ODJFS Online | Office of Workforce Development

Job & Family Services Ohio's Workforce Information Center

	Youth Links and Resources
	Links
		American Youth Policy Forum
		If I Had a Hammer
		Improved Solutions for Urban Systems (ISUS)
		LearningWork Connection
		National Collaboration for Youth
		National Youth Employment Coalition
		Public/Private Ventures
		U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) - Youth Services
		U.S. Department of Education
	Online Tools Online Tools are customizable worksheets and forms to help local WIA youth workforce development professionals design and implement successful youth programs. Each tool is a Microsoft Word file that you can use in electronic or paper form. You can also save the tools and adapt them to meet your own specific needs for serving local WIA youth participants. Please credit LearningWork Connection and The Ohio State University in any adaptations.
		Focused Futures Online Training
		Career Exploration Activities Planner Case managers can use the Career Exploration Scheduler to plan a set of career exploration activities for each youth. Then, case managers can use the Activities Action Plan to create an action plan for each career exploration activity.
		Goal-Setting Tool and Tips Youth and case managers can use the Goal-Setting Tool to help each youth decide on employment and education goals when developing his or her individual service strategy (ISS). Youth can follow Goal-Setting Tips for Youth and case managers can follow the Goal-Setting Tips for Case Managers to develop effective goals.
		Initial Assessment and Referral Form WIA intake workers and case managers can use this form to summarize the details and outcomes of initial assessment, eligibility determination, and referral for each youth.
		Non-WIA Organization Information WIA youth staff can use this tool to refer youth to organizations outside the WIA youth program. One-Stop staff can also use the tool as a source of referral information.
		Program Element Planning Guide WIA case managers can use this tool to look at all 10 program elements and to determine which elements are suitable for a particular youth when developing that youth's Individual Service Strategy (ISS).
		Proposal Planning Forms Proposal writers can adapt and use these forms to schedule roposaldevelopment steps and to ensure that they have a complete, properly developed proposal ready to submit.
		Roles and Responsibilities of Administrative Entities The administrative entity oversees the general administrative operations of the local WIA youth system. This tool could be used by stakeholders in the youth workforce system to help them understand the primary roles of the administrative entity.
		Roles and Responsibilities of Local Workforce Investment Boards (WIBs) Local WIBs provide strategic planning, local policy development, and oversight of the local workforce investment system, including the youth system. This tool could be used by stakeholders in the youth workforce system to help them understand the mandated roles of the WIB.
		Roles and Responsibilities of Local Youth Councils As a committee of the local WIB, the youth council coordinates and provides oversight of the local WIA youth system. This tool should be used as a self-assessment tool for local youth councils. This tool could also be used by other stakeholders in the youth workforce system to help them understand the roles of the youth council.
		Roles and Responsibilities of Service Providers The responsibility of the service providers is to provide eligible youth with high-quality, effective services that are consistent with the intent of WIA. The tool could be used by both the administrative entity and service providers. The administrative entity may choose to use this tool as part of the monitoring process. If so, the administrative entity should complete a form for each provider, ask each provider to do a self-assessment using the form, and jointly develop steps for improvement where indicated.
		Tutoring Progress Tracking Form Case managers can use the Tutoring Progress Tracking Form to keep track of the progress of each youth in each tutoring activity.
		WIA Youth Eligibility Documentation Guide WIA case managers can use this tool to indicate what documentation was used for youth eligibility, income status, and barriers. It is important to note that the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services requires only one document per criterion. Local areas may require more.
	Resources
		Alternative Education Defines and describes features of alternative education and how it relates to WIA youth programs.
		Assessment in WIA Youth Programs This Brief provides technical and practical information about assessment for WIA youth program practitioners.
		Basic Skills Deficient Youth This Brief explains how WIA youth programs can help youth get the lifetime payoff of good basic skills - higher income, lower unemployment, and better opportunities for advancement and independent adult living.
		Career Pathways Describes how career pathways--a sequence of educational programs to prepare for a sequence of occupations--helps youth employment and advancement.
		Children of Incarcerated Parents Discover more about finding and serving young people whose parents are incarcerated - -a targeted population under the New Strategic Vision for the Delivery of Youth Services.
