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Final Essay Questions and Answers Student’s Name Institutional Affiliation Course Professor Date Final Essay Questions and Answers Knowledge of Disability Question (a) Legislation (IDEA vs. WIOA and the Rehabilitation Act) The transition from school to adulthood for people with disabilities is suggestively influenced by key pieces of legislation that oversee their rights and access to services. Two crucial legislations that form such a transition are the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), along with the Rehabilitation Act. Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Before the 1970s, many young people with disabilities were primarily excepted from the U.S. public schools scheme and categorized "mentally retarded"(Lo, 2024). The only learning opportunities accessible to many of them were at-home education or in-state institutes. However, advocacy for special education started establishing throughout President John Kennedy’s period (Lo, 2024). By 1975, the federal government had approved landmark legislation to end inequality. The law was first referred to as "the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EHA)" but later revised to the "Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)” (Lo, 2024). The IDEA was passed by Congress to ensure the civil rights of children identified with disabilities. The IDEA Act dictates that schools acclimatize instructional programs to adhere to the individual desires of each learner with a debility. It safeguards children from early stages through high school qualification or age 21. For one to succeed for special education, learners must have disabilities, such as deaf-blindness, deafness, blind or visual defect, traumatic brain injury, speech or language impairment, emotional disturbance, and hearing impairment, among others. Once an individual is IDEA-eligible, institutes must create an Individual Education Plan (IEP) (Lo, 2024). IEPs relate to comprehensive plans developed collaboratively by teachers, parents, and learners that describe specific educational goals and the services needed to realize them. The IDEA dictates that transition planning should start at age 16 (or younger if deemed appropriate), focusing on post-secondary goals linked to training, education, employment, and autonomous living assistances. However, research shows that over half of the states in the U.S., including Illinois and Pennsylvania, have chosen to lower the demanded transition planning age to at least 14 years old (Lo, 2024). These states believe that such a process should start as early as possible. Throughout this process, the IDEA demands that schools collaborate with learners with disabilities and their families. Collaboratively, they will decide what education, experiences, supports, and services learners with disabilities need to be prepared and lead positive adult lives outside high school. Such information needs to be embedded in the learner's IEP and revisited every year. Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) The WIOA was approved in 2014 to help job hunters access the hiring, training, and support services they demand to prosper in the labor market. This act places a strong emphasis on serving people with disabilities and enhancing their employment outcomes. WIOA works closely with the Rehabilitation Act to offer vocational rehabilitation services. It defines “employment” for individuals with disabilities as “competitive integrated employment” (CIE) (Admin, 2019). This indicates that individuals with disabilities must be paid similar wages as those without disabilities and interrelate with and get similar prospects for career development as non-disabled colleagues. To ensure the effective transition of people with disabilities from schools to adulthood, especially in job markets, the WIOA profoundly confines the usage of sub-minimum wage-protected workshops and emphasizes preventing the direct placement of learners with disabilities leaving high school into such programs. Moreover, the law demands state agencies, such as "Medicaid agencies, developmental disabilities agencies, vocational rehabilitation programs, and educational agencies, to enter into mutual arrangements to prioritize CIE" (Admin, 2019). Moreover, WIOA stresses youth services, especially those with disabilities, to ensure they gain the skills and credentials necessary for employment. Based on the WIOA, investing in young people is beneficial for them and to the economy and pays off in dividend. Early labor market success is associated with better outcomes for young adults, and such opportunities are for every young person, whether with disabilities or non-disabilities. WIOA has also developed the pre-employment transition services recognized as Pre-ETS (Admin, 2019). Such services comprise job search therapy, work-based learning practices, counseling on post-secondary prospects, office willingness training, and teaching in self-advocacy. Such services are crucial for the effective transition of people with disability from school to adulthood, especially in the job market. Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Sections 504 and 508) The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 was a standard disability civil rights sequence of law passed in the U.S. The act proscribes discernment against people with disabilities in any program getting federal funds, employment, and any employment practices of federal contractors. Section 540 of the act ensures that individuals with disabilities have equivalent access to programs and events that get federal funding (504/508 Compliance, 2024). It demands reasonable accommodations to be realized for learners with disabilities in schools and adults in different programs. Moreover, “Section 508 demands that federal electronic and information technology be accessible to individuals with disabilities” (504/508 Compliance, 2024). Such requirements are crucial for offering accessible educational materials and workplace technologies for people with disabilities in the workplace. Generally, while IDEA emphasizes educational rights and services for children with disabilities, the WIOA and Rehabilitation Act offer a broader structure for supporting people with disabilities in their transition