Dear Prospective Applicants:

2024 Request for Applications for the WorkAbility I Grant

The California Department of Education (CDE), Special Education Division, is pleased to announce the availability of the Request for Applications (RFA) for the WorkAbility I (WAI) Grant. The WAI program is funded and administered by the CDE and provides comprehensive pre-employment skills training, employment placement and follow-up for high school students in special education who are making the transition from school to work, independent living, and postsecondary education or training.

The CDE will be issuing an RFA to redistribute $1,306,755 in WAI grant funds through a competitive process to select grantees to implement WAI programs.

Eligible applicants shall include local educational agencies (LEAs), including school districts, county offices of education, state special schools, and charter schools.

Funds available for WAI are intended to supplement, not supplant, current secondary transition activities and costs within the LEA. Each LEA service delivery model is based on the LEA resources and geographical location and is customized to meet the needs of the students they serve.

The WAI grant program is governed by California Education Code Sections 56470–56474. As per EC Section 56471(e), WAI project applications shall include, but are not limited to, the following elements:

1. Recruitment
2. Assessment
3. Counseling
4. Pre-Employment skills training
5. Vocational training
6. Student wages for try-out employment
7. Placement in unsubsidized employment
8. Other assistance with transition to a quality adult life
9. Utilization of an interdisciplinary advisory committee to enhance project goals

All applicants must first submit a Notice of Intent to Submit an Application to the Programs and Partnerships Unit by 5 p.m. on October 16, 2024. Incomplete, late, or incorrectly formatted Notices of Intent will not be accepted. The Notice of Intent is a prerequisite to applying; therefore, applications will not be accepted without a Notice of Intent on file.

All applicants must submit a complete application, including all required components, to the Programs and Partnerships Unit by 5 p.m. on October 25, 2024. Incomplete, late, or incorrectly formatted applications will not be scored or considered for approval.

A technical assistance webinar to review all parts of the RFA will take place on October 11, 2024, from 11:00 a.m. to noon. Interested applicants may register for this webinar by accessing the WAI RFA Technical Assistance Zoom webinar Registration web page .

If you have any questions regarding the RFA, please contact the Programs and Partnerships Unit, Workability I Team by email at Workability1@cde.ca.gov.

Sincerely,

Rachel Heenan, Ed.D., Director
Special Education Division

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