Type of Project: In-house project Model project
Supporting the transition of mentally handicapped students and other severely handicapped students into work and jobs in Saxony-Anhalt

The goal of opening up more vocational training and employment opportunities on the general labor market for people with disabilities is not only the focus of the "Inclusion Initiative" launched by the German government as part of the measures in the National Action Plan. The state of Saxony-Anhalt has also committed itself to accompanying the path to an inclusive society with various measures as part of a state action plan to implement the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Based on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and taking into account the provisions of Book IX of the Social Code, areas of action have been identified to improve the situation of severely disabled people. One area of action relates to the vocational orientation of severely disabled students. In Saxony-Anhalt, a concept for a state model project to "support the transition of students with mental disabilities and other severely disabled students from school to work and jobs" was drawn up in 2010, which had not yet been implemented at the time of publication of the directive of the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs of 09.09.2011 on the "Initiative Inclusion". It pursued the goal of creating more choice and decision-making opportunities for students with intellectual disabilities, introducing them to the primary labor market, acquiring vocational qualifications under conditions close to the labor market, and thus enabling real vocational alternatives to permanent employment in a workshop for people with disabilities. The implementation of this state model project (Model ÜFB) has been linked to the implementation of the federal guideline "Initiative Inklusion". In addition to the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs and the Integration Office, the Federal Employment Agency and the Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs of Saxony-Anhalt are also involved in the model project. The model was launched with the involvement of the Initiative Inklusion - Handlungsfeld 1- in January 2012 across the board at all 41 special schools for the mentally handicapped. The model is implemented with the staff of the four integration specialist services in Saxony-Anhalt. Since September 2012, students with physical and or sensory disabilities from special schools, support centers or integrative education have also been included in the model project. Here, too, the staff of the specialist integration services have established and deepened network structures. The first successes of the intensive efforts of the cooperation partners to deepen and expand the vocational orientation of the clientele of the particularly affected disabled students have been achieved. Many mentally, physically and/ or sensory disabled students from the last three years of school attendance at the special schools or from integrative teaching have been identified as suitable for special vocational orientation as part of the inclusion initiative. A number of them are supported by the integration service on a case-by-case basis. In various internships in the general labor market, the students can get to know their inclinations and potentials and determine whether they can imagine a self-determined participation in working life immediately after school. If the desire and the existing potentials match, vocational training in a suitable educational institution can also be arranged. Interested parties should contact the special school teachers responsible for them, who will put them in touch with the specialist integration service.