~~This webinar provides a review the various legislation pieces that have implications for Secondary Transition; including: the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act; the Every Student Succeeds Act; Pennsylvania Chapter 339; the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act; the CMS Final Rule; and PA's Employment First Act.
“Application for New Career and Technical Education Program/Course
School divisions can request VDOE approval of new CTE programs and/or courses at any time of the year but must be approved prior to including any budget items in the Career and Technical Education Local Plan and Budget Application.”
~~Researchers conducted surveys of sheltered workshops and subminimum wage program providers and identified 26 work activities that can be done by subminimum wage workers with support. From this information, the researchers identified 95 occupations as being potential matches for subminimum wage workers. including Llaborers/movers, retail salespersons, and
nursing/home health aides. An estimated 1.4 million Pennsylvania workers were employed in the 95 occupations from 2012-2015 (26.7 percent of the state’s workforce). The results from the quantitative analysis point to a number of employment
barriers (for jobseekers with disabilities) in the 95 identified occupations for which subminimum wage workers are likely to compete, including higher levels of competition in rural areas, higher susceptibility to automation, lower pay, and lower expected job growth.”
~~Policy review. Every agency under the Governor’s jurisdiction that has a direct or indirect impact on increasing competitive-integrated employment outcomes for working-age Pennsylvanians with a disability in the public sector or private sector should issue an Employment First statement or an Employment First policy, articulating the values and principles consistent with Executive Order 2016-03. The agencies should conduct a review of all existing regulations and policies to identify provisions which are, or may be, in conflict with Executive Order 2016-03 and pursue the adoption of changes to ensure that regulations and policy align. “
“PAsmart is an initiative with the goal to expand inclusion in STEM and computer science teaching and learning, to help ensure students across Pennsylvania have the skills to meet the economic needs of the dynamic Pennsylvania economy.
Pennsylvania’s future depends on the development of a highly skilled workforce able to compete in the global economy.
PAsmart strategically invests resources in education and training opportunities to support Pennsylvania’s economic growth now and in the future.”
“VA’s Philadelphia Regional Office (RO) administers a variety of services, including Compensation and Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment for Veterans, Servicemembers, their families and survivors in eastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey, and Delaware. We offer the following additional services:
“Pennsylvania offers county-administered programs for people with intellectual/developmental disabilities, and autism (ID/DD/A) to live and thrive in their homes and communities.”
This page has links to services available in Pennsylvania.
~~“As with any partnership between the public and private sectors, the workforce development system faces challenges. While some of these challenges vary from local area to local area, a few are common among Pennsylvania workforce boards. Presently, one prevailing issue that is most concerning is the state Department of Human Services' proposed redesign of the Employment, Advancement and Retention Network Program, commonly referred to as EARN. This program was designed and created by DHS to address the needs of public assistance recipients with barriers to employment, and to coordinate the existing employment and training programs available to them. EARN currently operates in all 67 Pennsylvania counties, and federal TANF/EARN funding is controlled and distributed by DHS to each local workforce development board – all of which provide services in every county of the commonwealth”
This page has links to WIOA State Plans for Pennsylvania.
“Pennsylvania’s Combined State Plan includes the six WIOA Core programs: (Adult, Dislocated Worker, Youth, Wagner-Peyser, Adult Basic Education, and Vocational Rehabilitation). It also includes these optional programs:
~~“The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s Department of Education (“PDE”) and the United States Department of Justice (“United States”) (collectively, “the Parties”) enter into this settlement agreement (“Agreement”) to resolve the United States’ investigation into complaints involving PDE’s policies and practices related to its approval and general oversight of Alternative Education for Disruptive Youth (“AEDY”) Programs. The complaints that are relevant to this Agreement allege that PDE’s policies and practices regarding AEDY Programs have led to violations of federal law by Local Educational Agencies (“LEAs”) (1) referring students to AEDY Programs on the basis of disability and denying equal opportunities to access and participate in equal educational experiences, and (2) failing to provide English Learners (“ELs”) in AEDY with appropriate language services. The United States investigated these allegations under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C. § 12131 et seq. (“ADA”) and 28 C.F.R. Part 35, which collectively prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability by public entities, and the Equal Educational Opportunities Act of 1974, 20 U.S.C. § 1701 et seq. (“EEOA”), which requires, inter alia, that states and school districts take “appropriate action to overcome language barriers that impede equal participation by [their] students in . . . instructional programs.” 20 U.S.C. § 1703(f).”