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Introduction to Youth Employment Accessible Hub

Introduction to Youth Employment Accessible Hub

Youth Employment Ambassador Host at Work

Introduction to Youth Employment Accessible Hub

On this page, you will find information to help you understand the purpose of the Youth Employment Accessible Hub and how youth with disabilities and families can use this tool to guide their employment journey.

What is Employment?

As young adults, we want to share our values about employment. We base our work on these main values:

  • All people including youth with disabilities can work
  • Work will look different for each person
  • Employment means in the community alongside others without disabilities
  • Employment is integrated, that means open to all people, not just those with disabilities.
  • Employment means you are on the payroll of your employer.
  • You are making minimum wage or more, like other workers in your community.

    When you think about employment with these values, it could be described as, when you are paid to do a job, that any person could apply for. This means you would be making minimum wage or more and be able to interact with your co-workers and others who work there.

Getting Started

  • The Transition from School to Work

    Employment looks different for each person. People with all kinds of disabilities can still work. Employment will look different for each person. You may need help, but that is okay, there are a lot of organizations and people that can help find the right job match for you. Employment can be part-time or full-time or could involve creating a small business. People with disabilities can be employed in a competitive, integrated job.

    The first thing is to have high expectations for employment. You can explore careers and begin to understand the type of work that you want to do. Set a vision for yourself of what you want in a job and research the support you will need for that career. You can find out more about a certain type of job by interning or shadowing somebody who is in that type of work. This gives you details about the work, the type of training you need, and the kind of money you would make. The goal is to know enough about the job to decide whether it is the type of employment you want for yourself.

    There are a lot of tools available to explore whether a certain career is right for you. One thing you can do is make a positive personal profile (PPP). That will help you develop a vision statement. You can use your vision statement to help communicate what you want to others who are helping you get a job.

    View a Positive Personal Profile Template.

  • Agencies That Can Help

    Research shows that youth who explore careers and have work experiences in the community early on, are the most successful employees as adults. You should START EARLY with career exploration! While you are still in school, staff should assist in completing assessments that help you figure out your skills and interests to get a job. Assessments can help you to figure out what accommodations you might need to get employed. An accommodation is an exception to rules that govern your employment.

    For example, an accommodation could say that you need an assistive technology (AT) device, like a screen reader to do your job. If youth have a physical, mental, emotional, or learning disability that interferes with their ability to work, they may be eligible for services from different organizations.

    View a list of agencies that can help with career exploration.

  • Employment Acronyms Guide

    An acronym is like the initials of your name. Initials are the beginning letter of each word in your first, middle, and last name. It can also be the first letter in each word in the name of an organization, a rule, or a law.

    Acronyms are often used, by agencies that support youth with disabilities. It can take time to learn what each of these acronyms/initials mean. If you need help in understanding any of the acronyms, please use your advocacy skills and ask for help.

    List of Acronyms in the Youth Employment Accessible Hub:

    ADA Americans with Disabilities Act

    ARC/MI The Arc Michigan

    AT Assistive Technology

    BSBP Bureau of Services for Blind Persons

    CAP Client Assistance Program

    CIL Center for Independent Living

    EDP Educational Development Plan

    FAPE Free Appropriate Public Education

    GED General Educational Development

    HCBS Home and Community Based Services

    I/DD Intellectual and/or Developmental Disability

    IDEA Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

    IPE Individualized Plan for Employment

    ISD Intermediate School District

    LEA Local Educational Agency

    LRE Least Restrictive Environment

    MARSE Michigan Administrative Rules for Special Education

    MITT Michigan Interagency Transition Team

    MCTI Michigan Career and Technical Institute

    MiDDC Michigan Developmental Disabilities Council

    MCTI Michigan Career and Technical Institute

    MI-DDI Michigan Developmental Disabilities Institute

    MDE Michigan Department of Education

    MDHHS Michigan Department of Health and Human Services

    MDRC Michigan Disability Rights Coalition

    MMC Michigan Merit Curriculum

    ODEP Office of Disability Employment Policy

    O-Net Occupational Information Network

    PC Personal Curriculum

    PCP Person-Centered Plan

    POA Power of Attorney

    Pre-ETS Pre-Employment Transition Services

    PCP Person-Centered Plan

    POA Power of Attorney

    SAM Self-Advocates of Michigan

    SAT Scholastic Assessment Test

    SDM Supported Decision Making

Next Steps