Research and Evaluation | Noteworthy Practices | Additional Links

With the passage of No Child Left Behind in 2001 and the development of the New Freedom Initiative, a commitment was made to provide individuals with disabilities with a high-quality education and to ensure that persons with disabilities, as stated in Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, have an "equal opportunity to participate" and an "equal opportunity to benefit from" service.

Research and Evaluation

• The National Center on Secondary Education and Transition coordinates national resources, and disseminates information related to secondary education and transition for youth with disabilities in order to create opportunities for successful futures.

• Increasing Rates of School Completion: Moving from Policy and Research to Practice provides a synthesis of research-based dropout prevention and intervention and offers examples of interventions that show evidence of effectiveness.

• The Post-High School Outcomes of Youth with Disabilities up to 4 Years After High School report provides a picture of the post-high school outcomes of youth with disabilities. Findings are presented across disability categories, high school-leaving status, and demographic groups, and compares findings for youth with disabilities with youth in the general population.

• National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research sponsors research related to the rehabilitation of individuals with disabilities.

• National Collaborative for Workforce and Disability is a source for information about employment for youth with disabilities in the Juvenile Corrections System. The Guideposts are a framework to assist the multiple organizations that need to be involved to meet the needs and improve the transition outcomes of youth involved with the juvenile corrections system and to create necessary community webs of support.

• The Social Security Administration's Youth Transition Demonstration Projects report from the Social Security Administration (SSA) provides a past and current work conducted under its Youth Transition Demonstration (YTD) projects that are part of a broader initiative to encourage disability beneficiaries to return to work. The demonstration provides youth ages 14 through 25 with employment-related services and waivers of certain rules governing the Supplemental Security Income and Social Security Disability Insurance programs.

Noteworthy Practices

• National League of Cities' Institute for Youth, Education, and Families is the oldest and largest national organization representing municipal government throughout the United States. Its mission is to strengthen and promote cities as centers of opportunity, leadership, and governance. NLC's Youth In Transition program provides information on its network of support specific to the needs of youth in transition, such as those in the juvenile justice system to help them re-connect to mainstream activities, such as jobs, as well as to supports such as caring adults and social and health services and housing.

• Connecticut's Community Education, Training & Employment—Adult Training & Development Network provides training and technical assistance to adult educators and employment counselors in Connecticut, including assistance in working with adults with disabilities.

• Career-Focused Services for Students with Disabilities at Community Colleges report discusses the promising practices of community colleges in six states—Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, Washington, and Texas—to function as intermediaries in meeting the local workforce development needs of employers and promoting career opportunities and job attainment for students, including those with disabilities.

• DO-IT: Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking, and Technology provides resources and information on helping people with disabilities make the most of education and employment opportunities through the use of technology and universal design principles.

• Florida Division of Workforce Development—Adult General Education Frameworks describes the basic modules of Florida's Adult Education program, including Adult General Education for Adults with Disabilities.

Additional Links

• The mission of the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy is to provide leadership to increase employment opportunities for adults and youth with disabilities.

• Americans with Disabilities Act ( ADA) is the official site for the legislation and offers various resources and technical assistance about the implementation of the ADA.

• Disabilityinfo.gov is a comprehensive federal website of disability-related government resources.

• The National Center on Workforce and Disability for Adults (NCWD-Adult) provides training, technical assistance, policy analysis, and information to improve access for all persons with disabilities in the workforce development system.

• The National Association for Adults with Special Learning Needs' goal is to ensure that adults with special learning needs have the opportunities necessary to become successful lifelong learners

• The National Council on Disability is an independent federal agency that makes recommendations to the President and Congress on issues affecting Americans with disabilities.

• Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America (RESNA) is an interdisciplinary association of people with a common interest in technology and disability. RESNA promotes research and development, and provides technology to support people with disabilities.

• National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth provides information and resources for youth with disabilities and their families, service providers and other front line workers, administrators, policy makers, and employers.