihg exercise identifying the interorganizational net-work. It may be completed either individually, in small groupsor with the workshop trainer leading the participants througheach Step. Depending upon the size of the room and number ofparticipants, you may wish to divide into clusters of three orfour to identify the agencies, organize -ions, groups and indivi-duals. The workshop trainer will make a composite picture of thevarious networks on a transparency and, with active input fromthe participants, complete the remaining steps to the exercise asdescribed on page 19 in the handbook.
The workshop trainer, using transparencies #13 and #14, willpresent an outline for profiling each agency and organization inthe network with particular emphasis on linkage mechanisms.
Activity 4: FORMULATION AND ASSESSMENT OF TSC OBJECTIVES(45 minutes)
. formulate TSC objectives
. assess feasibility of each objective
Several TSC objectives are presented to the participants(transparency #15). Other objectives may be formulated by theparticipants based upon their individual knowledge of and exper-ience in their communities. The steps in conducting a feasibili-ty assessment are described on pages 25-28 in the handbook andapplied in assessing the feasibility of one of the predeterminedobjectives (transparency #16). The trainer presents the guidingquestions which are answered through completion of the assessment(transparency #17).
Participants, in clusters, will initiate a feasibilityassessment of a prepared TSC objective or one selected by them-selves (transparency/handout #18). They will first determine therestraining and driving forces, and then the critical partici-pants influencing implementation. All workshop participants,with the trainer, will complete the assessment as described inthe previous example. A brief review of the guiding questions ofa feasibility study concludes this stage of the process in estab-lishing a TSC.
Activity 5: DISCUSSION AND WORKSHOP EVALUATION (15 minutes)
This time may be devoted to reviewing and discussing any orall of the morning topics, raising new issues or sharing informa-tion specific to the community in which the workshop is held. Itmay also be a time to evaluate the morning workshop activities,especially if the workshop scheduling permits minor modificationsin the content or procedures of the afternoon session.
Afternoon Session
Activity 6: FORMATION OF A TSC (45 Minutes)
. choose TSC interorganizational structure
. ensure participation
The trainer reviews the major findings of the feasibilitystudy and the four TSC functions which establish the context fordetermining an appropriate organizational structure of a TSC.The lecture highlights the underlying assumption for the twoproposed structures on page 29 in the handbook. In smallgroups, participants discuss the problems regarding an interor-ganizFtional network functioning as a TSC (e.g., extent of con-trol of one agency over another, distance, jurisdictional bound-aries). Each grot ill diagram how a TSC may look, presentingits model on a larc sheet of paper or transparency and explain-ing the rationale for such a TSC. The trainer presents twopossible interorganizational structures (transparency #19) andguides the participants in examining the contribution of eachstructure to meeting different TSC functions and specific objec-tives.
6 88
A discussion on ways of ensuring appropriate representationor input to the ARC or similar agency concludes this stage of theplanning process.
Activity 7: IMPLEMENTATION (105 minutes)
. select strategies to meet objectives
. establish responsibility
. determine staffing pattern
. assign staff to task responsibilities
This is what the workshop is all about - the establishmentof a TSC implementation plan. The trainer will review implemen-tation strategies and the essential elements of interagencyagreements (transparencies #20, #21). The trainer will alsoreview proposed TSC tasks (transparency #22) and describe thevarious responsibilities for parents, volunteers and profes-sionals presented on page 40 of the handbook.
To conclude implementation, participants will be given anexercise on developing a TSC (handout #23). Plenty of timeshould be devoted to completing the exercise (45 to 60 winutes),preferably in small groups in quiet areas. Group members willpresent an outline of their group's implementation plan to allparticipants. The trainer should highlight the commonalities anddistinctions as they relate to the material covered in the work-shop, especially the four TSC functions.
