Thursday, November 21, 2024
11/21/2024
The Institute for Community Inclusion, in partnership with the Rural Institute for Inclusive Communities, Arkansas Career Development Center, Arkansas Rehabilitation Services, Mathematica Policy Research and key stakeholders will, in the course of this five-year project, support state vocational rehabilitation agencies (SVRAs) and American Indian Vocational Rehabilitation Services (AIVRS) to develop and advance apprenticeship programs for youth with disabilities in underserved rural communities. The goal of this project, under the employment outcome domain, is to improve employment outcomes for youth with disabilities in rural communities through building the capacity of SVRAs to lead the creation of apprenticeship programs in collaboration with local businesses and workforce system partners. The objectives are to: 1) Develop a Rural Youth Apprenticeship Development Toolkit with rural-specific apprenticeship tools and resources; 2) Support the development of apprenticeship programs for youth in 2-3 VR agencies; 3) Establish a learning collaborative to facilitate peer-to-peer mentorship, subject matter expert support, and partnerships for apprenticeship programs; and 4) Embed the VR Program Evaluation Coach tool to evaluate apprenticeship program design and systems changes. Anticipated outcomes include: a) Increased use and adoption of NIDILRR and RSA-sponsored practices, products, and tools that promote the creation of apprenticeship programs for youth in rural communities; b) Build capacity of SVRAs to evaluate the impact of new apprenticeships programs; c) Generate new knowledge about best practices in employment service delivery and enable future research. The products are a RYAD Toolkit; an active online evaluation tool; and an expanded ExploreVR.org web portal for widespread dissemination.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).
