Contra Costa County Office of Education

WorkAbility

WorkAbility I (WAI) is a grant funded transition program administered by the California Department of Education, Special Education Division. The program is for special education students ages 16 –22 years old and promotes career awareness and exploration while students complete their education program. WAI provides students with opportunities for paid and work-based learning experiences, along with ongoing support and guidance from Employment Specialists. Students receive training and assistance with their transition to work or college.

The mission of WAI is to promote the involvement of key stakeholders including students, families, educators, employers and other agencies in planning and implementing an array of services that will culminate in successful student transition to competitive integrated employment (CIE), lifelong learning, and quality of life.

Students

WorkAbility Employment Specialists can offer support to students who qualify. Please contact an Employment Specialist for assistance when applying to jobs, preparing for an interview, building a resume, with college questions, and more.

To Qualify to be a Student Worker:

Students must be between ages 16-22.
Students must attend a high school or CBI program within Contra Costa County.
Students must have an active IEP.
Teachers must provide proof of the student’s good attendance and grades.
Students cannot be actively employed in order to be placed at a job site.
Student Workers under the age of 18 years old must obtain a work permit through their school site during the WorkAbility application process.

Student Workers

If you are a qualified student and are interested in becoming a Student Worker, reach out to your teacher who held the WorkAbility presentation so they can get in contact with an Employment Specialist. You will need to interview with an Employment Specialist, complete an online vocational training, fill out an application and provide the required documents to work.

Student Workers are responsible for their own transportation to and from the job site. Workers must fill out time cards at the job site completely and accurately in order to be paid. Workers receive a Rapid Pay Card that will have their paycheck money deposited on it. Any schedule changes should be communicated with the job site and the student’s Employment Specialist.

Work Ability Graphic

Teachers/Counselors

Presentations

WAI Employment Specialists arrange presentations with classroom teachers or career counselors to present to students. The presentations consist of an overview of the program, coaching on various vocational topics (Employment Specialists can customize to the teacher’s or counselor’s needs), and a career assessment (may be left for students to take at a later time or completed during the presentation). Presentations vary in length, but can be up to one hour long. If you are interested in booking a presentation, please submit this Presentation Interest Form.

During presentations WAI Employment Specialist serve students by providing an Array of Services. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the California Education Code require the following Array of Services be provided in order to consider a student as “served”:

Career / Vocational Assessments
Employment / Post-Secondary Education Planning (High School only) in the School-Based Preparatory Experiences component
One or more services in the Career Preparation & Work-Based Learning Experiences and Collaboration / Youth Development & Leadership components

At least one of these services must be directly provided by the WAI Program, or documentation must exist of WAI’s role in the indirect provision of the service.

Student Workers

If a student would like to interview with an Employment Specialist to become a Student Worker, they are directed to contact their teacher. If the student advances from the interview, they will need to complete an online vocational training. Teachers will monitor the student's progress on the training and will communicate with an Employment Specialist. Students will also fill out an application provided by WorkAbility. Some of the forms require information from the teacher (including a referral form for the student).

Vocational Curriculum

WorkAbility also provides teachers with vocational curriculum through several online-based software platforms. There is a variety of material available such as workbooks/sheets, assessments, and videos. The lessons can be presented in "front of class"/teacher mode, self-paced mode or even in "Live Delivery" mode where students can follow along with the teacher's presentation on their own computer and individually complete the short activities and quizzes throughout the lesson. For more information on the curriculum, please contact an Employment Specialist.

Chromebook Loans

WorkAbility has Chromebooks and keyboards to loan teachers and counselors for student use on campus. On WorkAbility Chromebooks students can browse and apply for jobs, complete the online course requirement in order to be placed at a WorkAbility job site, as well as do other WorkAbility-related work.

Parents/Guardians

If your student is interested in becoming a Student Worker they should communicate with their teacher who held the WorkAbility presentation. Once the student gets to the application stage, there are documents that parents/guardians will need to fill out. If your student is approved to work, please arrange for transportation to and from the job site. Employment Specialists will gather feedback from the job site and will share it with you.

If your student's class had a WorkAbility presentation or they participated in the program, we may reach out after they age out of their educational program to follow-up on how they are doing. State WorkAbility requires the follow-up survey to be completed every year.

If you have any questions about the WorkAbility program, please reach out to an Employment Specialist.

Businesses

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Contact Us

Please note, our office is closed during the month of July.

Kisha Johnson, Employment Specialist II	(925) 602-3457	kjohnson@cccoe.k12.ca.us
Bernadette Thiry, Employment Specialist I	(925) 602-3458	bthiry@cccoe.k12.ca.us