:t is important to spend sufficient time reviewing theinstructions for the exercise. Based upon an identified problemsituation/need and TSC objectives, the participants ere asked toformulate implementation strategies and task responsibilities forthe objective assigned their group. Underlying rationales forselecting strategies should be addressed based upon the group'sassumptions regarding the feasibility of the objective and par-ticipants' personal experiences, knowledge and creativity. Anexample of the flow from TSC objective through implementationstrategy, assigned task responsibility and rationale is presentedto the participants (transparency/handout #24). This example maybe revised to reflect the specific community in which the work-shop is being held.
Someone in each group should be designated to summarize itsplan of action. Large sheets of paper should be posted on thewalls with the following headings to outline the plans: (1)objective; (2) strategies; (3) task responsibilities; and (4)rationale. Transparehcies may be used as an alternative forpresen;:ing plans.
897
Activity 8: EVALUATION (15 minutes, optional)
select evaluator(s)
. construct evaluation design
The trainer will highlight in a lecture the factors thatshould be considered in selecting an evaluator. Participants arewalked through the evaluation design described on pages 46-49 inthe handbook and illustrated in handout #25. The trainer shouldfeel free to develop other examples to illustrate the evaluationdesign. Depending on time and importance of this stage to theparticipants, they may wish to work in small groups or collec-tively to develop their own evaluation design and discuss it.
Activity 9: WORKSHOP EVALUATION AND WRAP-UP (15 minutes)
An evaluation of the entire workshop should be completed inorder to improve the effectiveness of future workshop presenta-tions. The instrument used to evaluate the workshops in field-testing the training materials is attached (handout #26).
The wrap-up is an opportunity for the trainer to summarizethe day's events, reinforce the need for TSCs, give a strongmessage of encouragement to those participants who are planningto develop a TSC, and indicate the technical assistance availableto local ARC units and other developmental disabilities agenciesfrom the ARC National Headquarters and the ten model TSCs.
,transparency #1
SELF-ADVOCATE RE SPONSE STO TRANSITION FROM SCHOOL
TO ADULT LIFE
WE WANT SPECIAL EDUCATORS AND ADULTSERVICE PROVIDERS TO KNOW:
1.We need chances for adult education to catchup on things we didn't learn and to learnnew skills.
2.Benefits need to be less confusing, take lesstime to get, and not penalize you if youearn money.
3.We can learn and do more if we can easily getmore adaptations, like big print books, electricwheelchairs, and maybe computers.
4. There needs to be extra help for the familiesof adults, especially around graduation timewhen lots of things change.
91
transparency #2
SELF-ADVOCATE RESPONSESTO TRANSITION FROM SCHOOL
TO ADULT LIFE
WE WANT EMPLOYERS AND OTHERCOMMUNITY MEMBERS TO KNOW:
1. Give us a better chance for jobs. Sometimes thatmeans giving people a chance to work part-timeor to work on the parts of a job they can do.
2.Help us learn to do a good job. Expect us to workhard but show us exactly what you want doneand tell us how we are doing in ways we canunderstand. Don't just brush us off. If youfire someone, tell them exactly why so theycan do better next time. We need someunderstanding but not pity.
92
transparency #3
SELF-ADVOCATE RESPONSESTO TRANSITION FROM SCHOOL
TO ADULT LIFE
WE WANT OUR PARENTS AND FAMILYMEMBERS TO KNOW:
1.Push us to do more and learn more. Don't treat uslike children who can't learn how to handle thingsor push us aside from responsibilities.
2.It takes a lot of courage to move away from homeand to try to go to work. Most ofus need help tomake the change and some kinds of help from nowon. Families should help us get the help we needand expect us to have the courage to be adults.Some parents are overprotective; they needcourage to face our growing up too.
