A female youth works with a mental health professional.

Competency Area 3: Assessment and Individualized Planning

This competency area focuses on the knowledge, skills, and abilities that youth service professionals need to conduct assessments, use assessment results, and develop individualized plans with youth, including youth with disabilities. Click on individual competencies listed below for learning objectives, professional development activities, and resources for that specific competency or scroll down to read them all. Note: The letter “D” indicates a competency specific to youth with disabilities.

3.1 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.)

3.1 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

  • 3.1.1 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)
  • 3.1.2 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

Demonstration of Learning – Show What You Know!

Resources Developed by NCWD/Youth and Partners

Other Resources

3.2 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)

3.2 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

  • 3.2.1 List and describe strategies to involve youth in their own planning process

Selected Activities

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

Other Resources

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

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

Learning Objectives

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

Selected Activities

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

Other Resources

3.4 Ability to track progress and change plans as needed

3.4 Ability to track progress and change plans as needed

Learning Objectives

  • 3.4.1 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

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

Other Resources

  • LearningWork Connection. (2008). Effective Case Notes. Center for Learning Excellence, The Ohio State University. Written by M. E. Wonacott.
  • Ohio State University. (2008). Developing an Individual Service Strategy (ISS). Focused Futures Youth Development System Builder. Written by J. O. Wagner & M. E. Wonacott.
  • School & Main Institute. (2003). You and the Youth in the Middle: Effective Case Management. Developed for the Texas Workforce Commission Youth Program Initiative. [Read sections on Assessment and Individual Service Strategy & Placement.]
  • Thomas Adams, A., Franklin, S., & Taylor, R. (2004). Case Management: A Resource Manual. Prepared for the U. S. Department of Labor, Employment & Training Administration. [Read sections on Case Planning/ISS Development; Implementing the Case Plan/Delivery of Services; and Record-Keeping.]
  • U. S. Department of Labor, Employment & Training Administration. Improving Services & Performance: Toolkit for Effective Front-line Services to Youth. [Refer to strategies and tools in Ch. 2 Assessment And Development of an Individual Service Strategy; Ch.3 Meeting the Needs of the Labor Market; and Ch. 4 Implementing the Case Plan/Individual Service Strategy (ISS) and Monitoring Outcomes.]
3.5D Ability to ensure appropriate assessment of young peoples’ disabilities (in-house or through referrals, as necessary)

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

Learning Objectives

  • 3.5.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

  • Review Chapter 2: The Dynamics of Disabilities in NCWD/Youth’s “Career Planning Begins with Assessment” guide.
    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

Other Resources

3.6D 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

3.6.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

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

Selected Activities

  • Explore the NCWD/Youth’s assessment resources 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

Other Resources

3.7D Ability to assess independent/community living skills and needs, including accommodations and supports

3.7.D Ability to assess independent/community living skills and needs, including accommodations and supports

Learning Objectives

  • 3.7.D.1 Analyze data, review records, and communicate results to facilitate independent/community living skills and needs, including accommodations and supports

Selected Activities

  • Develop a few profiles of different youth you might encounter, and identify where you would make community connections for their supports

Demonstration of Learning – Show What You Know!

  • Assess information, record and communicate results to facilitate independent/community living skills and needs, including accommodations and supports for one youth participating in your organizational setting

Resources Developed by NCWD/Youth and Partners

Other Resources

3.8D Understanding of benefits planning, includes Social Security income and health benefits and their relation to working

3.8.D Understanding of benefits planning, includes Social Security income and health benefits and their relation to working

Learning Objectives

  • 3.8.D.1 List and describe key elements of benefits planning, including Social Security income (SSI) and health benefits and their relation to working

Selected Activities

Demonstration of Learning – Show What You Know!

  • Prepare a brief describing how a person receiving disability payments can return to work while maintaining needed benefits
  • Write the section of the career plan relating to benefits planning—including having the youth do some of the research—based on the profile or scenario.

Other Resources