BETHANY, Okla. – Families and friends gathered August 6 at Bethany Public Library to celebrate the successes of young interns in the BEST STEP summer training and employment for students with disabilities.
Twenty BEST STEP participants, ages 16 to 21, from Bethany and Putnam City received awards at the event.
BEST STEP is an acronym for Building Employment Skills Today and Summer Transition Employment Program
Oklahoma Department of Rehabilitation Services’ Transition program and OU National Center for Disability Education and Training’s Pre-Employment Transition Services offer the free BEST STEP work readiness training and paid summer work experience every year in June and July.
Over the summer, interns earned paychecks, received training and work experience, and some accepted permanent, part-time jobs offered by their employers for outstanding job performance.
Ten employers in Putnam City and Bethany participated and hosted, including BUSINESS which donated donuts for the celebration.
The BEST part of the program is one week of pre-employment transition instruction.
During the STEP portion, eligible students worked up to 25 hours per week at $10 per hour for businesses in their communities. STEP salaries are primarily funded by Central Oklahoma Workforce Innovation Board with Southern Workforce Board providing funding in certain counties.
BEST STEP interns are DRS clients or potentially eligible to become clients with a documented disability. They are at least 16 years old.
“We are proud to honor each intern with awards for their hard work and success in the BEST STEP program this summer with staff and their families cheering them on,” said Michelle Rudesill, a DRS Transition vocational rehabilitation counselor. “It’s great that many of the interns now have job offers from the host companies where they worked during summer.”
Rudesill and Covalt coordinated the BEST STEP program in Putnam City and Bethany and the awards ceremony.
"This program is a dream come true,” DRS Transition Coordinator Renee Sansom Briscoe said.” BEST STEP brings up all the best overwhelming emotions every summer. Watching the interns grow and achieve their goals during the summer is truly inspiring.
“This summer, the energy in Oklahoma was electric as we witnessed so many participants and businesses coming together and creating opportunities that will leave a lasting impact on our community."
DRS Transition and OU Pre-ETS offer the BEST STEP program every summer and provide career-focused preparation activities and employment services all year long to assist youth and students with disabilities to successfully transition from high school to post-secondary education or employment.
For more information, visit https://oklahoma.gov/okdrs/students/transition.html or phone 405-212-7789.
DRS Transition provides career planning and employment services to prepare students with disabilities for employment, postsecondary education and life after high school. Services may include career counseling, vocational evaluation, work adjustment training, on-the-job training, work study, and job development and placement. BEST is one of many programs DRS offers in partnership with other agencies, public school systems and community organizations.
The National Center for Disability Education and Training at The University of Oklahoma Outreach provides Pre-Employment Transition Service (Pre-ETS) activities to high school students with disabilities. Pre-ETS-career-focused preparation activities include job exploration, work-based learning, workplace readiness, self-advocacy and postsecondary educational counseling.
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Left photo: Stacey Driscoll-Glass (left) said intern Timothy Barnett did a great job at her Crumbl location on North May Avenue in Oklahoma City as part of the DRS Transition’s BEST STEP summer employment program. Right photo: DRS Transition Vocational Rehabilitation and OUCDET Pre-Employment Transition Services recognized BEST STEP interns for outstanding job performances: (from left): Alica Francis, work skills trainer; Mini Melakayil, work skills trainer and speech pathologist for Putnam City Public Schools; Michelle Rudesill, DRS counselor; Jennifer Covalt, lead OU Pre-ETS instructor; and Madison Cude, work skills trainer and Yukon Public Schools teacher
For more information
Jody Harlan, DRS Communications Director
Cell: 405-203-1318
