Steps Program, Inc.
Build Your Future
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
The only 501c3 nonprofit organization of its kind nationwide, College Steps provides an individualized, empirically derived curriculum, proven to transition young people living with social, communication, and learning challenges from secondary schools into and through college and subsequently the workforce. While College Steps supports students across an array of disability categories, it largely focuses on youth with autism who have poor postsecondary employment and education outcomes, especially in the first two years after high school. Each year, 50,000 students with autism graduate from American high schools and only 1 in 3 students attend 2 or 4-year college and more than 50% of youth who had left high school in the past 2 years had no participation in employment or education - not because of lack of ability but due to lack of opportunities and support. Those from lower- income families and those with greater functional impairments are at heightened risk for poor outcomes.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
College Steps
College Steps provides services for the following categories of students living with autism and behavioral health challenges: (1) High school students interested in a 1-2 year college “primer” experience prior to graduating from high school (dual enrollment) and (2) College students interested in a peer-based model of academic and social support to promote post-secondary success.
For most students living with autism and behavioral health challenges, the need for individualized academic and social support is essential for a successful transition to college and beyond. In response, College Steps’ Individualized College Plan (ICP) is developed to compliment or pick up where the student’s Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) may have left off. The ICP serves as a powerful road map to bolster post-secondary success; outlining areas of need and tracking progress throughout the student’s college experience and includes (1) Academic Support, (2) Social Integration, (3) Independent Living Skill Advancement and (4) Vocational Training.
Each College Steps partnership starts with an operating agreement with the partnering institution of higher education (IHE). While the IHE pays nothing to partner with College Steps, it is asked to provide in-kind on-campus office space from which College Steps’ Program Coordinator can operate. The campus-based office space allows the Program Coordinator to seamlessly support the needs of College Steps students, interface with faculty and staff, and manage College Steps’ peer mentorship program.
It is well known that social and extra-curricular involvement in college is a key element of student overall success and happiness. Through College Steps’ peer mentorship program, College Steps offers students the support of a peer mentor network. Peer mentors are undergraduate students at the partnering institution of higher education who receive specialized training from College Steps to provide critical peer mentorship to advance the social or academic goals of College Steps students. Every year, peer mentors are carefully selected, thoroughly trained, and closely supervised by College Steps’ college campus-based Program Coordinator. Peer mentors are college campus-based paid employees of College Steps. Peer mentor training begins the summer before classes start via a one-week intensive series of workshops where they learn evidence-based strategies to guide students with autism spectrum disorders and behavioral health concerns. Peer mentors support student note-taking, study skills, time management, testing, homework and group participation for their mentees. Most importantly, peer mentors provide essential socialization in clubs, social groups and extracurricular events that promote self-advocacy, communication skills and self-esteem for College Steps students.
Increasing the skills necessary to achieve gainful employment and live independently after graduation from college is a cornerstone of College Steps’ model. Academic Supports include in-class behavioral observations and instruction on appropriate classroom interactions, connections to campus tutoring and study skills resources, and check-ins with teachers. Supported by peer mentors, Social Integration includes guidance in group coursework and inclusion in campus social life. Weekly Independent Living Skills courses at each campus include learning modules focused on foundational skills such as navigating public transportation, maintaining a healthy diet, and managing personal finance to more advanced skills such as leasing an apartment, preparing your tax return, and managing bills.
College Steps Vocational Training begins with professional skill development focused on core objectives such as learning resume development, professional etiquette, time management and communication styles within the workplace and progresses to more advanced skills such as job interviewing. During the first year in College Steps, all students have the option to take part in college-campus job shadowing experiences designed to allow the student to explore their career objectives. In the second year and beyond, the College Steps’ Workforce Development team, led by a campus-based Workforce Development Coordinator works with each student to convert his or her foundational experiences into off campus internships and part-time employment. To date, 93% of students College Steps has graduated have achieved paid employment within their area of career interest and 92% earn an income at or above the livable wage rate in their state. College Steps Vocational Training arm of the ICP is further supported by networks of employers in each region in which College Steps operates. These employer networks, referred to as Employment Advisory Councils (EACs) are carefully assembled groups of local professionals, vetted by College Steps, who have expressed interest in welcoming College Steps students into their organizations to mentor and intern. Currently, College Steps facilitates four (4) EACs in each of the four regions it operates. 89% of work experiences with employers within College Steps’ EAC during college lead to full time paid employment for College Steps students following graduation.
