(a) The Office for People With Developmental Disabilities' (OPWDD) (see glossary) Youth Opportunity Program (YOP) is a part-time work experience and career oriented training program for secondary school youth who meet the definition of economically disadvantaged as stated in Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP) as described in Title 9 NYCRR Subpart 27-1.1(b)(1), Table II for applicants entering the YOP program between July 1, 1993 and June 30, 1994, and Table III for those applicants entering the program on or after July 1, 1994. The primary goal is to motivate youngsters at risk of dropping out to remain in school until they graduate. In addition, the program encourages students to pursue post-secondary education. The program is designed to provide the training and placement for students, who will gain work experience with persons with developmental disabilities. In some instances, due to the partnership between OPWDD and the Office of Mental Health (OMH) (see glossary), students will gain work experience with persons with mental illness.

(b) YOP also seeks to expose students to occupations within the health and human service fields, particularly in direct care and clinical areas. Most of these occupations are classified as “Occupations in Need”. This designation means that these are critical occupations that OPWDD has currently, and may have difficulty filling in the future. These goals require a continuous commitment to provide work experiences and counseling to the youths in the program.

(c) The goals of the Youth Opportunity Program are to: