Competency Area III: Assessment and Individualized Planning

III.1 Ability to facilitate person-centered planning, including the ability to assess goals, interests, past experience, learning styles, academic skills, assets, independent living skills, and needs (e.g. transportation, etc.)

Learning Objectives

• III.1.1 Describe strategies for increasing advocacy for person-centered planning, including the ability to assess goals, interests, past experience, learning styles, academic skills, assets, independent living skills, and needs (e.g. transportation, housing, others)
• III.1.2 Ability to create a plan for developing and implementing a person-centered, asset-based career planning process for youth, including all components of the process and the internal and external resources needed to support it

Selected Activities

• Take the Cornell Person-Centered Planning Education Site - on-line course
• Map the processes needed to identify the components and resources needed for a person-centered planning process for youth
• Utilize several interactive learning style instruments
  • Index of Learning Styles is a self-scoring questionnaire
  • Literacy Partners of Manitoba Creative Student Assessments
  • About Learning
• Utilize several interactive skill matching career sites
  • DOL’s Career OneStop
  • Career Voyages
  • CareerInfoNet
  • America’s Job Bank
  • Employer Assistance and Referral Network

Demonstration of Learning - Show What You Know!

• Complete the relevant activities found in the Cornell Person-Centered Planning Education Site on-line course
• Help a student complete the Bowling Green Career Planning/Competency Model

Resources Developed by NCWD/Youth and Partners

• National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth (n.d.). Assessment Guide Chapter 4: The Organizational Perspective .
• National Collaborative on Workforce & Disability for Youth (2004). Youth Assessment.
• Timmons, J., Podmostko, M., Bremer, C., Lavin, D., and Wills, J. (2004). Career Planning Begins with Assessment: A Guide for Professionals Serving Youth with Educational and Career Development Challenges. Washington, D.C.: National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth, Institute for Educational Leadership.

Other Resources

• About Learning (n.d.).
• America's CareerInfoNet (n.d.).
• America’s Job Bank (n.d.).
• CA Department of Developmental Services: Individual Program Plan (IPP) (n.d.).
• Career OneStop (n.d.).
• Center for Evidence-Based Practice: Young Children with Challenging Behavior (n.d.).
• Cornell: The Person-Centered Planning Education Site (n.d.).
• Department of Labor, and US Department of Education. (n.d.). Career Voyages.
• Felder, R. (n.d.). Learning Styles.
• Felder, R. (n.d.). Index of Learning Styles [a self-scoring questionnaire].
• Health and Safety Initiative. (2002). The Right Start: Work experience for young people: Health and Safety Basics for Employers .
• Literacy Partners of Manitoba. (n.d.). Creative Student Assessments.
• Missouri Partnership for Self-Directed Support. (n.d.). What does a Person-Centered Plan Facilitator do?
• Person-Centered Planning Workbook .
• Muskingum College (n.d.) CAL Learning Strategies Database.
• O'Brien, J. and O'Brien, C. (n.d.). The Politics of Person Centered Planning .

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III.2 Ability to involve youth in their own planning process by helping youth to set realistic goals and action steps, make informed choices, exercise self-determination, and actively participate in own development (includes financial/benefits planning and educational requirements)

Learning Objectives

• III.2.1 List and describe strategies to involve youth in their own planning process

Selected Activities

• Utilize several interactive skill matching career sites
  • DOL’s Career OneStop
  • Career Voyages
  • CareerInfoNet
  • America’s Job Bank
  • Employer Assistance and Referral Network
• Take the Transition Information Summary form and complete it by interviewing real young people
• Class discussion of what was observed in the interviews, how informed the youth were about their goals, and what kind of plans (if any) they have to achieve their goals
• Take what you have learned from the interviews and discussion, and develop an outline of a career plan for the young person interviewed

Demonstration of Learning - Show What You Know!

