University of Oregon

Introduction

Project SERVE was an acronym for Support for the Emotional, Residential, Vocational, and Educational Needs of Adolescents with Emotional and Behavioral Problems to Prevent the Development of Serious Emotional Disturbance. SERVE provided vocational services and social service management to adolescents with emotional and behavioral disorders between the ages of 15 to 21. Services were provided in community settings, outside the context of school, but often in conjunction with school programs and personnel. The intervention consisted of four main elements:


Project SERVE
Setting Goals with The Transition Specialist

SERVE accepted any youth who was referred to the project, provided that; the youth was at least 15-16 years of age so he or she could work full time, he or she wanted to be a part of the program, and he or she was willing to commit to the program for at least six months. Referrals to SERVE came from personnel in public schools, state mental health agencies, and state/federal vocational / rehabilitation agencies. Participants were paired with a Transition Specialist (TS) who assisted the youths in (a) planning their own transition services, (b) securing and keeping a job, and (c) accessing educational and social services. As appropriate, the Transition Specialist worked with the youth's family to develop an integrated and comprehensive system of services. The Transition Specialist also checked in with individuals who had left the program through phone calls every six months. If, during the phone call, the TS discovered problem areas for these SERVE alumni, the TS would recommend social service agencies, or intervene with appropriate authorities/services to try and continue support for the young adult. SERVE found that not all Transition Specialists needed to be certified teachers. In fact, some of the best Transition Specialists were not college educated, but they had extensive experience with at-risk or criminal youth and were familiar with the competitive work sector.

Each TS served a caseload of 12-15 students. A coordinator, who was a certified teacher and skilled in job placement, met with TSs to monitor each of the participants, gaining information about social progress, job placements, family life, school experience, looking for potential problem areas. If issues did arise, the group would brainstorm how to change the intervention the following week to support the student and curb the problem areas. The meetings consisted of all the TSs, a project coordinator with a strong background in issues surrounding youth with ED, and the project director - a professor of special education at the state university. Sometimes, other key service providers would join in the meetings, for example, a psychologist who worked closely with a student, or a social worker, but scheduling demands made this difficult.

In addition to discussions about particular problem areas in each youth's life, the Transition Specialists would share information about leads on jobs or any other information needs the TSs might have. Considering that Transition Specialists did not work out of a single office, meetings were an important way to maintain a common culture between TSs, and provided professional and even emotional support for each other. The central office for SERVE was based in a Community Mental Health Program, even though only about half of referrals to SERVE came from this agency. Most referrals came from public schools administrators who felt that a student was likely to drop out of school, or required more intensive support than was possible to give in a regular educational setting.

Project SERVE
Serving Youth in Community Settings

Many of the youths referred to the project were either (a) doing poorly in school, exhibiting erratic attendance, and seemed ready to drop out of school, or (b) were already out of school but not engaged in work or post secondary education. The transition specialist met the youth away from the school environment at a place of the youth's choosing. This was an important part of getting youth involved in the project, because so many of these youths disliked school and felt distrustful toward school based programs. Meeting with them away from school provided a suitable, and necessary, avenue for developing an appropriate service plan and a supportive relationship with their C. It helped give project participants a fresh start.

Because SERVE was based outside of the schools, it was important that the project be well known to school administrators. SERVE relied on referrals from school administrators and teachers -over half of referrals to SERVE came from public schools. For this reason, it was very important for school administrators to be aware of the human services that existed in their area. Demanding schedules often made it difficult for school personnel to keep informed about agencies who could pick up where schools left off. However, if administrators did not keep up to date, they might have been completely unaware of a program or agency that could have meaningfully intervened in a student's life. SERVE developed strong ties to schools nearby, but this might not be a strength for all programs of this type. To take advantage of projects like SERVE, administrators and school staff had to actively seek out programs and services for students who needed more than their school had to give, and had to take responsibility for connecting students with such services.

Project SERVE
Multiple Service Agencies

Many of the project's participants needed more than one kind of social service, including probation or parole supervision, academic assistance, vocational support, housing, food, various levels of intervention for family issues, and treatment for mental health, drugs and alcohol. Naturally, schools could not possibly provide all these services effectively, or even have an intimate enough understanding of every student's personal life to be able to refer students to services. Project SERVE developed a system of social services for each participant by collaborating with community-based social service agencies around each case.

The first step for each youth referred to SERVE was an intake assessment performed by the transition specialist using a protocol developed by the project. These histories provided important clues for how a TS could best help a student avoid behaviors that had undermined him or her in the past, and helped the TS to develop an effective system of social services for each youth. SERVE found that no single source of information really provided a complete picture of a student and his or her history. For that reason, the assessment drew on several sources of information: formal agency, law enforcement and school records; conversations with personnel at referring agencies; and interviews with students and families. This intake assessment provided the basis for the individualized intervention for each student, and determined how a Transition Specialist would work with other human service agencies to support the youth. If a participant was showing signs of drug use, his or her Transition Specialist would put her in contact with a drug treatment program. If a youth was living on the street, the Transition Specialist might facilitate entrance into a home or foster agency. Often, the intake assessment revealed that participants' life conditions were not stable enough to support a regular work schedule, much less learning appropriate social behaviors, so it was the task of the Transition Specialist to work with other human service personnel to create a stable enough environment for the youth to enter the work force. The Transition Specialist maintained contact with agencies involved with each youth, and made adjustments to the individualized service plans as needed.

