Guideposts for Success to Support Employment Transition for Youths with Disabilities: Research, Policy and VR Practice

About the Webcast

The Center on KTDRR is collaborating with the American Institutes for Research to support webcasts and a Community of Practice that examine issues and challenges around evidence-based practice and vocational rehabilitation (VR). This is the fourth in a series of webcasts that examine the links between VR research and practice. We will have a dialogue with a researcher, a policymaker, and a VR practitioner to discuss the research, policy and VR practice surrounding the use of the Guideposts for Success program, to support the employment transition of youths with disabilities.
Guideposts for Success (National Collaborative on Workforce & Disability for Youth): www.ncwd-youth.info/guideposts.

The webcast follows the thread of the relationship between research and practice as it relates to the use of Guideposts for Success. The webcast organizers do not mean to endorse the Guideposts program as an appropriate approach for VR, but rather to explore how research has been conducted and applied, through training, to inform VR practices.

View the Archive

  1. This webcast originally aired on YouTube on February 25, 2015. You do not need a YouTube account to view the webcast http://youtu.be/lsMVqdlBn0s

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About the Presenters

Photo of Richard G. Luecking, EdD

Richard G. Luecking, EdD is President of TransCen, Inc., a non-profit organization dedicated to improving employment success of people with disabilities. During his tenure in this position, which he has held since 1987, he has been responsible for the implementation of numerous model demonstration and research projects related to school-to-work transition and employment of individuals with disabilities. Dr. Luecking has held leadership positions in various national level transition and disability employment initiatives and is the author of numerous publications on related topics, including the book, The Way to Work: How to Facilitate Work Experiences for Youth in Transition (Brookes Publishing Company, 2009). He currently leads the Center on Transition to Employment for Youth with Disabilities that is examining factors that promote success for youth making the transition from school to adult employment.

Photo of Curtis Richards

Curtis Richards is Director of the Center for Workforce Development at the Institute for Educational Leadership. He also serves as the lead technical assistance provider for the National Collaborative on Workforce & Disability for Youth (NCWD/Y). With support from the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy, NCWD/Y is a national technical assistance center focused on assisting the workforce development system to better serve youth, including youth with disabilities. He assisted in developing the framework, Guideposts for Success. Nationally recognized as a leader in the disability community, Richards has been visually impaired since he was a toddler. He has served in both state and national administrations, including three years as Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services in the U.S. Department of Education. Mr. Richards has spoken extensively on disability issues throughout the country and also has an extensive background in postsecondary education.

Photo of Laura C. Spears

Laura C. Spears has been employed with the South Carolina Vocational Rehabilitation Department for 20 years. She started as a counselor in the Camden Area Office, and has served as the Employer Relations Consultant, Client Services Consultant, and is currently the Transition Services Coordinator. Ms. Spears has developed and coordinated training on disability specific topics such as Autism, Diabetes, and Cardiac Rehabilitation. She has served on the Mayor’s Committee on the Employment of People with Disabilities and currently serves on the Advisory Council for the Rehabilitation Counseling Program and on the Advisory Council for the Education of Students with Disabilities. Ms. Spears is chair of the SC Youth Leadership Forum and of the Transition Alliance of South Carolina.