Three workforce development professionals engage during a professional development session.

Competency Area 9: Program Design and Delivery

This competency area focuses on the knowledge, skills, and abilities that youth service professionals need to design and deliver quality programs that prepare youth, including youth with disabilities, for successful transition to employment and adulthood. 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.

9.1 Knowledge of workforce development system, including technology of workforce development (service management, performance measures, and assessment)

9.1 Knowledge of workforce development system, including technology of workforce development (service management, performance measures, and assessment)

Learning Objectives

  • 9.1.1 List and describe the components of the national and local workforce development (WD) systems and the types of technology-based data systems they use.
    Note: The workforce development system includes all national, state, and local level organizations that plan and allocate resources (both public and private), provide administrative oversight, and operate programs in order to assist individuals and employers in obtaining education, training, job placement, and job recruitment.

Selected Activities

  • Research and map the local WD system—include all individuals, direct-service and intermediary organizations that serve, support or connect with youth and their roles in the WD system

Demonstration of Learning – Show What You Know!

  • Identify the relationships between your organization and the other organizations and individuals in your map

Resources Developed by NCWD/Youth and Partners

Other Resources

9.2 Ability to work with groups, foster teamwork, and develop leadership and teamwork among youth

9.2 Ability to work with groups, foster teamwork, and develop leadership and teamwork among youth

Learning Objectives

  • 9.2.1 Facilitate and support collaborative group teamwork, leadership development and fellowship with organizational youth

Selected Activities

Demonstration of Learning – Show What You Know!

  • Have a group work on a small task:
    • Watch the dynamics – who talks to whom, who looks at whom
    • Explore ways you can help the group work more interactively
    • Write down your results
  • Develop a youth advisory board for your organization including a training and leadership development plan for the youth

Resources Developed by NCWD/Youth and Partners

Other Resources

9.3 Ability to manage programs and budgets

9.3 Ability to manage programs and budgets

Learning Objectives

  • 9.3.1 Develop program plans such that the program meets the needs of the organization and community while simultaneously managing and recording budgetary requirements

Selected Activities

  • Find the program plan for your organization.
    • If it exists, examine how it traces to budgets
    • If it does not exist, describe the three highest priorities in your organization and lay out a simple plan/budget
  • Examine a case study or problem-based learning activity where participants have to analyze where the case study went wrong, or examine a true-to-life problem that often occurs with program or budget management (a program instructor quits, all the bids for program services come in over budget, you incur an unexpected expense, etc.)

Demonstration of Learning – Show What You Know!

  • Create/expand the program plan for your organization
  • Compare lessons learned in the case study to what goes on in your organization and to make recommendations for improvements or changes

Resources Developed by NCWD/Youth and Partners

Other Resources

9.4 Ability to design programs using best practices (considering age, stage, and cultural appropriateness)

9.4 Ability to design programs using best practices (considering age, stage, and cultural appropriateness)

Learning Objectives

  • 9.4.1 Identify and analyze best practices in order to design or refine a program

Selected Activities

  • Choose a specific activity, service or program delivered to youth by your workforce system. Identify three best practices for this activity, service or program.
  • Compare your organization’s practices with best practices and existing national quality standards.
  • Teams design a mentoring program for groups of youth with different profiles—ages, cultural diversity, disability status, risk factors, etc. Teams need to determine the goals of the program (increase self esteem, increase their awareness of career options and resources, etc.), identify best practices in mentoring, and then research developmental characteristics of the youth at the assigned age, culturally competent activities, accommodations for youth with disabilities, etc.

Demonstration of Learning – Show What You Know!

  • Design a new program or re-design an existing program using the best practices you’ve identified
  • Have the program critiqued by an “expert” in the field and adjust the program based on the critique

Resources Developed by NCWD/Youth and Partners

Other Resources

9.5 Service management skills, including how to set measurable goals with tangible outcomes

9.5 Service management skills, including how to set measurable goals with tangible outcomes

Learning Objectives

  • 9.5.1 Establish appropriate goals and priorities for the program, communicate goals and priorities to others

Selected Activities

  • Describe the difference between measurable and non-measurable goals
  • Identify the goals and expected outcomes in the mentoring program design in IX.4, describing how you communicate the goals and outcomes to stakeholders, and how you would update them as the program progresses

Demonstration of Learning – Show What You Know!

  • Examine the goals and expected outcomes that exist at your organization and determine if the outcomes truly measure achievement of goals.  Make the case in a brief white paper, or make suggestions for improvements

Resources Developed by NCWD/Youth and Partners

Other Resources

9.6 Ability to evaluate and adjust programs based on outcome measurement and data

9.6 Ability to evaluate and adjust programs based on outcome measurement and data

Learning Objectives

  • 9.6.1 Use multiple methods to collect, analyze, interpret assessment/evaluation data and make appropriate changes to programs based on evaluation feedback

Selected Activities

  • Develop a logic model for a program, describe the type of data you would collect and how you would monitor it to make adjustments
  • Collect outcome data from your organization. Place in usable format

Demonstration of Learning – Show What You Know!

  • Collect and analyze a set of data from your organization. Suggest some possible improvements based on your analysis

Resources Developed by NCWD/Youth and Partners

Other Resources

9.7D Ability to access resources from special education, vocational rehabilitation, community rehabilitation programs, disability income support work incentives, and other disability-specific programs

9.7D Ability to access resources from special education, vocational rehabilitation, community rehabilitation programs, disability income support work incentives, and other disability-specific programs

Learning Objectives

  • 9.7.D.1 Explore, list, describe and maintain a variety of updated resources from special education, vocational rehabilitation, community rehabilitation programs, disability income support work incentives, and other disability-specific programs

Selected Activities

  • Identify the different disability-related resources in your area; create a resource map

Demonstration of Learning – Show What You Know!

  • Answer a list of questions about where to find certain services or resources in your area based on your map

Resources Developed by NCWD/Youth and Partners

Other Resources

9.8D Knowledge of universal access and design, reasonable accommodation, auxiliary aids, and services

9.8D Knowledge of universal access and design, reasonable accommodation, auxiliary aids, and services

Learning Objectives

  • 9.8.D.1 Identify and analyze universal access and design resources, reasonable accommodation, auxiliary aids, and services that accommodate individual youth needs
  • 9.8.D.1 Apply universal access and design resources, reasonable accommodation, auxiliary aids, and services that accommodate individual youth with diverse backgrounds, characteristics and abilities

Selected Activities

  • Research sources of information on universal design, including state guidelines, publisher and program guidelines, etc. and then “apply” them to case studies of youth with disabilities who want to participate in various program activities
  • Analyze a website for how well in meets Accessible Web Design Standards
  • Read Small Employers and Reasonable Accommodation and discuss how a small employer can make an accessible workplace

Demonstration of Learning – Show What You Know!

  • Make suggestions to improve the accessibility of your organizational website
  • Make a presentation on ways to make your workplace more accessible

Resources Developed by NCWD/Youth and Partners

Other Resources