93
transparency # 4
TRANSITION ALTERNATIVES
1.Transition With Ongoing Special Services
Supported Competitive Employment
Work Crews and Enclaves
Specialized Industrial Training
2.Transition With Time-Limited Special Services
3.Transition Without Special Services
94
transparency #5
AREAS OF ASSISTANCEDURING TRANSITION
1. Relevant elementary and secondary education
2. Individualized planning with parents,professionals and students
3. Relevant post-secondary training
4. Job creation
5. Identification of available jobs
6. Analysis of skills needed to perform jobs
7. Career counseling
8. Placement assistance
9.Job specific teaching
10. Job adaptation and/or assistive devices
11. Ongoing support at work
12. Support services (e.g., transportation, recreation)
13. Community living arrangement
95
transparencyfliandout #6
TRANSITIONALSERVICE CENTERS
PRINCIPAL FUNCTIONS:
1. Assist in the location of and access to the mostappropriate combination of services and resourcesto meet the needs of students or chants withmental retardation and other developmentaldisabilities
2. Systematically collect, maintain and disseminateinformation on services and resources availableto meet the needs of students or clients withmental retardation and other developmentaldisabilities
3. Assist in the development and support ofrelationships among agencies and organizationsthat promote coordinated services to students orclient with mental retardation and otherdevelopmental disabilities
4. Assist in the development ofnew programs andservices for students or clients with mentalretardation and other developmental disabilities
96
transparency/handout #7
PLANNING STAGES IN ESTABLISHINGA TRANSITIONAL SERVICE CENTER
ProblemDefinition
Determinationof
Need
collecting and analyzingneeds assessment data
determining target popu-lation and its needs
identifying the interor-ganizational network
describing the organiza-tions in the network
97
Evaluation
selecting evaluator
constructing evalua-tion design
Formulationand Assessment of
TSC Objectives
formulating objectives
assessing feasibility
\./Formationof a TSC
choosing interorganiza-tional structure
ensuring participation
./Implementation
ofTSC Objectives
establishing respon-sibility
selecting strategies
transparency #8
TSC SERVICE ANDPROGRAM QUALITIES
1.Integration
2.Age Appropriate
3. Community Referenced
4. Comprehensive
5.Self-Advocate Involvement
6. Family Involvement
7. Effectiveness
99
transparency #9
COMPREHENSIVECOMMUNITY SERVICES
AND PROGRAMS
COMMUNITY EMPLOYMENT-LIVING HABILITATION SUPPORT
ALTERNATIVES PROGRAMS SERVICES
1.Independentliving
2. Staffedapartment
3. Group home
4.Living athome
5. Adultfoster home
1 . Competitiveemployment
2. Supportedemployment
3. Shelteredworkshop
4. Work activity ,
5.Day trainingprograms
100
1.Health
2. Mentalhealth
3. Legal
4. Homeassistance
5. Recreation
6. Protective
7. Transpor-tation
8. Advocacy
9.Casemanagement
transparency #10
BEHAVIORAL SKILL TRAININGAREAS FOR SELECTED
COMMUNITY LIVINGALTERNATIVES
GROUP HOME INDEPENDENTLIVING
1.Health care
2.Laundry skills
3.M_,a1 preparation
4. Social integration.
5.Uses an expressivelanguage system
6.Home safety
7.Money concepts
8.Unprompted dailyroutine
9.Recreation andleisure activities
10.Community access
1.Handles medication
2. Clothing repair/replacement
3.Meal planningand shopping
4. Interpersonalrelations
5.Languagegeneralization
6.Coping skills
7.Independentmoney usage
8. Independentscheduling
9.Uses communityrecreation facilities
10.Independentcommunity use101
transparency/handout #11
BEHAVORIAL SKILL TRAININGAREAS FOR SELECTED
EMPLOYMENT-HABILITATIONPROGRAMS
SUPPORTED EMPLOYMENT(e.g., enclaves, crews)
1 02
C)
;4-51.1
sa)
cisS0
p4
C4-4
sa)
0cd
$.40cd$.40cd
transparency/handout #12
INTERORGANIZATIONALNETWORK
Suppliers of Resources
ARC
Consumers
103
transparency #13
ORGANIZATIONAL DESCRIPTION
1. Goals, objectives and agency responsibilities
2. Problems addressed by agency and extent
3. Services and programs provided
4. Linkages
5. Eligibility
6. Client profile: age and sex; socio-economic status;place of residence; most frequent presenting prob-lem or concern
7. Admission criteria
8. Client selection and screening mechanisms
9. Methods of assessing client's needs
10. Agency pressures to accept or reject certain clientgroups
11. Client representation in the agency
12. Conflicts and gaps in client services and servicedelivery patterns. Steps to resolve conflicts and closegaps
13. Staff profile: experience; professional training; func-tions
104willigalumr.i.e.
