Pre-Employment Transition Services (Pre-ETS)
The goal of Pre-ETS is to have youth employed or on a career path prior to leaving high school.
Pre-ETS consists of five core services listed below and is part of Indiana Vocational Rehabilitation Services offerings.- Job exploration counseling: Finding out what you may want to do
- Work-based learning experiences: Trying out jobs to learn more
- Counseling on postsecondary opportunities: Working to develop further education
- Workplace readiness: Developing work skills
- Instruction in self-advocacy: Being able to get what you need, when you need it.
Provision of these services has been challenging during the pandemic. Stone Belt contracts with Indiana Vocational Rehabilitation to deliver work experience and job skill training to 80 youth across several counties. MaryEllen Jones, Stone Belt Youth and Family Supports Manager, is in charge of Pre-ETS for a large area in south-central Indiana. She reports that working with schools has been difficult since each has had a different response to the pandemic. The key has been flexibility. Stone Belt has used both online and in-person approaches. Some students do well with online learning and some are not able to benefit, either because of available support or Zoom fatigue. MaryEllen noted that face to face interactions have worked best. Participation increased when students had more individualized support and families appreciated having, “some certainty in an uncertain time.” She feels they are likely to continue to provide more individualized options during this school year. It is important to know that Federal officials are reminding schools and vocational rehabilitation agencies of their responsibility to work together to help students with disabilities transition to adulthood, even amid the pandemic. Supporting youth with disabilities to get and maintain employment is one way to challenge expectations and break the cycle of unemployment and poverty.
From Work to Include September Newsletter. Find out more at http://www.inapse.org/work-to-include
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