Transition: School-to-Work
The Transition: School-to-Work Program helps students with disabilities who are eligible for vocational rehabilitation services to prepare for employment and life after high school. Services available through counselors in the Divisions of Vocational Rehabilitation and Visual Services assigned to each high school include:
- Vocational counseling and guidance assists teachers, parents and students in developing appropriate career goals.
- Vocational assessment and evaluation helps determine students' employment-related strengths.
- Work study, arranged through contracts with the schools, provides job readiness skills, minimum-wage work experience at the school district or in the community and high school credits.
- Work adjustment training is provided through contracts with the schools or purchased from community-based facilities, and provides students with skills to help them prepare for employment.
- On-the-job training is arranged in the community for students in the second semester of their senior year with permanent employment as a goal.
- Supported employment helps students in the second semester of their senior year transition into permanent employment.
- Job development and placement specialists help students make job searches more successful.
After graduation, DRS counselors and students continue to work toward vocational and employment goals. Some services are available to all eligible individuals without charge. At this point, individuals may be asked to share the cost of some services, depending on income and financial resources.
Oklahoma Transition Institute
In partnership with the
Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) Special Education Services (SES),
The Department of Career and Technology Education, and other key stakeholders
from across state agencies, schools, families, businesses, and other groups, DRS
co-chairs the Oklahoma Transition Council which focuses on improving transition
planning, services, and post-school outcomes for young adults with disabilities.
The council hosts an annual
Oklahoma Transition Institute (OTI), where regional transition teams from
across the state come together to learn about innovative practices and programs
and to develop a plan for how to improve transition in their local areas. All of
this work is done in partnership with the
National Secondary Transition Technical Assistance Center (NSTTAC) who has
chosen Oklahoma as one of its targeted states. The Council has patterned its
work after a model implemented in New Mexico using the
Taxonomy for Transition Programming.
To learn more about the council, OTI, or how to join a local transition team in
your area, contact the transition coordinator, by phone at
405.635.2768, or e-mail.
Project Search
DRS' Transition: School-to-Work program works in collaboration with partners
to offer a program dedicated to providing education and employment preparation
opportunities for individuals with significant disabilities. Project SEARCH
originated with the
Cincinnati Children's Hospital and is a one-year, worksite-based
school-to-work program. Participants complete between three and four rotations of 10
weeks each on various jobs within a host employment setting.
DRS has two programs at this time – a young adult program in Ada, which is a
partnership with Valley View Regional Hospital and the National Center for
Disability Education and Training (NCDET) at the University of Oklahoma (OU);
and a high school transition program for seniors in partnership with Jenks
Public Schools, St. John Medical Center and NCDET-OU.
The mission of this program is to maximize the potential of people with
disabilities through competitive employment in non-traditional jobs. DRS
provides individualized vocational guidance and funding for job coaches,
training, technical assistance and project management through a contract with
the NCDET-OU. For more information about Project SEARCH, contact the DRS transition
coordinator, by phone at 405.635.2768, or e-mail.
Read Tulsa World article about Project SEARCH.
Read Ada Evening News article about Project SEARCH
Check out the Transition: School-to-Work brochure:
Brochure Standard Print | Brochure Large Print | Brochure Braille
Transition: School-to-Work checklist
Checklist Standard Print | Checklist Large Print | Checklist Braille
Video!
Watch the
KSBI TV news story about the Transition Program.
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