transparency #14
GLOSSARY OF LINKAGEMECHANISMS
1. Case management
2. Client team
3. Information clearinghouse
4. Budgeting, fundraising and allocation
5. Intake, screening and diagnosis
6. Program design, operation and evaluation
7. Public relations and community education
8. Training and staff development
9. Purchase of services
10. Staff outstationing
105
rtransparency #15
TSC OBJECTIVES
1. To work with employers for purposes of identifyingand creating job opportunities for persons with men-tal retardation and other developmental disabilities
2. To work with parents to ensure them of their dueprocess rights under Public Law 94-142 when theschool does not provide appropriate education
3. To ensure comprehensive documentation and dis-semination to parents, legal guardians and adultservice providers of model employment programs forpersons with severe and profound mental retarda-tion and other developmental disabilities
106
transparency #16
FEASIBILITY ASSESSMENT
Problem Situation or NeedMany students with mental re-tardation and other developmentaldisabilities are unable to obtainmeaningful employment upongraduation
(HLU)
H U
H H A/X
H
H H B/X
Restraining Forces(against change)
1 lack of fundsback-to-basics
2 school curriculumorientation of voc.
3 training programlack of interagency
4 cooperation
5
6
ObjectiveTo work with employers to identifyand create job opportunities forpersons with mental retardationand other developmental disabili-ties
Driving Forces(for change)
tax incentives 1 JC/X H H
(HLU)
federal legislation 2
new employmentmodels 3enlightenedemployers 4existenceof an ARC 5
6
Critical Participants
Dir. of SpecialA Education
Dept. of Voc.B Rehab.
c Pres. of Bank
D
x Parents
(HLU) H = high; L = low; U = uncertain107
B/C
L U
H H
H U
X H H
a 44
73
a A
transparency #17
GUIDING QUESTIONS ONFEASIBILITY OF TSC OBJECTIVES
1. Does the ARC or similar agency have sufficientsupport of other critical participants (i.e., agen-cies, organizations, groups and individuals) inthe community to meet TSC objectives?
2. What has to happen to allow the TSC objectives tobe implemented?
108
transparency/handout #18
FEASIBILITY ASSESSMENT
Problem Situation or NeedMany students with mental re-
tardation and other developmentaldisabilities are unable to obtainmeaningful employment upongraduation
Objective
Restraining Forces Driving Forces(HLU) (against change) (for change)
F
1
2
3
4
5
6
1
3
4
5
Critical Participants
A
B
C
D
X
(HLU) H = high; = low; U = uncertain
109
(HLU)
transparency #
TSC INTERORGANIZATIONALSTRUCTURES
Formal Structure
(Center, Collaborative,Consortium, Federation,System)
Agency B
Agency A
Agency X(Organization outsidethe formal structure)
Informal Structure(Coalition, Task Force)
Agency E
Agency C
Agency F
'4
Agency D
MI6 11 111016 It Sub-group
0 Agency I
Agency H
transparency #20
IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES
1. COOPERATION:The TSC encounters agreement on the objec-tive(s) and its participants work cooperativelyon the objective(s) so that their combined acti-vity will accomplish it.
2. CAMPAIGN:The TSC seeks to bring about agreement on itsobjective(s) with the various participants,making a cooperative strategy possible as wellas reducing the possibility of outright opposi-tion. The TSC may need to modify the objec-tives; or it may need to offer inducements forcooperation so that the objective(s) becomesacceptable on some basis other than its ownmerits.
