Handouts and PowerPoints from the 2011 Summit of the Alliance for Full Participation are now available. Here is just a sampling of the sessions for which materials can be downloaded:

• Federal Strategies for Promoting the Transition of Youth with Significant Disabilities into Integrated Employment
• Successful Transition to Employment for People with Most Significant Needs
• Employment Tips for Job Seekers and Supporters
• Creating an Employment First Policy: Lessons Learned
• Talking Business: Effectively Presenting the Value of Employing People with Disabilities
• Self-Employment and Microenterprise
• Transportation Challenges: Getting People to Jobs
• How Successful Partnerships Leverage Resources for Strong Employment Outcomes
• Customized Employment and Self Employment: Changes at the State VR Level

The Center on Transition to Employment for Youth with Disabilities recently released Post-School Outcomes for Transitioning Youth with Developmental Disabilities: Can We Predict Integrated Employment? [PDF]. The issue brief summarizes a research study designed to "more clearly define post-school employment outcomes, document the post-school outcomes for youth with developmental disabilities, and examine the predictors of successful integrated employment for youth with developmental disabilities, as defined by eligibility for long term funding support from state developmental disabilities agencies." According to the summary, the two most prominent variables that helped predict integrated employment outcomes for transition-aged youth with developmental disabilities were:

1. Family member expressed preference for paid community employment

2. Paid work experience during school

NCWD/Youth is conducting an online survey on How the Field Uses the Guideposts for Success Youth Transition Framework. They invite youth, families, youth service professionals, policymakers, policy implementers, technical assistance providers, researchers, intermediaries, consultants, and others who support youth in transition to complete the brief survey.

Making Our Way: Autism [Video] is a documentary produced by the Maine Public Broadcasting Network (MPBN), which examines a range of individual experiences with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Some of the topics covered include different learning styles and clues to identifying them; language development; sensory integration challenges; self-stimulatory behaviors; community safety; employment; using special interests to build skills; and service animals to support people with autism.

Friend Indeed - The Bill Sackter Story [YouTube Video] is a 90-minute documentary about a man who grew up in an institution and went on to become a hero for people with disabilities. The movie was voted the #1 Audience Favorite at five consecutive film festivals and was screened at The Arc's National Convention.

A new report by Corporate Voices for Working Families, Why Companies Invest in 'Grow Your Own' Talent Development Models [PDF], examines how and why several American employers invest in the education, training and basic workforce readiness of their employees. The report also calculates the return on investment the firms derive through their education and training programs. The "payoff" to employers includes concrete outcomes and cost savings, in addition to higher employee retention, reduced turnover costs, greater workplace diversity, enhanced customer loyalty, and a positive community reputation.

Transition toward Excellence Achievement & Mobility: An Overview of the TEAM Legislation Webinar

January 18, 2012
1:00-2:30 PM ET
During this webinar, participants will learn about a trio of federal legislation, known as Transitioning toward Excellence, Achievement & Mobility (TEAM), that attempts to coordinate cross-systems efforts to improve and ensure that youth with significant disabilities transitioning to adulthood achieve outcomes related to post-secondary education, integrated employment, and economic advancement.

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) is proposing a new rule that would require federal contractors and subcontractors to set a hiring goal of having 7 percent of their workforces be people with disabilities, among other requirements. Public comments on the proposal must be received by February 7, 2012.

As part of the "Add Us In" initiative, the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Disability Employment Policy has posted videos from the National Diversity Forum to its web site.

The U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration's Career Pathways Initiative, released the Career Pathways Toolkit: Six Key Elements for Success to help guide state and local leaders in building and sustaining career pathway systems.

In November 2011, the National Center for Special Education Research released Secondary School Programs and Performance of Students With Disabilities: A Special Topic Report of Findings From the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 (NLTS2) [PDF]. The report addresses a number of questions about students with disabilities who attended typical high schools, including:

* Credits earned and types of courses

* Proportion of credits earned in general and special education settings

* Grades received

* How credit-earning and grade-performance experiences differed for students who differed in disability category, demographic characteristics, grade levels, and school completion status.

Among the findings discussed in the report:

• 96 percent of students with disabilities enrolled in some type of vocational course during high school, with those courses accounting for 20 percent of the total credits earned.
• Types of vocational courses taken and the average credits earned in them were: prevocational courses (e.g., career exploration), 0.5 credit; occupation-specific courses (e.g., agriculture, alternate business occupations), 3.4 credits; and work study or cooperative education (3.6 credits).

The Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services (CMCS) has launched Medicaid.gov to offer information on Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) policies.

Think Beyond the Label is a public-private partnership that works to increase employment for people with disabilities. Their website offers tips, fact sheets and tools, including a "Hire Gauge" that allows employers to estimate financial and workplace cultural benefits to their business by hiring an individual with a disability. An online jobs portal that connects job seekers with disabilities to employers that are actively seeking to hire them is also available on the site.

To learn about organizations and programs to assist job seekers with disabilities in your state, visit Disability.gov's Information by State section, choose your state, and then select "Employment."