California Bridges to Youth Self-Sufficiency An Overview

Mission Statement Educating youth and their families to use services and supports as a bridge to greater self-sufficiency.

Overview California's Bridges to Youth Self-Sufficiency is an exciting new program sponsored by the Social Security Administration, the California Department of Rehabilitation, and seven California school districts.  This program is dedicated to informing and motivating families and young people with disabilities about work and current work incentives, to assisting them with the transitions to work, and to helping them maximize their economic independence and achieve greater self-sufficiency.

SSA National Project Goals  Improve employment and educational outcomes of transition aged youth (14-25) who are recipients of public benefits or “at risk” of becoming recipients.  Ensure ‘customer’ satisfaction and informed choice in pursuit of individual employment goals.  Collaborate and build interagency partnerships with youth transition systems in order to integrate services and blend resources.  Compile data to evaluate the effectiveness of the project strategies.

SSA National Project Objectives Increase the self-sufficiency of transition aged youth with disabilities by decreasing their dependence on public benefits; and, Conduct a research and evaluation study on this population to inform policy decisions.

Bridges Project Outcomes This project will track five categories of outcomes to gauge the success of interventions: Employment Outcomes (e.g., work history, part or full-time employment) Educational Outcomes (e.g., high school and postsecondary completion) Level of Independence (e.g.,reduced benefits due to earnings) Service Participation (e.g., participation in all services to determine effectiveness Quality of Life Indicators (e.g., individual and family satisfaction)

Project Sites Capistrano/Saddleback Valley Unified School District Consortium Irvine/Newport-Mesa Unified School District Consortium Riverside County Office of Education Vallejo City Unified School District Whittier Union High School District

Outreach and Recruitment Outreach and Recruitment of Students in Special Education and/or with Section 504 Contacts with special educators, school nurses and counselors, foster youth providers, youth in the juvenile justice system, teen mothers and others. Each site’s goal will be to serve a minimum of 50 participants at any one time, consisting of a range of participant ages. Early Intervention Contact students with disabilities receiving SSA benefits in middle school (ages 13-14).

‘Core’ Services Workability I Comprehensive pre-employment preparation, paid and unpaid employment placement, and follow up. Transition Partnership Program (TPP) Community based instruction, vocational and basic skills assessment, tutoring, vocational and work-site training, specific job skills training, pre-employment preparation, work-site evaluation, work experience, career/job development, job placement, job coaching, job retention and follow up services.

‘Enhanced’ Services Coordination and Integration of Services – Case Management The student’s transition services will be supported by an interagency team that will include the student, family, project Service Coordinator and representatives of appropriate adult agencies. Benefits Planning The sites’ Benefits Coordinator positions will provide benefits and financial planning to each enrolled participant.

‘Enhanced’ Services Healthcare Services Youth and their parents will be counseled by the project’s Benefits Coordinator and school health care professionals on the availability and access of Medicaid and Healthy Start services. Ongoing Employment Support and Follow Along Services The Service Coordinator and State Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor (as appropriate) will coordinate ongoing employment support and counseling.