9

counseling interviews each during 1972-73 in one of four states: Iowa, Missouri, Utah, or Wisconsin. The study showed that in Missouri and Iowa, the placement rate for counseled applicants was twice that for all applicants serviced. In Missouri, 40 percent of those receiving counseling were placed in jobs compared with only 20 percent of all applicants. The comparable figures in Iowa were 53 percent and 27 percent. In Utah 41 percent of counselor assisted individuals were placed compared with 24 percent for all applicants.

In Wisconsin, the records of a random sample of recent applicants
who had received counseling were compared with an equal sample of
those who had not. Thirty percent of those counseled were placed
compared with 16 percent of those who had not been counseled. It
might be noted here as well that the outcomes of this study are
particularly important because they refer to counseled applicants
who were more difficult to place than those not counseled. In
Wisconsin, for example, 64 percent of the counseled applicants
had two or more employment barriers (such as being poor,
disadvantaged, handicapped, school dropout) as compared with only
28 percent of the group not counseled.

Among disadvantaged applicants in Wisconsin, 38 percent of those who had received counseling were placed in jobs whereas none of the "not counseled" was placed. For the handicapped, the story was even more dramatic with 69 percent of those counseled being placed compared with none who received no counseling.

One program in Missouri which devoted forty weeks of intensive training to changing self defeating attitudes into self confidence as well as having the participants rehearse simulated job interviews resulted in 84.9% of the participants obtaining employment. Another related program concentrated on teaching unemployed persons (many of whom had been unemployed for 3 to 10 years) self-placement techniques which could facilitate their search for employment. Clients increased skills in writing application letters, preparing resumes, participating in simulated interviews, and assessing past experience. Employment was obtained by 80% of the participants (Aiken, et. al, 1976; Lazarus, 1966).

Philbrick (1975) surveyed the records of the Utah State Bureau of
Employment Security for the year 1973-74. He found that those
clients receiving counseling services were 57.4% more able to
find placement than those who did not receive such service. It
was also discovered that employability increased with the number
of interviews conducted with the client.

Kunce, Miller, and Cope (1974) studied data from across the United States on the effects of counseling on rehabilitation clients. The results of their research indicated that both long term and short term counseling contact has advantages in rehabilitation but in differing directions. Long term interventions tend to correlate with higher salaries among

-

10.

rehabilitants, while short term contacts tend to lead to more placements among those considered rehabilitated. In addition it was found that the percentage of monies allocated for counseling and training tend to favorable influence final salary."

The U. S. Department of Labor's Manpower Administration (1974)
reported on the findings of the Texas Counseling Research
Project. This project, which studied the outcomes for 668
persons referred to counselors, indicated that approximately
twice the number of the counseled persons were placed as compared
to a non-counseled central group.

The

Frisby (1979) reports that within the Balance of State of
Maryland (nine counties on the Eastern Shore and three Southern
Maryland counties) a total of 373 economically disadvantaged
in-school juniors and seniors are receiving employability
development training and work experience. The success of these
programs has been attributed to the comprehensive guidance
services that have supported the "hands-on" work experience.
emphasis on self-concept development, work and personal values,
and on job seeking, finding, and keeping skills has resulted in
an overall 75% placement rate for these "employable" youth.
Frisby credits this placement rate to the identification and
subsequent reduction of six barriers to employment:
poor work
habits, lack of occupational information, poor self-concept,
unrealistic aspiration levels, lack of adequate role models, and
limited exposure to assessment materials normed on similar
groups.

The writer wishes to acknowledge that many of these illustrations of counseling's effectiveness were drawn from a book chapter, in press, by Edwin L. Herr: The Demonstrated Effects of Guidance and

Counseling.

Most career development theorists agree that systems evolve from a combination of identified needs, available resources, and the management skills of those who operate them. (Less often discussed is the power of those managers to restore depleted resources, to shift or modify system components, and to continually evaluate those systems as to their utility to their intended beneficiaries.)

While the model attached (Burtnett, et al, 1980) assumes the necessary resources, staff skills, and community involvement as a given it is a useful illustration of the expectations held of the counselor in terms of full services to an entire youth population. There are no explicit goal statements for the disadvantaged youth, for example, nor are certain skills of employability as defined by the proposed legislation, the National Assessment of Education Progress (1979), and Hoyt (1979) -- among others -identified as counseling objectives. That is, the transmittal or support of basic academic skills, good work habits, job seeking/finding/and keeping skills, skills in overcoming bias and stereotyping, skills in relating the work place to one's abilities and preferred life styles may only be assumed as a function of this and other traditional guidance models.

Davidson (1980) has proposed a brave departure from the typical

guidance program for these youth. In her model, counselors would serve as

youth advisors and family counselors

turning much of the actual

youth-directed counseling over to the students themselves. Some excerpts from her thinking follow:

2.

The nature of the counseling services proposed in what essentially will become a new version of youth employment legislation will be diverse and nontraditional. The focus will be on developing decision-making, problem-solving, and self-management skills; coping with change and engineering one's career and future. Counseling responsibilities will be delegated mainly to youth with consultation from professionals. They will focus on developing peer networks, self-help groups, advocacy roles. Guidance activities will include information collecting, analyzing and evaluating resource materials and planning dissemination strategies. Counseling and guidance services will also be provided by paraprofessionals, professionals, employers,

parents, the clergy and community lay persons.

Parent/Community Involvement

The development and potential success of the proposed legislation is dependent on the support and cooperation of parents and the lay community. These are critical resources which would provide the credentials, reinforcement, and linkages necessary for its accountability as well as its success. They will be an integral part of the planning, development, and