Hope Works

Hope Works is Aligning Hope’s individualized ABA-based pre-employment readiness program for eligible Oklahoma Department of Rehabilitation Services (DRS) recipients. Designed for transition-age youth and adults, the program helps participants build the practical, behavioral, communication, and independence skills that support successful participation in future employment, training, and community settings. Services are tailored to each participant’s strengths, needs, vocational goals, and authorized DRS service plan, using evidence-based behavioral strategies to promote meaningful and measurable progress.

Through one-to-one services delivered in person, in community settings, or through telehealth when appropriate, the goal of Hope Works is to help DRS participants increase independence, confidence, and readiness to engage successfully in pre-employment and employment-related opportunities.

Program Features

  • Individualized Pre-Employment Skill Development: Services are based on each DRS participant’s identified needs, strengths, goals, and authorized service plan, with measurable objectives focused on employment readiness and independence.
  • ABA-Informed Instruction and Monitoring: Hope Works uses evidence-based behavioral assessment, skill teaching, prompting, practice, reinforcement, and data collection to build functional skills and document participant progress over time.
  • Flexible, Real-World Service Delivery: Individual services may be provided in person, in community settings, or through telehealth when appropriate, allowing skills to be practiced in the environments where they are most relevant.
  • Clinician Oversight: A board-certified and state-licensed clinician provides all services from assessment to program graduation.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Hope Works?

Hope Works is Aligning Hope’s individualized, ABA-informed pre-employment readiness program for individuals who are eligible to receive services through the Oklahoma Department of Rehabilitation Services (DRS). The program supports transition-age youth and adults in developing functional skills that can increase readiness for employment, vocational training, work-based learning, and greater community independence.

Currently, Hope Works is available in Oklahoma, Cleveland, Canadian, and Logan counties.

At this time, Hope Works is intended for individuals who are active or eligible DRS recipients and who have pre-employment, transition, vocational-readiness, or related skill-development needs identified through their DRS planning process.

Referrals may be appropriate for transition-age youth or adults who would benefit from individualized support in areas such as workplace behavior, communication, self-advocacy, task completion, organization, emotional regulation, daily routines, transportation readiness, or navigating community settings. Final eligibility, authorization, service scope, and funding remain subject to DRS requirements and the participant’s authorized plan.

Hope Works is designed for both transition-age youth and adults. Services are individualized rather than based solely on age, allowing programming to be shaped around the participant’s developmental level, current skill repertoire, identified barriers, and vocational or independence goals.

For youth, services may complement transition planning and help build readiness for future work experiences. For adults, services may focus on strengthening practical skills needed to participate more independently in vocational training, work-based learning, employment preparation, and community life.

Hope Works may address skill areas that are directly relevant to pre-employment readiness, vocational participation, and community independence. The exact targets are determined through individualized planning and must align with the participant’s authorized DRS service needs.

Potential areas include:

    • Workplace-appropriate communication and social interaction

    • Asking for help, requesting clarification, and responding to feedback

    • Self-advocacy and communicating accommodation or support needs

    • Following directions, completing multi-step tasks, and checking work

    • Task initiation, task persistence, and returning to a task after interruption

    • Time awareness, scheduling, organization, planning, and other executive-function skills

    • Problem solving and flexible responding when routines change

    • Emotional regulation, coping skills, and managing frustration appropriately

    • Appropriate boundaries, professionalism, and expected behavior in community or workplace-like environments

    • Personal hygiene, grooming, dress routines, and preparation for the day

    • Community safety skills

    • Transportation readiness, including practicing routines associated with getting to and from community locations

Hope Works is designed to support pre-employment readiness and functional skill development. It does not replace the services of a DRS counselor, job placement provider, school transition specialist, mental health provider, medical provider, or employer.

At this time, Hope Works does not provide:

    • Job placement or employer recruitment

    • Job-search services or direct application completion

    • Résumé development or interview coaching

    • Formal vocational evaluation unless specifically within an authorized scope

    • Ongoing supported-employment services or long-term job coaching unless separately authorized and within Aligning Hope’s approved service scope

    • Crisis intervention, emergency services, psychiatric treatment, medical care, or legal advocacy

If a participant needs services outside Hope Works’ scope, Aligning Hope can communicate with the referring DRS counselor and relevant authorized team members to support coordinated planning.

Services begin with review of the referral information, authorized DRS service plan, relevant background information, and the participant’s own priorities and goals. Aligning Hope then identifies meaningful skill targets that are functional, observable, teachable, and connected to the participant’s pre-employment or independence needs.

The provider may use interview information, direct observation, caregiver or support-person input when appropriate and authorized, skill assessments, task analysis, and baseline data to guide programming. Goals are adjusted as the participant acquires skills, encounters new barriers, or moves into new community or vocational opportunities.

