Training materials

What are states doing to help teachers whose job is to prepare youth with disabilities for a fulfilling work life? The attached presentation was given to students in the Brigham Young University Special Education Department. It addresses myths and truths about employment and people with disabilities. It also provides policy information, job seeker guides, tips for teens, eSkills and resources. This approach could be helpful to other states with MIG grants.

What can parents do to help young adults improve employability skills and prepare for the world of work? Utah wants to get parents involved early. They created the attached PowerPoint presentation that outlines essential skills and a list of how parents can help with each. These skills are broken down into work, academic, people and thinking skills. This is an approach that could be useful to other MIG grantees.

How are states integrating American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funded on-the-job training into their MIG grant programs? Utah created presentations to train new on-the-job training employees. Three of these presentations are attached. Topics include building employer relationships, schedule A, and successful job development. These presentations could be a good example for other states seeking to do the same.

Learn about the purpose, goals and activities of ADRCs. This course is geared towards ADRC staff, as well as others serving people with needs for long-term care information, services and supports. It includes a description of resources available on the ADRC-TAE website as well as links to other valuable resources. This course is helpful for anyone who wants to learn about the current trends in LTC policy at the federal, state, and local levels.

What is a Representative Payee? A person or organization who helps someone manage their Social Security money, if the beneficiary is unable to do so themselves. The state of Utah is training people to act as Representative Payees as part of their MIG grant program. This presentation outlines the differences between Rep Payees and other designations, explains roles and responsibilities and more. A sample presentation is attached below and could be helpful to other states with MIG grants.

How is Utah training Vocational Rehabilitation and On-the-Job Training Specialists? The attached presentations were created by The Employer Relations Specialist for Utah’s State Office of Rehabilitation to address employer relations, successful job development, business and vocational rehabilitation relationships and essential skills for finding and keeping a job. These presentations contain information and resources that could be useful to other MIG grantees interested in training ideas.

Dispelling myths about employment is key to getting consumers involved in MIG programs. Utah created a presentation which focuses on ”busting” these myths as a way of educating consumers about work incentives. By addressing concerns over loss of social security or feelings that finding job training and employment may be unrealistic, Utah hopes to get the facts about their programs to the people who benefit from them most. It’s an approach that other states could find beneficial.

Turning the many acronyms that make up the landscape of MIG programs into something youth with disabilities and their families can understand and utilize is essential in effecting successful transitions from school to employment. Utah created the attached presentation for a workshop designed to break down these acronyms into meaningful opportunities. This playful approach is something that other MIG grantees could find useful.

How is Utah involving employers and educators in vocational rehabilitation? This pilot is meant to establish a relationship between business and education, providing skill training in resume writing, interviewing, applications, job shadowing and job sampling. This presentation is part of this effort and could be useful to other MIG states wishing to do the same.

Understanding the myriad of rules governing SSI/SSDI, Medicaid, Medicare & related work incentives for people with disabilities is essential in creating successful MIG programs. One tool the state of Virginia is using is a true/false test given to trainees at the beginning, and again at the end of a two day training session. A sample of the test is attached, along with the training agenda and table of contents for the manual used in the training.