The UVM Center on Disability & Community Inclusion (CDCI) is taking part in a newly funded project to improve the lives of young Vermonters with disabilities.
On Thursday, September 14th, the U.S. Department of Education’s Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) announced it will provide $10 million in funding for the Vermont Pathways to Partnership (VT-P2P) project. The VT-P2P project is one of 20 projects nationwide focused on improving economic self-sufficiency for children and youth with disabilities.
The VT-P2P project aims to do this by creating systems that increase opportunities for Vermont youth with disabilities after they leave high school. The five-year funding will enable the projects to build better systems to prepare young Vermonters with disabilities for independent living, including competitive integrated employment and community integration.
The Vermont Division for the Blind and Visually Impaired within Vermont’s Agency of Human Services, Department of Disabilities, Aging, and Independent Living (DAIL) will lead the VT-P2P project in collaboration with the Vermont Agency of Education, the Vermont Center for Independent Living, and local school districts. The project also includes other key community partners focused on transition. The CDCI will provide evaluation services on the project, mainly through the work of executive director Jesse C. Suter, PhD, but also with the help of a new graduate research associate.
The CDCI’s other role will be to provide training and consultation to the project on the topic of supported employment. Supported employment services help Vermont companies and organizations better attract and retain employees with disabilities, as well as providing them with opportunities for professional growth.
“The CDCI is so excited to be partnering with such amazing organizations around Vermont,” said Suter. “We’ve long known that there is a huge need for improving and expanding these types of services. We’ve seen that need for years, as our projects have worked to improve high school transition, employment, and access to higher education for Vermonters with disabilities. P2P has a great chance to make big change in improving the economic prospects of Vermonters with disabilities as they transition to adulthood.”
The CDCI is in the College of Education and Social Services at the University of Vermont.
The Vermont Pathways to Partnerships (VT-P2P) project will collaborate with a wide variety of community partners who specialize in supporting Vermonters with disabilities after they leave high school. These include leaders from Vermont’s independent living community, community nonprofits, state agencies, local education agencies, and colleges and universities. The project seeks to encourage Vermonters to have high expectations for and improved outcomes related to independent living as adults with disabilities.
The Department of Education awarded recipients of the Pathways to Partnership grants the full funding for a five-year project period. Through the five-year project period, award recipients will pilot, refine, and implement their proposed projects while also collecting and analyzing project data.
