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GRANT NUMBER: 08-871017 GRANTEE ORGANIZATION NAME: Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce REPORTING CONTACT NAME: Catherine Marsden, Project Coordinator REPORTING CONTACT E-MAIL: info@catherinemarsden.com REPORT PERIOD: Final Reporting DATE SUBMITTED: December 31, 2009 August 2008: Developing the Project Plan and Conducting Research

During the month of August, activities for the TechWorks project focused on conducting on-line

research and developing a project plan. Secondary research uncovered issues and trends affecting

recruiting people with disabilities. Researching other School to Work grants throughout the U.S

identified language to be used in TechWorks’ marketing materials and in the student internship

application.

September 2008: Marketing Material and Student Applications Designed The project team met for the first time on September 8, 2008 to review the project plan and to

develop a communication plan. The highest priority tasks focused on developing marketing

materials with the goal of recruiting students with disabilities with strong IT skills. Marketing

materials included:

1) The Introductory Brochure: an informational brochure to tell stakeholders about the project,

ie. students, parents, employers and schools.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY SCHOOL TO WORK GRANT PROGRAM PART I PROGRAM NARRATIVE REPORT

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2) The Employer Brochure: promoted the benefits of hiring people with disabilities from an

employer standpoint and to explain the benefits of the TechWorks Program.

Both marketing pieces were used at two networking meetings in September. The first event was

the Lunch and Learn Program: Putting Disabilities to Work held on September 17, 2008, and the

second event was the disabilityworks’ Speed Networking Luncheon held on September 23, 2008.

The Project Coordinator met one on one with potential employers to discuss the program.

MOPD’s Carolyn Jones also sent the Introductory Brochure to contacts at Chicago Public

Schools and to the Chicago Lighthouse for the Blind. Both CPS and “The Lighthouse” indicated

they were enthusiastic about the program.

October 1-15: Website Published and Tested and Social Networking Campaign Begins

October efforts focused on defining and installing a web application to allow Students and

Employers to contact the Project Coordinator for more information and download applications.

Groups were created on Facebook and LinkedIn for TechWorks to grow awareness in the

disability communities. In addition, the TechWorks website (http://www.chicagotechworks.org)

and email accounts were developed and an on-line and print student application page was made

available for submission. The website housed the electronic student database and served as a

record of all student application information. The TechWorks website was tested for

compatibility with JAWS software, reviewed for Illinois Accessibility Standards compliance and

linked to the Illinois WorkNet Branding Page.

In an effort to build awareness in the Chicago disability community, an on-line strategies

included adding links to the TechWorks homepages on several websites including

disabilityworks.org, Chicago MOPD.org, and Abilitylinks.org.

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On October 20, the TechWorks project team met with Karen McCulloh, Executive Director of

disabilityworks and Chicago MOPD’s Commissioner Karen Tamley to review of the TechWorks

project plan and develop student recruitment strategies. The team made several recommendations

for outreach within the university and non-profit communities, and the project plan was updated

accordingly. Finally, a student brochure was created and approved so that it could be used at two

upcoming Chicago Public School events in November and December.

College student outreach began to 15 college campuses located in Chicago, Illinois

including 6 onsite visits to Disability Service Offices and phone calls and emails to the

remaining 9 colleges. The Project Coordinator outreached an additional 8 Illinois public

universities located outside of Chicago via phone calls and email messages to ensure that

Chicago residents with disabilities attending large public universities also learned about the

program. Electronic college job boards placed free TechWorks advertisements which reached out

to students with disabilities who were actively looking for a job.

November 2008 Deliverables: Newsletter Publication and Community Outreach within Non-Profit community

Two articles were written and approved by the team for the Cook County POET and the Illinois

Technology Association, ITA newsletters along with links on the the POET and ITA websites.

Work continued in community outreach with visits, phone calls and emails sent to non-profits,

most notably Anixter Center, Easter Seals, City Colleges and Columbia College. The project

coordinator made a presentation to Chicago CPS students with disabilities at the Youth with

Disabilities Summit, (see Table 2 for a complete list of websites linking to TechWorks).

