Pre-Employment Transition Services: One Student’s Journey and Experience
Pre-Employment Transition Services, or Pre-ETS, is for "students with disabilities who are eligible or potentially eligible for VR services”. In Indiana, students between the ages of 14-22 can participate in Pre-ETS to learn valuable pre-employment skills and prepare for the transition out of high school and into adulthood and the workforce. Steven Miller is a student who has participated in Pre-ETS in Bloomington, Indiana since early 2021. In this interview, Steven elaborates on some of his experiences in Pre-ETS with Alicia Wray, Pre-ETS Coordinator at Stone Belt Arc, Inc.
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Resiliency
Throughout our life, we will face challenges and obstacles – how we face these times can have a profound affect on us and shape how we handle adversity in the future.
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High School vs. College: How Do They Differ?
In preparing to attend college, there are a lot of things a student must do in order to make this a successful transition: Taking entrance exams, applying for colleges, visiting campuses, and researching schools are all a vital part of this process. When planning for these changes, it can be important to ask a fundamental question: How do high school and college differ?
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Exploring Career Pathways
It all starts with the age-old question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?”, sometimes the newer version, “What problems do you want to solve in the world?”. Either way it is phrased, exploring potential careers is an important step in starting a career path.
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The Great Employment Movement
There is a movement brewing, a gentle whisper in the wind stating the time is NOW! The State of Indiana has committed to helping providers move away from work in sheltered workshops. Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) has a goal to work its way out of order of selection in the next five years. With federal and state supports, we are looking at an upcoming movement of growth for individuals with disabilities in the workplace!
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1st Quarter Spotlight Award Winner - 2022
Congratulations to Barbara DeJarnett as the recipient of our 1st Quarter Spotlight Award.
This award honors an employment support staff who goes above and beyond for individuals every day!
The winner of this quarter’s award is Barbara DeJarnett an Employment Specialist, at The ARC of Evansville.
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From Pre-ETS to VR Services – the How and Why
From our partners at the Indiana Secondary Transition Resource Center at IU is this handy resource on “The How and Why of Pre-ETS and VR”. This one-page document gives a quick overview of both pre-employment transition services (pre-ETS) and ‘traditional’ VR services and how the 2 can work together for the benefit of students with disabilities. Happy reading!
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Employment Services: A Providers Perspective
Employment Service Providers provide a benefit to both an individual seeking employment as well as to a business that is looking to hire employees. Employment Providers match talents of individuals to business’s needs for long term success. In the current job market, there is a vast number of openings as well as numerous talented individuals that want to work. Tapping into an Employment Service Provider can greatly benefit….
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3rd Quarter Spotlight Award Winner - 2021
Congratulations to Clay Cramer as the recipient of our 3rd Quarter Spotlight Award.
This award honors an employment support staff who goes above and beyond for individuals every day!
The winner of this quarter’s award is Clay Cramer an Employment Consultant, at Sycamore Services, Inc.
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2nd Quarter Spotlight Award Winner - 2021
Congratulations to Ellen K. Sturgell, our Spotlight Award winner.
This award honors an employment support staff who goes above and beyond for individuals every day!
The winner of this quarter’s award is Ellen K. Sturgell. She loves her work at TradeWinds as an Employment Specialist.
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1st Quarter Spotlight Award Winner - 2021
Congratulations to Virginia Chiacchira, our Spotlight Award winner.
This award honors an employment support staff who goes above and beyond for individuals every day!
The winner of this quarter’s award is Amanda Gordan who’s been with Easterseals Arc of Northeast Indiana for a little over 7 years and an Employment Specialist for about 8 months. She has amazing participants and she pours my heart and soul into assisting them in accomplishing their goals. read more…
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4th Quarter Spotlight Award Winner - 2020
Congratulations to Amanda Gordon, our Spotlight Award winner.
This award honors an employment support staff who goes above and beyond for individuals every day!
The winner of this quarter’s award is Amanda Gordan who’s been with Easterseals Arc of Northeast Indiana for a little over 7 years and an Employment Specialist for about 8 months. She has amazing participants and she pours my heart and soul into assisting them in accomplishing their goals. read more…
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Pre-ETS Update
This month, I’d like to do a review and update of pre-employment transition services (pre-ETS). Starting October 1, 2020, we had a few changes to our pre-ETS contracts.
Remember that pre-ETS has 5 required activities and is available to students with disabilities statewide through our 12 pre-ETS providers.
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Tried and True Transition Tips
As a young professional on the autism spectrum, I know firsthand the difficulties that are faced during the process of transition into adulthood with a disability in this day and age. Here are some tips for individuals at all steps of their journey that have proved useful to me as well as my friends in similar situations.
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Last Blast of Summer
Summer is just about over and the start of the school year is upon us. This final “blast of summer edition” of Transition Trends will focus on the new Department of Education graduation requirements officially going into effect this year for the class of 2023. In December, 2017, the State Board of Education adopted these new graduation pathway policies. They are officially in effect now, though schools were free to opt in early if they wished.
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2nd Quarter Spotlight Award Winner
Congratulations to Matt Brookshire, our Spotlight Award winner.
This award honors an employment support staff who goes above and beyond for individuals every day!
Matt, Employment Consultant, at LifeDesigns, Inc., exemplifies the best qualities of being an employment support staff and has been an Employment Consultant for over 20 years supporting individuals with disabilities seeking employment. read more…
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January '20 Transition Tips and Tools
Happy New Year! We are excited for new opportunities and look forward to providing exciting information for you this upcoming year!
Transition Tips and Tools will continue exploring innovative and creative transition resources across the nation. This quarter, we are excited to present information from the great state of Virginia.
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July '19 Transition Tips and Tools
The Indiana Association of People Supporting Employment First introduces a new tool for professionals and families engaged in Pre-Employment Transition Services, a mandate from the most recent Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) legislation. This federal law strengthens the partnership between schools and vocational rehabilitation (VR) to promote increased job training and placement for students. Eligible students have an IEP, a 504 plan or are otherwise “potentially eligible” for VR services.
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Leslie's Opportunity to Shine
Leslie was chosen as a Coffee Cart Attendant for the Rolling Bean Coffee Cart in April of 2015. Leslie’s outlook on life and her love of people have helped her take on greater responsibilities in her position.
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Day at the Statehouse
On March 7th, Indiana APSE hosted a "Day at the Statehouse" event. Our goal was to follow up on last year’s Employment First legislation, and empower members to contact their state lawmakers to advocate for change related to employment for people with disabilities.
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