Career Connections Program Referral Criteria

Referral Guidelines

The Career Connections Program is designed to transition students with disabilities who need time-limited job skills training into community employment. A student may be a candidate if he or she: has an Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) has transition goals in the IEP specifying a desire for competitive employment after high school is likely to need assistance in achieving a specific vocational goal is likely to need short-term (e.g., anticipated maximum of 6-12 months), community based, on-the-job training beyond high school to achieve his or her career goal

The table below provides guidelines to assist IEP Teams in identifying the characteristics of a potentially successful Career Connections student.

Consider students for Career Connections if:	Consider alternatives to Career Connections if:
Referral to the Iowa Vocational Rehabilitation Services for time limited assistance has been recommended by the IEP Team.	Referral to County/DHS long-term support has been recommended by the IEP Team
The student does not plan to pursue postsecondary education at this time	The student plans to pursue a postsecondary education program on their own or with assistance from the postsecondary school’s disability services office
The student plans to pursue specific, job-related postsecondary courses and requires assistance beyond that which the VITAL Program offers	The student meets criteria for the VITAL Program
The student learns best through hands-on, functional experiences	The student learns best through discussion or academic investigation
The student learns through modeling/ demonstration and verbal directions	The student learns best through extensive physical guidance
The student is enrolled in special education courses and/or modified general education classes	The student is enrolled in adapted or non-adapted general education courses
The student performs multi-step tasks without assistance following short-term training	The student requires ongoing assistance to perform multi-step tasks despite lengthy training
The student is likely to require 6 – 12 months of community based on-the-job training beyond high school beyond high school to succeed in the job market	The student is likely to succeed in the job market without the additional 6-12 months of training The student is likely to require more than one year of training and/or support beyond high school in order to succeed in the job market
The student expresses an interest in program participation and community employment as evidenced by 6-12 months of any type of work experience prior to graduation	The student is opposed to program participation and/or community employment The student has declined work experiences when offered