PROGRAM
Organization Profile: Hope Haven, Inc. is a faith-based community organization that provides psychiatric rehabilitation services, children and family services, community living services, employment services, and international ministries. Hope Haven provides vocational assessment, career planning, and exploration, as well as job development and job placement as part of their employment services.
A consortium of organizations and individuals were brought together under the leadership of Hope Haven, Inc. to develop and implement this project. West Sioux Community High School, the area education agency, the local Iowa vocational rehabilitation services counselor, the transition advisory board, the local workforce investment act youth program, and Hawarden Area Partnership for Progress are part of the consortium. It also included youth with disabilities and a parent representative.
States of Operation: IA
ODEP Funded: Yes
Profile Year: 2007
INNOVATIVE PRACTICES
Career Preparation and Work-Based Learning Experiences: As part of the curriculum, the class operates a youth-driven entrepreneurial experience. In Hawarden, Iowa, it is a coffee shop called Falcon Joe’s. It is open in the morning before classes start, beginning at 7:30 am and staying open until 9:30 am. It makes and sells a variety of coffee drinks to students, school personnel, and the public. Students in the CASE class run the coffee shop and are paid for the hours that they work. They are exposed to all aspects of running the business. This provides the students with real world work experience. The coffee shop has been popular within the school and the community, and the revenue from it makes it self-sustaining.
Area businesses provide opportunities for youth to learn about jobs within the community. Guest speakers from local businesses come to the class room to talk about their business. Local businesses also provide the job shadowing opportunities for all students in the class. In selecting a job shadowing experience, every attempt is make to match the students with a business that reflects their career interests. Group field trips provide an opportunity for youth to learn about careers that are outside the community.
Youth Development and Leadership: The four levels of the curriculum are designed to prepare youth for life beyond high school, in terms of both personal development and preparing for further education and work. The Assessing Readiness addresses the students’ commitment to their personal planning and creates self-awareness as well as environmental awareness. The Developing Readiness component teaches personal readiness, academic awareness, and social competence. The Choosing a Goal component helps students clarify their work values, define career characteristics, and select a career goal. And finally the Achieving the Goal component focuses on relationship building and developing a post high school plan. In addition students are provided with an inventory of resources, which they call resource mapping, to help students pursue their post-secondary goals.
ORGANIZATION
Organization Name: Hope Haven, Inc.
Organization Director: David R. VanNingen, Executive Director
Program Name: Hope Haven, Inc.
Street Address: 1800 19th Street
City: Rock Valley
State: IA
CONTACT
Contact Person: Susan Loverink
Contact E-mail: sloverink@hopehaven.org
