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MAINROADS TO SELF-DETERMINATION

Project Title:

MAINROADS to Self-Determination

Contact Person(s):

Kathryn Moery, Project Coordinator, Operations

Tammy Diakogeorgiou, Program Coordinator, Planning

Mailing Address:

Family Resource Center on Disabilities 20 East Jackson Boulevard, Room 900 Chicago, IL 60604

Telephone #:

312-939-3513

Fax #:

312-939-7297

Project Purpose:

The purpose of MAINROADS to Self-Determination is to develop assertiveness, networking, self-advocacy, decision-making, and socialization skills through hands-on community exploration, individualized assistance, and mentoring. These skills enable high school youth with and without disabilities to identify goals and develop plans for successful independent adult living within integrated communities.

General Program Overview:

MAINROADS to Self-Determination is a model transition project that builds self-determination skills in youth through a learn- by-doing approach. The project offers hands-on exploratory experiences in education, employment, housing, community participation, transportation, public services/entitlements, and legislative advocacy. Collaboration among project staff including adults with disabilities, all students with and without disabilities, and parents of children with disabilities contributes to the development of transition plans and follow-up activities. Students apply newly acquired information from project experiences in a way that is most meaningful to their own lives. The learn-by-doing approach is carried out through community exploration and recreation and leisure opportunities. Student partners develop and implement follow-up activities in their home communities. Project activities are coordinated to include public and private service providers, local education and government agencies postsecondary education institutions, the Department of Rehabilitation, and local businesses.

Families collaborate with and support students in all activities of the project as they gain the skills necessary to make adult decisions and to assume adult responsibilities. Through this participation, families prepare themselves to accept their child in his or her new adult role.

After high school graduation, project participants mentor other high school youth through large and small group presentations in high schools and through community organizations.

Unique Program Components: Mentoring on four levels: (a) Partnerships between youth with and without disabilities, (b) staff who are adults with disabilities mentor youth, (c) staff who are parents or family members mentor other parents or family members, and (d) youth experienced in the project mentor younger high school students. Partnership between high school students with and without disabilities: Approximately one-half of the student participants have disabilities. Enrollment is open to all seniors or graduating students who are residents of Chicago and surrounding suburbs. Students who attend the same high school or live in the same community work with partners to develop, design, and implement appropriate follow-up activities. Emphasis on serving minority and low-income families: The project reaches out to communities to provide support to families who typically are unserved or underserved. Meetings and other project activities occur in the family's home or a convenient community location. The diversity of the staff reflects the demographics of the student population being served.

Taxonomy Practices Identified:

Student Development

Life skills instruction
Employment skills instruction
Accommodations and support

Student-Focused Planning

IEP development
Student participation
Accommodations and planning strategies

Interagency Collaboration

Human resource development

Family Involvement

Family training
Family empowerment

Program Structure and Attributes

Program evaluation
Human resource development

Targeted Outcomes: Increased self-assertiveness skills Increased self-advocacy skills Increased socialization skills Increased decision-making skills Increased independent travel Increased independent living skills Increased participation in community Increased participation in postsecondary education or training program Increased high school graduation or completion Increased postsecondary employment Increased family involvement Increased student/family empowerment Established student and family postsecondary employment and/or education network Increased interagency collaboration

Evaluation Description: Quantitative design: (a) Correlation of assessed student needs and the findings from the project evaluation were collected from questionnaires and interviews, (b) parent satisfaction surveys, and (c) aggregation and documentation of student attendance feedback from project activities. Qualitative design: (a) Student pre- and postinterviews with open-ended questions; (b) student pre- and postworkshop survey; (c) student and parent postsurveys measures the overall satisfaction derived from the project content, delivery, and relevancy; and (d) case studies written on student progress and parent involvement. Formative: (a) Staff members monitor the Individualized Transition Plans/transition outcomes, (b) staff complete weekly individual student progress reports, (c) students complete evaluations after each workshop and community exploration, (d) student portfolio of follow-up project is reviewed, (e) staff complete follow-up summary sheets after each community visit, and (f) staff co-presenters evaluate the student mentors. All information collected is analyzed and used to write the final evaluation report.

Evaluation Findings:

Mentoring

Six students with disabilities and four students without disabilities participated in local, statewide, and national project dissemination.
Students developed, produced, wrote, and starred in the project video entitled, "Traveling to Tomorrow: MAINROADS in Motion."

Networking Seven students with disabilities contacted the Department of Rehabilitation Services. Four students with disabilities and four students without disabilities registered to vote. Several students with and without disabilities contacted legislators about scholarship opportunities. Several students have received scholarship money from private sources. Ten students will attend colleges previously visited.

Advocacy Students with disabilities requested that representatives from adult services attend their IEP/ITP meetings. Students conducted their own exit IEP/ITP meetings with parental support and involvement. One student with a disability became a student council officer during his senior year.

Socialization Three students with disabilities plan to attend social activities outside of the project.

Education/training Seven students with disabilities and two students without disabilities will attend a two-year postsecondary education/training program. Four students with disabilities and five students without disabilities will attend a four-year postsecondary education program.

Employment Students with and without disabilities have accessed part-time and full-time employment during their senior year and after graduation. Two students plan to enter the military.

Independent living skills Two students with disabilities and two students without disabilities will live in university dormitories. All students independently use public transportation.

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