Evidence Based Practices and Predictors for Post School Success

Sue BeckRealizing Employment First for Youth

Sue_beck@ocali.org www.ohioemploymentfirst.org

Session Objectives

• Participants will– Be able to describe the difference between

Evidence Based Practices and Predictors– Discuss why they are important for ALL

practitioners to know– Understand how to use the Evidence Based

Practices and Predictors tools

Be First a Word about the Employment First Transition Framework

The Employment

First Task Force directed:

Create a framework that becomes the ‘standard of practice’ for all

professionals in all systems working with transition age youth.

Promote use of a ‘common vocabulary’ for transition professionals across all

agencies

Advance the use across all systems of Evidence Based Practices and Predictors

that support and lead youth to successful community employment

outcomes

Transition Framework FAQ

Employment First is:• A Philosophy of Service

• Prioritizing Meaningful Community Employment

• Systemic Change

Multi-Agency Teams

PlanningCoordinating

Teaming

Assessing

Person-CenteredAgency Neutral

Outcome-Focused

Employment First Transition Framework: A New “Standard of Practice” for Professionals Across Systems

Foundational Elements Essential Functions

Meaningful Community

Employment

Place 4: “Don’t want a job.

Don’t want to work”

Place 3: “Not sure about work. Do not know what

kind of job I would want”

Place 2: “I want to work! I need help

finding a job that fits me.”

Place 1: “I have a job, but I want a better

suited job or to move up in the company.”

Path to Employment

Employment First is a National Policy Priority

Date Legislative ItemJuly 26, 1990 Americans with Disabilities ActJune 22, 1996 Olmstead Supreme Court DecisionJune 22, 2011 Statement of the Department of Justice on

Enforcement of the ADA “integration mandate”

January 2014 Center for Medicaid Services Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) Final Rule

July 22, 2014 Work Innovation and Opportunities Act

Employment First is an Ohio Policy Priority

Date Legislative ItemJuly 1, 2013 Employment First Taskforce Agencies Adopt

a common definition of Community Employment

February 13, 2014 Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities Employment First Rule

July 1, 2014 Ohio Department of Education, Office for Exceptional Children Operating Standards

September 2, 2014 Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities Agency Transition Procedure

Evidence Based Practices and Predictors for Transition

• A specific body of knowledge regarding instructional Practices and programmatic Predictors

• Provides ‘scientifically based research’ • The evidence shows that implementation is linked to

productive adult outcomes for youth with disabilities. • Based on research conducted and compiled by NSTTAC*

and the National Professional Development Center on Autism Spectrum Disorders**

*National Secondary Transition Technical Assistance Center nsttac.org **(www.autismpdc.fpg.unc.edu).

Evidence Based Practices and Predictors for Transition

Why is it so important to look at research to guide what we do?• No Child Left Behind Act in 2001 required that

educators use teaching practices that are shown to be effective through ‘scientifically based research’.

• Over the years, a number of similar terms have emerged within education and other human services fields that may or may not refer to practices with research based evidence.

Evidence Based Practices and Predictors for Transition

What does this mean for transition policy and practice across agencies?• Resources, both human and fiscal, have been cut in all

systems• It is ‘fiscally responsible’ to do what is proven to be effective• Using the same strategies in all systems creates a common

knowledge base that extends and maximizes resources• Using a common knowledge base reduces duplication of

effort across systems and decreases gaps in services for individuals

Evidence Based‘Practices’ and ‘Predictors’ for Transition

Similar Terms, Different UsesPractices

• Specific instructional methods and strategies to teach youth specific transition-related skills

• Useful in a variety of settings: classrooms, work sites, community environments, social settings

• Useful to teach a variety of skills: employment-related, daily living, communication, academics, job routines and tasks, independence, worker behavior

Predictors• Activities, experiences,

services and supports• Occur during the school

years • Associated with higher rates

of success as youth enter adulthood

Evidence Based Practices• Equally useful to teachers,

job coaches, job developers, and….

• The ‘magic’ happens when the right Practice is matched with the right youth for the right instructional situation

In Other Words……….