Where we work
External reviews
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of students enrolled
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
College Steps
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
College Steps closely tracks the number of students enrolled in each program. College Steps works carefully to ensure an optimal blend of student to mentor supports is maintained.
Number of mentors recruited
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
College Steps
Type of Metric
Input - describing resources we use
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
College Steps carefully recruits, trains and supervises College Steps peer mentors. Each goes through a week long intensive the summer before classes start and then receives weekly supervision.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
College Steps' goal is to provide students, ages 16-26 living with social, communication, and learning challenges customized and integrated natural college supports designed to help them achieve their unique academic, social, independent living and career training objectives. College Steps achieves this goal through carefully customized student-centered plans, called Individualized College Plans (ICPs). By focusing on each of the four pillars of the ICP (academic, social, independent living and career training objectives), College Steps' helps each student devise actionable and realistic growth goals. The ICP is carefully monitored and adjusted on a regular basis to evolve with the needs of each student. The goal of the ICP is to provide a comfortable level of natural support for each student, allowing them to flourish both within the college environment and related workforce training settings. Ultimately, College Steps' goal is to promote the successful transition of the students it supports to and through college and into the workforce. To achieve this overarching goal, College Steps seeks to expand its current operations into five additional metropolitan areas over the next five years. This foundational goal will help College Steps achieve a key component of its mission to increase access to post-secondary education and related job training to key constituents. College Steps follows a step-wise approach when establishing new partnerships, to build community support, identify key stakeholders, and ultimately meet the unique needs of students in each region. Each metropolitan expansion area is carefully assessed based upon its ability to support College Steps' research-based model of individualized care. College Steps' goal is to continue to follow a step-wise approach when establishing these new regions: To build community support, identify key stakeholders, and ultimately meet the unique needs of students in each region. With the support of local stakeholders, a working group is then formed in each region targeted for site expansion, overseen by a College Steps executive team. This group is charged with the goal of identifying existing community-based supports, areas of funding, initial concept dissemination, and outreach. The working group submits a review of their findings to College Steps after the six-month discovery phase including recommendations in three key areas: community collaborations, state/local funding options, and catchment area scope and size. With the recommendations of the working group, College Steps executive team works to establish contracts with (a) local education agencies (LEAs) and (b) an institution of higher education. Each new expansion site work to support forty to sixty students per site per year.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
College Steps customizes an individualized college-learning plan for each student we support. College Steps' Individualized College Plan (ICP) is developed to pick up where the student's individualized Educational Plan (IEP) may have left off. College Steps' student-center approach to learning involves the student in every aspect of the ICP design. College Steps' ICP ultimately serves as a road map, outlining areas of need and tracking progress throughout the student's college experience. College Steps' ICP includes the following four components: (1) Academic Enrichment: Academic support is customized to the student's preferences and needs. The College Steps team first works closely with each student to understand and identify areas of academic challenge and then collaboratively creates an individualized academic support program perfectly calibrated to respond. (2) Social Integration: Social and extracurricular involvement in college is shown to be a key element of student overall success and happiness. Therefore, College Steps offers students the support of our peer mentor network. Peer mentors are there to lend a hand and help College Steps students feel more comfortable as they navigate the college social network. Peer mentors are carefully selected, trained, and closely supervised by College Steps' professional staff. (3) Living and Independence: From foundational skills like navigating public transportation and maintaining a healthy diet to more complex skills like managing personal finances, the development of independent living skills is an essential element of success during and after college. The refinement of these skills has the secondary benefit of enhancing a student's self-advocacy skills, communication skills, and overall level of self-esteem. (4) Vocational Learning: Increasing the skills necessary to achieve gainful employment after graduation from college is a cornerstone of our work. College Steps professional skill development begins with core objectives such as learning resume development, professional etiquette, time management and communication styles within the workplace and progresses to more advanced skills such as job interviewing. internship experiences. In the second year and beyond, the College Steps team works with the student to convert their foundational experiences into off campus internships and part-time employment. To date, 93% of students College Steps graduates have achieved paid employment within their area of career interest and 92% earn an income at or above the livable wage rate in their state.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
