New Publication on Professional Development Available

NCWD/Youth has posted a new information brief, The Workforce Development System & the Professional Development of Youth Service Practitioners: Why Professional Development? on its website.

This information brief identifies the benefits to the workforce development system, youth, and the community gained through the professional development of youth service practitioners. In addition, a five-step plan for policymakers interested in supporting the professional development of youth service practitioners in their local areas is provided which focuses on the following :

• Step 1: Building Consensus.
• Step 2: Setting Requirements
• Step 3: Maximizing & Blending Funding Streams
• Step 4: Requiring Professional Development Goals in Request for Proposals (RFPs) Across Systems
• Step 5: Providing Opportunities and Funding for Training

The information brief is part of the NCWD/Youth's Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSA) Initiative, which is looking at what practitioners from across the youth development, education, and workforce development fields need to know to work effectively together on behalf of youth. The KSAs are the knowledge, skills, and abilities, practitioners need to work successfully with all youth in the workforce development arena. The KSAs are organized into ten competency areas which were derived from a review of over 70 initiatives from the fields of youth development, workforce development, education, and disabilities. More information on the KSAs can be found at http://www.ncwd-youth.info/resources_&_Publications/hot_Topics/KSA.

NCLD-YOUTH Website Launched

The National Consortium on Leadership and Disability for Youth (NCLD-Youth) has launched its website at http://www.ncld-youth.info .

NCLD-Youth is a youth-led resource, information, and training center for youth and emerging leaders with developmental disabilities, housed at the Institute for Educational Leadership and funded by the Administration on Developmental Disabilities. The project is led by the next generation of young leaders with disabilities for the next generation of young leaders with disabilities-- taking a positive development approach to working with the next generation of disability community leaders, and developing materials to better prepare them for the transition to adulthood, and leadership. The website can be found at http://www.ncld-youth.info .

ODEP Redesigns Website

The Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) in the U.S. Department of Labor has redesigned its website to better reflect the policy nature of its mission. The website can be found at http://www.dol.gov/odep . ODEP provides national leadership by developing and influencing disability-related employment policy and practice affecting the employment of people with disabilities.

New Freedom Initiative Award

The U.S. Department of Labor is seeking nominations for the Secretary of Labor’s New Freedom Initiative Award. To encourage the use of public-private partnerships, the Secretary of Labor presents the New Freedom Initiative Award, initiated in 2002, to individual(s), non-profit organization(s), or business(es) that have through programs or activities, demonstrated exemplary and innovative efforts in furthering the employment objectives of President Bush’s New Freedom Initiative. Recipients will be recognized at an awards ceremony. Nomination packages must be submitted to Secretary of Labor's New Freedom Initiative Award, Office of Disability Employment Policy, Room S-1303, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20210 by May 31, 2006. Details can be found in the March 2 Federal Register.

MENTOR to Hold First National "Mentoring Spotlight" Award

The Child, Adolescent and Family Branch, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA) in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has a new website at http://www.systemsofcare.samhsa.gov . The website provides information about the mental health of children, youth and families.