Planning the Transition to Employment

Wendy Parent, Ph.D., is Research Associate Professor and Assistant Director, Kansas University Center on Developmental Disabilities, a Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities at The University of Kansas. She has more than 25 years of experience in the areas of supported and customized employment and transition from school to work for individuals with severe disabilities. Dr. Parent has published numerous book chapters and peer-reviewed journal articles related to transition and supported/customized employment and has coauthored several books on supported employment. In her efforts to build systems capacity and enhance employment and self-employment outcomes, she provides training and technical assistance to teachers, transition coordinators, families, rehabilitation counselors, job coaches, and individuals with disabilities. She is currently the president of the Kansas Rehabilitation Association and Kansas Association for Persons on Supported Employment (APSE): The Network on Employment and serves on the national Boards of the APSE Foundation and the National Rehabilitation Association. She serves on the editorial board of two journals: Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities and the Journal of Rehabilitation. Her areas of interest and research are supported/customized employment and transition from school to work for individuals with severe disabilities, with an emphasis on creative funding and support strategies, individual and family involvement, job-coach training and leadership, interagency collaboration and service delivery issues, and systems change.

This book reflects optimism for employment outcomes for students with disabilities as well as the importance of student-centered approaches that result in post-school employment. It is full of practical strategies for making that happen."- Richard Luecking, Ed.D., Center for Transition and Career Innovation, University of Maryland

• Series PrefaceEditorial Advisory BoardAbout the AuthorsPrefaceAbout the DownloadsAcknowledgments1 Getting StartedTransition to EmploymentImportance of WorkWhat Do the Statistics Say?Changing the Landscape of Disability and EmploymentUpcoming Chapters2 Strategies to Facilitate Effective TransitionsTeacher VignetteThe Crucial Importance of CollaborationGrow Your Own Collective Impact TeamCollective Impact: A Practical ApplicationIntegrating Best Practices3 How Do We Plan for Employment , Support Self -Directed Team Meetings , and Encourage Adult Agency InvolvementTeacher/Transition Coordinator VignettePlanning for EmploymentReady and ReliableEmployment FirstWhy Is Person-Centered Planning Important? 4 How Do We Develop Skills, Identify Passions, and Explore Careers?Teacher/Transition Coordinator VignetteDeveloping High School ServicesIdentifying Learning Styles and PreferencesUtilizing Online Career Exploration ToolsProviding Community Work and InternshipOpportunitiesEstablishing Employment or Post-Secondary Education Areas of Interest5 Developing Employer Relationships to Develop Job OpportunitiesTeacher/Transition Coordinator VignetteCompetitive Integrated EmploymentKnowing the Business CommunityBusiness KnowledgeNetworkingMeeting with EmployersEmployment ProposalsPreparing Students for Employment Through Work-Based Learning or InternshipsPartnership AgreementWorksite AnalysisIntern Criteria and Job DescriptionApplication and Interview ProcessOrientation and TrainingEvaluation Process6 Providing Training and Supports While in School and AfterTeacher/Transition Coordinator VignetteTeaching Self-DeterminationIdentifying Instructional Strategies and SupportInstructional StrategiesNatural Supports7 Ways to Overcome the Yeah, but . . . SyndromeStudent VignetteCase StudiesChallenges That Teachers FaceReferencesIndex