Pennsylvania aims to increase employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities. Act 36 of 2018 or the Employment First Act will provide training, education, and support services to help individuals reach their personal goals.

Employment First requires any group receiving public funding to ensure that employment is the main focus for education, training, or support services for anyone with a disability who is eligible to work.

The commonwealth is committed to making data-informed decisions with the utmost transparency in collaboration with communities impacted by the policies implemented. By putting forth this public-facing data, the commonwealth seeks to increase awareness of the statewide successes and challenges related to the competitive integrated employment of individuals with disabilities. To access these databases, please visit the Employment First Statewide Cabinet Report Dashboard and the Employment First OVR Cabinet Report Dashboard for more information.

Click here to access the Employment First - January 2022 Updates & Progress Report

For students graduating in 2023 and beyond, five pathways exist for meeting state high school graduation requirements:

• Keystone Proficiency
• Keystone Composite
• Career and Technical Education (CTE) Concentrator
• Alternative Assessment
• Evidence-Based

Click here to read more about Act 158.

To support LEAs in implementing Act 158, an Act 158: Pathways to Graduation Toolkit was created by the Pennsylvania Department of Education and is housed in the SAS Portal.

It should be noted that there have been no changes to the graduation requirements for students with disabilities. The possibility for students to graduate on IEP goals continues to exist if the student does not meet one of the pathway requirements under Act 158. There is specific guidance for students with disabilities as well as information about waivers and special circumstances.

In addition, PDE is offering office hours to answer questions from the field:

PDE Act 158 Office Hours for Winter 2022

3PM to 4 PM--Targeted Topics (30 minutes)/Open Q&A (30 minutes)

March 2: Industry Credentials

https://zoom.us/j/98631911211?pwd=S1dNVmxFd3FKN1p1OHdPYTFPSDM1Zz09

March 9: Special Education

https://zoom.us/j/96660182111?pwd=Q21oL1JWU1JVMjc1VW0yaFBJWW5FQT09

March 30: Technical Assistance Session for Tracking Tool

https://zoom.us/j/99958015280?pwd=TTUwM0plSy83OGRTS2k1TUNjVjNDQT09

Tracking Tool Webinar – March 16th 9-10:30am https://zoom.us/j/7247871924?pwd=ci9lVThSOFhrMG02RDF0NEVSaTlHUT09

The 2022 Data Summit (March 21-23, 2022) will also offer multiple sessions on Act 158 topics.

Any questions related to Act 158, the trainings, or resources may be directed to

ra-edgradrequirement@pa.gov.

SkillUp™ PA provides access to FREE online job skills training to Pennsylvanians. Courses are available on the portal and can be taken by registering for a free account on the PA CareerLink® website. SkillUp® PA helps Pennsylvanians strengthen their job skills to compete in the current employment market. The portal is a flexible, self-directed, web-based online learning service that offers over 6,000 learning modules for users who can manage their own programs and improve their skills on their time.

SkillUp™ PA has -

• Assessments to help users identify skills gaps

• Over 6,000 learning modules including:
• Soft Skills
• Communication Skills
• MS Office and advanced MS credentials and other IT courses
• Project Management
• Leadership
• 130+ Industry Recognized Credential paths
• A self-paced easily understood user interface

To access, visit PA Career Link and either sign in or register as a new user!

The Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry (L&I) announces the availability of approximately $2,500,000 in funding for Schools-to-Work Program (STWP) Grant awards. L&I will be launching a Schools-to-Work Program through the competitive award of grants to sponsors in partnership with schools in the commonwealth to support the establishment or enhancement of a workforce development partnership between schools, employers, organizations, or associations to create employment and training pathways. The Notice of Grant Availability (NGA) seeks applications to support this statewide initiative.

To learn more, visit the Department of Labor and Industry Site

Application Deadline: Tuesday, March 15, 2022 at 4:00 PM

Visit their website to learn more!

The Surgeon General recently released an advisory report, "Protecting Young People's Mental Health," in which the devastating impacts of the pandemic and the alarming increases in mental health needs of young people are outlined. The National Youth Employment Coalition is coordinating a brief questionnaire to help understand how workforce providers are grappling with this crisis. Your input will provide insight into the youth employment field's current capacity to screen, connect, and serve youth with mental health needs. To learn more, visit the input form created by the National Youth Employment Coalition.

Deadline for completion of this instrument is March 11, 2022.

The PA Secondary Transition Community of Practice is seeking input from youth and adults supporting youth of transition age on knowledge of and involvement in person-driven planning practices. Please take a few moments to provide your input to the team and share within your networks as you see appropriate. The information gathered will be used for cross-agency state level goal development for the 2022-2023 school year. Your input is important! Responses will be accepted through 3/31/2022.

PEAL's 21 and Able Project is hosting several parent virtual meetings and drop-in sessions in the coming months (starting March 15th!) to support empowering parents to empower their youth/young adults in transition! We have attached the flyer and the link that will lead you to the registration. 21 and Able, Powered by United Way Tickets, Multiple Dates | Eventbrite

Keep an eye on the PaTTAN Website for information about registration!

Division on Career Development and Transition (DCDT) Townhalls

DCDT wants to connect, engage, and provide support to our community. That is why we are offering a series of DCDT Townhall discussions, which are free to all members! We hope to connect with you on the second Tuesday of each month at 3pm EST.

• March 8, 2022 - Transition in Practice
• April 12, 2022 - Early Career
• May 10, 2022 - Publications
• June 14, 2022 - Research

Visit the DCDT website to learn more.

NOTE: These townhalls are for MEMBERS only. To learn more about how to join, visit the DCDT website.

Check out their Training Resource Library.

If you're new to transition, be sure to check out Transition 101!