GRADS: A California Collaborative Connecting College Graduates with Disabilities to Work and Career Karla Bell Program Manager California Health Incentives Improvement Project 10/7/10

What is GRADS? GRADS, is a unique project focused on learning more about helping college graduates make the connection to work and career and piloting new ways to communicate and connect with young people through the youth-serving-youth Ambassadors program

Background Research Average of 12,000 college students who are beneficiaries graduate every year. – 50% make a work connection – 50% go home and stay on benefits College students who are beneficiaries, like any other student, have a tremendous drive to graduate and go to work. These students are not making appropriate connections to understand their benefits.

Trusted Source Most college students on benefits don’t trust SSA Most college students on benefits don’t understand SSA resources Students DO TRUST their peers *Information based on student interviews.

Cost Average lifetime SSA benefit cost for a student who graduates from college and stays home instead of making a work connection. – $400,000 per student – $400,000 per student x 6,000 per year = $2.4 billion per year on SSI/SSDI benefits alone Cost to students who stay on benefits – A LIFETIME OF POVERTY

Idea behind the Ambassadors Research shows we have to act now Research shows students trust their peers Simple answer was to hire and train students on work incentives and disseminate that information to their peers Ambassadors will engage future or recent graduates in peer-mentoring type relationships and provide them with resources

Pilot Sites San Diego was the first site created to study the effectiveness of this project Project started in April 2010 The project has now expanded to Long Beach, San Luis Obispo, and Fresno There are a total of six Ambassadors and four site mentors

Ambassadors Team “Ambassador”- a recent grad who has transitioned to employment after graduation, and who has developed a network of connections “Mentor”- an individual who serves the ambassador as an expert in resources and incentives available to persons with a disability who are seeking employment “Seeker”- a future or recent graduate with a disability who is considering or actively seeking a connection to employment

Program Goals Train Ambassadors on high level understanding of work incentives and who to connect to in the community to obtain assistance Outreaching to college and newly graduated college students on benefits using current technology Minimizing student confusion regarding SSI/SSDI and other work incentives programs in order to make information user friendly Connect students on benefits to community resources to assist them with using work incentives

Goals Continued Through outreach activities, recruit new Employment Networks Study what works and what doesn’t when outreaching to this demographic

Why the Ambassadors? Ambassadors have a peer to peer point of view Ambassadors are encountering similar frustrations with SSA and understanding work incentives Ambassadors and their peers learn from each other

Student Incentives Increased self-esteem Obtain financial independence Learn how to manage their own benefits MAKE A WORK CONNECTION

Contact Information Karla Bell – San Diego Site Mentor Phone: Talent Knows No Limits