2002 Literature Review Summary: Frontline Worker
The National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth (NCWD/Youth) has prepared a summary of literature reviewed by NCWD/Youth partners during 2002. This summary highlights the primary issues and trends that affect post-school outcomes of youth with disabilities, including information on promising practices in the areas of disability, education, employment, and workforce development. The information included in this summary was gleaned from juried journals, book chapters, reports and other resources from 1992 to the present.
Dropout Prevention
It is well documented in the literature that youth with disabilities have a difficult time completing high school (National Council on Disability; Institute on Community Integration;
Benz, Yovanoff & Doren; Halperin; Blackorby & Wagner). Stodden, Dowrick, Stodden, and
Gilmore (2000) reported that although significantly more money is spent per pupil on students enrolled in special education courses, than students enrolled in the general curriculum, youth with disabilities continue to drop out at nearly twice the rate of general education students. The
ABC Dropout Prevention and Intervention Series (1995) reported similar findings. Nationally, about 35 percent of students with learning disabilities and 55 percent of students with emotional disabilities drop out before completing school. Similar to non-disabled students, students with disabilities leave school due to academic failure, poor grades, low self-esteem, poor attendance, repeating a grade, and dislike of school (Stodden et al., 2000).
Post-School Employment and Education
For those youth with disabilities who do complete high school, it is well documented that they have a difficult time finding and keeping employment or enrolling in and completing postsecondary education (National Council on Disability; Johnson, Sharpe & Stodden; Getzel,
Stodden & Briel; Benz, Yovanoff & Doren; Blackorby & Wagner; Tilson, Luecking &
Donovan). Benz, Yovanoff and Doren (1997) found that youth with disabilities were one-third less likely to be "productively engaged" than youth without disabilities. The authors defined productive engagement as working half-time or more only; going to school half-time or more only; working and going to school or participating full time in the military. Individuals must participate in one of these activities for 12 months or more to meet the definition of productive engagement.
The 1996 National Longitudinal Transition Study revealed that two years after completing high school, youth with disabilities continued to experience higher rates of unemployment than their non-disabled peers. Three to five years after completing high school, this trend continued; one in five youth with disabilities were unemployed and no longer seeking employment. However, three to five years after high school, high school graduates experienced
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employment rates of 65 percent as opposed to individuals who had dropped out of high school experienced employment rates of 47 percent (Blackorby & Wagner, 1996). The study also found that employment of youth may be dependent on disability type, with youth with learning disabilities and speech disabilities more likely to be employed than youth with mobility, vision, or multiple disabilities. Benz, Yovanoff and Doren (1997) found that employment may also be dependent on gender. They found that one year after high school, females with disabilities were five times less likely to be competitively employed than their peers with or without disabilities.
The high unemployment rate continues into adulthood. A 1995 Louis Harris and
Associates survey found that more than two-thirds of working age individuals with disabilities were unemployed, the same rate of unemployment experienced by people with disabilities before the implementation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Moreover, among the individuals with disabilities who were employed, only two-thirds worked full time.
Youth with disabilities also continued to lag behind non-disabled youth in postsecondary enrollment with 14 percent of youth with disabilities and 53 percent of non-disabled youth participating in postsecondary education. Three years after leaving high school, an additional 13 percent of youth with disabilities enrolled in postsecondary education. This delay in enrollment mirrors the general population in which approximately 15 percent of youth deferred their enrollment in postsecondary institutions (Blackorby & Wagner, 1996). Research indicates there is a strong correlation between an individual with a disability's completion of postsecondary education and post-school employment (Johnson, Sharpe & Stodden, 2000). Approximately 51 percent of individuals with disabilities who hold a four-year college degree are employed as compared to 30.2 percent who completed high school (Getzel, Stodden & Briel, 2001).
Engaging Youth with Disabilities – What Works?
It is imperative that educators and service providers find ways to keep youth engaged in school, assist them in the transition from secondary to post-school employment and education and teach them the necessary skills to be productive employees. Since 1995, the National Youth
Employment Coalition (NYEC) has addressed these issues through its Promising and Effective
Practices Network (PEPNet). PEPNet is a national resource on effective practices in youth employment and development, based on research and practice in the field. PEPNet identified a set of effective practices criteria, organized into five broad categories: a) purpose and activities; b) organization and management; c) youth development; d) workforce development; and e) evidence of success. A self-assessment matrix allows program managers to rate their programs areas of strength and weakness under each category to create a continuous improvement process for youth employment and development. Programs may apply each year for PEPNet recognition for effective practice. PEPNet also offers a range of information and examples around what works, including a web-based index making the PEPNet recognized programs searchable by practice. One key PEPNet publication is its Effective Practices Criteria Workbook (2002).
