Job Training Exists for Students With Disabilities. Many Never Get It.

In Boonton, New Jersey, Linda Mauriello is dedicated to helping young people with disabilities prepare for the workforce as they transition out of school. She works with students to set career goals, build resumes, and develop workplace relationships. On occasion, she helps them secure internships and provides support once they’re on the job.

One student, who has multiple disabilities, trained in a school cafeteria, was hired, and has worked there for five years. Another student with autism received training at the local Walgreens, where he learned time management and customer service skills. He was hired and now manages the store’s opening shift.

Ms. Mauriello is a strong advocate for the program, noting its positive impact. “My students have truly benefited from it,” she said.

However, despite the availability of similar services, hundreds of thousands of students with disabilities remain without support. The federal and state governments allocate about half a billion dollars annually for these services, but many parents and even some school officials are unaware that such programs exist.

In 2023, New Jersey had the lowest participation rate in the nation, with only about 2 percent of eligible students receiving help, according to a Hechinger Report analysis of government data.

For the past decade, New Jersey’s program has struggled. The state’s decentralized school governance system has made it difficult to integrate these services into schools.https://svtoday.org/

Interviews with advocates, educators, and parents paint a picture of a confusing bureaucratic system, leaving tens of thousands of students without the support they need.

State officials are aware of the issue. “We recognize that not enough people are fully informed about all of our services,” said Charyl Yarbrough, assistant commissioner for employment accessibility at New Jersey’s Department of Labor. “Nobody wants to be a well-kept secret.”

Nationally, only 40 percent of individuals with disabilities aged 16 to 64 are employed, despite most experts agreeing that many are capable of holding jobs. Congress created a job training program for students with disabilities a decade ago, providing funding to states.

Yet, only around 295,000 students received services in 2023, out of an estimated 3.1 million eligible students. In New Jersey, the number was just 1,370 out of more than 80,000 eligible students. New York State isn’t much better, reaching about 5 percent of its eligible students.

When job training programs do reach students with disabilities, advocates say they’re often inadequate, and states face minimal accountability for their shortcomings.

“If young people are exposed to the workforce early, and receive the proper support, they can work independently in their communities,” said Maureen McGuire-Kuletz, co-director of the George Washington University Center for Rehabilitation Counseling Research and Education. “The hope was that early intervention would prevent later challenges.”

While officials at the U.S. Department of Education acknowledge that pre-employment transition services must be available to all students with disabilities, they note that these services are not mandatory for all students to access. Some students may not opt to use them, or they may already be receiving support from their schools, said Danté Q. Allen, former commissioner of the Rehabilitation Services Administration.

In New Jersey, the state typically contracts nonprofit organizations and universities to deliver these services. In 2023, the state spent $14.6 million in federal and state funds on such programs.

But many parents remain unaware of these services or how to access them.

Bridgette Breece’s son thrived in the hands-on work at his high school in Burlington County, but struggled with reading and textbook exams due to his disabilities. Concerned about his future, she sought career assistance before graduation. She saw a post on Facebook about the state’s vocational rehabilitation program, but a counselor told her her son wasn’t eligible until he turned 18—an incorrect claim.

After graduating, he found a job as a tow-truck driver, a role he enjoyed. However, the company required employees to take turns being on call for overnight emergencies. His anxiety made him fear missing a call, causing sleepless nights, and he eventually had to quit.

Had he received pre-employment training while in high school, he could have learned to request accommodations or explored jobs better suited to his abilities. Instead, he missed out, and his mother, like many other parents in New Jersey, was unaware of the program’s existence. She has now applied for Social Security benefits for him, something neither of them had hoped for.

“He’s embarrassed,” she said. “My heart breaks for him. He wants to work, he wants to succeed. I just wish we could have gotten help while he was still in high school.”

Maureen Piccoli Kerne, who started a transition program at a high school in Ridgefield, N.J., emphasizes the importance of counseling before job placement.

“It’s essential because it helps students understand what they like to do, what their strengths are, and how to ask for accommodations at work,” she explained.

She recently worked with a young woman who loves libraries. Although her developmental disability prevented her from attending traditional college, she took online courses to become a librarian’s assistant and now works at a public library on Long Island.

“She was so excited about the courses,” said Ms. Kerne. “She has a job she loves, and that’s the kind of success that comes from early intervention.”

For over 30 years, federal education law has required schools to assist students with disabilities in planning for life after high school. However, there is often a gap between what schools can provide and what students need. That’s where pre-employment services should fill the void.

Before 2014, state vocational rehabilitation agencies mainly worked with adults. But a shift in policy directed them to offer employment-focused services to students with disabilities starting at age 14.

However, most New Jersey students never get this opportunity.

Teachers in the state say reaching overwhelmed job-training counselors is difficult, and when they do, delays often leave parents and students waiting for months. Some counselors report difficulties in contacting school staff, while some schools claim they are already providing the necessary services.

Some New Jersey schools have developed strong relationships with state counselors to help students find trial work experiences, and some offer high-quality transition services independently. But for most, the system remains broken.

“Ten years later, and we’re still struggling,” said Gwen Orlowski, executive director of Disability Rights New Jersey. “It’s just dysfunctional.”

The law requires that vocational rehabilitation agencies spend at least 15 percent of their federal funding on services for young people. However, many states have resisted offering services to thousands of additional students without extra funding.

There are few consequences for the significant gaps in access, and policy advocates point to a lack of oversight by state and federal agencies. While the Rehabilitation Services Administration conducts annual reviews of these agencies, some states go years without addressing the problems.

“We’ve been advocating for greater oversight,” said Julie Christensen, executive director of the Association of People Supporting Employment First. “It shouldn’t be like the Wild West.”

Federal education officials argue that existing oversight is leading to improvements. In 2021, 23 states were spending less than the 15 percent required by law, but that number decreased to 10 states in 2022.

Zoe Sullivan, a senior at Collingswood High School with Down syndrome, had been expressing her desire to attend a four-year college program since ninth grade, but her mother, Kim Brooks, said the school didn’t listen.

“I want to go to college,” Zoe said, sitting in a café near her home. “I want to take classes and learn to be independent.”

Last spring, Ms. Brooks accidentally discovered a nonprofit college prep program for students with developmental disabilities, thanks to a friend’s Instagram post. She has since scrambled to submit applications to programs she and Zoe found through word of mouth and extensive research.

“It’s like a secret society,” said Ms. Brooks. “You don’t know what you don’t know. We really missed out on a lot of years.”