PAES gives State Vocational Rehabilitation agencies, workforce boards, and their school district partners a structured way to deliver three of the five required Pre-Employment Transition Services, backed by peer-reviewed instrument-level validation.
The Pre-ETS mapping
The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) directs State VR agencies to reserve at least 15% of federal funds for Pre-Employment Transition Services (Pre-ETS) for students with disabilities aged 14 to 22. WIOA names five required Pre-ETS categories. PAES maps directly to three:
- Job exploration counseling. Students rotate through five vocational areas and discover where their strengths fit, informed by structured observation data.
- Work-based learning experiences. Students clock in, report to supervisors, and complete real work tasks across over 250 structured jobs.
- Workplace readiness training. 30 workplace soft skills are tracked through each 12-to-18-week assessment cycle, including punctuality, following instructions, persistence, teamwork, and safety.
PAES is not a replacement for workplace internships and work experience. It is the structured precursor that makes those placements more successful. The VR counselor, the job coach, and the employer already know what the student can do.
Who this works for
State VR agencies. Commission PAES through a cooperative agreement with a school district or community provider, paid from Pre-ETS funds. Several state VR agencies operate long-running cooperative models that parallel this structure already (California's Transition Partnership Program, Oregon's Youth Transition Program, Illinois STEP, Maryland's Bridge to Career). PAES slots directly into these.
Workforce development boards. Many local workforce investment boards fund youth programs serving 14 to 24 year-olds, particularly young people with disabilities or complex barriers to work. PAES is an eligible use of many WIOA youth program funds.
Community providers and non-profits delivering Pre-ETS. Providers holding direct Pre-ETS contracts with their state VR agency can add a PAES Lab as a structured assessment stage of their program.
Adult day and supported employment providers. Where adult programs use Medicaid HCBS waiver funding or Ticket to Work payments, PAES supports the initial assessment and ongoing progress documentation.
Why VR counselors trust the data
74% of supervisors trust PAES data enough to use it for high-stakes transition decisions (C04, 2026 Customer Impact Survey). 80% rate the credibility of PAES data as high (C03). 75% say PAES reduces subjectivity in decisions about students (C14). For a workforce and VR context, "reduces subjectivity" is the important line. Counselors need data that holds up across different observers, different sites, and different programs. PAES delivers it.
Funding routes
Most workforce and VR-led PAES deployments combine:
- Federal: WIOA Title IV (VR formula) plus Pre-ETS reserve allocation
- Federal (if school-led): IDEA Part B plus a cooperative agreement with the State VR agency
- State: state-level VR or workforce innovation grants (vary by state)
- Program-level: Ticket to Work for adult Employment Network partners; HCBS Waiver for day programs
- Local: workforce investment board allocations, community foundation grants
For the full breakdown, see the PAES funding guide. Every state entry includes the State VR Agency contact.