ORANGE COUNTY CHILDREN’S THERAPEUTIC ARTS CENTER 13A

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Exhibit A The OCCTAC Arts and Learning Academy program will offer out -of -school youth with disabilities the opportunity to acquire the necessary skills to successfully transition into the workforce, and further their education and training. The goals of the program are to build participants' self-esteem and confidence, academic improvement, leadership skills, workforce preparation and experience by teaching them self-reliance through structured educational and job training opportunities. As previously mentioned, OCCTAC staff will recruit 15 out -of -school youth at -risk with disabilities and work very closely with the Santa Ana Unified School District Transition Partnership Program to ensure that our enrollment goals will be met by the second quarter of the contract. Youth who meet the requirements for enrollment will take part in an interview and an assessment process prior to starting the educational and job training at the OCCTAC Arts & Learning Academy program. When the Individual Educational Plan of participants is provided by the school district, the IEP 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 and or academic goals. Academic assistance (and literacy coaching) will be provided to the WIA participant on a one-to- one basis via the Literacy Instructor/Mentor and the Career counselor. If needed, 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 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. When appropriate, other non-WIA support staff at the center, will 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. If needed, 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.