December 2008: Student Profiles Developed and Job Search Training. Presentations at Disability Mentoring Day, Employer Recruitment

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Working with students, the Project Coordinator wrote a student profile or 3 line snapshot

describing their backgrounds similar to those used on on-line job boards like CareerBuilder and

Monster.com. Developing student profiles helped students understand which of their skills were

most important when speaking to potential employers and it allowed them to see themselves

more objectively from an employer’s perspective. It also allowed them to review their

backgrounds, and it ensured that all information presented to employers was accurate on their

application.

Training Provided:

In preparation for sending resumes out to employers, the Project Coordinator worked one on one

with students to develop his/her resume to provide a professional and consistent resume format.

Creating resumes and profiles did more than create quality materials to be sent to an employer on the

student’s behalf. First, by asking the student more probing questions about his/her work experience, the

student began to view his/her background from an employer’s perspective. Second, revising resumes with

the students allowed the project coordinator to test student follow-up skills, written communication skills

and technical skills including working in email, Adobe Acrobat and Microsoft Word.

High school student recruitment focused on leveraging existing efforts related to Mayor Daley’s

Youth Ready Summer Employment Program for Youth with Disabilities. During the month of

December, the Project Coordinator gave a presentation at Disability Mentoring Day to the

general audience and spoke to students at the Information Technology breakout sessions. Only

CPS students with disabilities interested in IT attended these Breakout Sessions and it provided an ideal

setting to discuss TechWorks and the wide variety of career paths and opportunities available in IT. A

Question and Answer period with CPS students and families followed.

January 2009 Deliverables: Student Outreach Efforts Continue and Student Applications reach 79 and Employee Outreach Begins

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Employer recruitment began in January and student recruitment efforts were intensified.

The TechWorks internship program was posted on college electronic job boards and College

Disability Service Offices were notified again after the holiday break. The project team met on

January 23, 2009 to brainstorm on potential employers that might want to participate in the

program and plans were made to meet the students and schedule interviews.

The Project Coordinator spoke at the Summit for Youth with Disabilities. One month later 300

CPS students received the TechWorks brochure at Disability Mentoring Day, and the project coordinator

spoke to the general audience and to groups of students who were interested in exploring IT during the

Breakout Sessions. MOPD also distributed brochures at the World Aids Day event to 57 high school

youth with disabilities representing the following 5 high schools: Chicago Vocational, Curie, Lane,

Lemont, and Whitney Young. Finally, the Project Coordinator presented information on TechWorks at a

CPS Panel Discussion to principals at private high schools for CPS students with disabilities.

96 students applied to the Program and 35 applicants were invited to interview with TechWorks

team members (see Table 1). All Students were interviewed using a standard set of interview questions,

and interviewers took notes on several areas such as whether the student arrived on time, whether he/she

had the necessary communication skills, and dressed appropriately etc. Based on the interviewer’s

comments regarding student performance, 26 students were notified they were accepted into the Program.

Accepted students with disabilities had IT skills that could be applied to the following four career paths:

1) Office Support 2) Graphic/Web Design 3) Programming/Systems Analysis 4) Medical Technology. 22

students who were not selected into the program were referred to the ICED Internship Program for Youth

with Disabilities. 10 students invited to interview were rejected because they did not show up for

their assigned interviews or they did not have the necessary interpersonal skills to participate in

the program.

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February 2009 : Presentation at the AAAS EntryPoint Internship Forum and the Project Plan shifts from Student Recruitment phase to Employer Recruitment Phase Employer outreach continued as MOPD and the Project Coordinator contacted 30 additional

businesses and non-profit organizations to invite them to place interns for the Summer of ’09. 5

Companies submitted job descriptions requesting a TechWorks intern. The Project Coordinator

collaborated with Melissa Gordon from the Chicago Staffing Alliance to discuss the process of

finding new internship opportunities.

March 2009: Employer Outreach continues and 7 Organizations commit to offering an internship.

