Concluded Project - end date 12/2005

Building an E-Mentoring Network for Youth with Disabilities: Career Journeys Project

Contact:

Laurie Powers: Email: powersl@pdx.edu

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP), funds the Career Journeys E-Mentoring Project. The primary goal of the project is to determine the impact of career-focused E-Mentoring on the career aspirations of youth and young adults with disabilities. Adults with disabilities who work in a wide array of careers serve as E-Mentors. Youth and young adults between the ages of 16 and 24 years can read the career profiles of the E-Mentors on the website and through secure web messaging system ask questions of and receive advice from the E-Mentors.

The second goal of the project is to provide training and technical assistance to small private, nonprofit community-based agencies that will build their capacity to implement and sustain the Career Journeys E-Mentoring Project. Two sites, one in Portland, Oregon, and one in Houston, Texas are currently receiving training and technical assistance through the project. In Portland, the Career Journeys Project is partnering with a number of businesses including PGE and Portland Castparts Corporation, and with a variety of programs, including Portland Public Schools and Workforce Investment Act (WIA)-funded youth programs. In Houston, the Career Journeys Project is partnering with NASA and with the local school district and community college system.

A variety of measures are being used to evaluate the impact of the Project. Measures include number and demographics of mentors, number and demographics of mentees, qualitative measures of nature of communication between mentors and mentees, and youth career goals.