to adulthood, underscoring the employment field and access to adult services. Question (b). Access to Services from School vs. Agencies that Provide Services to Adults The shift from school to adulthood for people with disabilities comprises a shift in the types and sources of services accessible to them. While in school, most of the services are governed by IDEA. However, after they graduate, different agencies and programs come into play to offer significant services. In this case, the WIOA and Rehabilitation Act takes over the provision of services. School-Based Services (Under IDEA) IDEA offers children with limiting disabilities, from birth to age 21, the right to services intended to realize their exclusive, personal desires. Entitled children from 3-21 who get amenities at school have the right to Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE). Based on the IDEA, FAPE is offered when customized amenities help a learner with a disability to make advancement that is suitable in light of their situation. Most of the services in school are delivered through IEP (Lo, 2024). IDEA demands FAPE to be offered in the Least Restrictive Environment to the determined level possible, which generates a duty for schools to work as learners in the overall education setting, with suitably wide-ranging access to grade-level education, when conceivable. Access to overall teaching can be offered through an modified curriculum, additional adult support, and assistive technology, among others. In most cases, the services specified in an IEP can be offered in regular education classrooms. However, they might also be provided in separate classrooms or schools depending on the learner's needs. Some might have one IEP for a single subject area, while others have one for all academic subjects and social skills instruction (Lo, 2024). Services can also be offered in separated setting in the school. In such an environment, groups of learners with comparable needs are placed together in small-group instruction. A qualified special education educator, among other school staff, helps with teaching the special groups and providing the necessary services. Some students might need intense intervention, though might be taught in a special school setting (Lo, 2024). Such schools have fewer learners per educator, allowing for more individualized attention. Educators in such settings typically have precise training in helping learners with special educational needs. School-based services under IDEA also comprise the transition services. Such services start at age 16, intended to prepare learners for life after high school. They comprise career exploration, work experiences, and connections to post-secondary education or vocational programs. To make the transition successful, parents, educators, and students play a crucial role in decision-making processes (Lo, 2024). Because of the student's disabilities, their involvement in the transition might be limited. Therefore, educators are students' families are expected to offer support to ensure learners are actively included in planning for their future. For example, they might help learners classify their strengths and interests and decide if they demand to continue their education or follow a career. Such crucial information guides the IEP team when identifying suitable support and services. Adult Services (Post-Graduation) Adult services for individuals with disabilities are primarily provided by different agencies through Vocational Rehabilitation (VR), Independent Living Services, and Workforce Development Programs, among others. VR is a service offered and provided in every state and territory in the U.S. The goal of VR is to support individuals with disabilities to find and keep competitive, integrated employment. Their mission significantly aligns with inclusive higher education programs that support individuals with intellectual disability to access college and employment (Understanding Vocational Rehabilitation, n.d.). Their agencies are crucial partners for inclusive higher education programs because they bring connections, expertise, and more resources for individuals with disabilities. By working and collaborating with other agencies, VR increases learners' prospects, prepares them for employment, and shares the obligation of offering wide-ranging and impactful services that learners need to succeed in the outside world. The Center for Independent Living (CILs) offers services to individuals with significant disabilities to improve their capability to live autonomously, work in their homes and with their families, and partake in their communities. Different types of independent living services can help individuals with disabilities preserve autonomy and quality of life. Fortifying specific supportive services and adjusting one’s living space to make it more accessible are appropriate options. With such services, many people with disabilities can live on their own in their homes, with other services provided by in-home caregivers and home health aides (Admin, 2019). Moreover, the WIOA offers employment-related services to adults with disabilities, such as job-seeking assistance, resume-writing workshops, and connections to employers. WIOA demands that every state purposefully align its core labor force development programs to synchronize the needs of every job seeker, including people with disabilities (Admin, 2019). Other adults with disabilities access healthcare services through programs such as Medicaid or other health insurance programs. They might get social services such as housing help and personal care services from different state and local agencies. Generally, the shift from school-based to adult services can be challenging as people and their families navigate varying systems and eligibility demands. Coordination between schools and adult service agencies is necessary to ensure a smooth transition. Question (c). The Roles and Responsibilities of Vocational Rehabilitation Personnel Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) workers play a crucial role in supporting young adults with disabilities as they transition from school to adulthood. Their primary roles include; Assessment and Planning Vocational rehabilitation personnel are responsible for conducting an assessment of VR