Ready to Work: Community Development of An Employability Social Skill Curriculum for Justice-involved youth with disabilities served in Community Juvenile Services Programming - The goal of this proposal is to revise an existing employability skill curriculum for justiceinvolved youth with disabilities inside correctional facilities for implementation in community-based juvenile service settings. We will update and revise the curriculum, identify strategies for job coaches to implement, and weave in applied work-based learning activities that youth can practice the employment skills in authentic work settings. Faculty at the University of Oregon will complete an iterative development process with our partners representing stakeholder groups, including juvenile services personnel, justice-involved youth, vocational rehabilitation, workforce development, and education. Using a Participatory Action Research approach, this three-year project will accomplish the following objectives: Aim 1: Identify specific content, processes, and collaborations needed to revise the original curriculum to include mechanisms for authentic practice of skills. (Discovery Phase) Aim 2: Iteratively develop the Ready-to-Work: Community intervention for implementation in special educators and their community. (Iterative Development Phase) Aim 3: Pilot test the Ready-to-Work: Community intervention in 30 community corrections educational settings. (Pilot Test Phase) The primary outcome will be an employability social skill intervention, RtW: Community for implementation in community-based juvenile services settings that can be facilitated by juvenile services personnel, vocational rehabilitation or workforce development staff, and educators. Long-term outcomes will be improved employment outcomes for justice-involved youth with disabilities. The products for dissemination at the completion will include: (a) shelf-ready RtW: Community intervention, and (b) a dissemination plan grounded in effective practice. The project addresses NIDILRR Long Range Plan Outcome Domain #3 – Employment and aligns with the proof of product stage of development.
