Washington State’s WorkFirst Handbook has a section with information about medical conditions, including learning disabilities, that can interfere with a person’s ability to work, prepare for work, or look for work. The handbook emphasizes the importance of obtaining medical evidence in order to appropriately accommodate any limitations, including the possibility of exemptions from program requirements on the basis of disability. The Learning Needs Screening Tool is a brief oral interview originally developed for the State of Washington’s Division of Employment and Social Learning Disabilities Initiative. Washington also has a Medical Evidence Evaluations Basic Flow Chart, which shows different participation outcomes based on screening and assessment.

This brief highlights the supports received by respondents in a qualitative study that is part of the Pathways for Advancing Careers and Education (PACE) evaluation, focusing on responses from 84 study participants. Respondents discussed program-provided supports and assessed their usefulness. The interviewers also asked about any public assistance they received as well as the ways in which family and friends did (or did not) provide material and emotional help. This brief is one in a series of three focusing on participants’ experiences, including their perceived challenges and motivations to participate. (author introduction)

This brief describes 84 study participants’ motivations for enrolling in career pathways programs evaluated in the Pathways for Advancing Careers and Education (PACE) study. In these interviews, participants discussed several topics, including: Their motivations for enrolling in a career pathways program; How they define success in their selected program, and; How they view their chances of experiencing success, whether that be completing the program or some other measure respondents deemed important. These interviews are part of a qualitative sub-study designed improve understanding of participants’ experiences. This brief is one in a series of three focusing on participants’ experiences, including their challenges and supports received. (author introduction)

This brief describes the perceived challenges of 84 study participants in career pathways program evaluated in the Pathways for Advancing Careers and Education (PACE) study. In these interviews, respondents discussed in detail what they viewed as the difficulties they currently experience in the program, as well as challenges they foresaw in the future as they moved along a career pathway. As in prior research, financial challenges, academic worries, and family and other demands on their time were the most commonly articulated concerns, even though these participants were in programs offering a wide range of supports. This brief is one in a series of three focusing on participants’ experiences, including their motivations to participate and supports received. (author introduction)