ORANGE COUNTY CHILDREN’S THERAPEUTIC ARTS CENTER 13

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The Individual Educational Plan of participants provided by the school district will be taken into account when identifying academic/basic skills of the participants. In addition, other assessments will be used to identify the literacy levels of each participant. The TABE assessment will be used to identify basic skill deficiencies if they are not reported in the IEP, and the STAR Reading and HOST Learner link assessments will be used to identify the literacy levels of each student. These assessment tools will be conducted as pre and post tests to measure growth across time. The literacy assessment will help also determine the placement for those participants interested in being "mentors/tutors", and help guide each WIA participant in their educational/academic goals. Academic assistance (and literacy coaching) will be provided to each WIA participant on a one- to-one basis via the Literacy Instructor/Mentor and the Career counselor. Each participant will meet at least once a week with the literacy or math instructor to learn a variety of academic and learning strategies to help participants further their educational goals. These strategies will help them enhance their own literacy skills, as well as how to help other younger students in an educational setting. The Career Counselor will also help students by helping them determine their educational and career goals and help guide them into higher education. The work, performance levels and progress of each WIA participant will be monitored on a regular basis by our key staff: case manager, literacy/math coach, arts/technology mentor and counselor. The team will meet bi-monthly to discuss the needs, goals, and services for each participant. The Case manager will meet bi-monthly with each participant to discuss goals, monitor their progress and documentation on the job (e.g., time sheets, etc), assist with employability skills training (e.g., resume writing, etc.), and help youth with job development. The Arts'Technology Instructor/ Mentor will provide career training, and mentor the students while they are on the job every week. Other non-WIA support staff at the center will also mentor participants on the job and provide the necessary guidance to empower youth to succeed and gain the necessary skills to reach their work experience goals. The Literacy/Math Coach will meet individually with each participant to help participants improve their academic/basic skills and prepare for higher education. The Career Counselor will meet bi-monthly with each participant to guide them in their career paths, as well as coordinate monthly life -skills sessions with all participants. D. Program Description 1. Describe the overall services that will be made available to the WIA participant. The OCCTAC Arts & Learning Academy program will serve 15 out -of -school youth (ages 17- 21) with disabilities of limited resources from the City of Santa Ana. OCCTAC will provide participants educational skills and job training, paid work experience, mentoring, tutoring, counseling, leadership opportunities, and support services. Eligible youth will have the opportunity to participate in educational and "hands-on" job training in the fields of arts, education and technology. Overall, WIA participants enrolled in OCCTAC programs will focuses on four key areas: Career Training Skills — educational and work experience, Employability/Job Skills — job preparation, Life Skills — on going personal development, and Academic/Basic Skills — on going academic development. Please see Table four. 8