A team meeting was held to discuss the low rate of placed students and to discuss ways we could

increase the student placement rate. A follow-up Team Meeting was held with John Barr and

representatives from MOPD and disabilityworks to discuss paid vs. unpaid internship

opportunities. In addition to contacting employers directly several other employer outreach

efforts were conducted including the following: 1) 2020 Chamber Technology Committee Email

Blast 2) The project coordinator attended the 4th Annual Government Career Fair 3) MOPD staff

attended the ITA Networking Event 4) Outreach to the Illinois Technical Foundation.

Participating employers include: McDonalds, Neumann Center, Rush Medical, Lighthouse,

POET, Social Security Admin.

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April 2009: Student Training Provided through Job Preparation Skills Overview Student/Employer Agreement Developed Obtained and coordinated 5 Student Interviews resulting in 3 Additional students placed.

Total number of students placed reaches 11. New participating companies include: Northern Trust (1), PACE (1), Chicago Department of Procurement (1) . Student Recruitment Efforts: TechWorks on-line student applications reached 95 and 3 new students were interviewed and accepted. Submitted Applications to 5 Large Internship Programs

Student Training: On Saturday April 4, 2009, the TechWorks team and 2 staff members from Equip for Equality, prepared students on job readiness skills such as interviewing, appropriate workplace etiquette and knowing your rights in the workplace. In collaboration with the Interagency Committee on Employees with Disabilities, ICED Internship information was sent to 20 students that were not accepted into TechWorks program. Development of the Student/Employer Agreement began and 8 students were placed in internship positions. Employer recruitment efforts continued the last half of April as five students interviewed with employers and 3 students were actually placed. Northern Trust hired an intern for systems security management. PACE hired an administrative assistant to handle the incoming phone call volume during the Taste of Chicago and the Chicago Department of Procurement hired an intern with PERL programming experience to work on its intranet ordering application. In addition, student resumes and applications were filed on-line with five large City, State and national internship programs including: 2016 Chicago Internship Program, CITY Internship, Illinois’ Department of Human Rights, and Youth Ready Chicago. May 2009 Deliverables: • 10 Student Interviews obtained and scheduled resulted in 3 New placements. • New participating companies and organizations include: SOVA(1), Modis(1),

MOPD(1) • Total Number of Placed Interns Reaches 14. • MOPD email blast sent to 150 City vendors.

In May 2009 10 student interviews were scheduled resulting in 3 new placements and the total number of interns reached 14. SOVA hired a graphic design student, Modis hired a hardware/software configuration specialist and MOPD selected an Access database programmer. MOPD gained permission and sent out an email blast to 150 City vendors which resulted in the graphic design internship opportunity for SOVA. The Students typically had a difficult transition time during the first two weeks of the internship period and the project coordinator worked with employers one on one in the first two weeks of the student internships. Once the students and employers got into a routine the internships ran smoothly.

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June 2009 Deliverables • 7 Student Interviews obtained and scheduled resulted in 3 new placements • New participating companies include: disabilityworks(1), Sntial(1), Youth Ready(1) • Attended the Youth Ready Chicago Breakfast on July 9, 2009 • Total number of Placed Interns Reaches 17. • Student and Employer Evaluation Forms Created

7 students interviewed in June resulting in 3 new placements and the total number of interns reaches 17. Disabilityworks at the Chicagoland Chamber hired an intern to work in marketing communications and office administration, Sntial hired a graphic designer and a CPS student was placed in the Youth Ready Chicago program working in his school’s freshman orientation program over the summer.

The project coordinator also sent out an email to all TechWorks students and employers telling them about the Youth Ready Chicago Breakfast on July 9, 2009. Student and employer survey forms were sent to the TechWorks team for approval. On June 29, 2009 a Disability Awareness Training was provided to employers.

