Unintended Consequences of Repeated Sponsored Work Experiences for Youths With Visual Impairments

Abstract

Data from the National Longitudinal Transition Study 2012 (NLTS 2012) indicate that 38% of youths with visual impairments worked during high school (Lipscomb et al., 2017). Many youths with visual impairments participate in sponsored work experiences, often as a component of a transition program offered through their school, vocational rehabilitation agency, or a private agency. Sponsored work experiences fall under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act’s (2016) work-based learning experiences, which are one of the five required activities under pre-employment transition services. Sponsored work experiences may take place during the summer or the school year, at the sponsoring organization or a business in the community. Their duration varies from a single day to several weeks to a semester. Some sponsored work experiences are unpaid, but others provide participating youths with a stipend or their pay is subsidized by the sponsoring organization. Sponsored work experiences can have benefits for youths who participate. For example, youths obtain hands-on experience performing a job in a work setting, gain exposure to the behind-the-scenes aspects of a job, develop soft skills and transferable skills, network with people in their community, and potentially earn money. On occasion, a youth is hired by the company as an employee after the conclusion of the work experience. Sponsored work experiences can also have downsides. Because these experiences are typically short-term, youths may not have the opportunity to continue working in sponsored positions, regardless of whether the position is a good fit for them. School or agency staff usually find and arrange work experiences on behalf of a youth, meaning that he or she does not need to (a) find the position; (b) apply for it; (c) consider if, when, and how to disclose his or her disability; (d) interview for the position; or (e) compete with others. In other words, youths do not get real-world practice with job-seeking skills.