PolicyWorks, Stand Among Friends, and Autism After 21 continuously conduct business with the concept of collaboration in mind. “CollaborationWorks” has become the motto and motivation for two employment conferences and an impressive online education gateway for disability-related programs and services.
CollaborationWorks is more than a concept. It is actually a dynamic educational and training gateway developed by PolicyWorks, Stand Among Friends, and Autism After 21 to improve the lives and opportunities of people with disabilities nationally. Current educational and training offerings include Peer Mentoring Works, Attitudes are the Real Disabilities, and Summer Opportunity Adult Readiness (SOAR). Peer Mentoring Works has evolved into a tool for technical assistance and programming for transitional youth and young adults as a result of recent legislation called the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). The act was designed to provide pre-employment services to young people who are in school, vocational rehabilitation, the workforce and the Juvenile Justice System. Such services are key to career development and eventual employment.
Florida and Alaska have already adopted the CollaborationWorks’ Peer Mentoring Works course and have begun to launch Peer Mentoring Programs. More states plan to follow.
To find out more about the educational gateway and Peer Mentoring Program, please email Ms. Barbara Butz at 1.barbara.butz@gmail.com. To login as a guest to the CollaborationWorks gateway, type https://stand.mrooms.net/course/view.php?id=20 into your browser or click here. Select “login as guest” near the bottom of the page and use password Moodleroom2018 to gain access.
Barbara A. Butz