Disability Employment Policy Office May 2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The U.S. Department of Labor (``DOL'' or ``Department''), Office of Disability Employment Policy (``ODEP'''), announces the availability of up to $1.7 million to fund a cooperative agreement to establish the National Technical Assistance Center on Transition and Employment for Youth with Disabilities with a 24-month period of performance. In addition, this initiative may be funded for up to three (3) additional option years at approximately $1,000,000 per year, depending on performance, identified need and the availability of future funding. Over the last 10 years, a number of federal and state efforts to improve access to transition planning and services to improve education, employment, and community living outcomes for youth with disabilities have emerged. As a result, there has been some improvement in indicators relevant to the successful transition of youth with disabilities, including increases in graduation rates, increases in enrollment in postsecondary education, and increases in the number of youth entering the workforce. While this progress is encouraging, education and employment outcomes for youth with disabilities continue to lag substantially behind that of their peers without disabilities. To address this situation, ODEP is funding a national technical assistance center to build capacity within and across both generic and disability-specific youth service delivery systems to help youth with disabilities successfully transition from high school to post-secondary education and/or employment in high-demand career areas. Effectively addressing the complex and significant barriers to employment faced by youth with disabilities transitioning into the adult world requires the use of multiple strategies and the active involvement of many stakeholders, including Federal, State and local governments, non- governmental organizations, and employers. This Center will conduct research, disseminate information, and provide technical assistance to a wide range of stakeholders on topics relevant to improving post-school outcomes for youth with disabilities including, but not limited to: Effective practices, such as the emerging use of individual learning or graduation plans, for aligning and improving the education and workforce development systems to better meet employer demand; Innovative service strategies which workforce development, and secondary and postsecondary programs and systems can utilize to better meet the needs of transitioning youth; Professional development strategies for practitioners who work with youth; and Effective models of multi-disciplinary interagency collaboration and systems coordination needed to support youth in achieving positive post-school outcomes through comprehensive service delivery consistent with the Guideposts for Success, see https:// www.dol.gov/odep/categories/youth/. The Guideposts for Success serves as a conceptual framework on improving transition outcomes for youth with disabilities.