Hope Works uses applied behavior analysis as a practical framework for teaching meaningful skills. This may include breaking complex routines into manageable steps, modeling skills, role-playing, practicing in real or simulated environments, using visual supports, teaching self-monitoring strategies, providing reinforcement, fading prompts, and measuring progress.

The purpose is not to make every participant behave the same way. The goal is to identify supports that help the individual access more choices, participate more successfully in their preferred environments, communicate effectively, and build skills that matter to them and their vocational future.

Hope Works offers individual services through flexible formats based on authorization, participant needs, safety considerations, and the relevance of the environment to the goal being taught. Services may be delivered:

    • In person in an agreed-upon setting

    • In the community when practicing skills such as navigating routines, accessing community locations, using transportation-related steps, communicating with others, or participating in work-like activities

    • Via telehealth when clinically appropriate and permitted, particularly for planning, self-management supports, communication practice, caregiver/support-person consultation, and some executive-function or readiness skills

Community-based services are planned carefully to ensure that activities are authorized, purposeful, safe, and directly related to the participant’s identified goals.

At this time, Hope Works is structured as an individualized one-to-one service. This format allows instruction, pacing, supports, data collection, and practice opportunities to be tailored directly to each participant’s skill level and DRS-authorized needs.

Frequency, duration, and service schedule depend on the participant’s authorized DRS plan, identified needs, availability, transportation or community-access considerations, and the practical intensity required to make meaningful progress. Some participants may benefit from shorter, focused services targeting a small number of skill areas, while others may need a longer period of individualized teaching and community-based practice.

Aligning Hope will coordinate scheduling within the limits of authorization and will communicate with the DRS counselor if needs, service barriers, or recommended adjustments arise.

Progress is monitored through objective data and clinically relevant documentation. Depending on the goal, this may include:

    • Level of independence with a routine or task

    • Number or type of prompts needed

    • Accuracy of responding or task completion

    • Duration of sustained engagement or task persistence

    • Frequency of appropriate communication, self-advocacy, or coping responses

    • Ability to use a skill across people, locations, and routines

    • Participant self-monitoring, satisfaction, and reported confidence when applicable

    • Observations of community participation or workplace-readiness behavior

Data is reviewed regularly to determine whether strategies are effective, whether goals should be adjusted, and whether skills are generalizing beyond structured practice.

Aligning Hope can provide documentation and progress updates in accordance with the authorization, applicable requirements, participant consent, and DRS communication preferences. Updates may summarize services delivered, goals addressed, progress toward measurable objectives, barriers affecting service participation, recommendations for next steps, and any need for coordination with other authorized providers.

Communication is intended to help the DRS counselor understand the participant’s current readiness skills and support informed planning for future vocational, educational, work-based learning, or employment-related services.

When appropriate, permitted by the participant, and relevant to the authorized goals, family members, caregivers, or other support people may be included to promote consistency and generalization. Their involvement may include sharing relevant background information, learning how to support routines, reviewing strategies that promote independence, or helping the participant practice skills between sessions.

For adult participants, involvement of family or other support people occurs only with the participant’s consent and in accordance with applicable privacy and confidentiality requirements.

With appropriate authorization and participant consent, Aligning Hope may coordinate with DRS counselors, schools, transition teams, caregivers, community providers, work-based learning sites, and other relevant partners. Coordination helps reduce duplication of services and supports carryover of skills across settings.

Hope Works does not assume the role of the school, employer, DRS counselor, or another provider. Rather, the program contributes individualized behavioral and skill-building support within its approved service scope.

No. Employment depends on many factors, including participant preferences, local opportunities, training requirements, employer decisions, transportation, health, support needs, and the availability of vocational services. Hope Works does not promise a job, job offer, job placement, or a particular employment outcome.

The program is intended to help participants strengthen the foundational skills that can improve readiness for future employment-related opportunities and help them participate more independently and confidently in their next steps.

DRS counselors or referral partners may contact Aligning Hope to discuss whether Hope Works appears to be an appropriate match for a potential participant’s authorized needs. Helpful referral information may include the participant’s age, preferred contact method, relevant goals, identified pre-employment barriers, current supports, authorized service category, anticipated funding or authorization information, preferred service format, geographic or transportation considerations, and any relevant safety or accessibility needs.

Aligning Hope will review the referral for fit, verify that the requested services are within its capacity and scope, identify any information needed before intake, and coordinate next steps with the referring counselor and participant.

After referral acceptance and required authorization, Aligning Hope will coordinate intake and scheduling with the participant and, when appropriate, the referring DRS counselor or authorized support person. Initial services focus on building rapport, clarifying participant priorities, assessing relevant skills, identifying meaningful goals, and establishing a plan for instruction and progress monitoring.

As services proceed, the provider teaches and practices targeted skills, collects data, adapts supports as needed, and communicates progress through the appropriate authorized channels. Near completion, Aligning Hope can summarize progress, identify remaining support needs, and provide recommendations relevant to the participant’s next DRS planning steps.