Statement
Any adult aged 22 or older is eligible to apply for the New Beginnings Program, which offers opportunities for counseling, education, teaching life skills, and vocational training for adults with ASD. They are asked to fill out an intake form to gather basic information (Appendix A). The New Beginnings Program also emphasizes removing barriers to access and building social skills, which are some key challenges of adults with ASD (Research Autism, 2017).
Upon acceptance into the program, an individual will be interviewed by a specially trained counselor which will determine their cognitive and physical abilities, existing skills, as well as their needs and potentially interests in terms of job placement. Admissions criteria include acceptable age, a medical diagnosis of the ASD disorder, and some capability to function independently. Adults with any range of ASD symptoms can be served, with the program taking an approach of attempting to aid and find placement for everyone. It is that on average adults will be fully involved for a time span of three months to one year before acquiring necessary skills and sustainable employment.
Outcomes
New Beginnings is a nonprofit, and these types of organizations “engage multiple stakeholders, and this leads to complex sets of organizational goals and highly subjective assessments of nonprofit effectiveness” (Willems, Jegers, & Faulk, 2015, p. 454). Therefore, it is necessary for the program to structure its internal operations and partnerships with government and community stakeholders appropriately and efficiently when developing the curriculums and opportunities for its participants. The program outcomes are:
- Identify and connect with adults with ASD in the community, establishing a close relationship;
- Provide for the needs of participants including life skills training, educational help, or vocational training;
- Direct and guide participants to pursue employment or further education and ensure they are living a healthy and sustainable lifestyle.
Model
The program will follow a three-tier structured model consisting of administrators, counselors, and teachers or instructors, each fulfilling a critical role in the organization and aiding participants. An efficient and well-planned structure of a nonprofit education/training organization such as New Beginnings can streamline its functions and operation costs while having a much greater impact and objective attainment.
The nonprofit industry and management are highly researched, allowing to identify patterns that enhance and sustain impact and efficiency through their leadership models and structural organization, which New Beginnings plans to implement (Velez, 2018).
Each structure of the organization will provide unique services to the program participants. Counselors will evaluate, guide, and observe individuals. Meanwhile, administrators will focus on the paperwork as well as building networks within the community to aid in the employment placement of participants. Instructors will work directly with participants in various vocational and life skill courses. Appendix B provides the program action plan with individual responsibilities for each level of the organizational structure as well as designated components and timetables. Service delivery will be evaluated through feedback forms for families and participants that track the effectiveness of the course and instructor capabilities to get along with students.
Conclusion
The program will collect vital information, statistics, and data over time to track its progress and efficiency. Such indicators as the number of enrolled individuals, average participation time, employment placement, and others are vital to consistently evolve and grow the program. A computerized program will be used to track and manage relevant data, Measures used to track and maintain student progress include but are not limited to course fulfillment, life skills social development evaluations, personal evaluations of progress outside the program, number of interviews, and finally job attainment. Data tracking and program analysis will be used by the board as well as curriculum developers to improve management of the program and implement new changes and techniques that can benefit the participants.
References
Research Autism. (2017). Common issues and challenges facing adults on the autism spectrum. Web.
Velez, A. K. (2018). Understanding structuring and variation in a nonprofit subfield: Examining institutional and regional pressures in U.S. historic preservation nonprofits. Journal of Public and Nonprofit Affairs, 4(2), 1-26. Web.
Willems, J., Jegers, M., & Faulk, L. (2015). Organizational effectiveness reputation in the nonprofit sector. Public Performance & Management Review, 39(2), 454-475. Web.
Appendix A – Intake Form
Client Information
Guardian or Emergency Contact Information
Appendix B – Action Plan