3. CONTEST:Agencies, organizations, groups and/or indivi-duals in the community are seeking incompa-tible outcomes and the TSC attempts to defeatopposition to its objective(s).
111
transparency #21
ESSENTIAL ELEMENTSOF INTERAGENCY AGREEMENTS
1. Definitions
2. Forms and formats
3. Referral
4. Entitlements
5. Complementarity
6. Transitions
7. Planning and budgetary calendars
8. Coordinated, comprehensivecommunity planning
9. Coordinated staff development
10. Fiscal administration
11.Integrated data base
12. Cooperative evaluationsand monitoring
112
transparency #22
PROPOSED TSC TASKSFOR PARENTS,
VOLUNTEERS ANDPROFESSIONALS
1. Enrollment
2. Monitoring
3. Ma intenance
4. Community living assistance
5.Community vocational placement assistance
6. Community integration assistance
7. Systems -level operation
113
TRANSITIONAL SERVICE CENTERS
Small Group Exercise
Purpose:
handout #23
This exercise gives workshop participants the opportunity toprepare a TSC implementation plan based upon a stated pro-blem situation/need and TSC objectives. The relationship be-tween objectives and implementation strategies should becomeclearer as participants examine the underlying rationale forthe selection of their strategies. Brief presentations anddiscussion of each group's implementation plan will providea more comprehensive view of transition and a reference forfuture planning in all agencies wanting to assist studentsor clients with mental retardation and other developmentaldisabilities in transition.
Problem Situation/Need:
There are a minimum of vocationally-oriented services andprograms and employment opportunities for students orclients with severe and profound mental retardation in yourcommunity.
Objectives:
\
(1) To work with employers for purposes of identifying andcreating job opportunities for students or clients withmental retardation and other developmental disabilities.
(2) To work with parents of students with mental retardationand other developmental disabilities to ensure them oftheir due process rights under Public Law 94-142.
(3) To work with schools and service agencies to develop aninformation system on current programs, services and jobopportunities for students or clients with mental re-tardation and other developmental disabilities.
(4) To work with local schools and vocational rehabilitationagency to promote understanding and agreements whichwill result in improved vocational services and programsfor students or clients with mental retardation andother developmental disabilities.
114
(continued on next page)
Procedures:
1
Based upon the above problem situation/need and TSC objec-tives, each group will:
(1) formulate implementation strategies for itsdesignated objective; and
(2) assign task responsibilities.
to prepared to present your implementation plan to all work-shop participants and to discuss the rationale for select-ing the implementation strategies. The rationale shoulddraw upon the group's assumptior3 on the feasibility ofeach objective which influence the choice of implementationstrategies.
115
handout #24
TSC IMPLEMENTATION PLANOBJECTIVE: To work with employers for purposes
of identifying and creating job opportunitiesfor persons with mental retardation and otherdevelopmental disabilities
ASSIGNED TASKRESPONSIBILITIES:1. Vocational educa-tors; ARC staffmem-bers; researchers
STRATEGIES:
1. To educate state andlocal policymakers andemployers on suppor-ted employment mod-els and the economicbenefits of employingpersons with mentalretardation and otherdevelopmental disabil-ities2. To initiate a suppor-ted employment project staff members; jobin industry coach
RATIONALE: The objective and its strategies arein response to the poor integration of recentgraduates and adults with mental retardationand other developmental disabilities into sup-ported work opportunities. There is some dis-agreement among vocational educators, reha-bilitation counselors and employers over theemployment qualifications ofthese indivi-duals. Resources may need to be redistributedand new resources found. 116
2. Employers; ARC
4
TSC EVALUATION DESIGN
TSC Function: Assist in the developmnent of new programa and services for students or clients with mental retardationand other developmental disabilities
Objective Strategies
To create job opportunities To educate state and localfor persons with mental re- policymakera and employers ontardation and other develop- supported employment modelsmental disabilities and the economic benefits of
employing adults with mentalretardation hnd other de-velopmental disabilities
To work with students orclients for purposes ofincreasing job oppor-tunities
' 1 1 'i
To train clients in jobsearch skills
JEST COPY AVAILA8u
Evaluation Questions
Input:How many and what types ofeducational programs haveinitiated for state andlccal policymakers and em-p.oyers on supported em-ployment models, and theeconomic benefits of em-employing the target pop-ulation?
