Home

HOLLY IS A "CUT" ABOVE THE CROWD!

Holly.JPG

Holly (left, at her Great Clips station) was nearing the end of her senior year at Dayton High School when she was introduced to her Transition Specialist, Kathy McClellan from the Willamette ESD YTP site in McMinnville, Oregon.

Holly is unlike many YTP students who enter the transition program in that she had already obtained her driver’s license and was fully aware of her interests, skills and abilities and her deep desire to follow her childhood dream. Holly’s Mom talked about how through much of Holly’s childhood, she always enjoyed styling the hair of her friends and family and the interest she took in applying make-up. There was no doubt about what Holly wanted to do.

Holly’s teacher, Vikki Mahaffy, had arranged for Holly to accompany some of her classmates to Phagans’ Beauty College in Tigard for a tour and laid out the ground work for Holly to start considering how she would pursue her goal.

Youth Transition News

WomenInTradesIMAGE.jpeg

2010 WOMEN IN TRADES CAREER FAIR: MARK YOUR CALENDARS

FREE Registration opened on January 5th

2010 Women in Trades

Career Fair

Produced by Oregon Tradeswomen, Inc. and hosted by NECA/IBEW Electrical Training Center

16021 NE Airport Way, Portland

REGISTER NOW at: WWW.TRADESWOMEN.NET

First-come, first-serve! Space is limited, filled timeslots will be unavailable.

Click on Women in Trades Career Fair; then on Register Your School or Group.

MARK THESE IMPORTANT 2010 DATES!

v Tuesday January 5th Fair registration opens

v Last week in February Student recruiting posters (sent to registered schools or groups)

v 1st week in April Confirmation packet (sent to registered schools or groups)

THE FAIR!

v Thursday, April 29th Middle School Girls Day

v Friday, April 30th High School Girls Day

v Saturday, May 1st Careers for Women Day (open to the public)

The schedules for the School Girl Days are located on the above web site. Four groups are available on Middle School Girls Day and High School Girls Day. Sign up on-line for one of these timeslots.

Find State-wide YTP Resources Quickly

mapit.jpg

Searching for YTP resources across the State is easy with the YTP MAP. Each YTP location includes the number of students served by that program and the key contacts (transition specialists and OVRS branch office locations and phone numbers). To access the map click HERE

YTP Video

This VIDEO provides a historical backdrop to YTP as it has evolved to serving over 8,000 young adults with disabilities in Oregon from 1990 to the present. It shows how the Youth Transition Program (YTP) started as a model partnership between Oregon Vocational Rehabilitation Services (OVRS), the Oregon Department of Education (ODE), a team from the University of Oregon contracted to provide training and technical assistance, and local school districts serving youth with disabilities statewide.


You will be able to hear and see the viewpoints of students, teachers, administrators, Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors, parents, and employers in this 22 minute presentation.

About YTP

YTPKids1.jpg

The Youth Transition Program (YTP) is a comprehensive transition program for youth with disabilities operated collaboratively by the office of Oregon Office of Vocational Rehabilitation Services (OVRS), the Oregon Department of Education (ODE), the University of Oregon (U of O), and local school districts statewide in Oregon. The purpose of the program is to prepare youth with disabilities for employment or career related post secondary education or training.

YTP was initially developed in seven high schools in 1990 under the auspices of a federal grant. The program currently operates in approximately 120 high schools in Oregon and is funded through a combination of state and local funds from participating education and rehabilitation agencies. OVRS contracts with a team from the U of O to provide training and technical assistance to school and rehabilitation personnel statewide.

All current contracts with local school districts are "performance based". This means that funded YTP sites have to meet certain performance benchmarks targeted at entering the OVRS system, development of an individual plan for employment (IPE), and being "engaged" (i.e. in employment or training or some combination of employment and training) upon exiting the YTP pattern of service. Meeting these benchmarks influences future funding decisions for any particular site. Funding is available on a biennial (i.e. every 2 years) basis and funding decisions are influenced by how YTP sites perform towards meeting their benchmarks. For more specifics about benchmarks, upload the sample "YTP State Summary Report" attached below and read the top of the first page. The data contained in this report was current as of 11/25/2008 and should not be used to describe the performance of the program statewide. It is only a sample.