		Co-Enrollment in WIA Youth, Adult, and Dislocated Worker Programs This Brief explains how co-enrollment can meet all the needs of youth -- both employment-related needs and broader youth development needs. The Brief compares basic eligibility factors for all three programs and summarizes eligibility criteria for the required sequence of core, intensive, and training services in the adult and dislocated worker programs. (2008)
		Contracting Focused Futures Module
		Determining Priorities for Your Local Area This Brief presents a process that local areas can use to set priorities for making improvements to the local WIA youth system. The Brief discusses gaining support for setting priorities, gathering information on youth and labor market needs, analyzing and ranking issues and indicators, and aligning candidate priorities with local economic development and workforce development goals. (2008)
		Developing an Individual Service Strategy (ISS) Youth Development System Builder provides information and tools to help local area WIA youth staff work with each youth to develop an individual Service strategy (ISS) that will help the youth meet his or her employment and educational goals. (2008)
		Dropout Prevention The economic and social costs of dropping out of high school are severe. In the 21st century workplace, a high school diploma is a minimum job requirement, and the income gap between dropouts and individuals who have completed high school or college is widening. The resources in this compilation offer strategies for identifying and implementing appropriate dropout prevention, including addressing both the individual and school environment, respecting diversity and intervening early.
		Dropouts This Brief describes some reasons and factors that prompt youth to drop out of school and how WIA youth programs and dropout recovery programs can help youth complete their secondary education.
		Effective Case Notes This Brief explains the use of case notes as justification,documentation, and records; describes what case notes should -- and shouldn't -- include; and guidelines for effective case notes for WIA youth programs. (2008)
		Effective Numeracy Instruction for Out-of-School Youth This Brief explains what numeracy is and why it is important, describes features of effective numeracy programs for out-of-school youth, and suggests how Workforce Investment Act youth programs can help out-of-school youth gain the math skills they need. (2008)
		Elements of a WIA Youth Program This module offers detailed information on each of the 10 required WIA youth program elements and tools to assess the quality of activities provided under the elements to help local youth councils, administrators, and service providers meet the requirements of federal and state law, regulations, and policy.
		Finding Labor Market Information This Brief identifies a number of excellent online sources of labor market information to meet WIA youths' long-term employment goals or their immediate need for a job and describes the kinds of information found on each website. (2008)
		Follow-Up Services This module of Focused Futures: Youth Development System Builder provides information and tools to help local youth councils, WIA administrators, case managers, and service providers conduct systematic follow-up activities for youth who have completed participation in WIA youth programs and entered postsecondary education, advanced training, or unsubsidized employment. Legislative, regulatory, and policy requirements, effective practices, and contracting for follow-up services are covered in this module. (2007)
		Foster Youth Strategies and resources to help WIA staff address the special challenges and needs of foster youth
		Gen Y This Brief describes some generational characteristics of today's youth --- Gen Y --- and suggests implications for WIA programs.
		GLBTQ Youth This Brief provides some basic information about gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and questioning (GLBTQ) youth and how WIA programs can better serve this population.
		Goal Setting in WIA Youth Programs This Brief explains the purpose of goal setting, offers tips for helping WIA youth set effective goals, and discusses strategies WIA youth program staff can use to reduce barriers to youth goal setting. (2008)
		Homeless and Runaway Youth Understand more about the causes, characteristics and challenges of serving homeless and runaway youth in WIA programs.
		Indian and Native American Youth This brief presents the WIA definition of "out-of-school youth" and describes challenges and solutions for all four types of out-of-school.
		Juvenile Justice and WIA Youth Services This Brief provides a basic understanding of Ohio's juvenile justice system and processes to enable local WIA youth programs to meet the needs of offenders as WIA youth participants. (2008)
		Leveraging Resources Strategies to coordinate with other agencies and find additional resources to provide optimum programs to youth.
		Managing Program Exits Learn how 'soft exits' can be a 90-day window of opportunity for informed decisions and appropriate action for your youth participants.
		Mapping Certificates in Your Local Area This Brief describes the types of certificates that count under Youth Common Measures, with an emphasis on industry-recognized certificates and professional or occupational licenses. The Brief presents a process that WIA youth staff can use to identify the instructional programs in their own local area that prepare youth to earn a certificate.