College Steps curriculum was carefully designed and initially evaluated by its founders, a clinical psychologist and special educator. College Steps' proprietary curriculum is primarily informed via the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and the Transition to Independence Process (TIP) models of education. Elements of both models are integrated into College Steps' signature framework of peer-based mentorship in academic, social, independent living and vocational domains. The UDL framework College Steps uses is built upon neuropsychological research identifying three broad networks: One for recognition (“what" of learning), one for skills and strategies (“how" of learning), and one for caring and prioritizing (“why" of learning). College Steps believes that learning needs to remain engaging for learners of all styles. Via the Transition to Independence (TIP) model, College Steps works to apply evidence-supported practices to guide students through the transition process by implement strategies for the transition from high school to postsecondary education and meaningful employment. College Steps accomplishes these goals by utilizing peer supports to reach, engage, and coach College Steps students as they move into adulthood; reducing common risk behaviors through skillful prevention planning; and implementing a Continuous Quality Improvement process to recognize needs, build on strengths, and make required changes. College Steps has grown steadily since 2011. Maintaining a lean budget of $2.1 million, College Steps leverages community partnerships for the benefit of their students. College Steps enrollment has grown from 5 students in 2011 to 125 students in 2017. College Steps reach has grown from one program in one in state in 2011 to 9 programs in 5 states in 2017. Co-founder Dr. Aaron Rakow (CEO) and Lauren Merritt (COO) used their collaborative education, psychology, empirical background, and program development expertise to maintain College Steps' evidence-based curriculum and outcome standards. In addition to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Chief Operating Officer (COO), the College Steps team includes two Regional Directors, a Director of Workforce Development, two Workforce Development Coordinators, a Director of Admissions, a Director of Development, an Executive Assistant, a Business Manager, nine site Program Coordinators, and over 100 peer mentors. There are three board members in addition to the CEO and COO. The founders, team, and board make a committed collaborative of professionals using an innovative, scalable service delivery model that features ample capacity to support organizational goals.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Over the course of the past 5 years, College Steps has quickly grown to become the primer post-secondary college and career transition program in the country. Enrollment has grown from 5 students in 2011 to 125 students in 2017. College Steps offers a proven model of partnership with institutions of higher education, high schools/k-12 districts, and families to provide individualized college support for students living with autism spectrum disorders and related behavioral health challenges. College Steps' currently partners with 9 institutions of higher education and over two dozen school districts across five states: Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, Vermont and Virginia, and offers the most extensive model of its kind nationwide. Co-founder Dr. Aaron Rakow (CEO) and Lauren Merritt (COO) used their collaborative education, psychology, empirical background, and program development expertise to maintain College Steps' evidence-based curriculum and outcome standards while supporting a dedicated staff of over 150 individuals. Via collaborations with institutions of higher education, state and local governments, and community stakeholders and families, College Steps aims to provide nationwide access to its model of individualized access to students living with social, communication, and learning challenges. College Steps has a successful track record of collaboration with a variety of governmental agencies in to offering innovative college-based educational opportunities for children youth and young adults ages sixteen to twenty-six. College Steps' partnerships with state-level agencies in the fields of disability services, education, vocational rehabilitation and Medicaid to date have helped more than 150 students achieve a higher level of education, improved employment outcomes, and, ultimately, a higher degree of independent living. College Steps' partnerships with state-level agencies have also achieved sustainable funding solutions for the students College Steps supports. Because of this commitment to the students it supports and creative funding partnerships, historically, 81% of College Steps students to date have benefitted from the program at no charge to the student's family. College Steps now seeks to expand our successful effort into 5 additional major metropolitan areas nationwide. Each carefully selected to meet the funding and support challenges unique to College Steps. College Steps' current goal is to build community support in each region, identify key stakeholders, and ultimately meet the unique needs of students in each region. After the six-month discovery phase including recommendations in three key areas: community collaborations, state/local funding options, and catchment area scope and size, College Steps executive team will work to establish contracts with (a) local education agencies (LEAs) and (b) an institution of higher education. Each new expansion site work to support forty to sixty students per site per year.
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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Steps Program, Inc.
Board of directorsas of 06/29/2022
Ted Young
Ted Young
Dorian LPG Ltd
Patrica Prelock
University of Vermont
George Daly
Georgetown University
Jennifer Markowitz
Medstar Georgetown Univ Hospital
Dave Kearon
Autism Speaks
Jeff Schulz
Bellwether Education Partners