• Design a program appropriate for your organizational setting that will help promote youth in their own planning process

Resources Developed by NCWD/Youth and Partners

• National Youth Employment Coalition. (n.d.). PEPNet Online Index to Quality Practices, standards 3.4 (working)
• Timmons, J., Podmostko, M., Bremer, C., Lavin, D., and Wills, J. (2004). Career Planning Begins with Assessment: A Guide for Professionals Serving Youth with Educational and Career Development Challenges. Washington, D.C.: National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth, Institute for Educational Leadership.

Other Resources

• America's Career Resource Network (ACRN). (n.d.). National Career Development Guidelines (NCDG).
• McCay, D. (n.d.). Helping your Child Make Career Choices.
• McCay, D. (n.d.). Tips for Teens Who Toil.

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III.3 Knowledge of various assessment tools and strategies and ability to administer assessments (or make referrals, as needed)

Learning Objectives

• III.3.1 List and describe various assessment tools and strategies in the major assessment domains and categories
• III.3.2 Administer at least one assessment in the appropriate categories of the educational, psychological, and vocational testing domains

Selected Activities

• Utilize several interactive learning style instruments
  • Tests of Adult Basic Education (survey in Math or Reading)
  • Index of Learning Styles is a self-scoring questionnaire
• Utilize several Interactive Skill matching Career sites
  • DOL’s Career OneStop
  • Career Voyages
  • CareerInfoNet
  • Casey Life Skill Assessments
  • America’s Job Bank
  • Employer Assistance and Referral Network

Demonstration of Learning - Show What You Know!

• Prepare a description of your personal learning style. Describe how someone with that style should be instructed
• Prepare an short informational guide on matching skills to career using online resources
• Use one of the skill matching sites above with another individual, then score and explain the results

Resources Developed by NCWD/Youth and Partners

• National Collaborative on Workforce & Disability for Youth (2004). Youth Assessment.
• O’Sullivan, K., & Wernick, E. (Eds.). Chapter 4: Deciding HOW to Measure Results. In From Data to Results: The PEPNet Guide to Measuring and Improving Performance in Youth Programs Washington, DC: National Youth Employment Coalition.
• Timmons, J., Podmostko, M., Bremer, C., Lavin, D., and Wills, J. (2004). Career Planning Begins with Assessment: A Guide for Professionals Serving Youth with Educational and Career Development Challenges. Washington, D.C.: National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth, Institute for Educational Leadership.

Other Resources

• Healthy and Ready to Work National Center. (n.d.). Tools and Checklists.
• Learning, Your Way (n.d.).
• Literacy Partners of Manitoba. (n.d.). Creative Student Assessments.
• McGraw-Hill. (n.d.). Tests of Adult Basic Education.
• National Association of Workforce Development Professionals. (n.d.). Certified Workforce Development Professional.
• The Riley Guide. (2005). Self-Assessment : Vocational Impacts of Personality.
• UNC Wilmington Career Center (n.d.). Online Assessments.
• Youth Assessment Guide Database.

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III.4 Ability to track progress and change plans as needed

Learning Objectives

• III.4.1 Describe the methods for collecting, analyzing, interpreting, and communicating career information and assessment results to the youth and person-centered planning team in order to adjust the career plan and objectives

Selected Activities

• Review the National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth Understanding the Terrain of Assessment Guide section related to Assessment activities

Demonstration of Learning - Show What You Know!

• Prepare a guideline of what type of assessments have been used or could be used in your organizational setting and ways to track changes over time
• Rewrite a career plan or describe how it would change given someone changes career desires in mid-stream

Resources Developed by NCWD/Youth and Partners

• National Collaborative on Workforce & Disability for Youth (2004). Youth Assessment.
• Timmons, J., Podmostko, M., Bremer, C., Lavin, D., and Wills, J. (2004). Career Planning Begins with Assessment: A Guide for Professionals Serving Youth with Educational and Career Development Challenges. Washington, D.C.: National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth, Institute for Educational Leadership.

