New Podcast Series - “Helping Youth Develop Soft Skills for Job Success”

The National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth (NCWD/Youth) has just released a new podcast series for parents and families titled, “Helping Youth Develop Soft Skills for Job Success.” The podcast series includes the following four episodes:

Podcast Episode #1: “Helping Youth Develop Soft Skills for Job Success”
Podcast Episode #2: “How to Build Communication Skills for Job Success”
Podcast Episode #3: “How to Build Interpersonal Skills for Job Success”
Podcast Episode #4: “How to Build Lifelong Learning Skills for Job Success”

This podcast series provides ideas for parents and families on activities they can do at home and include in their child’s Individualized Education Program (IEP) to ensure he or she develops skills needed for job success by the time he or she completes high school. Learn more and listen to the podcasts.

Info Brief for Families on Soft Skills for Job Success Now Available in Spanish

NCWD/Youth's Info Brief, Helping Youth Develop Soft Skills for Job Success: Tips for Parents and Families, is now available in Spanish. This brief provides guidance for parents and family members on ways to help young people prepare for job success by working with them and encouraging them to develop soft skills. "Soft Skills" are common sense skills that are important in all aspects of life and have been identified by employers as particularly important for success at work. Read the brief in Spanish, Ayudando a los jóvenes a Desarrollar Habilidades Sociales para tener Éxito en el Trabajo: Consejos para los Padres y las Familias.

August NCWD/Youth Blog Posts

NCWD/Youth’s blog features current and relevant information related to the Guideposts for Success, Youth Development and Leadership, Innovative Strategies, Professional Development, and more! See below for blog posts from August 2011.

August ODEP International Year of Youth Blog Posts

The U.S Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy’s International Year of Youth blog series features posts about youth in the employment arena and highlight DOL’s numerous activities that relate to youth. See below for blog posts from August 2011.

"Shaping a More Inclusive Workplace" – 8/4/2011
"WRP: An Opportunity to Test Drive a Future Career" – 8/9/2011

USDOL Issues Guidance on Workforce System Participation in Ticket to Work Program

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Agency and Office of Disability Employment Policy released Training and Employment Notice (TEN) No. 06-11, “Increasing the Public Workforce Development System’s Participation In The Ticket to Work Program for Disability Beneficiaries.” The TEN’s purpose is to provide updated information to the state workforce agencies, local workforce investment boards, and One-Stop Career Centers on the Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency Program, including changes to the Social Security Administration’s (SSA’s) policies for Employment Networks.

NTAR to Host Webinar on Outcome-Driven Services in the Workforce Investment System

On September 14, the NTAR Leadership Center, a national technical assistance center funded by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy, will host a webinar entitled “Outcome-Driven Services in the Workforce Investment System.” This webinar will highlight multiple examples from the field as we explore strategies designed to refine the One-Stop's capacity to effectively serve businesses. The webinar will explore strategies that meet the needs of the diverse sectors of its community, including both large and small businesses representing a full cross-section of industry. These strategies include the variety of business-oriented services available in a community, coordinated around a single point of contact for ease of use by the business customer. They are strategies that allow the workforce development system to act as a foundation for economic growth in its community, while more readily fulfilling its purpose to connect career seekers with economic opportunity and self-sufficiency.

Annie E. Casey Foundation Releases 2011 Kids Count Data Book

Over the past decade, the economic well-being of low-income children has returned to the same level as the early 1990s, a new report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation finds. According to the foundation's annual Kids Count Data Book – America’s Children, America’s Challenge: Promoting Opportunity for the Next Generation, the official child poverty rate increased some 18 percent from 2000 to 2009, which means the number of children living in poverty grew by 2.4 million during the decade. While the Data Book found that five of the ten indicators of child well-being have improved since 2000 — including infant mortality rate, child death rate, teen death rate, teen birth rate, and the percentage of teens not in school and not high school graduates — three areas saw declines, including the percentage of babies born underweight, the child poverty rate, and the percentage of children living in single-parent families. Each year the foundation’s Kids Count report examines current data in ten different indicator areas.

OPM Invites Public Comments on “Pathways for Students and Recent Graduates to Federal Careers” Proposed Rules

The U.S. Office of Personnel Management requests public input by October 4, 2011 on its proposed rules for the federal government’s new Pathways Programs. Established by Executive Order 13562 in December 2010, the Pathways Programs consists of three excepted-service programs tailored to recruit, hire, develop, and retain students and recent graduates. OPM has issued proposed Pathways program rules to improve recruiting efforts, offer clear paths to Federal internships for students from high school through post-graduate school and to careers for recent graduates, and provide meaningful training and career development opportunities for individuals who are at the beginning of their Federal service. Read more about the proposed changes to each of the three programs:

To submit comments electronically, visit the Proposed Regulations website or see instructions for other submission methods.

President Signs Executive Order to Promote Diversity and Inclusion in Federal Workforce

On August 18, President Obama signed an executive order entitled “Establishing a Coordinated Government-Wide Initiative to Promote Diversity and Inclusion in the Federal Workforce.” The order will promote the federal workplace as a model of equal employment opportunity, diversity, and inclusion. The order will establish a government-wide initiative to promote diversity and inclusion in the federal workforce; develop a government-wide strategic plan and guidance for agency specific plans in this area to be issued within 90 days; identify appropriate practices to improve the effectiveness of agency efforts; and establish a system for reporting regularly on agency progress implementing their plans. The plans shall identify strategies to remove barriers to equal opportunity in the federal government’s recruitment, hiring, promotion, retention, professional development, and training. Within 120 days after the government-wide plan is released, each agency is required to issue its own agency-specific Diversity and Inclusion Strategic Plan.

Read the executive order at the White House’s website.

National Center for Learning Disabilities Releases State of Learning Disabilities Report

The National Center for Learning Disabilities released "The State of Learning Disabilities: Facts, Trends, and Indicators". This biennial publication includes key facts and current statistics, information on learning disabilities in secondary schools, postsecondary education, and the workforce. About five percent of public school students (2.5 million) in the U.S. have a learning disability, of which, almost two-thirds are male. And only about one-third of students with a learning disability are provided with assistive technology to support instruction and learning. The report's conclusions underline the overlying challenges ahead and outline some directions to move to improve outcomes for individuals with learning disabilities.

Intersection: Navigating the Road to Work