Project Description:
Maria Paiewonsky from the Institute for Community Inclusion ICI will work with MAC to universally design the Fellowship to ensure that all aspects will be fully accessible from the inception. Maria will also provide consultation as needed based on the MAC Fellows unique needs.
I Specific work objectives to be completed by ICI staff:
Specifically, ICI staff will a) work with the youth fellow, supervisor, and his individual job coach to create a universally designed experience needed to support job performance along with any necessary personal accommodations; b) co-develop with MAC project staff both orientation and training materials for Fellows that are accessible and meaningful; c) assist with development of a blog that the fellow will maintain and e) collaborate on an evaluation of the fellowship.
II Products that will be developed by the end of the year include:
(1) A draft replication guide that includes the orientation, legal, and training materials developed over the course of the year to make them accessible to the youth fellow.
(2) An evaluation of the fellows advocacy strategies over the course of the year.
(3) An ongoing blog documenting MAC activity from the perspective of the youth fellow.
III Evaluation tools:
To monitor and evaluate project activities and outcomes, Maria will utilize the Massachusetts Work-based Learning Plan; review the training evaluations, conduct a pre-/post-fellowship survey, and review the youth fellows ongoing blog.
The Massachusetts Work-Based Learning Plan is an assessment tool designed to drive learning and productivity on the job. Implementing the WBLP will require the fellow to meet at least 3 times with the job supervisor/coach or mentor to first establish and then update work goals.
Training evaluations will provide Maria with feedback to assess the effectiveness of the universal design strategies of the workplace and training and to make necessary changes to improve the quality of fellows experience and follow-up technical assistance.
A pre/post Fellowship interview will be facilitated by Maria to assess the fellows policy knowledge and engagement in disability and advocacy policy as a result of the fellowship. The fellow will be asked to describe his understanding of civic engagement, his ability to influence public policy, his belief that his advocacy efforts can impact policy and individual student outcomes, his knowledge of using accommodations effectively, his knowledge of how to find information about policy issues that matter to him, and his understanding of how bills are passed and become law.
The Mac fellows blog will be designed to demonstrate the quality of the fellows advocacy skills and leadership development. The blog will consist of his choice for photos and videos of advocacy work, reflections, a summary of activities he completed, and interviews with MAC staff.
