Events
Webinar Description
On Thursday, December 12th at 1-2pm ET NDTAC held a webinar focused on expanding access to Career and Technical Education (CTE) for youth in juvenile justice facilities. Our presenters from the federal Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE) covered the importance of CTE in juvenile justice settings, exploring the benefits of CTE, and best practices for effective CTE implementation. This session:
Discussed the core technical, vocational, and life skills CTE provides, from soft skills essential for successful transitions into emerging adulthood to industry certifications that equip youth for sustainable career paths.
Covered CTE’s benefits for improving job readiness, boosting confidence, and helping youth build meaningful futures, as well as its critical role in reducing recidivism through continuous learning and support post-release.
Included strategies for leveraging federal and state funding, maximizing formula grant support, and building cross-agency partnerships to strengthen CTE initiatives in juvenile facilities.
Featured insights from a CTE provider who shared their program structures, service models, and success stories of youth who have transitioned to meaningful employment after release.
Presenters
Kristine Chan is the Research and Conference Lead at NDTAC. She supports technical assistance resources, coordinates the annual conference, and serves as a subject matter expert focused on youth with dual system involvement in child welfare and juvenile justice.
Adam Flynn-Tabloff is the Chief of the Program Administration and Accountability Branch (PAAB) within the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education at the United States Department of Education. As Chief, Adam oversees roughly 1.4 billion dollars in state formula grants under the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 (Perkins V) for the development and implementation of career and technical education programs throughout the United States. Adam is also responsible for evaluating program accountability to assess the effectiveness of each state in achieving statewide progress in career and technical education and to optimize the return on investment of Federal funds in career and technical education. Adam is the former Director of the William M. Davies, Jr. Career & Technical High School in Lincoln, RI. At Davies, Adam began in 2006 as a science teacher, working his way up to Department Chair, Assistant Principal, Assistant Director, and, ultimately in 2018, the Director and Superintendent. Through and in addition to his work at Davies, Adam helped craft Rhode Island’s Perkins State Plan, served as an adjunct professor in Educational Measurement at Providence College in Rhode Island, and consulted on leadership development with several State departments of education. Adam earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in secondary education at the University of Rhode Island, his Master of Education in Administration at Providence College, and a second Master of Education in Education Policy and Management at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Sean Addie is the Director of the Office of Correctional Education in the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education at the U.S. Department of Education (ED). His work at ED includes serving as an agency expert on correctional and reentry education, administering adult and juvenile reentry education programs, and coordinating inter- and intra-agency efforts pertaining to correctional and reentry education.
Dr. Tracy Smitherman is the Superintendent of Education with the Alabama Department of Youth Services School District. She has served in various capacities in the district, including acting superintendent, educational director, educational coordinator, principal, and teacher. In this webinar, Dr. Smitherman will be highlighting the Wallace Transition and Advancement Center (TAC) which aims to take a comprehensive approach to help individuals obtain their GED and prepare them for the workforce. TAC offers GED instruction, postsecondary instruction, certification and non-certification training, career licensing instruction, and general life and employability skills, as well as remedial academics to improve workplace and life skills.
Webinar Materials
December CTE Webinar Presentation
December CTE Webinar Recording
December CTE Webinar Transcript