Completion time: Under 10 minutes.

Thank you for applying to our 2021 Spring Pathfinder workshops held from January 25 through May 14 (excluding state holidays), Monday through Friday for approximately 2.5 hours a day.

Workshops anticipated for Spring 2021:
Customer Service (9:30 am - Noon)
Creative Skills (1 - 3:30 pm)
 
(For workshop descriptions and more details, please visit the Spring Pathfinder webpage.)
NOTE: Workshops must have a minimum of 5 participants to proceed.

ENTRANCE CRITERIA: PLEASE READ THE ENTRANCE CRITERIA AND INFORMATION BELOW BEFORE PROCEEDING WITH THE FORM.

Beacons vocational workshops offer progress-monitored curriculum and training to help prepare individuals for employment, and comprehensive exploration of life and community options to help trainees develop person-driven plans for post workshop. To participate in a Pathfinder workshop, trainees must be interested in employment and have sufficient classroom skills to participate in a manner that does not impede their learning or that of the other trainees. Participants should be able to be respectful of others, have a positive attitude towards learning and have sufficient attention skills to stay engaged with instruction.

1. SELF-CARE
Trainees must be independent in their self-care skills. If they are unable to independently tend to their self-care, but are otherwise able to meet other entrance criteria, they must be accompanied by a trainee-provided personal care attendant if they wish to participate in the workshop.

2. PHYSICAL &/or MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES
The pathfinder programs offer assistive technology and adapted tools to support those with intellectual and/or physical disabilities, but does not offer medical care or medical assistance onsite. Individuals with medical or mental health needs that require the support of a personal care attendant or who may at times require 1:1 support because of medical or other issues may attend if accompanied by a trained and self-provided personal care attendant authorized to tend to the medical and other needs of the trainee. Beacons staff does not administer medications or have emergency response teams in place.

3. BEHAVIORAL CHARACTERISTICS
Trainees with a history of physical aggression resulting in or risking physical injury to others, self-injurious behaviors, damage to property, elopement, smearing of feces, displays of inappropriate sexual behavior, cursing, putting down others or bullying, defiance and/or other behaviors that impede the learning of self or others, or other disruptive or maladaptive behaviors, are not eligible for the Pathfinder program. Beacons does not have emergency response teams in place to address or support individuals with significant behavioral challenges.

4. TRANSPORTATION
Trainees must provide their own transportation to and from the workshop(s). For possible transportation options other than Lyft, Uber or the bus, please consider:
a. the NCTD Lift program (adaride.com),
b. the Ride FACT program (factsd.org),
c. Carlsbad Connector program (starting 8/19/19) (https://www.carlsbadconnector.com),
d. the WAZE carpool organizer, and/or
e. the SDRC transportation vendorization program (http://sdrc.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/TransportationGuideEnglish.pdf).

5. WORKSHOP READINESS
Our workshops are designed for applicants with mild/moderate disabilities with an interest in community employment or entrepreneurial endeavors. Applicants must be ready, able and willing to conduct themselves in a manner conducive to collaborative small group learning as well as a potential workforce placement. Applicants will need to tend to lessons, pose questions if needed, and follow and comply with instructional demands and instructor’s commands.

6. WHAT IF TRAINEE IS STRUGGLING?
Our goal is to support trainees so that they have reached a proficient level in the subject matter taught. If a trainee needs and wants additional instructional assistance to reach a level of proficiency, Beacons offers trainees up to 2 additional hours of training per week at no cost to SDRC-funded consumers.  

COST:
   a) SDRC Funding: (Beacons SDRC Vendor #PY1700/Service Code: 102/Subcode: Spring)
To qualify for SDRC funding, applicants must be SDRC consumers aged 18 and older who have earned a diploma, aged out of the district, or who are eligible for workshop funding through a SDRC exemption in their IPP under WIC § 4648.55 (allowing funding of services even if the consumer is still enrolled in a district program if the consumer''s needs cannot be met in the educational system). An exemption determination is not within the control of Beacons, Inc. and must be resolved through the SDRC.  (Please ask the service coordinator to send the applicant's IPP to: Pathfinder@BeaconsNorthCounty.com).

   b) DISTRICT Funding: Students still in a district's ATP program or who are otherwise still eligible for district services under the age of 22 must have the workshop and funding approved via an IEP/ITP, settlement agreement or other document to be eligible (unless a SDRC exemption has been approved so that SDRC funding can be requested). For applicants still in an ATP program, discuss with the district's educational team whether dual enrollment is available through the IEP/ITP to meet the applicant's vocational training needs and goals under the U.S. Dept. of Education's "Increasing Postsecondary Opportunities and Success for Students with Youth and Disabilities" letter issued on 9/17/19.

   c) To have a workshop funded, after completing this form, SDRC consumers should contact their service coordinator to ask if an addendum to their IPP (Individual Program Plan) can be prepared to request a POS (purchase of services) to pay for a Beacons workshop.  The service coordinator may need the following information: Beacons SDRC Vendor #PY1700  and Service Code: 102. A sample letter is included on the Spring Pathfinder webpage.  For additional assistance, please contact: Pathfinder@BeaconsNorthCounty.com.

HOW MANY PARTICIPANTS PER WORKSHOP?
During the current "Covid-19" state of affairs, workshops are limited to a maximum of 6 trainees, with a maximum ratio of approximately 6 trainees to 2 staff.  A workshop must have a minimum of 5 trainees in order to proceed. In the event a workshop has not met a minimum enrollment number,  Beacons, Inc. reserves the right to cancel the workshop and/or offer another subject.

HOW TO RESERVE A SPOT?
Workshops fill up quickly. If interested in a workshop, please compete the following steps:
1. Submit this application to start the enrollment process;
2. Send us a copy of the applicant's IPP and "CDER" from the SDRC;
3. Contact the applicant's SDRC service coordinator to request language in the IPP or in an IPP addendum that would approve a "POS" for the workshop; and
4. Complete the Waiver form available on the 2021 Spring Pathfinder webpage.
Please note that completion of these steps reserves a spot, BUT an applicant's acceptance is contingent upon a review of the materials and an intake meeting to ensure that the applicant is classroom ready.

DOES SUBMISSION OF THIS APPLICATION RESERVE A SPACE?
Submission of this application will reserve a spot in a workshop if the applicant is accepted. However,  this application is only the first step in the enrollment process. Before an applicant can be accepted, this application must be reviewed by the Beacons Programming team to explore each applicant's workshop readiness and eligibility. After this initial review, a Beacons representative will contact the person completing this form by email and/or by telephone within two (2) business days to discuss next steps.

RESTRICTIONS: Beacons workshops are not sufficiently staffed or designed for individuals with a history of elopement, bullying, disruptive behaviors, self injurious behaviors or behaviors that are likely to injure others, consistent refusals to follow instructions, or who have medical or other issues that require 1:1 assistance or monitoring. IF AFTER BEGINNING A WORKSHOP A TRAINEE DEMONSTRATES THAT S/HE DOES NOT MEET THE ENTRANCE CRITERIA, the trainee's continued participation in the workshop will be revisited to determine if the workshop is suitable to meet the needs of the applicant/trainee.

 If a trainee wishes to provide his/her own trained support, please contact us to discuss. Thank you!