The National Service to Employment Project (NextSTEP) has
been identifying strategies that help youth with disabilities to use their
service experience during the school-to-work transition. National service can
support young adults, including those with disabilities, to gain skills,
explore careers, and develop networks that can lead to meaningful employment.
As part of a research initiative of the NextSTEP project,
national service opportunities have been found to contribute to employment
skill building for youth with disabilities*. For example, AmeriCorps staff,
teachers, and students reported that participation in community service gave
the students the opportunity to:
- Practice
interpersonal skill-building with adults, peers, and service recipients.
- Learn
appropriate workplace behavior such as time management.
- Build
confidence and introspection about work-related capabilities.
- Work
collaboratively, participating in group problem-solving and project
implementation.
- Shape
interests and an understanding of how they might be used for work.
- View
themselves as providers of solutions to a community need.
National service, therefore, not only builds community but
also represents a community-based, real world opportunity for transition age
youth with disabilities to build employment skills. It also represents an
employment development strategy worthy of adding to the current menu of
transition practices used by school-based staff and employment support
professionals, such as those from state Departments of Vocational
Rehabilitation (VR).
For more information on career development and employment
skill-building transition strategy for young adults, please http://www.communityinclusion.org/schooldays/.
Yours in Service,
Jaimie Timmons
* Timmons, J. (2011). [Project impact: Building
character, building career, and building community]. Unpublished raw data.
Early Bird Registration is only $125 per participant now
until November 4th, 2011. Registration is available at: www.serviceandinclusion.org/symp2011
December 8-9, 2011-Crystal City, Virginia Symposium on
Service and Inclusion Improving Member Experience through Intentional
Strategies
The National Service to Employment Project (NextSTEP)
promotes service as a way to contribute to the community, gain valuable skills,
explore career paths, and develop social networks that can lead to meaningful
employment. NextSTEP is funded by the Corporation for National and Community
Service (Cooperative agreement #09TAHMA001) and is a project of the Institute
for Community Inclusion at UMass Boston in partnership with the State
Employment Leadership Network of the National Association of State Directors of
Developmental Disabilities Services and the ICI; and the US Business Leadership
Network.
The National Service Inclusion Project is a cooperative
agreement (08TAHMA001) between the Corporation for National and Community
Service and the Institute for Community Inclusion at UMass Boston in
collaboration with the Association of University Centers on Disabilities, the
Association on Higher Education and Disability, CTAT Denver Options and Virtual
Ability. The content contained does not imply endorsement from the Corporation
for National and Community Service, the National Service Inclusion Project or
any of our partner agencies. The National Service Inclusion Project (NSIP) is a
Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) training and technical
assistance provider. Through comprehensive training, technical assistance, and
product dissemination, NSIP strives to ensure meaningful service experiences
for all Americans, regardless of their abilities. Most services are free of
charge. The content contained does not imply endorsement from the Corporation
for National and Community Service, the National Service Inclusion Project or
any of our partner agencies.
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