School to Work Transition Team McKinley County …

1 School to Work Transition Team McKinley County Meeting Minutes September 6, 2017 Participants: Marcy Shetima DVR, Laura Gilge DVR/CREC, Orlin Skyberg DVR/NWREC, Orlinda Charleston DDSD, Melissa Reid-Ciferri Parents Reaching Out (PRO), Dolores Harden PRO, Bill Nichols Gallup McKinley County Schools (GMCS), John Overheim GMCS, Thelissa Becenti NNOSERS, Virginia Howard San Juan Center for Independence, Dawn Garcia UNM Gallup CCTE, Nadine Avery Native American Disability Law Center, Ela Yazzie-King DVR, Clare Stachura GMCS, Marcy Hintz PFE, Wendy Corry PFE 1. Welcome and Introductions including Marcy Hintz, the PFE staff who will be taking over the leadership of the McKinley County SWTT 2. Review minutes from the last meeting 3. Results/Recommendations from the UNM/CDD Survey of the SWTT s were discussed 4.

2 Discussion on the challenge of getting family members to attend meetings, trainings, etc. Recommended this be a topic for a future agenda. 5. Agency Updates: a. DVR/NW Region Educational Cooperative (REC)- Introduced Orlin Skyberg the new NW REC Vocational Transition Specialist who will serve McKinley County , etc Pre-ETS (Pre-Employment Transition Services) will be delivered in the schools. This should help with referrals to DVR Gallup and DVR/REC are working on a MOU to make office space available in the School for Orlin NW REC has started doing Needs Assessments in the High Schools The REC is developing a Self-Advocacy Curriculum that will be for ALL students, not just students with disabilities b. DDSD- Distributed DDSD Grant applications and explained the criteria Distributed the DDSD Accessing Community Resources booklet Explained a DDSD pilot program regarding a revised Supported Employment application process and criteria c.

3 OSERS- working on building relationships with junior students in the schools in addition to the seniors created a summer internship program with students from Gallup McKinley Schools and had 5 interns d. PFE- Explained restructuring of PFE staff so there can be a regional PFE lead staff to coordinate employment activities in the region. Marcy Hintz will be in Gallup PFE is offering scholarships for the ACRE online-certified Supported Employment Online course The training calendar is in process and will be distributed when finalized PFE will be collaborating with DVR, CREC, DDSD and others to create 4 new SWTT s in the southern part of the state e. Schools- They have 5 interns in the Project Search program They are in the process of restructuring their On-the Job Training Program including their landscaping and fleet vehicle maintenance programs.

4 One long-term possibility is a recycling project. The School social workers are coordinating with DVR and OSERS on School presentations and there is potential for collaboration on future outreach activities. f. Parents Reaching Out- Melissa and Dolores, both parents of young adults with disabilities introduced themselves. Explained Forward at 14 Program g. UNM CCTE- Offer services for multiple occupations: resumes, assessments, customer service training, soft skills training, career advisement, etc. Their programs are available to seniors and provide stipends. Travel is provided by the schools. Offer a variety of opportunities including welding, auto body work, nursing, etc. h. San Juan Center for Independence- Explained the services they offer including helping people get housing, get back in School , assistive technology loan programs, etc.

5 There are a lot of Navajo speakers who need help navigating the various systems. i. Native American Disability Law Center- Do a lot of work with parents Provide trainings on Special Education 6. Discussion on the role of advocacy within each of the agencies represented. What is effective advocacy, tips for schools on receiving an advocate in their meetings, how to ensure clear and consistent communication, etc. It was recommended that this be discussed in greater detail at the next SWTT meeting. 7. Agenda items for upcoming meetings: Team members will invite representatives from their agencies to come and talk about the role of advocacy in their agencies specific to education, how to be effective, etc: Nadine will invite Yolanda Sandoval from the Native American Disability Law Center, PRO will invite Naomi Sandweiss Exec.

6 Dir of PRO, the schools will come prepared to discuss this from the School s perspective. A future topic is to invite the DDSD Intake and Eligibility Bureau to talk about the DD Waiver. 8. Next meeting: November 8 from 9:30-11:00 at the Educational Development Center (EDC) 1000 E. Aztec Ave. Gallup