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In addition to PEPNet’s work, the American Youth Policy Forum (1997) identified the following six principles to building effective youth programs: a) adult support, structure and expectations; b) creative forms of learning; c) a combination of guidance and rich connections to the workplace; d) support and follow-up; e) youth as resources; f) implementation quality. These principles are applicable to both educational and workplace settings. For example, the principle of creative forms of learning calls for programs which serve youth to implement creative options for learning such as work-based learning, project-based learning, and curricular innovations to assist youth in preparing for the transition to employment or postsecondary education. The principle of rich connections to the workplace promotes the use of job coaches, mentors and onthe-job learning opportunities to help youth retain employment.
The principle of youth as resources supports community service and service-learning as effective educational engagement and career development tools. Service-learning has also been found to enhance student motivation and is associated with increased attendance, reduced dropout rates and improved student outcomes, including outcomes on standardized tests (National
Commission on Service-Learning, 1998). Stodden et al. (2000) reported that work-study, work experiences, high school vocational education experiences, and curricula which integrates occupational and academic skills are effective secondary supports for youth with disabilities.
Colley and Jamison (1998) found that work experience during high school (paid or unpaid) contributed significantly to post-school employment. Students who worked in high school experienced higher wages and more continuous employment after graduation. Also, students who participated in occupational education and special education in integrated settings were more likely to be competitively employed than students who had not participated in these activities.
Benz, Yovanoff, and Doren (1997) concurred with these findings. They found that participation in two or more work experiences contributed to competitive employment outcomes for both students with and without disabilities. In a 1993 review of the literature (follow-up studies, theory-based and opinion literature, and pseudo- or quasi-experimental studies), Kohler found that vocational training was substantiated in the literature as a best practice. In the follow-up studies, paid work experience in high school was validated in three studies as correlated with post-school employment. Paid work experience and employer input were implied as effective in
50 percent of the theory-based or opinion literature. In the pseudo- or quasi-experimental studies, more than 37 percent of the literature supported paid work experience as key elements to successful transition.
Employment/Internships
So how do we propose that youth with disabilities gain employment experience? Tilson,
Luecking and Donovan (1994) described Marriott Foundation’s Bridges program, an innovative model that enhances internship opportunities for youth with disabilities as a mechanism for helping youth with disabilities gain skills and assisting businesses and non-profit organizations
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tap into an underutilized resource. In response to employer needs, organizations participating in the Bridges program completed disability awareness and accommodations training and received information on integrating employees with disabilities into the workplace. A total of 762 students with disabilities participated in the Bridges program from January 1990-December 1992. Of these, “542 (82%) successfully completed their internships and 400 (74%) were subsequently offered extended employment by their host companies; another 27 (5%) were offered competitive employment elsewhere immediately following their Bridges internship” (p.85). The Bridges internships resulted in a higher percentage of youth, regardless of primary disability or demographic factors, being offered continued employment at the conclusion of the internship.
These experiences not only benefit youth, but are major vehicles for helping employers become comfortable with youth with disabilities while at the same time addressing real human resources needs.
The National Youth Employment Coalition offered two profiles of PEPNet-awarded programs to illustrate effective practices in the community. Job Link, a program of Linking
Employment, Abilities and Potential (LEAP), Cleveland, OH is a PEPNet-awarded program that provides high school students with disabilities experience and resources to make successful transitions from school to work. Job Link is a career-oriented educational program housed in several Cleveland high schools that supplements the school system’s transition services for special education students. Students participate in the program for three years with the option of two summers of work experience in various departments at the Veterans Administration Medical
Center facilities in Cleveland . Approximately 90 youth participate in the program each year. In
2000, 88% of students participated in the optional summer employment program; 91% of enrollee remained in Job Link for the entire school year; 80% of graduating students obtained employment of went into further training; 100% of the students retained their employment for 90 days, with the majority keeping their jobs for longer periods of time.
Another example is the Career Development Program, a program of Bay Cove Academy,
Brookline, MA. The Career Development Program, another PEPNet-awarded program, provides services to youth with severe emotional, behavioral and learning disabilities. The Career
Development Program is a school to work program that is organized into developmental phases of employment so that students may increase their levels of independence as they participate in career planning, classroom and real-world employment skills training and community job placement. Students participate in the program for one to five years. During 1997-2000, 65 students participated in the program. Six to twelve months after graduating, 86% of the graduates were employed, in school or a combination of both.
