Established in 1991, IEL's Center for Workforce Development's (CWD) mission is to strengthen ties among workers, learning institutions and the workplace. CWD focuses on helping leaders in both the public and private sectors build bridges that connect individuals with both learning institutions and the workplace. The focus is on the ties that link the worker, the school or training institutions, and the workplace -- ties that promote the types of learning organizations needed to increase the overall productivity of the nation's workforce. Over time, CWD's work has concentrated on: · · · ·

• improving the involvement and connection of employers to learning enterprises and the workforce system;
• assisting educators, employers and policymakers to improve the connection between school and workplace;
• putting standards and assessments in place that will improve connections and quality; and
• improving the quality of and the connections among the various pieces of the workforce development system through evidence based research leading to examples of what works.

National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth (NCWD/Youth)

In October 2001, the CWD and its six partners were funded by the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy to establish and operate the National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth.

Visit the NCWD/Youth website at http://www.ncwd-youth.info/, or click here for more information about the Collaborative.

The mission of NCWD/Youth is to ensure that youth with disabilities are provided full access to high quality services in integrated settings in order to maximize their opportunities for employment and independent living. To accomplish the mission, NCWD/Youth has established three distinct goals:

1. Supporting state and local policies that promote full access to high quality services for youth with disabilities;
2. Strengthening the services provided by organizations responsible for delivery of workforce development services; and,
3. Improving the awareness, knowledge, and skills of individuals responsible for providing direct services to youth.

• Academy for Educational Development, Washington, DC;
• National Center on Secondary Education and Transition, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN;
• National Conference of State Legislatures, Washington, DC;
• National Youth Employment Coalition, Washington, DC;
• TransCen, Inc., Rockville, MD;
• National Association of Workforce Boards, Washington, DC.

Those interested in disability issues and particularly in improving outcomes for youth with disabilities can sign up for the NCWD/Youth's new electronic newsletter, Intersection: Navigating the Road to Work. To sign-up, visit the NCWD/Youth Web site.

A series of background papers on critical issues can be found on the NCWD/Youth website. They are:

• Youth Development & Youth Leadership.
  This paper assists youth service practitioners, administrators, and policy makers in defining, differentiating, and providing youth development and youth leadership programs and activities, which are important components of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA). All effective youth programs have youth development at their core and all effective youth leadership programs build on solid youth development principles.
  
  
• Knowledge, Skills and Abilities of Youth Service Practitioners: The Centerpiece of a Successful Workforce Development System.
  The purpose of this paper is to review the current state of practice within the workforce development system in reference to the competencies - the combined knowledge, skills, and abilities - of youth service practitioners. The paper looks at how and by whom: 1) required content is established; 2) training and education based upon that content are provided; and 3) credentials are given. Additionally, the paper outlines some possible action steps to build stronger connections among organizations and workforce development institutions to ensure that skilled staff serves youth and employers.
  
  
• Making the Connections: Growing and Supporting New Organizations--Intermediaries.
  The paper describes how a new organizational strategy - intermediaries - can link the supply and demand sides of workforce development. By aligning and brokering multiple services across institutional and funding sources, intermediary organizations can play an important role in improving employment outcomes for youth with disabilities.

In addition, it has a series of guides:

• Assessment Guide
  The best decisions and choices made by transitioning youth are based on sound information including appropriate assessments that focus on the talents, knowledge, skills, interests, values, and aptitudes of each individual. This guide serves as a resource for multiple audiences within the workforce development system. Youth service practitioners will find information on selecting career-related assessments, determining when to refer youth for additional assessment, and additional issues such as accommodations, legal issues, and ethical considerations. Administrators and policymakers will find information on developing practical and effective policies, collaboration among programs, and interagency assessment systems.
  
  
• High School/High Tech (HS/HT) Program Manual
  This resource provides a foundation for developing partnerships to increase the pipeline of young people preparing for jobs in technology-related occupations. Using evidence-based quality design features, HS/HT builds collaborations with organizations to assist your state or community better meet the needs of youth with disabilities.
  
  
• The 411 on Disability Disclosure: A Workbook for Youth with Disabilities
  This publication is designed for youth and adults working with them to learn about disability disclosure. This workbook helps young people make informed decisions about whether or not to disclose their disability and understand how that decision may impact their education, employment, and social lives. Based on the premise that disclosure is a very personal decision, the Workbook helps young people think about and practice disclosing their disability.

