Setting Transition Goals for Students with Significant Disabilities

1. Setting Transition Goals for Students with Significant Disabilities John Kregel Virginia Commonwealth University April 27, 2011 Transition Center at West Bay Warwick, Rhode Island

2. My Background • Teacher in the first classroom for students with Severe Disabilities in Lawrence Kansas • Eight years classroom teaching experience for students with severe disabilities • Professor in VCU’s intellectual and development disabilities programs teaching transition and behavior management • Research Director at VCU-RRTC since 1984

3. What are your expectations for this morning’s discussion?

4. Our Learning Objectives 1. Carefully review the expectations we have for our students. 2. Reflect on our current curriculum decisions based on our experiences and expectations. 3. Examine our formal transition planning process 4. Share current approaches to teaching functional skills and making employment a reality for our students

5. What are our expectations for our students? Health and Safety Independence and Self Esteem Residential Education Employment Financial literacy Community Participation Social Relationships

6. Health and Safety Our expectations for our students include: Life Expectancy Treatment for Chronic Conditions Access to Health Care Need for Assistive Technology What Else?

7. Independence and Self-Esteem Our expectations for our students include: Family Member Friend Neighbor Helper Member What Else?

8. Residential Our expectations for our students include: Avoiding medically based congregate care facilities Living with families or relatives Stability of living arrangements Access to necessary supports

9. Education Our expectations for our students include: Dual Enrollment Models Supported Education Models When are these models appropriate?

10. Dual Enrollment

11. Mixed/Hybrid Model Students involved in social activities and/or academic classes with students without disabilities (for audit or credit) Participate in classes with other students with disabilities—such classes as life skills or transition programs Employment experiences are offered both on and off campus (Hart et al 2005) Hart et al., 2006

12. Substantially Separate Students are on campus, but are in classes only with other students with disabilities Access to socializing with students without disabilities is part of the model Employment experiences typically in pre-established employment settings on and off campus Hart et al., 2006

13. Inclusive Individual Support Model Students receive individualized services—educational coach, tutor, technology-in college classes, certificate programs and/or degree programs (for credit or audit) Not program based: courses are selected on students’ career goals and employment experiences (internships, apprenticeships, work-based learning) Interagency team w/student and family identify range of services and share costs Hart et al., 2006

14. Higher Education Opportunity Act (PL 110-315) • Enacted in 2008 • Has provisions to improve access to postsecondary ed for students with ID • Language in legislation covers: • -Financial aid provisions • -Creation of model demonstration program • -Creation of coordinating center

15. George Mason University’sLIFE Program: Started in 2000 • Provides inclusive university experience to further literacy skills and prepare for employment and independent living • Students commute or live on campus; Two-thirds attending LIFE Program are on campus • Receive certificate upon completion (4 yr program) • Program developed for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities

16. Supported Education

18. VCU ACE IT in COLLEGE • 5 yr demo grant through US Dept of Education • Provides college education for students with intellectual disabilities (18-26 yrs) • 21 credit, 30 month certificate program through School of Education • “Program of one” with inclusive core courses, electives and work experience

19. KATIE

20. Learns through discussion and small group activities in UNIV 101 class (i.e. volunteered to write group responses on the board for class) • With initial prompts from education coach, expresses thoughts and ideas about class readings (i.e. Book: Letters to a Young Teacher)

21. Expands her experiences through prompts from coach (i.e. participates in service learning, reads a story to children at her job in the university child development center). • Explores Google docs to get comments from education coach on assignments

22. Employment Our expectations for our students include: Competitive Employment First Employment Retention Employment Satisfaction Access to Employment Supports

23. Financial Literacy Our expectations for our students include: Money of my own Purchasing Saving Banking Financial Education Credit

24. Transition Activities Leading to Financial Stability

25. Individuals with disabilities often have very limited income and few, if any, assets. As of March 2011, 13.4 million individuals were receiving disability benefits. Of those: • 7.5 million received Title II benefits only, • 4.4 million received Supplemental Security Income (SSI) only, and • 1.5 million received both SSI and Title II benefits (SSA, March 31, 2011).

26. People with disabilities are considerably more likely to experience poverty relative to those without disabilities:

27. Current Federal Poverty Level Federal Poverty Level (family of 1) $10,890 Two Times Federal Poverty Level $21,780 Federal Poverty Level (family of 4) $22,350

28. SSI and SSDI Benefits • The average SSI benefit of $533/month (January 2012) is only 59% of the federal poverty level for a family of one. • The average monthly SSDI payment is $1070 (2011) – only 118% of the federal poverty level for a family of one.

29. Material Hardship Indicators Hardship with respect to consumption of material items necessary to meet basic needs • Unable to meet expenses • Unable to pay rent or mortgage • Unable to pay utility bills • Unable to get needed medical care • Unable to get needed dental care • Food insecurity (with or without hunger)

30. Hardship Prevalence Age 25-61Income Below the Poverty Level

31. 50% of Individuals with Disabilities are “Unbanked” Individuals who are unbanked have no access to financial services (services that include savings, credit, money transfer, insurance, or pensions) through any type of financial sector agency such as banks, non-bank financial institutions, financial cooperatives and credit unions, finance companies.

32. Defining Financial Stability A concept that reflects each person’s employment and economic independence goals and takes into account his or her unique life circumstances and family situation. Financial stability encompasses: • An individual’s income and wealth in relation to his or her financial expenses, responsibilities, and desires; • An individual’s ability to manage his or her finances, and access the information and supports needed to make sound financial decisions and long-term financial plans; and • An individual’s ability to avoid lifelong poverty and dependence on disability benefits.

33. Community Participation Our expectations for our students include: Consumer Citizen Volunteer How do I get there?

34. Social Relationships Our expectations for our students include: Building friendships with individuals who are not caregivers Residential stability to allow individuals to maintain friendships

35. Employment

36. Post 21 Transition: What Do We Want?

38. Post 21 Transition: What We Don’t Want…

40. Promising Practices and Service Delivery Models with Businesses

41. Walgreens

42. Program Design • 15 Distribution Centers • Two new ones are in Anderson, S.C. ( 700 employees) and Windsor Conn. (300 employees) • Individuals with disabilities work at same productivity rate, receive same pay, and work side by side with other workers Commitment to hire at least 10% of employees with disabilities in distributions center

43. Walmart

44. ARC of US & Walmart Foundation: School to Community Transition Project • ARC received 3year, 3 million dollar grant • Purpose of funding to identify & fund innovative & best practices in school-to-community transition services • Grants funded nationwide

45. Marriott: The Bridges Program

46. Bank of America

47. Bank of America- Card Center, Wilmington DE. • Has long history of employing individuals with cognitive disabilities • Has hired over 300 individuals with disabilities in Wilmington, DE and Bangor, ME

48. V.C.U. Project Search Replication Bon Secours Supported by NIDRR, US Dept of Education

49. Key Concepts • Collaboration with business, education, rehabilitation (VR) & DD • Braided funding • Immersion & impact • Training in real work settings • Low risk, low cost for business • Hiring students who are “good fit” • Goal of employment

50. School Day: Business Based 8:00 Employability Skills 9:00 Worksites 11:30 Lunch 12:15 Worksites 2:00 Review, Plan, Journaling 2:30 Depart