Project SERVE
Vocational Support

SERVE tried to secure employment for all project participants. Work was viewed as a therapeutic setting which offered participants structure and positive experiences. In other words, SERVE used jobs to "hook" youths into positive behaviors. Often, receiving praise for a job well done, and being paid for time and effort, helped students form a new outlook toward themselves and other people. The relationship between education level and amount of wages earned quickly became clear to many participants. Typically, about 60% of SERVE participants returned to some form of high school. SERVE secured paid, competitive employment for roughly 60% of the participants and reduced unsuccessful terminations to less than 30%. These results are noteworthy, as national data indicate that less than 40% of these youth will have work experiences and almost 90% of jobs end unsuccessfully for this population.

In addition to learning about a youth's history, the intake assessment provided an impression of who the youth was and what he or she would like to try doing for work. Any important information, like a history of criminal activity, was also important so that TSs would know ahead of time about potential risks of placing students in community settings. Once a picture of the youth's social and emotional stability was drawn, the Transition Specialist assessed the youth's interests and goals by asking about hobbies, favorite pastimes, and plans for the future. To make a successful job placement, it was also important to learn from the student what she or he did not want to do for work. SERVE discovered that students often did much better when they were given many different jobs, rather than trying to support them in developing a long term professional choice. Variety in work led to a clearer picture of what a youth might enjoy as a career. Most youths stayed in the program for 10-12 months, and in that time the majority worked at 3-4 different job placements. SERVE encouraged youths to explore their options, and if they discovered they did not like a job they had tried, their TSs taught them the appropriate way to leave a job.

Project SERVE
Social Skills

Leaving a job appropriately was just one social skill taught in individual sessions by Transition Specialists. Before placement, all youths received training in interview skills, either by role playing with their own TS or doing mock interviews with another TS they didn't know very well. If problems with coworkers or supervisors came up for youths, TSs would work with students to process the situation, trying to model and explain behaviors that would serve the youth well. SERVE tried delivering social skills training more formally, but found that students weren't interested in attending a class or club that didn't already fit into their regular schedule. The best way to help youths develop social skills was in the context of their trusting relationship with their TS, during their regularly scheduled individual meetings.
 

Staffing Requirements
 
SERVE Staff Position Titles Staff Time Per Person Duties
1 Special Education Administrator  .25 Full Time Equivalency Completes administrative tasks involved with SERVE with respect to the school system.
3 Teacher Coordinators, 1 for each school/alternative setting  2.1 Full Time Equivalency Certified teachers, one who coordinates program operations in each high school, and one who coordinates operations in alternative education or community settings
3 Transition Specialists, 1 for each school/alternative setting 6.25 hours/day x 215 days/year Classified positions in each high school, working approximately 215 days per year, who work individually with students on transition services.
Collaborating Agency Staff Title Staff Time Per Person Duties
Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor(s) NA Collaborates with SERVE staff in planning activities and supports training needs of motivated students.

Categories of Activities
 
Activity Category Staff Hours Required Staff Responsible
Staff recruitment and training. 65 hours/year SpEd Administrator/Teacher Coordinator
Relationship building with school staff, community partners, and students/families. 160-200 hours/year Teacher Coordinator/Transition Specialists
Data collection, materials development, and public relations. 160-200 hours/year Teacher Coordinator/Transition Specialist
Direct Services to students in school and community settings 36-108 hours/student/year Teacher Coordinator/Transition Specialist
General Administration 10-12 hours/week Teacher Coordinator

Resource Requirements for Start-Up
 
Start-Up Duties Staff Responsible Supplies Needed
Hire/re-assign Teacher Coordinators (TC) SpEd Administrator
Hire Transition Specialists (TS) SpEd Administrator/TC
Train SERVE staff in community based transition services and wrap-around service coordination SERVE/University Staff
Set-up office space in each building SpEd Administrator/SERVE staff phone, office equipment, cell phones/pagers for TS
Negotiate specific support roles of TS in each building SpEd Administrator/TC
Provide orientation to building staff SERVE Staff
Build relationships with community partners (i.e. vocational rehabilitation, service providers, employers.) SERVE Staff Phone Time, brochure, business cards, transportation
Work with building staff to identify and recruit students SERVE Staff

Resource Requirements for Continuous Operations
 
Operations Duties Staff Responsible Time Needed
Begin building personal connection with students through meetings, conversations and social activities. Transition Specialist 4 hours/week
Work with student, family and school staff to collect information on students' hopes/dreams/goals and strengths/ abilities/ personal qualities, and barriers. Transition Specialist 2 hours/student
Revise IEP to reflect person-centered qualities and barriers. Transition Specialist, TC, SpEd Administrator 1 hour/student
Work with student, family, school staff and community partners to implement plan in education, employment and support service areas. Transition Specialist 20 hours/student
Assist student with placement in employment and/or continuing education upon leaving school. Transition Specialist 4 hours/student
Provide post-program follow-up services as requested/needed. Transition Specialist Minimal
Meet weekly as entire staff to problem solve student issues and coordinate services/activities. All Staff 2 hours/week
Work with school staff to infuse transition and post school outcomes perspective into school curriculum. TC, Transition Specialist, SpEd Administrator 80-100 hours/semester
Work with community partners to ensure strong school-community relationships. TC, Transition Specialist, SpEd Administrator 80-100 hours/semester
Continue to meet and build positive personal connections with students. TC, Transition Specialist 80-100 hours/semester
Collect data on services and student outcomes. Transition Specialist 80-100 hours/semester
Develop materials on program effectiveness and present periodically to school staff and administrators, community partners, students/families, school board. TC, Transition Specialist 80-100 hours/semester

Contact:
Mike Bullis, University of Oregon, 175 College of Education, 5260 University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97503-5260   bullism@oregon.edu
 

SAFETY NET HOME