needs to determine the specific employment goal and the nature and scope of vocational rehabilitation services to be recorded in the employment plan. In most cases, this assessment is founded on the information utilized to decide eligibility and significance for services. If an individual's exclusive strengths, resources, significances, concerns, capabilities, capacities, and interests cannot be categorized using information already collected to decide on eligibility and priority for services, an extensive assessment must be performed (Tansey et al., 2023). This assessment is directed in the most cohesive settings possible. Information from other programs and providers is considered during the assessment. This includes social workers, school staff, employment networks, physicians, psychologists, and the Social Security Administration (SSA), as well as that presented by the individual and family members. The VR counselor, during the assessment, is responsible for assuring that the process of vocational rehabilitation demands is appropriate to develop a job goal and the nature and choice of services based on accessible information. The general assessment comprises an assessment of personality, interpersonal skills, interests, intelligence, and related functions and capacities (Tansey et al., 2023). Moreover, it comprises the assessment of patterns of work conduct of the person and required services for the person to access occupation skills and to grow work boldness, open-mindedness, and social and behavior patterns needed for positive job performance. The planning role involves designing an Employment Plan (EP), which describes the support needed for the person to obtain their employment goals. After the assessment, the VR counselor develops an EP not later than 90 days after an individual enters a planning status. The role of the VR is determined if the EP is likely to result in competitive integrated employment, that the services are needed to realize the job goal, consistent with the assessment results and other applicable information in service records and that all necessary elements of the EP are complete (Tansey et al., 2023). However, they cannot support employment goals nor small businesses that violate federal or state laws or are considered hobbies- meaning they are not income-producing, nor ventures that are hypothetical in nature or well-thought-out as high risk. To ensure the EP is significant and up to the regulations, it is developed collaboratively with the individual and might involve input from family members, teachers, and other service providers. Service Provision The law necessitates that individuals with disabilities are eligible to accept programs or services they might require to get and retain an occupation or for independent living. Vocational rehabilitation offers different programs and services, which vary from state to state but might comprise vocational counseling, direction and recommendation services (Overchuk et al., 2021). The rehabilitation counselor talks with individuals to see what their skills and interests are, helps them select their work goals, and plans their program of services. They also offer physical and mental health rehabilitation services, including helping them access eyeglasses, visual services, treatment for mental health, or speech rehabilitation. VR counselors offer translator services for learners who are deaf as well as reader services for those who are blind. In some cases, vocational rehabilitation counselors offer services and lessons that educate individuals on job abilities, such as occupational and other training, such as on-the-job training. They offer personal assistance services, such as “workplace personal assistant services (WPAS)” (Overchuk et al., 2021). This includes a reader, a task-elated assistant, helping with elating or attainment of work-related matters, a distinct care assistant, or a travel associate. Such extensive services comprise training for supervision, oversight, and directing individual support services. The VR also helps in the access for assistive technology devices or job accommodations, such as TDD, enlarged print, or rising a writing desk for a wheelchair. They help individuals assess their independent living requirements and classify obstacles to employment to make changes to their home and help them manage tasks and work more successfully. Collaboration and Advocacy Vocational rehabilitation personnel often work together with schools to support transition planning and ensure continuity of services. This might encompass attending IEP meetings, offering Pre-ETS, and ensuring learners connect with adult services. The VR therapists work collaboratively with employers to encourage the hiring of people with disabilities, offer disability awareness training, and ensure workplace accommodations are in place (Brinck et al., 2021). Moreover, they advocate for the rights of people with disabilities and empower them to fight for their rights. Such initiatives are realized by teaching them self-advocacy skills and offering them information about their rights established by different laws and regulations. Generally, Vocational Rehabilitation personnel are significant in ensuring effective transition of young adults with disabilities from school to adulthood. They offer significant services from assessment and planning to collaboration and advocacy with other personnel in planning and ensuring effective delivery of services. Their presence ensures that young adults with disabilities achieve their employment goals, live independently and fully engage in their communities. Diversity Case Study Charlie's scenario demonstrates a multifaceted interrelation of cultural, linguistic, and systemic obstacles that contribute to the unproductive closures of his rehabilitation and employment efforts. Various factors might have resulted in such an outcome, encompassing a lack of culturally competent support, inadequate communication, inappropriate job placement, and unreliable transportation. Factors Influencing the Unsuccessful Closure Cultural and Linguistic Barriers Based on the case, Charlier speaks some English but still faces significant challenges due to his proficiency, which needs to be better to understand multifaceted instructions or the nuances of workplace commu...