		Mapping Local Youth Resources This Brief presents a focused process that local areas can use to identify youth resources available to meet 2-3 high-priority needs, as well as gaps in availability of services. The Brief describes what kind of information to collect, how to collect information using surveys, and how to house information in custom databases.
		"Mean Mom" - Presented at "Building Better Opportunities For Youth" - The Third Annual WIA Youth Conference (April 6-8, 2004)
		Meeting the Demands of Business through WIA Youth Programs This What Works includes a variety of printed resources that local area WIA youth programs can use to ensure a closer fit between the needs of employers in the 21st century economy and the preparation of youth for employment.
		Migrant Youth Describes social and educational issues specific to migrant youth and presents educational, programmatic and interpersonal strategies to address their needs.
		Monitoring WIA Youth Contracts This Brief describes how local area WIA youth staff can monitor contracts for WIA youth services to improve program providers' performance, identify potential problems, ensure that finances are adequately documented, provide qualitative observations and data on performance, and provide information on the impact of WIA services. (2008)
		Multiple Education Pathways This Brief provides an overview of Multiple Education Pathways, a systemic approach to education that envisions education pathways to meet the needs of all youth in a community organized and integrated into an ecosystem of educational and youth-serving partners that communicate, coordinate, and collaborate with each other. (2008)
		New Report Cites Benefits of Linking Community Service to Academic Learning, National Commission on Service-Learning.
		Objective Assessment Objective AssessmentThe Youth Development System Builder provides information and tools to help local area Workforce Investment Act (WIA) youth staff select, use, and administer assessments effectively and ethically and interpret and use assessment results appropriately. (2008)
		Occupational Skills Training This What Works volume brings together a brief introduction that defines Occupational Skills Training in WIA youth programs and a selection of reprinted resources that describe strategies known to increase the likelihood of youth success in the area.
		Out-of-School Youth This brief presents the WIA definition of "out-of-school youth" and describes challenges and solutions for all four types of out-of-school.
		Outreach, Recruitment, and Engagement This module of Focused Futures: Youth Development System Builder provides information and tools to help local youth councils, WIA administrators, case managers, and service providers conduct outreach, recruitment, and engagement activities to attract and retain at-risk youth in WIA youth services programs. (2007)
		Pre-Enrollment Activities, Framework Activities, and Case Management This module of Focused Futures: Youth Development System Builder provides information and tools on pre-enrollment activities (including recruitment, intake, initial assessment, eligibility determination, and referral), framework activities (objective assessment and individual service strategy (ISS) development), and case management to help local youth councils, administrators, and service providers successfully provide these essential services. (2007)
		Preparing WIA Youth for Green Jobs This Brief explains how WIA youth staff can help WIA youth to find entry-level employment and advance in the developing green economy, which is projected to deliver large numbers of jobs that will provide good wages, be difficult to outsource, and offer career paths and opportunities for entrepreneurship. (2008)
		Preparing WIA Youth for the STEM Workforce This Brief explains how the STEM fields -- Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics -- are the foundation of both the current economy and the knowledge-based, innovative global economy and presents strategies that WIA youth programs can use to prepare youth for the STEM workforce. (2008)
		Pregnancy Prevention in WIA Youth Programs This Brief provides background information on youth sexuality; risk factors for early parenthood; and consequences of early parenthood for parents, child, family, and society; and offers strategies for working with youth at risk of early parenthood.
		Pregnant and Parenting Youth This Brief describes how WIA youth programs can serve pregnant and parenting youth by addressing issues such as the health of the mother and child, family formation, parenting education, and helping youth transition to adult roles.
		Program Design for Performance Focused Futures Module
		Project-Based Learning This Brief describes how project-based learning-an educational strategy that relates academic subjects and other skills to real world outcomes--can be used effectively in a variety of Workforce Investment Act (WIA) youth programs.
		Recruiting and Retaining Out-of-School Youth Tips for attracting out-of-school youth to your program and keeping them engaged.
