Kent State to Help Youth with Intellectual Disabilities Live Independently

Applications for pilot study are currently being accepted

Kent State University was picked as one of 27 universities nationally to receive funding from the U.S. Department of Higher Education to develop a program known as “Transition in Postsecondary Settings for Students with Intellectual Disabilities” (TPSID). This program allows youth with intellectual disabilities who would otherwise not be eligible to live on a campus to use the university setting as a safe place to become independent. Currently, only 27 percent of students with intellectual disabilities go on to become employed and even fewer learn to live outside of their parent’s home.

The TPSID program known as the Career and Community Studies Program on campus will include 20 students with intellectual disabilities, ages 18-22. The students will participate in university coursework, employment, recreation and independent living experiences that are designed to help these students become employed and live more independently after graduation. They will audit or attend courses related to their career interests, participate in university recreational and cultural offerings, and earn income by working on campus. By the end of federal funding, it is anticipated that all students with intellectual disabilities who want to attend Kent State’s Career and Community Studies Program will be eligible for financial aid available to other university students.

The Career and Community Studies program will not only benefit students with intellectual disabilities, but it also will provide valuable training and experience to Kent State students who are in training as special education teachers and rehabilitation specialists.

This program will be directed by the Center for Innovation in Transition and Employment at Kent State under the direction of Drs. Robert Baer and Robert Flexer. 

Applications are currently being accepted for the pilot phase of this program through April 15, 2011. For more information, contact Yvonne Hale at yhale@kent.edu or 330-672-0729. The website for Career and Community Studies is www.CollegeforID.com.   

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Media Contacts:
Yvonne Hale, yhale@kent.edu, 330-672-0729
Emily Vincent, evincen2@kent.edu, 330-672-8595