ORANGE COUNTY CHILDREN’S THERAPEUTIC ARTS CENTER 13A

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Exhibit A program will be reviewed by the Case Manager to determine preliminary eligibility. OCCTAC staff and SAUSD TPP staff will discuss potential candidates and their needs with consideration for any accommodations for individual special needs. SAUSD staff will refer mild -moderate students with special needs to our program after they have exited high school, but lack the necessary skills to successfully transition in the labor force and need further education and training. Most of the participants referred will be high functioning special needs youth, including specific learning disabilities, autism, health impairments and others. During the past 8 years, OCCTAC has also conducted community outreach and programs recruitment via the following: a) Community Outreach Events & Fairs — OCCTAC participates in many community events throughout the year (at least one event per month). This provides an excellent opportunity to recruit program participants throughout the year. b) Referrals from Community Partners — As stated previously, OCCTAC has established strong partnerships with key agencies in Santa Ana, such as the County of Orange, Regional Center, Santa Ana College c) New OCCTAC families - Every year OCCTAC serves new families that learned about our services from other OCCTAC parents. Last year we served close to 1,000 students. Five hundred of these students were served in the Santa Ana Unified School District sites through our Learning Academy Program, and approximately 500 students were served at our Main facility/ Arts Center on Broadway. Every year we enroll new families through "word of mouth"! 2. Intake/Assessment: The OCCTAC Case manager will work closely with the SAUSD Transition Partnership team to identify and determine the individual educational (IEP) and career goals of participants referred to our program. Also, when appropriate, the WIA participants will be assessed and/or surveyed in the following areas: a) Basic Skills/Academic levels, b) Employability/Job skills and c) Career Training Skills. Assessments and surveys will takes place prior to the educational training and work experience at OCCTAC. The first assessment to be conducted is the TABE assessment. If the assessment reveals basic skills deficiency, then the student is provided with two other short literacy tests to measure his/her literacy levels. These tests are the STAR Reading and HOST Learner link assessments that are also used in the After -School Learning Academy program. 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. 3. Case Management: OCCTAC's philosophy of the program is based on an interdisciplinary/holistic model that calls for a high interaction between the key staff of the program and WIA participants. When appropriate to the service plan, each student of the program may be linked with an adult staff mentor (Arts/Technology Instructor), a case manager, a career counselor and a Literacy instructor. The Case manager will meet monthly with each WIA participant to monitor their progress, assist with job skills training (e.g., resume writing, etc.), and help youth with on -going job development. 4. Program Services/Parent and Employer Involvement: OCCTAC provides a great variety of programs that empower both youth and adults! Our nurturing, community -based center provides a wide range of classes and family involvement activities, such as parenting classes, support groups, family counseling, financial literacy and others. Our interdisciplinary and holistic model