MOPD Programs and Services Disability Awareness and Etiquette ADA Title 1: Accommodations, Resources and Assessing a Candidate

July 2009 Deliverables:

• Grant Modification Request Approved • Ongoing Student Support and Administration • Finalized and Distributed the Student and Employer Surveys • Number of Placed Students reaches 18 • Student Success Stories are written • 3 Site Visits Completed

In July, 2009 a grant modification request was provided to allow disabilityworks to pay an

$8.00 stipend for three student interns who otherwise would not have been placed. The modification allowed the following employers to offer paid internships: 1) Jewish Vocational Services 2) Chicago MOPD 3) disabilityworks. Ongoing support and administration were provided defining accommodation requirements for a deaf intern and time card instructions for the students paid through the grant modification. The project coordinator received approval for the Employer and Student Surveys and began emailing these documents to the appropriate Program participants. CPS student Khristian Gillespie interviewed for a graphic design internship and was placed in the Chicago Youth Ready Gallery 37 program bringing the total number of students placed to 18. Weekly phone calls and emails were made to the Employers and Students to ensure that no work-related issues needed to be resolved. Unfortunately one intern became ill and was not be able to complete her internship at the Northern Trust. The intern

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was able to serve 5 weeks of the total 8 week internship. 3 Site Visits were completed including Chicago Department of Procurement, Cook County POET and Neumann Association. Note: Two other students who were not placed in TechWorks internships were connected with opportunities in their communities. Taniya Shack was connected to her local YMCA as an unpaid volunteer, and Veronica Hall was connected with an interview with a DRS counselor. These two students were not counted in the 18 students placed total.

August 2009 Deliverables: • TechWorks Recognition Event Held • 7 Site Visits Completed • TechWorks segment Airs on ABC7 News

The TechWorks team gathered students and employers together on August 19th to thank them for participating in the program, review Program results and view a PowerPoint presentation. Disabilityworks Executive Director, Karen McCulloh and, MOPD’s Deputy Commissioner, Joe Albritton and Catherine Marsden, TechWorks Project Coordinator spoke at the event. In addition the Project Coordinator visited 7 work sites to review the students’ internship job duties and to take pictures used in the slide show and Student Success Stories. Work continued on sending out the surveys as all students finished up their internships. TechWorks also received recognition when Karen Meyer covered the Pilot Program during her ABC7 News segment on disability issues.

September 2009 Deliverables • Survey Results Compiled and Final Report Started • TechWorks Lessons Learned Meeting Held • Coordination for Student Think Tank Meeting

11 Students and 11 Employers returned their surveys and the results were compiled for inclusion in the final project report. The TechWorks project team convened a “Lessons Learned Meeting” to discuss processes that were effective in managing the TechWorks Pilot Program and those that the team felt could be improved upon if the TechWorks program was to continue in 2010. Students were invited to a “Student Think Tank Meeting” which was held on October 7, 2009.

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Program Summary: Typically accommodations were work-flow related with no additional costs being

incurred including, e.g. detailed written instructions, a break every 2 hours, following a daily

routine and additional advanced notification for schedule changes. The primary accommodation

expense necessary incurred by the Program was for sign language interpretation during

interviews, student workshops and during team meeting once placed in an internship. One

visually impaired student who placed at the Lighthouse for the Blind used ZoomText software

which was already available at the employer site before the student began his internship. The

TechWorks Pilot data supports other studies like the one conducted by ESSI which found a

majority of large businesses are hiring people with disabilities and discovering that costs for

accommodations differ little from those for the general employee population, (PVA Journal, “on

the job,” 2009).

Survey Results and Evaluation

A survey was emailed to all students and employers who participated in the TechWorks

program with 11 employers and 11 students submitting responses. Surveys were designed to

identify Students and Employer preferences and attitudes when deciding to participate in the

TechWorks Pilot Program. Despite the small research sample size, some important patterns

emerged that may increase future participant satisfaction levels in similar programs.

Motivational preferences were derived from the Desired Goals and Outcomes described

in the original TechWorks grant document. Students and Employer Participants were asked to

rank their motivational preferences for why they wanted to participate in the program with 1

being the highest rating and 6 being the lowest or least valued preference. The 6 Preferences

ranked in the survey were:

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Factor 1: Technical Ability: Find an intern or an internship that will use student‘s current technical skills Factor 2: Mentoring: The ability to find a mentor or become a mentor to the intern Factor 3: Support: The ability to speak with a liaison during the internship if problems occur. Factor 4: New Skills: The ability to learn new skills or provide an opportunity to teach new skills Factor 5: Inclusion: The ability to be a part of or provide an inclusive workplace. Factor 6: Career Choice: The ability to explore IT or to allow the exploration of IT as a possible career choice.

