WCSD Community-Based Career Exploration Summer Camp
Project Description:
This is the fourth year that Washoe County School District (WCSD) will be holding its Community-Based Career Exploration Summer Camp (CBCE), which serves approximately 60 students with disabilities that attend WCSD. The weeklong camp provides transition-age students with hands-on experiences in community businesses during morning hours. All transportation is done via public transportation system. During the afternoon, the students attend brief classes in Self-Advocacy, Self-Determination, budgeting, interviewing, completing employment applications, and soft skills. There are over 8,000 students in WCSD with disabilities and WCSD Transition Services are active in assuring the students transition into the community rather than into segregated sheltered workshops. This is being done with the financial and in-kind supports of the NCED, the Bureau for Vocational Rehabilitation (BVR), the NGCDD, the NNCIL, and several other community agencies. The overall goal is to help students with disabilities to prepare to transition into the community for paid employment. Another goal is to show the participating community businesses that persons with disabilities can make a meaningful contribution to the business. The unusual features are extensive community collaboration across and with agencies, and that the philosophical position is full inclusion for competitive wages. The expected benefits include students learning/confirming what type of work they will do once out of high school, business changing their belief from persons with disabilities as unable to work to able to work, students learning the public transportation system, and students learning self-advocacy, self-determination, and many other life-long skills.
Keyword(s):
Transition, Employment First, Integrated Employment
Core Function(s):
Developing & Disseminating Information, Continuing Education/Community Training, Demonstration Services
Area of Emphasis
Employment-Related Activities
Target Audience:
Professionals and Para-Professionals, Adults with Disabilities, Children/Adolescents with Disabilities/SHCN, General Public
Unserved or Under-served Populations:
Racial or Ethnic Minorities, Disadvantaged Circumstances
Primary Target Audience Geographic Descriptor:
Single-County
COVID-19 Related Data:
N/A