FEATURED WEBSITE: DRIVE OF YOUR LIFE

doyl_logo.jpg

Drive of Your Life is a fun online career exploration game that helps middle-school and high school students learn more about themselves, higher education and careers.

This web site was presented at the 2010 Statewide YTP Conference in Hood River by Cindy Post from University of Oregon, during the Round Table Sessions. Click on "read more" to see the website framed and navigable within the YTP web site. If you'd like more information about how she uses it, email her directly at: cpost3@uoregon.edu

This free educational tool lets kids answer a series of questions about themselves to learn what careers could interest them and then go on a virtual drive to learn more about each of those careers – all in their own customized car.

To see past featured websites click on the following links:
PATHWAYS TO POSITIVE FUTURES
DISABILITY PROGRAM NAVIGATORS

OREGON YOUTH TRANSITION PROGRAM RECEIVES NATIONAL RECOGNITION FOR BEST PRACTICE!

AMCHP_logo_interior.gif

The Youth Transition Program was recently recognized by the Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs (AMCHP) as a Best Practice. In addition the program was selected to receive a Best Practices Award at AMCHP’s 2010 annual conference in Washington DC.

The Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs (AMCHP) is a national resource, partner and advocate for state public health leaders and others working to improve health of women, children, youth and families, including those with disabilities. AMCHP builds successful programs by disseminating best practices; advocating on their behalf in Washington; providing technical assistance; convening leaders to share experiences and ideas; and advising states about involving partners to reach a common goal of healthy children, healthy families, and healthy communities.

YTP Services

Wheel chair student2.jpg

The YTP provides year-round services to youth typically during the last two years of high school and continuing into the early transition years after leaving high school. All students in the program receive a comprehensive pattern of service designed to address a broad array of transition needs including:

1. Individualized planning, focused on post school goals and self determination, and help to coordinate school plans with relevant community agencies;


2. Instruction in academic, vocational, independent living, and personal social skills and help to stay in and complete high school;


3. Career development services including goal setting, career exploration, job search skills, and self advocacy;


4. Emphasis on paid employment such as connections with local employers, development of school-based businesses, on the job assessment and training;


5. Support services such as individualized mentoring and support or referrals for additional specific interventions;

WEBSITE USER SURVEY! PLEASE TAKE A FEW MINUTES TO COMPLETE!

new.jpeg

We are trying to take steps to improve the PUBLIC YTP Web Site. This is the Web Site you land on when you use the www.ytporegon.org URL (note: NOT the site you go to where you have to use your user name and password).

Please take a few minutes to complete this user survey by answering the items and clicking "Submit".



IMPORTANT NOTE: Some users who use Internet Explorer as their default browser report having trouble with the button above. If that is the case, to register click: Web Site User Survey

You may also use a tab at the very top of the home page to access the survey.

News from OVRS

I have attached the National Council on Disabilities - October 2008 - report on "The Rehabilitation Act: Outcomes for Transition-Aged Youth". I have read through it and highlighted a number of areas you might find interesting. The essence of the report is that there needs to be more research to determine the effectiveness of the collaborative process between VR, education, including higher education, and community partners.

News from ODE

The recent YTP Regional Trainings in Pendleton, Portland, Salem, Coos Bay, and Lane County had a 90 minute session that focused on materials I provided regarding the Oregon Diploma, Oregon's new Modified Diploma, Oregon's new Extended Diploma, and the Alternative Certificate. The Power Point Presentation I provided is attached below.

News From U of O

This chapter will be published as part of new book edited by Deanne Unruh and Rusty Clark called Transition of Young People with Emotional or Behavioral Difficulties: An Evidence Based Handbook. Although the focus is on youth with emotional disabilities, the chapter also provides a really nice overview of YTP services and outcomes. Feel free to share this with your school counselors or administrators as a way to describe how YTP can serve high risk youth.