CWD/Youth is offering a series of Quick Reference Guides that provides resources on critical topics for administrators, youth service practitioners, and policymakers. Each Guide offers succinct descriptions of a topic with resources that have been identified by experts at NCWD/Youth. You can download copies of the Quick Reference Guides below. The six guides are:

• Workplace Success
  PDF format or MS Word format
  The guide describes how to create successful work-based experiences for youth and their employers that foster adult employment success for all youth, particularly for those with disabilities.
• Assessment
  PDF format or MS Word format
  The guide gives an overview of the process of collecting information that can be used in decision-making, career-planning, and service plan development for a young person.
• Benefits Planning for Youth with Disabilities
  PDF format or MS Word format
  The guide helps those assisting youth with disabilities navigate the range of state and federal government programs and benefits for people with disabilities in the United States.
• Hidden Disabilities
  PDF format or MS Word format
  The guide provides a basic understanding of how to identify and screen for hidden disabilities; connect to formal diagnosis; provide appropriate accommodations; and identify support services.
• Universal Access
  PDF format or MS Word format
  The guide assists those developing a program, service, or activity to make them accessible to youth and adults with disabilities.
• Youth Development and Youth Leadership for All Youth
  PDF format or MS Word format
  The guide explains youth development and leadership components and how they lead to more effective workforce development programs.

National Consortium on Leadership and Disability for Youth (NCLD-Youth)
The US Department of Health and Human Services' Administration on Developmental Disabilities has funded the Institute for Educational Leadership to create the National Consortium on Leadership and Disability for Youth (NCLD-Youth), a youth-led resource, information, and training center for youth and emerging leaders with developmental disabilities. The project is focused around the five areas of youth development and youth leadership as determined by the Forum for Youth Investment, learning, connecting, thriving, working, and leading. These five areas correspond with seven of the eight areas of emphasis listed in the Developmental Disabilities Act (employment, education, housing, recreation, health, childcare, and transportation.) NCLD-Youth will strive to promote a well-developed and well-trained cadre of youth and emerging leaders with developmental disabilities in each of the four partner states (CA, NH, DC, and FL) to influence state and local-level youth development and leadership public policy.

Manufacturing Industries Careers Alliance (MICA).
CWD continues to work with the National Association of Manufacturers' Center for Workforce Success, and others to develop:

• strong employer network associations focused on improving the transition between school and work;
• alliances between industry and education and training providers at the national, state and local levels; and
• awareness of career opportunities in manufacturing focused on parents, counselors and students.

Visit the MICA Web site, www.nam.org/Workforce/MICA/mica.html, for additional information.

Baseline Study of Business and Education Skill Standards.
Prepared for the U.S. Department of Education, An Overview of Skill Standards Systems in Education and Industry, Systems in the U.S. and Abroad, Volume I-IV examined both the occupations and industries that have skill standards and the extent to which they are covered. To order copies, visit our publications page.

NCWD/Youth
NCWD/Youth has identified Guideposts for Success based on what research shows that all youth need to transition to adulthood successfully. Research has identified educational and career development interventions that can make a positive difference in the lives of youth. Work-based learning experiences, preferably connected to curriculum content; student-centered individualized education programs that drive instruction; family involvement in and support of education and career development activities; and linkages to individually determined support services have all been proven, by both practice and research, to lead to the education and employment success of all youth, including youth with disabilities, The Guideposts are available at: http://www.ncwd-youth.info/resources_&_Publications/guideposts/index.html.

National Standards For Secondary Education And Transition For All Youth
As a partner in the National Alliance for Secondary Education and Transition, NCWD/Youth was actively involved in convening stakeholders across the education, disability, and child services spectrum in developing NASET's national transition standards and quality indicators. Standards and indicators are provided in the areas of schooling, career preparatory experiences, youth development and leadership, family involvement, and connecting activities, which mirror the five Guideposts for Success developed by NCWD-Youth. Consequently, NCWD-Youth took the lead in compiling a common research base for both the NASET standards and the Guideposts. The standards, shared research base, and planning tools are provided in NASET's National Standards and Quality Indicators: Transition Toolkit for Systems Improvements, available at http://www.ncset.org/teleconferences/docs/TransitionToolkit.pdf. This living document, which will be updated regularly, can guide state and local administrators and practitioners in planning and implementing transition systems for youth.

PEPNet, National Youth Employment Coalition. The National Youth Employment Coalition is a network of youth employment/development practitioners, researchers and policymakers from around the nation that supports Promising and Effective Programs Network (PEPNet), which is criteria for effective youth employment programs that are used by agencies and programs to self-assess their effectiveness and to publicly identify effective youth programs across the country. CWD assisted in the design of the self-assessment tool and its supporting material and in the development of the application and process to publicly recognize effective programs. CWD now is assisting in the development of other PEPNet pieces. For more information contact, http://www.nyec.org/pepnet/index.html