Employer Participant Survey Results

Employers selected Factor 2: Mentoring: The ability to become a mentor to the intern.”

as the most important factor when deciding to participate in the TechWorks Pilot with a

weighted average of 2.09. This was followed by “Factor 4: New Skills: To provide an

opportunity to teach new skills” with a weighted average of 2.36. In third place was “Factor 1:

Technical Ability: To find an intern who already had current skills to perform in the internship.”

with a weighted average of 2.82.

Employers were also asked how they thought the TechWorks Pilot performed on these

most important factors of mentoring a student and providing the opportunity for the student to

gain new skills. Only 3 of 11 employers “Strongly Agreed” that they were able to be a mentor to

their student even though they ranked it as their most important preference when deciding to

participate in the program. Furthermore, 3 Employers “Disagreed” that they were able “To be a

Mentor” and 1 “Had no Opinion”. In contrast, 6 of 11 Employers “Strongly Agreed” that their

Student “Gained New Skills” and 7 of 11 “Strongly Agreed” that their Student had the necessary

skills to perform his/her internship. 100% or 11 of 11 Employers indicated that they would

recommend the TechWorks Pilot Program to a friend or colleague, they would hire another

TechWorks student intern in the future and they found the Project Coordinator helpful during the

recruitment process (see Figure 1).

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Student Participant Survey Results Students were asked to rank the same 6 attitudinal preferences as the employer

participants when deciding to participate in the TechWorks Pilot Program. They were also asked

how they thought the TechWorks Program performed on these same 6 preferences. The top

Student Participant preference when deciding to participate in the TechWorks Pilot Program was

“Factor 4: The Ability to Learn New Skills” with a weighted average of 1.81. 10 of 11 students

ranked this preference with a 1 or a 2 as being the most important (see Figure 2).

This was followed by “Factor 1: Technical Ability or Using My Current Skills” which

had a weighted average of 2.72. 5 of 11 Students ranked this preference with a ‘1’ or a ‘2’.

“Factor 6: Exploring IT as a Possible Career Choice” with a weighted average of 3.0 ranked

third.

When asked whether students thought the TechWorks program actually allowed them to

“Gain New Skills” 8 of 11 students “Strongly Agreed”. When asked whether they felt their

internships helped them “Use Their Current Skills” and “Explore ‘IT’ as a Possible Career

Choice”, 11 of 11 students “Agreed” or “Strongly Agreed”.

Students differed from Employers significantly as they ranked “Factor 2: The Ability to

Find a Mentor” almost last just ahead of “ Factor 6: Finding Support During the Internship if

Problems Occur”. Both Students and Employers ranked “Factor 6: Finding Support During the

Internship if Problems Occur” as relatively unimportant to them when deciding to participate in

an internship program. Also very low on the priority list for both Employers and Students was

“Factor 5: Working in an Inclusive Workplace”.

The Pilot Program research indicates that the most mutually beneficial employer/student

pairings occur when the employer felt s/he could be a mentor and the student perceived he was

learning new technical skills and using current technical skills. TechWorks had a very high

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internship completion rate with 17 of the 18 internships lasting the planned 8 to 12 week period

with one student dropping out due to illness. 100% or 11 of 11 Students indicated they would

recommend the TechWorks Pilot Program to a friend or colleague, they would participate in the

Program in the future if offered again, and they found the Project Coordinator helpful during the

recruitment process.

Recommendations:

The TechWorks Pilot Initiative supports the primary hypothesis that students with

disabilities can use their current skills and gain new skills in IT through summer internship

placement and thereby increase the possibility of employment in an IT career. Students with

disabilities had a life-changing opportunity to use their IT skills which they otherwise might not

have had. Students also engaged with peers in an office setting and in many case had a chance to

have their work reviewed by employers. Overall, the Student Recruitment phase of the project

went well with 96 students applying to the program. Other tasks that produced successful

outcomes include: the on-line strategy including the Program website, the linking strategy, social

networking and email blasts. Also the creation of the three-line Student Profiles modeled after

the major on-line job sites allowed employers a quick snapshot of student skills.

