MiConnections Links Youth With Disabilities to High-Tech Careers

by Marcie Alling, MiConnections State Coordinator

An exciting initiative has arrived! Soon, Michigan’s high school-aged youth with disabilities will have more opportunities to enter careers in technology. The MiConnections initiative will link youth with disabilities to activities designed to spark an interest in high-tech and technology-related jobs.

MiConnections currently operates three pilot programs; one in Kent County, one in Ingham County, and a four-county consortium of Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, and Midland counties. New local sites will launch throughout the state by the end of 2005. Part of a nation-wide model known as High School/ High Tech, the program’s goal is to encourage more young people to pursue employment, training, or higher education in these fields. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy is funding the five-year MiConnections initiative.

Collaborative Efforts

MiConnections brings together a number of state-level agencies and organizations (see box below) to change the way schools and communities prepare students with disabilities for post-secondary (or higher) education, career training, and employment. MiConnections focuses especially on preparing youth with disabilities for today’s and tomorrow’s jobs. In turn, this goal is aligned with the state’s priority to develop a productive, better-prepared workforce for Michigan’s employers.

The initiative’s model requires that youth be involved in High School/High Tech for a minimum of two years. The model’s template for services provided to enrolled youth comprises four design features:

• Preparatory Experiences—activities to get youth ready.
• Connecting Activities—activities to establish supports.
• Work-Based Experiences—activities to develop industry and interest-related skills.
• Leadership Development—youth development and leadership activities to help youth become self-sufficient and productive members of society.

Research has shown that a youth with a disability who participates in activities in all four areas is more likely to pursue post-secondary training or employment than a youth who does not participate. Further-more, for high school students with disabilities, successful engagement in relevant school-related activities supports school attendance, thus lowering the high school dropout rate of this population.

Through MiConnections, a young person might take industry tours, job-shadow workers in low- and high-tech fields, or serve as an intern. Youth are linked with services they might need such as mentoring, academic tutoring, and assistive technology. They also access leadership development opportunities such as a legislative day, service learning, or advocacy workshops.

Enrichment Initiative

Because Michigan offers a wide variety of school-and community-based career preparation and transition services, MiConnections in Michigan is not a stand-alone program to which young people are “sent.” Instead, it is an enrichment initiative, connecting youth to existing services and strengthening services as needed.

As the project moves beyond pilot stage, a network of local sites will be developed around the state. Local sites will be collaborative efforts among local schools and/or districts, technical centers, colleges, Michigan Works! service centers, centers for independent living, community rehabilitation organizations, employers, youth, families, and other key community members. At each MiConnections site, a steering group comprising local partners will use the four design features of High School/High Tech as a template for assessing needs; mapping resources; and planning, developing, and overseeing its work. Participating youth will be connected with appropriate existing activities, programs, and services. Where there are gaps, the local team will add or strengthen services and providers. From the outset, all sites will be expected to adopt a “youth-initiated and youth-directed” approach, meaning that youth will be involved in all aspects of the project, including planning, organization, and evaluation of activities.

Local Control With State Support

Although MiConnection sites will differ, they will share some common features. State-level grant staff will provide training, technical assistance, information, and other tools to support teams as they organize and implement programs. Local sites will use standardized enrollment forms and processes and will participate in collecting and reporting data. The data will be used to evaluate the program and plan for continuous improvement.

Each affiliated MiConnections site will receive a small allocation of funds for start-up activities. The site’s steering group will be responsible for raising additional resources needed to support MiConnections activities and sustain the program in the future. State staff are also developing additional resources, which include:

• A starter kit.
• A toolkit for affiliated (or “official”) sites.
• A Web site and listserv.
• An electronic mentoring (e-mentoring) program.

Future plans include workshops or conferences for and by MiConnections youth participants and for local affiliate partners and providers.

For more information, contact: Marcie Alling, MiConnections State Coordinator, Michigan Rehabilitation Services, Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Growth, P.O. Box 30010, Lansing, MI 48909, (517) 335-0390, allingm@michigan.gov.

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