In July, 14 youth service professionals graduated from the D.C. Youth Workforce Leaders Academy (YWLA), a 10-month professional development program co-led by IEL and the DC Alliance of Youth Advocates. YWLA develops competencies and creates a peer learning community for staff from organizations that provide workforce development services to D.C. youth ages 16 to 24, […]

The National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth (NCWD/Youth) recently released an info brief designed to help staff, faculty, and administrators in postsecondary institutions better understand how engaging families of students with disabilities can make them partners in student success. This brief highlights findings from a national online dialogue on the topic conducted in

On April 15, IEL and the American Youth Policy Forum hosted the second annual Samuel Halperin Lecture and Youth Public Service Award. The lecture, presented by Michele Cahill of the National Center for Civic Innovation, focused on how we can support and engage students in college and career readiness. Ebony Rempson, a 21-year-old AmeriCorps volunteer

The IEL-led National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth recently released By Youth, For Youth: Employment, a youth-driven, youth-friendly guide to exploring careers and preparing for, landing, and keeping a job. The guide includes tips, resources, and checklists related to finding the right job, preparing a resuming, acing an interview, disability disclosure and accommodations, keeping

On December 29, 2015, the U.S. District Court in Oregon awarded a landmark settlement that will impact almost 8,000 workers with intellectual and developmental disabilities in the state. The settlement addresses the claim that these workers with disabilities were unnecessarily segregated into sheltered workshops, where they receive sub-minimum wage pay, instead of receiving supported employment

IEL announced the selection of four sites across the country to be in the second cohort of its Right Turn Career-Focused Transition Initiative for youth in the juvenile justice system. Earlier this year, IEL was awarded a grant from the U.S. Department of Labor to serve as an intermediary organization to work with communities on

The IEL-led National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth released Designing Statewide Career Development Strategies & Programs. The guide will help policymakers implement high-quality, comprehensive statewide career development programs to help all youth, including those with disabilities, become college and career ready. The first part of the guide is a primer to quality youth career development systems. The

Recently, the IEL-led National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth (NCWD/Youth) released a new guide, Fostering Inclusive Volunteering and Service Learning. The guide seeks to help youth service professionals integrate youth with disabilities and other disconnected youth into service learning and volunteering opportunities and activities. This guide provides useful information on facilitating youth engagement

This summer, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) turned 25. The ADA impacted missions and fostered the ADA Generation, a group of young people with disabilities who came of age under the ADA’s aegis. The ADA generation experienced more equality and access to opportunity in education, the workforce, and the community than their predecessors. IEL

The D.C. Youth Workforce Leaders Academy (YWLA), co-led by IEL’s Center for Workforce Development, is a year-long learning community that provides professional development and training to youth service professionals in the Washington, DC area. YWLA launched in 2014 with a cadre of 15 members who participated in monthly in-person sessions, online discussions and webinars, and peer

In celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the contribution and impact of the ADA Generation, IEL is collecting stories from youth and young adults with disabilities who came of age under the ADA and their allies. IEL is particularly interested in stories related to transition to adulthood, including

The U.S. Department of Labor recently released guidance for states, local areas, and youth service providers for implementing the new Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). WIOA is replacing the Workforce Investment Act as the policy backbone of our workforce system. One of WIOA’s most significant shifts for young people is a markedly increased focus

The IEL-led National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth (NCWD/Youth) released its new report entitled Use of Individualized Learning Plans (ILPs): A Promising Practice for Driving College and Career Readiness Efforts – Findings and Recommendations from a Multi-Method, Multi-Study Effort. This report summarizes findings and recommendations of NCWD/Youth’s 5+ years of ILP research. The ILP

Michael Gritton is the executive director of the Louisville-based KentucianaWorks. Twelve years ago, Michael began his tenure as executive director of KentuckianaWorks. Notably, KentuckianaWorks was the nation’s first WIB to run a college access center. Its vision: promoting Louisville as the country’s next “economic hotspot,” home to a skilled and educated workforce. To date, KentuckianaWorks