Step 2: Navigate the System

No single institution or organization in the workforce development system can provide the full range of services that youth need to become successful adults, so communities, states, the federal government and multiple organizations at all levels must work together to ensure youth and employers receive the assistance they need.

The navigation process begins with Guideposts that are research and evidence based frameworks that can be adapted by state and local policy and program operators as well as help guide youth and families in planning and preparing for the future. The section then moves on to provide a wide array of tools for both audiences built upon the Guideposts.

Guideposts for Success for Youth

An extensive literature review of research, demonstration projects and effective practices covering a wide range of programs and services -- including lessons from youth development, quality education, and workforce development programs.

There are five categories of the Guideposts for Success that can help workforce development practitioners and policymakers develop strategic frameworks for developing coordinated services, setting priorities for serving youth, and evaluating their work and help youth and families plot strategies for a successful transition strategy.

Employer Guideposts

The Employer Guideposts are organized to support two parts of the workforce development system. One, system designers (state and local), and two, individual programs. These Guideposts are built upon the interdependence between these two levels of needed support to assist the employers within a labor market area.

Read the research on which the Employer Guideposts are based.

Read what the research says about how to organize state and local workforce development systems to support employers.

For the Professionals:

There are materials to answer such questions as:

• Which staff has the know-how to perform their jobs?
• How to Design Programs?
• How to connect to other stakeholders in the workforce development system?
• What are good sources of funding?

What do youth professionals need to know and be able to do?

Knowledgeable staff is one of the most important strategies that exist to help ensure success for programs. Learn about the documented Knowledge, Skills & Abilities (KSAs) based upon the Guideposts required for transitional professional and training resources for use by any organization.

How can programs be designed to meet the needs of all youth and provide support to meet the needs of special populations based on research that works?

Here you will find an array of guides that can help you design programs that can be offered both in or out of school or focus on program strategies such mentoring or entrepreneurial education, or learn how to work with special populations such as youth in foster care and the juvenile justice system, or with specific learning or mental health disabilities and strategies to improve assessment and counseling services. Invaluable information is contained within our manuals and guides and within our special population guideposts.

Learn more about the concept of Universal Access.

How can there be improvement with other stakeholders in the workforce development system?

Collaboration among agencies is a central reality of the workforce development system yet it is well known that collaboration among state and local agencies and programs can be challenging and time consuming. How can work with stakeholders be made easier, sustainable and accessible for all involved?

How can programs be financed?

Locating resources to support and sustain the cross-system, multiple organization effort needed for providing the services and assistance youth and employers need is always a challenge. What laws and programs can be used to help in the transition process?

Access TA modules about partnership-driven funding strategies.

Review important workforce development and disability legislation.

Want a quick answer or tools that can be kept on your desk to answer questions about where to go to get an answer about an array of issues that can make your job easier?

Download Quick Reference Guides, Jump Starts, short Information Briefs, and Shortcuts.

For Youth and Families

These are materials to answer such questions as:

• What do youth and families need to know to develop a transition process that will help youth become a part of the workforce and be as independent as possible?
• How can you learn about what your career interests are?
• If you have a disability what are what the up and downside of disclosing your disability when you have a choice?
• How can you maneuver throughout the “adult system of services?
• What are the eligibility requirements for programs?
• What are your the rights and responsibilities and those of the organizations providing services to you?
• What are some key courses school courses needed for high tech jobs?

These types of questions and more are answered on the Youth & Family audience section of this site.

HIGH SCHOOL/HIGH TECH

Learn about a successful program model that exposes transition-age youth with disabilities to the world of work and encourages them to explore postsecondary education options and the STEM careers (i.e., science, technology, engineering and math).  HS/HT is specifically designed to address the full array of needs of transition-age youth with disabilities as defined within the framework for a comprehensive program of transition services outlined in the Guideposts for Success. 

HS/HT programs around the country have demonstrated their effectiveness in reducing the dropout rate for students with disabilities and increasing their participation in postsecondary education and employment. 

Read the High School/High Tech Program Guide.

Learn which states have HS/HT programs and where within those states HS/HT is being implemented locally. 

GUIDE TO PARTNERSHIP DEVELOPMENT FOR TRANSITION-AGE YOUTH

Learn about potential sources of federal funding to support the various activities highlighted under each category of the Guideposts for Success.  These series of documents cross-walks each element under the five categories identified in the Guideposts for Success with specific legislative and, as appropriate, regulatory provisions governing a number of federal programs.  This series will be continuously updated to include additional and to address reauthorizations as they happen. 

Access a summary of the federal laws that are being analyzed within this series.

Access the analysis of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.

Access the analysis of Titles I and III of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998.

Access the analysis of the Assistive Technology Act of 2004.

Browse NCWD/Youth resources & publications for this stage of the roadmap

Move on to step 3

Step 3: Discover Innovative Strategies