Building a Youth Specific, Youth Driven Transition Program

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Building a Youth Specific, Youth Driven
Transition Program

• Panhandle Independent Living Center
• 1118 S. Taylor
• Amarillo, TX 79101

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(No Transcript)
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Agenda

• The 5 Ws of a Youth Program
• Why should youth have their own program?
• Who should be our target?
• What unique needs should it address?

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• Where should the youth specific activities take
  place?
• When should youth be provided with services?

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• The How of Developing a Youth Program
• Recruitment of Youth Participants
• The Importance of Planning Variety
• How to Engage Community Support

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• Fundraising / Grant Writing
• Enlistment Role of Volunteers
• Prepare Parents for Youth Programs
• Evaluating Our Own Program

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Overview

• Suggestions for Building a
• Successful Program

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What?

• What is our YES program?
• A program developed to assist middle and high
  school youth with disabilities in learning the
  skills and tools necessary to make healthy
  decisions as they approach adulthood.
• It is designed to meet the unique needs that
  these youth face in their daily lives.

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• Our main focus is to give these students a
  positive, educational environment where they can
  learn from each other in a fun environment.

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• What our program IS NOT?
• We are not a day care or day camp program.
• We are not staffed to provide a full-time daily
  program.
• We are not the answer to a parents childcare
  needs.
• We are not equipped to offer transportation to
  and from our ILC.

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Why?

• Why does PILC offer a youth program?
• Independent Living Centers staff are dedicated
  to providing education, information, and positive
  environment that empowers people with
  disabilities to make positive life choices on
  their own behalf.
• We believe this is best done at a younger age
  before complacency and dependency has set in and
  become a way of life.

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Who?

• Who does PILC serve in our transitional program?
• Our youth participants range in age from 12 to
  21. They must also be a student in middle or
  high school.
• Students are allowed to remain in our program for
  one last summer of activities following their
  graduation from high school.

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• They then enter our adult program, if they
  choose, which allows
• them interaction with their older peers,
• them to share their YES experiences with the
  older consumers as a source of true peer
  support/peer counseling
• the staff to open YES enrollment to additional
  youth.

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When?

• When do we offer our after school program?
• YES meets the first and third Monday of each
  month from 430-600 p.m.
• This allows the youth time to get from school to
  our center, enjoy an after school snack, and
  engage in regular IL skills training, empowerment
  activities, and social and recreational events.

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• YES also meets each Monday and Wednesday during
  an 10-week extensive summer program.
• This schedule allows for our rural county
  students to access our Panhandle Transit system,
  which only has routes to Amarillo on these days.
• The students receive 4 hours of
  services/activities each of the two days.

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• It allows for equal calendar time between our
  youth and adult programs, which means that adult
  services are not interfered with during the
  summer months.
• YES provides activities during special school
  breaks such as Spring Break to ensure the
  students do not become isolated during the
  extended school holiday.

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Where?

• Where should this youth specific activities take
  place?
• Your ILC provides a perfect location because
• ILC core services provide valuable skills
  training and opportunities at a young age.
• The IL philosophy, the history, and culture of
  the disability community are valuable lessons for
  any person with a disability.

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• Your staff and board members provide an excellent
  source for positive role models who exemplify the
  lifestyles of independent individuals who have
  overcome their own obstacles and have learned how
  to work around or limit the impact of their own
  limitations.

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• The HOW of Successful
• Program Development

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Recruitment of Youth Participants

• Establish eligibility and intake requirements
• Identify appropriate allied agencies for referral
  purposes
• Utilize assessments properly to gain valuable
  information

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Plan Carefully / Provide Variety

• Allow youth an opportunity to plan with staff.
• Early exercise in consumer control consumer
  directed philosophy
• Reinforces empowerment skills
• Provides an exercise in decision-making

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• Plan a variety of activities that provide
  practice and discussion with essential skills
• Use hands-on activities and real world
  applications
• Utilize the ILC 4 core services
• IL Skills Training Cooking, Money Management
  Skills, etc.

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• Peer Counseling provide group discussions on an
  area of need or interest (example overcoming
  obstacles or improving your self-esteem)
• Advocacy
• Instruct students on becoming their own self
  advocate by teaching them techniques to become
  assertive on their own behalf
• Assisting parents to become a powerful, positive
  advocate for their child and their needs.

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• Information Referrals provide resources for a
  multitude of consumer needs including
• Transportation
• Employment
• Mobility Assistance
• Housing
• Medical Programs
• Adaptive Equipment
• Emergency food

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• Avoid getting in a rut
• Make each and every day different
• Keep the youth guessing
• Allow free socialization time for youth
• Provide unstructured times for visiting to
  encourage the natural building of relationships
• Lunch Time
• Outside Activities
• Board Games

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• Avoid the classroom feel
• Ensure all activities are educational and FUN!
• Educational Field Trips
• Motivational Guest Speakers
• Role Playing
• Building Effective Communication Skills
• Empowerment Activities
• Team Building Exercises
• Positive Peer Role Models

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Engage Community Support

• Network with business leaders and community
  organizations
• Do not be afraid to beg for reduced rates
  and/or freebies
• Most approached are willing to assist with most
  anything a program needs when it is aimed at
  assisting youth

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• Always say, Thank You.
• Ensure that all contributors, speakers,
  donations, etc. receive a hand written thank you
  note signed by all youth participants
• They will remember you next year because of this
  simple common courtesy.

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Fundraising / Grant Writing

• Consider asking local business and charitable
  organizations for start up money
• Provide them PR by placing their company logo on
  the back of t-shirts, which is then worn on all
  field trips
• Find long-term funding to ensure longevity of the
  program

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• Utilize your funding to provide a completely free
  program since the majority of these youth come
  from low-income families. Ensure that there are
  NO
• Registration Fees / Application Fees
• Admissions fees for field trip expenses
• Lunch expenses on outings outside your ILC

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Enlistment Role of Volunteers

• Enlist as much free hands-on help as possible
• Recruit individuals with and without disabilities
• Consider high school age volunteers/mentors

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• Ensure mentors and volunteers have positive
  characteristics / comfort level with disabilities

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Preparing Parents

• Avoid problems early
• Prepare parents before program begins
• Ensure they understand the purpose and mission of
  the program
• Independence is taught, encouraged, and
  practiced.
• NOT day care or camp

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• Invite parents to communicate their suggestions
  for activities and material to be taught

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• Consider implementing a parent support group
• Provides parents with their own guidance and peer
  support as their children begin to exercise their
  independence.
• Vital step to encouraging parents allow their
  children to practice the skills taught within
  your program

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Evaluation Procedure

• Provide youth, parents, and community and
  opportunity to provide you written feedback
  regarding the program itself and the activities
  provided.
• Provide surveys before and during the program
• Provide larger assessment to evaluate program at
  the end of each summer

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Additional Resources

• Building Youth Mentoring Programs Community
  Toolbox http//ctb.ku.edu/tools/en/sub_section_mai
  n_1197.htm
• Partners for Youth with Disabilities
  http//www.pyd.org/
• Foundations of Successful Youth Mentoring A
  Guidebook for Program Development
  http//www.nwrel.org/mentoring/pdf/foundations.pdf
  

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• Building Relationships A Guide for New Mentors
  http//www.ppv.org/ppv/publications/assets/29_publ
  ication.pdf
• Ten Tips to Mentoring Youth with Disabilities
  http//www.prtaonline.org/PDF20Files/Ten20Tips2
  0to20Mentoring20YWD.pdf
• Group Work A Counseling Specialty by Samuel T.
  Gladding (4th Edition)