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III.5.D Ability to ensure appropriate assessment of young peoples’ disabilities (in-house or through referrals, as necessary)

Learning Objectives

• III.5.D.1 List and describe 1) screening tools for various disabilities, 2) the professionals and organizations to whom youth could be referred for additional testing, and 3) the types of medical, cognitive, or psychological tests that might be administered to identify a disability

Selected Activities

• Administer at 16 May, 2007 ng a disability screening tool such as the Learning Needs Screening Tool for learning disabilities (Pages 15 - Exhibit 2.1)
• Read real neuropsychiatric or medical reports for youth who have been identified as having a disability

Demonstration of Learning - Show What You Know!

• Successfully complete and/or facilitate and support an appropriate assessment of young peoples’ disabilities
• Describe how the disability identified would affect the career plan in relation to accommodations, assistive technology, learning delivery methods, or other pertinent areas

Resources Developed by NCWD/Youth and Partners

• National Collaborative on Workforce & Disability for Youth (2004). Youth Assessment.
• Timmons, J., Podmostko, M., Bremer, C., Lavin, D., and Wills, J. (2004). Career Planning Begins with Assessment: A Guide for Professionals Serving Youth with Educational and Career Development Challenges. Washington, D.C.: National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth, Institute for Educational Leadership. Chapter 2: The Dynamics of Disabilities .
• Timmons, J., Podmostko, M., Bremer, C., Lavin, D., and Wills, J. (2004). Career Planning Begins with Assessment: A Guide for Professionals Serving Youth with Educational and Career Development Challenges. Washington, D.C.: National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth, Institute for Educational Leadership.

Other Resources

• Healthy and Ready to Work National Center. (n.d.). Tools and Checklists.
• Ministry of Education: Ontario. (n.d.). Sample transition plans .
• National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities (NICHCY) (n.d.).
• Transition Coalition (n.d.). The Community Transition Program Manual.

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III.6.D Understanding how to use information from assessments and records and recognize implications for education and employment, including any potential need for accommodations and assistive technology

Learning Objectives

• III.6.D.1 Analyze data, review records, and communicate results to facilitate educational and employment decisions
• III.6.D.2 List and describe various assessment accommodations and modifications and their appropriate use

Selected Activities

• Explore the National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth Assessment site including references
• Review real career plans for youth with and without disabilities to see how data is analyzed, goals are set, and other differences or similarities
• Develop profiles of real or fictitious youth with disabilities that include assessment information, record reviews, and other information that would inform educational and/or career experiences. To accomplish this, research assistive technology and accommodations information and guidelines from test publishers, the state, the child’s Individual Education Program (IEP), or other sources

Demonstration of Learning - Show What You Know!

• Draft a preliminary career plan, including any accommodation, modification, or assistive technology needs for the youth

Resources Developed by NCWD/Youth and Partners

• National Collaborative on Workforce & Disability for Youth (2005). Financial Literacy Information for Young People with Disabilities.
• National Collaborative on Workforce & Disability for Youth (2005). The 411 on Disability Disclosure: A Workbook for Youth with Disabilities.
• National Collaborative on Workforce & Disability for Youth (2004). Youth Assessment.
• Timmons, J., Podmostko, M., Bremer, C., Lavin, D., and Wills, J. (2004). Career Planning Begins with Assessment: A Guide for Professionals Serving Youth with Educational and Career Development Challenges. Washington, D.C.: National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth, Institute for Educational Leadership.
• National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities. (1994). Assessing Children for the Presence of a Disability.

Other Resources

• Bowser, G., and Reed, P. (2001) Hey! Can I try that? A Student Handbook for Choosing and Using Assistive Technology .
• Healthy and Ready to Work National Center. (n.d.). Tools and Checklists.
• Salvia & Ysseldyke, (2004), Assessment in special and inclusive education.
• Transition Coalition (n.d.). The Community Transition Program Manual.

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