1. Conduct Employer Recruitment Concurrently with Student Recruitment: The TechWorks project

team was surprised by the increased time necessary to recruit employers primarily due to the rapid

plummet in the economy during the last quarter of 2008. Many employers were unwilling to participate

in any new programs in 2009 which resulted in the Employer recruitment phase lasting 6 months rather

than the anticipated 4 months. A poor economy also meant that many employers did not have the head

count to train a student nor the budget to offer a paid position.

2. Increase College Recruiting Efforts. Based on placement rates, Employer Participants preferred

college students 3:1, and future school to work programs should strive to increase college student

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recruitment. College students comprised 34% of the applicant pool but 77% of the placed Student

Participants. High school students comprised 66% of the application pool, but 22% of the placed Students

Participants.

3. Job Preparation Skills Workshop Additions. A student mentor modeling desired follow up

behavior with a sense of urgency may help students understand the need for immediate follow-up

when the Project Coordinator was trying to schedule interviews. Role modeling of competent

time management and organizational skills training could also be demonstrated. Non-attendance

at the workshop would be grounds for removal from the Program.

4. Changes to the Student Application. The risk of students ending contact with the Project

Coordinator when they found a job independently could be mitigated by including language in

the student application that Student Participant’s new employer information, salary and job

description must be disclosed to the TechWorks Project Coordinator upon acceptance of another

job offer.

5. Addition of Mentorship Component. To increase Employer Participant satisfaction a

mentoring component should be added to the internship experience. Providing opportunities and

times for students and employers to get together during a work day and “connect” on how the

internship was going may increase employer satisfaction with the program. Employers would

have the option to opt out of this if they prefer. The employer-mentor may not be the immediate

supervisor of the student, and other workers within the hiring organization could volunteer to be

a mentor.

6. Provide Job Search Skills. 4 TechWorks interns graduated from college within 6 months of

completing their internships. An optional component could be added for students who graduate during or

soon after their internships to help them transition to full time employment. A comprehensive referral

program including available state and local resources would help interns develop a targeted job search

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plan. How To sessions connecting them with AbilityLinks, DRS, IL WorkNet and the on-line job sites

would be useful.

7. Coordination of Grant Partner Efforts: The lack of definition of the roles of MOPD, the Project

Coordinator and disabilityworks led to some confusion during the employer outreach and recruitment

phase of the project. An introductory phone call could be made to employers before the Project

Coordinator called on employers.

8. Eliminate the TechWorks Logo: Designing a Program logo and placing it on program brochures

created the appearance of a stand-alone project separate from the grant holder, disabilityworks. The

disabilityworks and MOPD logo should be used on all Program materials.

9. Increase the emphasis on IT. It was felt that IT was not focused on enough in some of the internship

job descriptions. Taking this position may risk eliminating some placement opportunities.

10. Become a Community Resource Provide information available on the TechWorks website that

would help students with disabilities such as Federal Tax Credit information or architectural barrier

information and provide links to existing places where this information resides. Consider adding social

activities like coffees or brown bag networking events with speakers.

11. Automate the Student/Job Description Sharing. A large portion of the Project Coordinator’s time

was spent sending documents back and forth to participants in the program. Student Profiles, Student

Resumes, Employer Chamber Agreements and Surveys could be stored permanently on-line for registered

employers and students to view and create. Writeable pdf forms could also be created to automate these

processes as well.

12. Add a Legal Resource to the Team. A legal resource to help inform the team on legal issues like

accident liability, disclosure issues and issues with an unpaid student working outside of a school

accredited program would have been beneficial. In addition, a DRS contact for students who need more

job support beyond summer internship placement would helpful.

