Originally published here.

There is a growing statewide recognition of the importance of workforcepreparation for all California youth. This recognition includes significant funding initiativesand accountability incentives. California’s youth, including those with disabilities, shouldbe looking towards a future of gainful employment, fulfilling careers, and economic self-sufficiency. The future seems promising especially in light of California’s historically lowunemployment rate at 4 percent.

Yet individuals with disabilities continue to lag behindindividuals without disabilities with an unemployment rate of 13 percent.

In terms ofworkforce preparation, California’s youth are leaving high school inadequately preparedto enter the workforce.

The outlook for youth with disabilities is even more acute: a13 percent dropout rate compared to 9.6 percent for their peers without disabilities; ahigh school graduation rate with a diploma at 66 percent compared to 83 percent forstudents without a disability.

The high unemployment rate for individuals with disabilitiesis compounded by their lack of workforce preparation in high school and postsecondaryeducation. The evidence paints a grim future for California’s youth with disabilities.

As part of the pipeline for skilled and qualified workers, K–14 education plays a keyrole in preparing California’s future workforce. The California Department of Education(CDE) has incorporated incentives and recognition of college/career readiness into its Dashboard Accountability system. The College/Career Indicator evaluates schoolsbased on the percentage of graduates who are either college or career ready. In addition,the CDE has released grant dollars (e.g., the Career Technical Education IncentiveGrant [CTEIG] Program) to advance their career development programs.

The CaliforniaCommunity College Chancellor’s Office provides competitive funds through the K12Strong Workforce Program (SWP), which extends career and workforce preparation as acollaborative K–14 and industry responsibility. Applicants are responsible for affirming thatyouth with disabilities will be served by these funded programs.It is imperative that these program efforts provide equitable access and achieveevidence-based outcomes for youth with disabilities. For example, by incorporating work-based learning experiences into the K–12 curriculum, students with disabilities can buildthe “soft skills necessary to acquire employment, hard skills necessary to perform job tasks,and social skills necessary to maintain employment.”

Three essential actions drive the development and implementation of a K–14 work-based learning model for youth with disabilities:

Strengthen expectations:

 focus on student abilities and interests; parentalknowledge and attitudes; the inclusion of all students; breaking stereotypes;graduating with a diploma; and making a postsecondary plan to earn a livablewage.

Leverage opportunities:

 support career awareness in middle school andbeyond; draw on K–14 and industry resources that result in quality Careerand Technical Education (CTE) coursework and ensure work-based learningexperiences; and engage employers, community members, business partners,and mentors.

Integrate supports:

 coordinate both generic and specialized career planningprocesses with labor market data to maximize person-driven career planningand ensure case management, family engagement, tutoring, increased diplomaopportunities, adaptive technologies, and financial planning.To operationalize these three actions, the primary focus must be on youth andtheir families in combination with changes in public policies and financing. These actionsrequire reshaping the dialogue about the student’s capabilities and possibilities; sharingexpertise among educators as well as state and community partners; and engaging withthe business community. Many of the program and policy recommendations outlinedin this brief are based on the findings of a 6-year research and demonstration study to improve the education and employment outcomes for 1,646 youth with disabilities receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI), with the engagement of their Family members.

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