• Select a practice to use based on:– The specific skill the youth needs to learn– The types of environments where the youth will

need to use the skill– The youth’s learning preferences, strengths,

challenges and supports

Name of Practice and brief

description

Questions to help the team decide

how/when to use this Practice

Additional information about

the Practice

Same information as side 1 of the page

Links to further information about

the Practice

Examples of implementation of

the Practice

Related Skill sets…Means for youth to take charge of their

lives…….the right to make

life decisionsI was surprised by

all of the skills that comprise

this area

Do we use accommodations or

modifications in place of teaching

these skills?

Read the brief description of the

Practice. What key words create meaning and

understanding for you?

Scan additional information about the

Practice. What did you learn about the

Practice?

Look over the Team Discussion Questions. Additional questions

or ideas come to mind?

Did the examples provide you with

ideas about how to implement the

Practice?

Combine teaching software and

research skills with preparing kids to

lead their meetings

Read the brief description of the

Practice. What key words create meaning and

understanding for you?

Memory devices, oh I use lots of mnemonics!

Didn’t realize there were

various types of mnemonics

Had not thought about using

mnemonics in different

environments

Scan additional information about the

Practice. What did you learn about the

Practice?

Look over the Team Discussion Questions. Additional questions

or ideas come to mind?

Did the examples provide you with

ideas about how to implement the

Practice?Great ideas for how to develop memory aids for academics

– especially for visual learners

Evidence Based

Predictors

Collaborative Networks for

Student Support

Individualized Career

Development

Authentic Community Based Work Experiences

Social and Social-Emotional

Instruction and Skills

Academic, Vocational,

Occupational Education/Prepar

ation

Supporting Parental

Involvement and Expectations

Self-Determination Independent Living Skills

Instruction and Skill Building

Inclusive Practices and

Programs

Evidence Based Predictors:

• Shown through research to be associated with improved post school outcomes for youth

• Critical to be considered as transition services

provided within the context of an individual youth’s transition plan

Evidence Based Predictors

• Represent activities, programs, services often provided to groups or available school-wide.

• May require multi-agency regional or community level planning

• Collaborative efforts among agency partners extend the resources and capacity of any single agency

Evidence Based Predictors and Planning Decisions for Individual Youth

• Emphasis on matching the needs of the youth with the features of a program or service

• Based on the PINS of the youth and not the parameters of the program

• Access to the program and participation in the service are guided by transition assessment data

Description of the Predictor

Some of the Evidence from

Research

Some Implications for incorporating the Predictor into

local Practice

Read the Description of the Predictor. What key words

create meaning and understanding for

you?

Scan the Research findings. What

seems especially powerful to you?

Cross agency collaboration/tangi

ble outcomes…formal and

informal networks

3 agencies seems to be a magic number…

informal networks also research-based – not all kids will have

agency assistance

Look over the Implications for

Practice. Do you have additional

ideas?

I wonder how we could combine this

with drop-out prevention strategies?

Read the Description of the Predictor. What key words

create meaning and understanding for

you?

Scan the Research findings. What

seems especially powerful to you?

Parental Involvement

includes having high expectations

It is critical that families are

welcomed and empowered to be actively involved in planning decisions

Look over the Implications for

Practice. Do you have additional

ideas?

Additional ways to empower families as

equal partners

Evidence Based Practices and Evidence Based Predictors are the same thing

True False

Evidence Based Practices and Evidence Based Predictors are the same thing

False

Practices are instructional in nature. Practices areuseful by anyone who is providing instruction in a variety of setting – schools, home, work, community.

Predictors are activities, services, programs, thatoccur during the school years.

“Evidence Based” means the same thing as ‘best’ practice and ‘promising’ practice

True False

“Evidence Based” means the same thing as ‘best’ practice and ‘promising’ practice

False

No. Evidence Based refers to specific sets of Practices and Predictors identified through researchdone by NSTTAC. Other similar terms are oftenused but may or may not refer to practices that truly have rigorous research behind them to provetheir effectiveness.

If we have learned anything in the last few decades it’s that the ability of youth to achieve is more related to

our own beliefs than it is to the severity or complexity of a disability.

Youth we work with may have limitations but they should not be the

ones we impose on them by not believing in their potential or right to

succeed .Adapted from editorial by Barbara Ludlow,

Teaching Exceptional Children, Council for Exceptional Children, Vol. 46. No. 2 November/December 2013