Process:Do employers utilize know-ledge obtained on tax in-centives when developingnew jobs?
Outcome:Have employment opportuni-ties inc,-eased after thestate and local policy-makers, and employers ex-perieiced an educationalprogram?
Input:How many and what types ofjob search training pro-grams have been initiatedfor clients?
Process:Do clients utilize jobsearch skills when search-ing for jobs?
Outcome:Do clients have a higherrate of employment afterutilizing this trainingprogram?
Information Need
The program planners haveagreed that educatingstate and local policy-makers, and employers is anecessity for increasingjob opportunities.
The information needed isthat information whichprovide evidence that in-dividuals attending educa-tional programs understandthe material presented;that employers use the taxincentives in developingne, jobs; that employershie persons with mentalretardation and other dev-elopmental disabilities;and policymakers work tocontinue these tax incen-tives.
The TSC staff will utilizethis information to improvethe design and content ofthe educational program.
The program planners haveagreed that improved jobsearch skills is anecessity for clienter.ployability.
The information needed isthat information which willindicate the number and typeof job search training -ero-grams provided; the clientsin attendance; what jobsearch skills taught areused by clients; the employ-ment rate of these clients.
The TSC staff will utilizethis information to deter-mine which job search train-Ina oroarame to ennkin..
handout #25
Source ofInformation
Direct observationby the evaluator;survey of state andlocal policymakersand employers; rec-ords of attendanceat educational pro-grams; voting re-cords; employmentstatistics
Direct observationby the evaluator;employment records;report of thetrainers
.. 18
TRANSITIONAL SERVICE CENTERS WORKSHOP
Attended workshop as (check only one):
Member of ARC unit
Staff of ARC unit
Evaluation Form
Member of other developmentaldisabilities agency
Staff of other developmentaldisabilities agency
Please rate the following items:
handout #26
Professional in special education,vocational education, vocationalrehabilitation
Current or potential employer
Other
1. The objectives of the workshop were 5
Evident
2. The objectives of the workshop wereAccomplished
3. The organization of the workshop was 5
Excellent
4. My attendance at the workshop should prove 5
Beneficial
5. In my current responsibilities the workshop was 5
Relevant
6. In the field of transition the workshop was S
Relevant
7. The exorcises used in the workshop were 5
Beneficial
8. The transparencies used in the workshop were
9. The opportunity to express one's views was
5
Beneficial
5Excellent
Please rate each of the following workshop presentations:
10. Introduction to the problem and issues 5
Excellent
11. Determination of Need and TSCObjectives
Y.,
5Excellent
12. Determination of Feasibility 5
Excellent
13. Formation of a TSC 5
Excellent
14. Implementation of TSC Objectives 5Excellent
Please answer the following (use back aide of page if needed):
15. The most beneficial part of this workshop was:
4 3 2 1
Vague
4 3 2 1
Not Accomplished
4 3 2 1
Poor
4 3 2 1
No Benefit
4 3 2 1
Not Relevant
4 3 2 1
Not Relevant
4 3 2 1
No Benefit
4 3 2 1
No Benefit
4 3 2 1
Poor
4 3 2 1
4 3 2 1
4 3 2
4 3 2 1
4 3 2 1
For
Poor
Poor
1
Poor
Poor
16. The least beneficial part of this workshop was:
17. What suggestions would you make for improving this workshop:
18. Any other comments: 119BEST-60P1`AVAILABLE
