Natural Supports for Children Birth to 22
Project Description:
The purpose of the Natural Supports project is to address the priority of Wisconsin's Medicaid Infrastructure Grant toimprove the number of exceptionally prepared and qualified employees available for the workforce of the 21st century through the development of a seamless system of education and training focused on self-determination and natural supports for students with disabilities at all levels, from pre-kindergarten to post-secondary education.
Rationale for project:
Many individuals with significant disabilities are not able to access employment and the necessary job supports when they complete school. Employment in ?sheltered workshops? and ?rehabilitation facilities? has continued to rise. Funding available for services, as well as long waiting lists haves been blamed for the lack of integrated employment. However, another piece of the employment challenge starts much earlier, with family and community expectations that may not envision children with significant disabilities in the workforce. Children and youth with disabilities continue to experience lower levels of involvement in activities, organizations and life experiences compared with their non-disabled peers, resulting in a lack of ?pre-vocation? skills. Thus, efforts to employ persons with significant disabilities have fallen far behind the independent living effort. Developing family and community expectations that children with disabilities will work and providing for the implementation of natural supports from early childhood programming through the transition out of high school so that young people with disabilities engage in typical community experiences and activities at higher rates may improve the chances for individuals with a significant disabilities functioning in the work place and in their communities. Persons with disabilities and those without disabilities will learn to complement one another and mutually improve employment goals.
Keyword(s):
natural supports peer supports community assets employment
Core Function(s):
Training Trainees, Performing Technical Assistance and/or Training, Performing Research or Evaluation, Developing & Disseminating Information
Area of Emphasis
Quality Assurance, Education & Early Intervention, Employment-Related Activities, Recreation-Related Activities, Quality of Life, Other - Assistive Technology, Other - Cultural Diversity, Other - Leadership
Target Audience:
Professionals and Para-Professionals, Family Members/Caregivers, Adults with Disabilities, Children/Adolescents with Disabilities/SHCN
Unserved or Under-served Populations:
Racial or Ethnic Minorities, Disadvantaged Circumstances, Geographic Areas, Rural/Remote, Urban
Primary Target Audience Geographic Descriptor:
State
COVID-19 Related Data:
N/A
