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January-February 2005

Vol. IV, No. 1

New Partner Joins Homeless Employment Program

Passport to Success Honored as Promising Practice

Thanks to Passport to Success, students with disabilities have a new ally in making the transition to life after high school. Now, the program has been honored as a Promising Practice.

Washington State's governor and the Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board present the Governor's Workforce Best Practices awards each year for innovation and leadership in workforce development across the state.

Funded by the WDC and piloted at the Bellevue School District, Passport to Success fills a critical gap between high-school programs and the adult world. By helping students set employment goals in their school Individualized Education Plans and linking them to the WorkSource system via frequent field trips, Passport to Success increases the likelihood that students will be successful and self-supporting after graduation.

The program has also resulted in important system changes in the Bellevue School District, where teachers now have a strategy for connecting students with disabilities to post-secondary education and employment and where the project has spread from one to all five district high schools.

Bellevue teachers also trained teachers in the Seattle and Shoreline districts in the use of the Passport curriculum. In the 2003-04 school year, 97 special education students participated in the program.

In addition to the WDC, the WorkSource system and the Bellevue School District, key partners in Passport to Success include the University of Washington School of Education, Northwest ADA and IT Center and the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation.

The Passport to Success curriculum can be accessed by clicking here.

2003 Western Avenue Suite 250
Seattle WA 98121-2162
206.448.0474
www.seakingwdc.org

The WDC is an Equal Opportunity Employer and provider of employment and training programs. Auxillary aids and services are available uopn request to persons with disabilities.
WTRS 800.833.6384

As the result of a request for proposals, the Community Psychiatric Clinic (CPC) will join three long-time WDC partners in providing employment services for homeless adults in the coming year.

With its focus on individuals who are battling mental illness, CPC provides a welcome complement to the services of the Seattle Conservation Corps, FareStart and the YWCA, who have been partners in the WDC's Homeless Intervention Project for the past 12 years. The four providers successfully competed with programs across King County in a Request for Proposals process in November.

CPC has been in operation for over 20 years and is a recognized leader in both the mental health and vocational service communities. Through its business operations, known as Stepworks Enterprises, CPC provides vocational services and paid work experience. CPC also owns or manages more than 40 housing projects with more than 800 beds.

FareStart, with the Compass Center as its housing services partner, will continue to offer job training in the culinary arts and job search assistance; the YWCA will provide a variety of employment services including tuition for training and certification programs; and the Seattle Conservation Corps will provide a year of paid work experience on public works projects. Case management, supportive services, housing assistance and job placement are part of each program. The HIP program also has stronger ties to housing as a result of increased emphasis on housing partnerships in the RFP.

The HIP program, which is federally funded through the Department of Housing and Urban Development, serves approximately 350 individuals per year, with outcomes including job placement and retention, housing upgrad es and increased skills and income. HIP is also part of Seattle's Continuum of Care, a consortium of 65 local organizations assisting the homeless. The new contracts began February 1.

HIP is funded through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the WDC's HIP Program is part of Seattle's Continuum of Care, a consortium of 65 local organizations working to end homelessness.

WDC Issues Four New RFP/RFQs

RFP #05-01
WIA Adult/Dislocated Worker Services
Due March 15

RFP #05-02
WIA Youth Worker Services
Due March 15

RFP #05-04
Biotechnology Middle and High School Teacher Skill Upgrade Certification
Due February 22

RFP #05-05
WIA Youth Services: Targeted Program Priorities
Due March 15

To read and download any of these requests and for more information on each, click here to go to the RFP/RFQ page on our website.

-- The WDC staff welcomed three new babies recently: Elyse Gabriele McWilson, born to Glenn and Joanne McWilson; Austin Koole, born to Marie and Bill Koole; and Henry Fey, born to Dan Fey and Mary Kimball.

-- Thanks are in order to the Seattle Foundation, which recently honored the WDC with a $25,000 general support grant. The grant will support fund development and social enterprise efforts at the WDC.

-- Forty-one WorkSource staff members were recognized with Partnership Awards after going through every WorkSource staff training session. Jane Cortina of the WDC staff also received a Partnership Award.

-- WDC staff raised $650 on behalf of the First Place School and breast cancer research during the holiday season, and 10 staff members served a pre-Thanksgiving meal to about 400 people at the Millionair's Club.