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Table 1

Student Recruitment Results

Description Total of Students

Applicants Male Applied: 56 Female Applied: 40

Total Applied 96 College 34 High School 62

Interviewed Male Interviewed: 23 Female Interviewed: 13

Total Interviewed 35 College Interviewed 24 High School Interviewed 12

Accepted Male Accepted: 11 Female Accepted: 7

Total Accepted 26 College Accepted 20 High School Accepted 6

Note. Students not accepted into the TechWorks Pilot Program either did not arrive for the interview or

were not perceived by the interviewer as having the necessary interpersonal

skills to be placed with an employer.

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Table 2

List of Linking Websites

Organization URL

disabilityworks www.disabilityworks.org

Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce www.chicagolandchamber.org

MOPD http://egov.cityofchicago.org/city/webportal/

Illinois Technology Association http://www.illinoistech.org/

Technology Executives Club http://www.technologyexecutivesclub.com

Illinois Technology Foundation http://www.illinoistechfoundation.org/

Illinois WorkNet http://www.illinoisworknet.com/

Cook County POET http://cookcountypoet.org/

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Table 3: Student Participants by Skill Set and Gender Type Skill Set College High School Total Placed

Office Support Male: 2 Female: 3 Male:1 Female: 0

5

1

6

Graphic/ Web Design

Male: 3 Female: 0 Male: 1 Female:0

3 1 4

Programming/ Systems Analysis

Male: 2 Female: 3 Male: 2 Female: 0

5 2 7

Medical Technology

Male: 0 Female: 1 Male:0 Female: 0

1

0 1

Total 14 4 18

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Table 4: Employer Participants Number Employer Position Placed

1 Chicago Lighthouse Training/Development 2 Chicago Department of

Procurement Programming and Design

3 Deloitte

Hardware Support

4 disabilityworks

Marktg/Office Support

5 Jewish Vocational Services Office Support 6 McDonald’s

Graphic Design

7 MODIS. Hardware/Software Installation

8 MOPD

Access DBA

9 Neumann Center Ebay/IT 10 Northern Trust IT Systems/Security 11 PACE Office Support 12 POET Internet Research 13 Rush Medical

Medical Transcription

14 SnTial Graphic/Web Design 15 Social Security Admin. Benefits Administration 16 SOVA Graphic/Web Design 17 Youth Ready Chicago Leadership Program 18 Youth Ready Chicago Gallery 37

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Figure 1. Employer Preferences in Internship Participation for Students with Disabilities

0.00

1.00

2.00

3.00

4.00

5.00

Weighted Average

Figure 1. Employer Attitudinal Preferences when Deciding to Participate in an Internship Program for Students with Disabilities. The following results were derived by taking the weighted average for each Factor and comparing them to see which one the participants felt was the most important when deciding to participate in an internship program for students with disabilities. The weighted average is obtained by adding the survey response values and dividing them by the number of survey respondents. In this case the lower the weighted average the stronger or more important the value was perceived as ‘1’ =“Strongly Agree”, 2 =“Slightly Agree”, etc.

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Figure 2 Students with Disabilities Attitudinal Preferences when Deciding to Participate in an Internship Program

0.00

1.00

2.00

3.00

4.00

5.00

6.00

Weighted Average

Figure 2. Student Attitudinal Preferences when Deciding to Participate in an Internship Program. The following results were derived by taking the weighted average for each Factor and comparing them to see which one the participants felt was the most important when deciding to participate in an internship program for students with disabilities. The weighted average is obtained by adding the survey response values and dividing them by the number of survey respondents. In this case the lower the weighted average the stronger or more important the value was perceived as ‘1’ =“Strongly Agree”, 2 =“Slightly Agree”, etc.

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Fourth Quarter Placement Results: Pilot School to Work Initiative Participating Companies and Students.

. GRANT NUMBER: 08-871017 GRANTEE ORGANIZATION NAME: School to Work Transition REPORT PERIOD: Final: December 31, 2009

HIGH TECHNOLOGY SCHOOL TO WORK GRANT PROGRAM PART II PROGRAM EXPENDITURE / SERVICE LEVEL REPORT