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CLTS FS Instructions Module 7 - School and Work

Contents

7.1 School
7.2 Employment

7.1 School

Does the child’s physical health or stamina level cause them to miss over 50 percent of school and classes or require home education?

Unlike most questions on the Children's Long-Term Functional Screen (CLTS FS), this focuses on physical health conditions for children with physical disabilities who might be able to do their Activities of Daily Living (ADLs)/Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADLs) but are unable to participate in school due to their condition.

This includes children who go to school but miss more than half of their classes due to therapies, treatments, or rest periods needed due to their condition. This does not include children who are present at school but have difficulties participating because of medication side effects, such as fatigue.

Home schooling may be a choice unrelated to the child’s condition. Screeners will need to ask if the child is home schooled due to their physical health. If the screener questions the reason for home schooling, follow up with a qualified medical professional or a public school.

If the child is not currently in school because of a school holiday but the child would miss over 50 percent if school were in session, the screener would check “Yes.”

If the child has not missed school but a new diagnosis or increase in health needs will most likely cause them to miss over 50 percent, the screener would check “Yes.”

Do the child’s emotional or behavioral needs result in failing grades, repeated truancy, expulsion, suspension, and/or the inability to conform to school or work schedule more than 50 percent of the time?

This question refers to the child’s needs within the past six months. Check “Yes” if the child is in and can function well in a special school for children with emotional disorders but cannot function in a public school setting. Check “Yes” if the parent/guardian needed to home school the child due to issues with emotional or behavioral problems. If parent/guardian indicated that the child only does better being homeschooled, further questions should be asked.  Check “Yes” if the child misses, is sent home from school more than 50% of the time due to behaviors.  Check “Yes” if the child’s school day is reduced by 50% or more due to behaviors.

Is the child currently home-schooled?

If the child is home-schooled for any reason, select “Yes” for this question. This does not include homebound instruction offered by the school district or any virtual education programs, such as Wisconsin Virtual Academy.

Is the child currently attending high school?

For the purposes of the screen, ninth through 12th grade are considered high school.

If the child is between grades (for example, it is June and the child has finished eighth grade and will enter high school in the fall), the screener will enter the anticipated grade. If the child is home-schooled, consider the grade they would be in public school based on their age.

What year is the child expected to leave school?

For most children this will be the anticipated graduation date. However, some children will graduate but not leave high school. In this situation, the screener will use the anticipated date they will actually leave school, which will often be at age 21.

Transition-related supports provided to the child

This question does not affect functional eligibility. It is included in the CLTS FS to help promote continuity of care in the transition from the child to the adult services system for children ages 14-18. The screener will check services identified for the child by their support team.

CWAs must plan for the child's transition to adult waiver services by the time the child is 17 years and 6 months old. Document this within the individual’s record. Reasonable steps must be taken to assure continuity of services as the youth reaches adult status. Limited exceptions to this exist, including when a court has ordered placement for an 18-year-old child residing in a foster home.

7.2 Employment

Conversations regarding employment for the child should occur throughout a child’s youth. Employment discussions in this section must occur once a child reaches the age of 14 years.

Current employment status

  • Not employed means the person does not have a job and is not working.
  • Employed part time means the person works less than 30 hours a week.
  • Employed full time means the person works 30 hours a week or more.

Employment Interest

Interested in a job means employment in the community is a goal for the child and family. Use this question as an opportunity to provide information to children and families about how they can prepare for future employment. Key areas to help children and families explore as part of the preparation and planning process include:

  • Seek an inclusive school experience, starting in preschool.
  • Work with their school to develop an academic and career plan (ACP) that reflects children’s goals for their future and includes a plan for achieving those goals. All children develop ACPs starting in sixth grade.
  • For children who have an individualized education program (IEP), encourage their school to include key elements of the academic and career plan in their IEPs.
  • Use the plan families develop when the child is 14, that outlines meaningful goals for the postsecondary transition plan.
  • Apply for services through the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR).
  • Support children and families by providing planning resources and attending IEP meetings.

Additional information on how SSCs can help children and families prepare for employment in the community is available through DHS’s Think Possible! Training.

If employed, where? (check all that apply)

  • Attends prevocational day or work activity program is selected if the person/child currently attends a program designed to teach them concepts needed to perform a job effectively.
  • Attends a sheltered workshop is selected if the person is working in a segregated facility that exclusively or primarily employs persons with disabilities.
  • Has paid job in the community is selected if the person is working for pay in the community. Babysitting, mowing lawns, working at stores or restaurants, etc. are examples of jobs in the community.
  • Works at home is selected if the person is doing work for pay while at their home. Receiving an allowance for doing tasks around the house does not count. An example would be a microenterprise, like making jewelry.

Need for assistance to work

Completing this section for every child age 16 years and older helps determine what services are needed to meet the child and family’s employment goals. This question must be answered regardless if a youth is currently employed or not.

  • Independent (with assistive devices if uses them) means the person could be independent on a job, but may need assistive devices or technology to help them (for example, a person may need a tablet to remember their work tasks or an alarm to return from breaks on time).
  • Needs help weekly or less (for example, if problems arise) means the person would most likely need minimal help if they were employed (for example, a person’s schedule of activities changes biweekly and they need support when the schedule changes each time).
  • Needs help every day but does not need the continuous presence of another person means the person would need help at work, but not one-to-one support (for example, a person needs help setting up their task and their task changes several times a day). This person may need someone to help set up the task, but can do the task independently until the next task needs to be set up.
  • Needs the continuous presence of another person means the person would need one-to-one support on an ongoing basis to be employed (for example, the person has a court order that they may not be left alone).

Glossary

 
Last revised May 9, 2024