Building Bridges to Success:
The Tarrant County
Learning Disability Program
by Joan S. Grigsby
“My strengths…..I didn’t think I had any.”
With these haunting words, a young Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
(TANF) customer described the value of the process of screening for learning
disabilities. She had dropped out of school in the eighth grade and faced
many challenges in gaining employment. A customer of Workforce Solutions
for Tarrant County, she was able to take advantage of services offered
through the Learning Disability Program, the result of a five-year effort
to identify and support customers with barrier issues related to learning
difficulties and possible disabilities.
The Learning Disability Program for Tarrant County emerged from local
commitment and participation in the Bridges to Practice Professional
Development Program developed by the National Institute for Literacy
(NIFL). From 2002 through the present, local trainers have provided professional
development for learning disability awareness to adult education and
agency staff. As a result, most local Workforce staff are not only aware
of these hidden disabilities but also have resources to help their customers.
Now in its fifth year, this program grew out of early state and local
efforts, and it is currently a local Board program with commitment at
every level. Paul Cobb, Program Manager, Disability Services, notes, “At
the Board level, Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County has made it a
requirement for providers to ensure that customers have access to learning
disability services to support employment success.”
This unique collaboration began with a pilot program in 2001 when Workforce
Solutions for Tarrant County worked with the Women’s Center of
Tarrant County, United Cerebral Palsy (now Easter Seals), Tarrant County
College, and The Learning Center of North Texas. Customers of the Women’s
Center ERA Program who were identified through screening as having a
possible learning disability were evaluated by The Learning Center of
North Texas, a private not for-profit agency opened to bring learning
disability services to children and adults in Tarrant County.
The program continued from August 2003 through December 2004, when
the Tarrant County Learning Disability Project was one of three state-approved
Workforce Board Programs providing screening and evaluation for TANF
customers. From the end of that grant to the present, funding for this
program has been supported by the local Workforce Board. A key staff
member, the Learning Disability Navigator, provides resources for customers
with diagnosed or suspected learning disability issues.
Growing out of Bridges to Practice, the program uses the Washington
Screening Instrument as the initial screening tool. Customers are provided
with the opportunity to work with the LD Navigator to explore possible
learning disability issues. “Some customers have a previous diagnosis,” said
Dolores Little, LD Navigator,” and others know that issues such
as reading difficulty are holding them back in job success.” After
the initial meeting with the LD Navigator, the customer may be referred
for other services including vocational testing, aptitude testing, PowerPath® screening,
and comprehensive evaluation.
A TANF customer, Anna, came into the program knowing that her skills
were limited by an interrupted education and by difficulty she had in
school. Screening showed that learning disabilities were unlikely, but
the customer, who had definite goals in view, experienced continuing
frustration in reaching a primary goal. Using the SMARTER goal-setting
approach advocated by Bridges to Practice and enriched by the PowerPath
System of Basic Learning®, the customer was able to find her own
solution to a significant barrier issue.
During a recent Bridges to Practice training, the employment division
staff of The Women’s Center of Tarrant County applied the same
SMARTER process to customer challenges described in DOL’s Job Accommodation
Network files. After simulating this
customer-driven process, one of the career consultants remarked, “This
is really useful because our customers often have general goals but are
often unaware of the steps to take to get there.”
When customers have a specific need for formal evaluation, they are
empowered when they have a chance to see weak areas balanced by strengths.
Learning Center of North Texas diagnostician Ann Stillwell-Click reflected, “After
an evaluation and interpretation of the results, many of our examinees
seem to be more optimistic about their futures. A young man was able
to see how his strengths and interests could be combined in a profession
that would allow him to take the best advantage of his people skills
and his strength in non-verbal reasoning. All of the customers are encouraged
by the emphasis placed on the strengths they have.”
As the program continues in 2006, a significant outcome of this effort
to identify learning disabilities in underserved adults in Tarrant County
is that the Learning Disabilities Program has become an integral and
ongoing part of comprehensive disability services. Another highlight
of the program has been its joint efforts with other professionals around
the state. Tarrant County Bridges to Practice trainers have had the privilege
of working closely with the Workforce Board of Wichita County and the
Literacy Council of Wichita Falls. By sharing training, resources, and
experiences, programs in both counties have been enriched.
What are the continuing challenges? The LD program deals with people
whose learning needs were not effectively understood or met, and low
literacy is a major concern. Adult education programs and volunteer tutorial
programs work diligently to address the enormous need to build literacy.
Community-wide efforts are exploring the need to do more. The United
Way, addressing literacy as one of its major goals, is bringing together
agencies involved in helping customers with this critical issue. Meeting
the unique needs of ESOL customers and students is another major challenge
which is among the priority issues continually addressed by agency and
educational programs.
The Tarrant County Learning Disability Program has few boundaries. It
will continue to explore issues, gain insights, address needs, and grow
to meet the needs of its diverse group of customers for whom challenges
in learning are a hidden barrier.
About the Author
Joan Grigsby is an educational specialist for the Adult Services Division
of The Learning Center of North Texas. Formerly a secondary teacher,
she has worked with high school and adult education students who face
challenges in learning. She works in collaboration with Workforce staff
members Paul Cobb, Program Manager, Disability Services, and Dolores
Little, LD Navigator.
|
