600 Coordination of Services Delivered by Vocational Education, Special Education, and Vocational Rehabilitation 601 Vocational Education Program Alternatives 602 Career Education and Prevocational Activities 603 Handicapped Students in Regular Vocational Education Programs 604 Special Vocational Education Programs 605 Provision of Supportive (Related) Services 606 Modifications To Assist Handicapped Students in Vocational Education 607 Work Experience Programs 608 Sheltered Pre-employment Services 609 Credits Toward Graduation 610 Travel Training for Transportation to Jobs on Completion of Vocational Training 611 Job Placement and Followup Services SERVICE DELIVERY 47 POLICY AREA 600 Coordination of Services Delivered by Vocational Education, Special Education, and Vocational Rehabilitation Local educational agencies should make every effort to ensure that ser- POLICY DEVELOPMENT GUIDELINES Coordinating services provided by special education, vocational education, and vocational rehabilitation is extremely important in order to make optimal use of resources each can provide. The joint memorandum (see Policy Area 105) issued by the Commissioner of Education and the Commissioner of Rehabilitation Services urges state education and vocational rehabilitation agencies to establish action plans for coordinating services. Joint plans for coordination of services developed by State Departments of Special Education and of Vocational Education and State Vocational Rehabilitation Agencies will serve as a guide for policy development by local educational agencies. The federal memorandum includes suggestions of activities and services that can be provided by special education, vocational rehabilitation, and vocational education to help handicapped students receive appropriate vocational education. They are presented here to assist users of this guide in the development of their own policies for coordination of services. Special Education The following are examples of special education services that can be provided to help handicapped students become well adjusted and suitably employed: • Career awareness activities directed toward making handicapped students aware of themselves and/or careers in the world of work. • Career exploration activities in which handicapped students begin to sample and engage in experiences related to specific careers. • Prevocational activities to provide handicapped students "hands-on" experiences in the development of basic occupational skills. • Basic academic skill development activities to provide handicapped students with adaptability skills needed for socioeconomic integration into society. ● Auxiliary aids, reader services for the blind, interpreters for the deaf, and the like. • Job seeking, job getting, and job holding skill development activities that would give a student the opportunity to develop and practice skills in real and/or simulated situations. • Staff development activities that provide vocational education and special education teachers with special competencies for preparing handicapped students to enter the world of work. • Career and vocational training for handicapped students, including special training needed to augment the vocational education being provided. • Work study programs. Vocational Rehabilitation Examples of vocational rehabilitation services that can be provided to eligible handicapped persons are: • Evaluation of rehabilitation potential, including diagnostic and related services incidental to determining eligibility for services. • Counseling and guidance, including personal adjustment counseling to maintain a counseling relationship throughout a handicapped individual's program of service and referrals to secure services from other agencies. • Physical and mental restoration services. Vocational training and other training services of a prevocational, personal, and vocational adjustment nature, including work experience, books, tools, and other materials related to training. • Maintenance, not exceeding the estimated cost of subsistence, necessary to derive full benefits from other vocational rehabilitation services. • Transportation in connection with the rendering of any vocational rehabilitation services. • Services to members of a handicapped individual's family when such services are necessary to the adjustment or rehabilitation of the client. • Telecommunications, sensory, and other technological aids and devices. • Recruitment and training services to provide new employment opportunities in the fields of rehabilitation, health, welfare, public safety, law enforcement, and other appropriate public service employment. • Placement in suitable employment. • Postemployment and “follow along" services necessary to help handicapped individuals maintain their employment. • Occupational licenses, tools, equipment, initial stocks (including livestock), and supplies. Other goods and services that can reasonably be expected to benefit a handicapped individual in terms of employability. Vocational Education Vocational education services that can be provided to handicapped persons are: • Vocational education and specific job preparation provided in school for occupations that require less than a baccalaureate degree. (Such training can be provided in high schools, area vocational schools, or postsecondary institutions such as community colleges.) • Industrial arts education and consumer and homemaking education, if the State Board includes these programs in their state plan. • Cooperative vocational education in which cooperative arrangements between schools and employers are established to provide students with both vocational and academic instruction through part time employment. • Placement services for students who have successfully completed vocational education programs. • Vocational guidance and counseling services while in school. • Followup services for students who have completed or left vocational education programs. • Curriculum development and modification activities required to enable the handicapped student to participate in "regular" vocational education programs with nonhandicapped students. • Modification of vocational education equipment to enable handicapped students to develop skills that would lead to gainful employment. POLICY AREA 601 Vocational Education Program Alternatives In order that all handicapped students receive the appropriate special 601.1 Handicapped students must have available the variety of educa- 601.2 Vocational education programs must be specially designed if POLICY DEVELOPMENT GUIDELINES Before establishing new programs and services, the local educational agency should first examine its present vocational programs and consider: • What options are available for handicapped students? • What needs to be done with present regular vocational education programs to enable handicapped students to participate successfully? • What specially designed vocational education needs to be created and implemented? • What related or supportive services need to be provided to enhance handicapped students' success in vocational education? The cooperative relationship established among vocational education, special education, and vocational rehabilitation, as suggested in Policy Area 600, can be uti lized in jointly identifying needs, exploring alternatives, and establishing programs and services that avoid duplication. An example of the implementation of joint planning to provide a variety of vocational alternatives for handicapped students can be found in the Michigan Interagency Model and Delivery System of Vocational Education Services for the Handicapped (Michigan State Department of Education, undated). The Michigan model describes seven vocational alternatives and specifies the responsibilities of vocational education, special education, and vocational rehabilitation for providing programs and services. POLICY AREA 602 Career Education and Prevocational Activities The local educational agency should ensure that handicapped students POLICY DEVELOPMENT GUIDELINES While career education experiences should be infused in the curriculum throughout the elementary and secondary years, it may be necessary to establish special programs for secondary handicapped students who have not had appropriate experiences to prepare them for vocational assessment and vocational education. Types of Career Education and Prevocational Activities The handicapped adolescent typically lacks exposure to the world of work and needs to be provided with activities to compensate for that lack. Some examples of such activities are: • Career awareness, exploration, and decisionmaking experiences to examine careers, career clusters, or specific jobs. Training in general work skills and "hands-on" activities representative of as many of the occupational areas in vocational education as are appropriate. • Experiences to develop appropriate work attitudes and behaviors. • Experiences to develop appropriate personal social behaviors. • Training in independent living skills. • Practice in job seeking skills necessary to obtain employment. Settings for Prevocational Activities These activities may be conducted in a variety of settings, such as: Prevocational laboratory established for that purpose. • Secondary vocational education orientation classes. |