Designing Statewide Strategies & Programs

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National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability For Youth The ILP and federally mandated transition-focused Individualized Education Program (IEP) document for special education students share many features. State and district officials envision a strong link between the two (Solberg, Wills, Redmond, & Skaff, in press). An analysis of states’ legislative language revealed that, of the states with ILP initiatives, 1) only New Mexico allows the IEP to serve in place of the ILP, 2) Kentucky’s state legislative code specifically states that IEP transition services must be aligned with the student’s individual learning plan, and 3) Rhode Island provides extensive language regarding how ILPs should support transition plans within the IEP. Engaging in quality ILPs appears to facilitate transition-focused IEP development and adds value to the transition process (Solberg, vanBruinswaardt, Chen, Hargrove & Jarukitisakul, in press). Connecticut provided additional implementation language for how ILPs align with IEPs and 504 plans (Connecticut Bureau of Special Education, 2012). Connecticut’s guidance specifies that students with disabilities should participate in the ILP process along with other students with and without disabilities and work with adult advisors/ mentors just as any student does. It also indicates that the information in the students’ ILPs about their interests, goals, and career and academic plans should be used for developing students’ IEP and other plans. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004 (IDEA): IDEA contains provisions that specifically target college and career readiness for eligible youth with disabilities. These provisions mandate that schools engage in formal planning with eligible youth and provide them with transition services that will prepare them for successful transition to postsecondary education, employment, and independent living. Program participants must have an individualized education plan (IEP) and the IEP must adopt a transition focus no later than the youth’s 16 th birthday (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004); however, many states begin by the youth’s 14th birthday. This is achieved by including postsecondary goals and transition services in the IEP. Specifically, IEP teams, including families and in collaboration with the youth, are supposed to develop postsecondary goals based on the youth’s preferences, strengths, interests, and assessments that are age and developmentally appropriate and identify the transition 22
Designing Statewide Career Development Strategies & Programs services required for the youth to achieve these goals. Unlike the ILP, which is updated more frequently, the IEP is generally updated annually. This process is commonly referred to as transition planning (Solberg, Phelps, et al., 2012; Solberg, Wills, & Osman, 2012). Furthermore, the associated transition services should encompass education and community learning opportunities and should consider providing opportunities to develop life skills. The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014 (WIOA): WIOA, which supersedes the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA), is bipartisan, bicameral legislation aimed at improving and streamlining America’s workforce development system with the ultimate goal of significantly increasing the nation’s number of employed individuals, particularly those hardest hit by the twists and turns of global competition, technological changes, economic isolation, or inadequate education opportunities (Richards, 2014; National Skills Coalition, 2014). The WIOA introduced a number of notable changes, including ●● encouraging alignment through joint planning requirements and common performance metrics of the four core programs, which include Title I Adult, Dislocated Worker, and Youth Workforce Development Activities; Title II Adult Education and ●● ●● ●● ●● Literacy programs; Title III Wagner- Peyser Employment Service; and Title IV Rehabilitation Act programs (Richards, 2014); eliminating the WIA sequence of services requirement that core and intensive services be provided before an individual could access training services and merging the WIA concept of core and intensive services into a new “career services” category which should make comprehensive services more readily available (National Skills Coalition, 2014); emphasizing existing best practices like career pathways, sector partnerships, and credential attainment linked to in-demand occupations (National Skills Coalition, 2014); establishing a new “progress indicator that counts education and training participants who are making measurable skill gains toward a credential or employment” (National Skills Coalition, 2014); and allowing the provision of “work support activities to support retention and advancement of low-wage workers” (National Skills Coalition, 2014). Among the important changes to the act is a strong focus on serving disconnected youth, including those with disabilities; at 23
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