		Registered Apprenticeships This Brief describes registered apprenticeships and suggests how Workforce Investment Act (WIA) youth programs can help prepare youth for successful apprenticeships - so that youth can be employed as apprentices and get paid while they learn an occupation that leads to self-sufficiency.
		Request for Proposals Focused Futures Module
		Serving Out-of-School Youth This module of Focused Futures: Youth Development System Builder provides information and tools to help local youth councils, WIA administrators, case managers, and service providers serve out-of-school youth. The module describes the characteristics of out-of-school youth and provides effective strategies for conducting outreach, recruiting, and engaging out-of-school youth. (2007)
		Serving Youth in One-Stops Focused Futures Module
		Shared Vision For Youth The Shared Vision for Youth focuses on interagency collaboration to prioritize resources and improve services to the youth most at risk for not making a successful transition to adulthood. This What Works provides information about the targeted populations--dropouts, foster youth, juvenile offenders, children of incarcerated parents, migrant youth, American and Native American youth, and youth with disabilities--and suggests methods to promote cooperation and collaboration among various agencies and organizations, including Workforce Investment Act programs. (2008)
		Stackable Certificates This Brief describes stackable certificates, a new Ohio initiative that could be of great benefit to youth in Workforce Investment Act programs. Plans call for stackable certificates to certify that individuals have the skills needed for the workplace and for postsecondary education and to help individuals complete a college degree by earning college credit for selected certificates. (2008)
		Study Skills Because youth might need help not just with what they learn but also with how they learn it, the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) makes study skills instruction, together with tutoring and dropout prevention, one of the 10 required elements of youth programs. Study skills are learning strategies that help students organize, process, and use information effectively. These skills are important not just for academic learning but also for everyday life. They can help individuals be organized and successful lifelong learners and manage their jobs, households, and finances. What Works: Study Skills provides practical guidance in identifying what help youth may need with study skills and how teachers or tutors can provide the necessary skills for learning.
		Tutoring Youth who experience difficulties with academics, especially reading and writing, need extra support and individualized attention. Tutoring programs that include research-based elements have been shown to improve achievement in reading and writing. Well-designed and implemented tutoring works because individualized instruction caters to different learning styles and provides feedback and encouragement that are tailored to the learner's specific needs. What Works: Tutoring provides resources that show how tutoring can be effective in motivating youth and describe effective tutoring programs.
		The WIA Youth System This module of Focused Futures: Youth Development System Builder provides information and tools to help local areas understand the "big picture" - the goals and purpose of the Workforce Investment Act, the workforce delivery system, and the WIA youth system, including eligibility, programming, expenditures, service documentation, performance, and the responsibilities of local WIA youth stakeholders. (2007)
		Using the TABE in WIA Youth Programs This Brief describes the TABE, or Tests of Adult Basic Education, an achievement test used to assess youths' literacy and numeracy skills. The Brief explains how to use the different tests and levels of the TABE and what TABE scores mean. The Brief provides guidelines for using the TABE effectively in local area WIA youth programs. (2008)
		Work Readiness Skills This Brief describes work readiness skills -- skills needed by all workers in any job -- the characteristics of effective work readiness programs, and selected assessment tools to measure work readiness.
		Year Round Programming Ideas for integrating summer employment with school-year services to meet WIA requirements for year-round programming.
		Youth Aging Out of Foster Care This Brief describes the characteristics and problems of youth who are aging out of the foster care system and suggests how Workforce Investment Act (WIA) youth programs can help them transition successfully to employment, further education, and independent adult living. (2008)
		Youth and Employers Strategies you can use to help youth transition to high-skill, high-wage, high-demand occupations by addressing the needs and concerns of employers.
		Youth Councils Focused Futures Module
		Youth Offenders Describes the challenges of working with youth offenders and some practical steps that youth workers can take to be successful with this unique population.
		Youth Offenders and Collateral Sanctions Essential information about sanctions that may prevent youth from obtaining licensure or working in certain occupations or industries.
		Youth Offender Demonstration, Round One, Final Technical Assistance Report Available Online, USDOL-ETA, March 2002.
		Youth with Disabilities This brief discusses challenges faced by youth with disabilities in education, employment and the community and how WIA youth programs can serve this population.