New topic highlighted on NCWD/Youth Website

New information about how assessments can be used effectively to help youth in their transition to adulthood has been added to the NCWD/Youth website. Good assessments focus on individuals and their abilities, not their perceived deficits. The information on the website is personalized for various audiences, including:

• Youth and family
• Administrators and policymakers
• Practitioners
• Employers

Valuable research on the use of assessments in career planning for all youth, including youth with disabilities is also featured on the website. That research can be found here.

The transition requirements of the following pieces of federal legislation are also included:

• IDEA Amendments—Special Education for Youth with Disabilities
• WIA Title I—Provisions for All Eligible Youth
• WIA Title IV— The Rehabilitation Act—Vocational Rehabilitation Services for Youth with Disabilities

Assessments are important to organizations and programs in determining a person’s eligibility for services and in documenting program goals. Developing assessment practices and policies can benefit large and small organizations by maximizing use of existing resources, including funding. A coordinated system of assessment services can improve system capacity and foster interagency cooperation. State, regional, and local organizations can streamline the delivery of quality assessment services.

Different topics are highlighted on the NCWD/Youth website on a regular basis. Previous topics include:

• youth development and leadership,
• work-based learning, and
• preparatory experiences.

The assessment hot topic can be accessed here.

Assistive Technology Act Signed into Law

President Bush has signed into law the Assistive Technology Act of 2004 (HR 4278). Every state and US territory has an Assistive Technology Act Program (AT Program) funded under the provisions of the Technology-Related Assistance Act of 1988. The State AT Programs were scheduled to sunset on September 30, 2004. The AT Act of 2004 supports the continuance of State AT Programs and eliminates the sunset provision for state programs.

The Act also supports state grants for protection and advocacy programs related to assistive technology and national activities such as a national public awareness tool-kit, research and development, technical assistance and training, data collection and a national public internet site.

Specifically, the Assistive Technology Act of 2004:

• Strengthens the existing successful state Assistive Technology programs.
• Authorizes additional resources so each state will receive $410,000 minimum for the state program and $50,000 minimum for protection and advocacy services.
• Ensures that technology will be available where people need it - in schools, on the job and in the community- by refocusing training and technical assistance and emphasizing the provisions of assistive technology devices and services.
• Requires programs to provide device demonstration, equipment loan, device reutilization/recycling and financing systems such as low interest loan programs.
• Focuses on training and technical assistance to improve service planning for individuals with disabilities and ensures that service providers have information on assistive technology.
• Requires states to focus on two populations: students with disabilities receiving transition services and adults with disabilities maintaining or transitioning to community living. This aligns the Act with recent federal priorities, including the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act ‘s integration mandate in the Olmstead decision.
• Authorizes projects of national significance to increase public awareness and encourage research and development.
• Improves technical assistance and data collection.
• Supports a national public internet site that includes, among other items, a library on assistive technology, and links to private and public sector resources.

(Source: National Conference of State Legislatures)

Making NCLB Work For Children Who Struggle To Learn

The National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD) and Schwab Learning, two national organizations, have collaborated to develop a handbook designed to provide simple, accessible information for parents on the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). The 22-page guide addresses the special issues, challenges and opportunities facing parents whose children are struggling to learn, and provides parents with information about specific actions they can take to improve educational services for their children.  It is available at http://ld.org/press/PR2004/NCLBGuide_0904.cfm.