Self-Determination/Self-Advocacy
In order to meet the needs of both youth with disabilities and their potential employers, it is important for service providers to rethink the way they do business and
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become consultants to their clients (Luecking, 1997; Unger, 1999; Millington, Asner,
Linkowski and Derstepanian (1996). Traditionally, job developers are the first point of contact for potential employers, with people with disabilities having limited participation in their own job searches. Hagner and Daning (1993) concurred with this observation. They conducted a study of 49 job developers from 26 career service organizations. They found that the vast majority of contacts were initiated by job developers, not by individuals with disabilities. A significant association was found between the way employers were contacted and the level of experience of job developers. Those who had been developing jobs for four years or more used personal contacts more often, assisted job seekers to initiate contacts more often, and had employers contact them more often. Fabian (1995) found that rehabilitation personnel and employers had different expectations concerning placement outcomes for people with disabilities. Rehabilitation professionals cited lack of jobs and economic barriers, whereas, employers cited lack of training and information about people with disabilities as barriers to employment for people with disabilities. It is important, then, for job developers to prepare people with disabilities to participate in their own job searches in order for them to learn necessary self-advocacy skills. Job developers may then focus more time on gaining accurate information on employer needs and concerns (e.g. providing reasonable accommodations).
This consulting model of service delivery is more consistent with the principles of selfdetermination and self-advocacy that are critical to the success of youth with disabilities (Institute on Community Integration). Self-determination is defined as an individual’s ability to control his/her own life, achieve self-defined goals, and participate fully in society (Alliance for Self
Determination). Youth benefit from opportunities to develop and practice self-advocacy skills
(e.g. taking risks and developing independence and problem-solving skills). In making the transition to employment, regardless of whether the employment is a summer job or post-school employment, youth with disabilities need opportunities to identify their skills, learn how to discuss their disability accommodation needs, become skilled at approaching employers, practice problem-solving strategies and learn about the laws governing employment of individuals with disabilities.
Postsecondary Education
Stodden et al. (2000) concurred that students must develop self-determination, selfadvocacy and personal decision-making skills prior to beginning their postsecondary experience.
They reported that students enrolled in postsecondary education must provide disability documentation and request accommodations in order to receive disability-related services.
Research indicates that students who have made a successful transition demonstrated “ a) an awareness of their strengths and weaknesses both academically and socially in addition to compensatory strategies; b) an ability to discuss their accommodation needs with faculty and staff; c) an awareness of supports available to them; and d) an ability to access information,
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services or supports when needed” (p. 10). They also recommended that students and educators identify available academic accommodations prior to enrolling in postsecondary programs by contacting the program's disability services.
What’s Missing?
In reviewing promising practices and effective interventions for improving post-school outcomes for youth with disabilities, it is clear that interagency collaboration is essential in meeting the diverse needs of youth with disabilities. For example, in order to integrate such proven practices as work-based learning, service-learning, work-study and internships, to build student engagement, self-determination, retention and future employability, educators, service providers and rehabilitation practitioners must collaborate with community businesses and nonprofit organizations. In order for this collaboration to be effective, educators and service providers must understand the needs of these organizations and how youth with disabilities add value. The literature suggests that strategic planning that includes coordination across multiple agencies is an important ingredient for success.
It is also important for educators, service providers and rehabilitation practitioners to strategically plan for the changing needs of youth with disabilities. For example, as the economy changes so do the skill requirements of potential employees. Bailey and Gribovskaya (1999) discussed the following seven principles for workforce development and their implications for youth: a) the rising importance of academic skills; b) the teaching of SCANS skills; c) the shift from process to outcome regulation; d) the need to make more use of innovative technologies such as the integration of academics and vocational education and work-based learning; e) involving employers more intensively in the education system; f) better information on the requirements for particular occupations; g) the transition from high school to post-secondary education needs to be strengthened, especially for students who had traditionally not continued their education after high school. These principles are reflected in the Workforce Investment Act.
Although much has been written on the post-school needs of youth with disabilities, there is little empirical evidence documenting the effectiveness of employment interventions. More research needs to be conducted to determine which interventions truly make a difference over time. Educators, service providers, and rehabilitation practitioners must integrate evaluation data into their service delivery plans and incorporate this data into their organization’s strategic planning. They must also measure the overall results of how they are meeting their overall organizational goals, their individual placement goals. and their goals to build effective consulting relationships with employers in order to document improved post-school outcomes for youth with disabilities. The literature suggests that leadership demonstrating a commitment to serving youth with disabilities sets the tone for an organization and drives the development of services and strategies focused on youth with disabilities. It also suggests that in identifying
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and analyzing the needs of youth with disabilities, customers are critical in the development of responsive services, information, and strategies that produce successful outcomes.
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