VCU RRTC

In this webcast, we examine a way to assist students with significant support needs in connecting to employment while in high school. To aid students in identifying their employment goals, we developed a person-centered planning meeting focused centrally on employment—the Employment Planning Meeting. During the meeting, an Employment Planning Meeting Tool is used to guide and provide structure for a team supporting a student. It serves as a living document of the student’s interests, needs, and goals related to employment during and after high school.

Presenter Bios:

Leah Burgess is an Education Consultant in the Department of Special Education at Vanderbilt University. Her previous work history has focused on serving individuals with Severe Mental Health, Intellectual and Developmental disabilities. She has worked with Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) to ensure that adults and youth with disabilities receive Supported Employment Services. Through working with VR, she has focused on transition-age youth and provided services in classroom and individual settings. She successfully placed youth into paid summer work experiences that reflected their job interests.

Justine Hrvatin, M.S.Ed., M.A.T., is an Education Consultant in the Department of Special Education at Vanderbilt University. Her previous work includes teaching special education in alternative and urban settings. Through her teaching experience with youth with high support needs in alternative and low socioeconomic settings, she has focused on the improvement of teaching practices surrounding transition in the classroom and community, in addition to the education of families on the transition process. She has successfully connected students to agencies, paid employment, internships, and postsecondary education opportunities.