WorkAdvance is a sectoral workforce development program designed to meet the needs of workers and employers alike. For unemployed and low-wage working adults, the program provides skills training in targeted sectors that have good-quality job openings with room for advancement within established career pathways. For employers in those sectors,…

The budget for the U.S. Department of Labor for Fiscal Year 2010 includes a total of $45 million to support and study transitional jobs. This paper describes the origins of the transitional jobs models that are operating today, reviews the evidence on the effectiveness of this approach and other subsidized employment models, and offers some…

This paper describes the development and implementation of a selective job-placement system in the Michigan Vocational Rehabilitation agency. A number of specialized units in the system were created to facilitate both job development and job placement. (Author)

To develop and operationalize a model job training-employment program which utilizes the Federal Civil Service system to provide job training and subsequent employment for hard-core youth, a 26-week pilot program was conducted for 18 female trainees. The training program consisted of a 2-week orientation followed by a 3-month classroom training…

The report describes first year activities of a National Scope Supported Employment Demonstration Project which included a survey of supported employment providers (N=605) to define approaches used, impediments, and best practices. Among findings were the following: vocational rehabilitation facilities and developmental centers together provided…

Traditionally, disabled persons have received vocational training in sheltered workshops and after evaluation have been placed into work activity, extended sheltered employment, or transitional employment programs. Transition then to competitive employment is atypical for persons with severe disabilities. Their employment situation has improved…

This paper describes a successful model of supported employment developed by a single small agency previously providing services as a segregated day activity center. Included is discussion of the service agency, program methodology, barriers to successful community-based employment, manner in which barriers were overcome, program outcomes, and…

This paper presents a collaborative employment placement and training structure which provides a flexible format for implementing various natural support models for the employment of individuals with severe disabilities. A team approach is used to develop and implement job assessment, training, and follow-up activities. Each team may be composed…

This catalog describes 22 programs selected as exemplary by the Regional Rehabilitation Exchange (RRX) project, in the areas of supported employment, job placement services, school-to-adult life transition, and independent living services. The programs are located in federally designated Region VI, consisting of Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico,…

As part of a series of topic papers assessing federal laws and programs affecting persons with disabilities, this paper focuses on employment programs and initiatives. Described are (1) the transition model of the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS), which emphasizes a solid educational foundation and adequate…

This guidebook is designed to assist employment and training agency staff in performing the placement function in a manner consistent with the stated agency goal, yet cognizant of job market realities. An introductory section explains purposes of the guidebook and overviews job placement, job development, and a collaborative council. Three…

The Vocational Education to Work model is a system of communication and support between vocational and special educators, designed to train students with disabilities in mainstreamed vocational education. The model's four sequential components include active recruitment, guided placement, continuing support, and job placement followup.…

In times of economic recession, dollars for job training and job placement programs grow scarcer, and those that are available tend to go to middle-class workers who are displaced or temporarily unemployed. The structurally unemployed--primarily the poor, the less educated, and minority youth--find it harder to compete for the needed training, and…

The federal government needs to provide employment and training assistance to help dislocated workers to become reemployed. Worker mobility assistance should not be focused upon as a major thrust of reemployment programs, since American workers are remarkably resistant to pressures to move to more promising labor markets. Efficient and effective…

A study examined the relationship between job training delivery systems and local economic development to determine what kinds of organizational relationships work best to promote coordination. The 6 sites selected from over 80 nominations were chosen because they linked job training with economic development efforts; produced sustained, positive…