Youth Services
Building tomorrow’s workforce
It is the goal of Goodwill Youth Programs to provide work experience and/or academic activities to enable students to be work-ready upon graduation.
Raising a child takes parents, schools, community groups and others working together to ensure he or she will succeed. Goodwill of Western and Northern CT is committed to helping today’s youth become ready for what lies ahead. Through quality programs, Goodwill will help a generation of youth establish the skills, values and connections they need to become capable, independent and actively engaged members of their community.
Goodwill programs serve youth between the ages of 14 and 22 throughout the western and northern regions of CT. Although the different programs offered provide varying levels of services based on the needs of the individual, all have the same basic goal: to provide work experience and/or academic activities to enable students to be work-ready upon graduation from high school or training program.
- Autism – Goodwill's Autism Program is a newly designed social group program for individuals on the autism spectrum to help them improve their social interactions and expand their social circle.
- Basic Skills Remediation – Goodwill offers a non-traditional educational program designed to serve economically disadvantaged and at-risk youth between the ages of 14 and 21. Focus is on basic math and reading remediation needed to achieve advancement in basic skills (remediation and/or earning a general education degree), developing work maturity skills, writing a resume, interview and problem solving skills, counseling and support services.
- School- to-Work Transition – Through various partnerships with area Boards of Education, Goodwill and local schools have worked together to provide work opportunities to students age 14 to 22 with disabilities. To meet the needs of students, employment opportunities are immediately available at Goodwill work centers or in community settings (such as local retail, bakeries and animal-care facilities) depending on the individual’s career goals.
- Occupational Skills Training - Youth benefit from a variety of services designed to prepare them for post-secondary educational opportunities or employment. Case managed services, academic and occupational skills training (retail/customer service training) are linked to enhance the youth’s understanding of the importance of education to future success.
Click here to inquire about Goodwill’s Youth Programs, or call our Associate Director at (203) 581-5316.