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Youth in Transition Toolkit:

Youth in Transition Toolkit

6

E1MN partnership

E1MN is Minnesota's state agency partnership to advance Employment First outcomes for youth and adults with disabilities.

Employment supports for people with disabilities span multiple state agencies, which can be complicated for all involved. E1MN coordinates and brings things together to help the system make more sense for everyone.

The E1MN partnership is led by the State of Minnesota Departments of Education (MDE), Employment and Economic Development (DEED), and Human Services (DHS).

  • MDE – Career and Technical Education and Special Education
  • DEED – Vocational Rehabilitation Services and State Services for the Blind
  • DHS – Disability Services Division

Any reference to E1MN signifies shared efforts and agreements across DHS, DEED and MDE.

Learn more about E1MN and transition planning
In this 4 minute video, leaders from the E1MN partnership discuss the purpose of the youth in transition toolkit and how the Minnesota transition framework ensures that all professionals have the guidance and resources they need to help all youth with disabilities get the supports they need to live their best lives.

E1MN: Helping youth live their best lives

E1MN works to deliver a seamless and timely employment support system for youth and adults with disabilities so they understand their options and get what they need to achieve and maintain competitive integrated employment.

The E1MN Youth partnership is focused on improving employment outcomes for transition-age youth (ages 14 to 21). 

To learn more about the E1MN youth partnership, check out this overview of current and ongoing efforts (PDF).

To receive announcements related to supporting transition services, Pre-employment Transition Services (Pre-ETS) and competitive integrated employment outcomes for youth with disabilities, sign up for the  E1MN Youth Professionals mail list.

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The Employment Capacity Building Cohort (ECBC) began in 2014 as a Minnesota Olmstead Plan strategy to ensure more youth with developmental cognitive disabilities (DCD) transitioned into competitive integrated employment than  sheltered employment settings. ECBC is supported by the Minnesota Departments of Education (MDE), Employment and Economic Development (DEED), and Human Services (DHS).

ECBC focuses on transition programming for youth ages 18 to 21, encouraging  teams to make a plan for participation in high-quality transition programming and entry into competitive integrated employment.

Vision
All youth with disabilities are equipped by the time they graduate to reach their employment goals and have had experiences in competitive integrated employment that match their skills and interests, provide a living wage and maximize their potential.

Mission
Through ECBC, community teams build robust, person-centered systems for all youth with disabilities to prepare for and enter into competitive integrated employment. The teams receive technical assistance, training, resources and evaluation tools within a learning community.

Details
ECBC community teams include staff from the school, Vocational Rehabilitation Services (VRS)/State Services for the Blind (SSB), and county/tribal waiver case management. They come together to:

  • Plan for how youth will gain competitive integrated employment and track their progress
  • Set goals for collectively helping youth ages 18 to 21 to participate in transition programming and obtain competitive integrated work experience
  • Learn about and implement continuous improvement strategies for transition
  • Participate in six state-level ECBC meetings throughout the school year
  • Attend monthly local ECBC community team meetings in addition to the state-level ECBC meetings

For more information about ECBC, contact Lindsey Horowitz (MDE) at lindsey.jo.horowitz@state.mn.us.

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