Montgomery Youth Work's Partnership for All Youth

The Career Transition Center (CTC) is the parent organization for Montgomery Youth Works (MYW). MYW offers services for youth including job placement assistance, generic job readiness training, customized job readiness training, Career Institutes, and intensive career counseling. Training is available for the construction industry, health sciences, and arts. MYW also educates businesses to understand that in a tight and competitive labor market, they need to discover the advantages of hiring job-ready young people. MYW works directly with the business community in ascertaining their labor needs and finding qualified youth to fill them.

Montgomery Youth Work's Partnership for All Youth is a program within MYW designed to expand the skills of workforce development professionals on how to assist youth with disabilities in taking advantage of youth workforce initiatives. As part of this, a manual and training curriculum were developed that focused on how to accommodate youth with disabilities. MYW developed a youth practitioner training program called the Time is N.O.W. (New Opportunities for the Workforce). Staff acquired the knowledge and skills to promote self-determination and informed choice through ongoing communication with disability support experts, such as the Department of Rehabilitation Services, TransCen, Montgomery County Public Schools, and the ADA/IT Information Center, all of which are partners of MYW. In addition, MYW staff members were encouraged to participate in the staff development workshops.

MYW's mission is to provide all youth with meaningful training and job opportunities aimed at facilitating a successful transition from school to work and to contribute to workforce development in Montgomery County.

The purpose of the Montgomery Partnership for All Youth is to expand the skills of workforce development professionals on how to assist youth with disabilities in taking advantage of youth workforce initiatives.

Over the course of the grant period, Montgomery Youth Works provided services to approximately 2,600 young people. MYW does not capture separate information on the type of disability. However, MYW conservatively estimated that over 650 (25%) of the youth served between September 1, 2001 and August 31, 2003 had disabilities. Participation and involvement of youth with disabilities increased by 13%.