Evaluates project to provide special education/vocational training (SE/VT) to disadvantaged Ecuadorean youth. Special evaluation covers the period 1/80-6/81 and is based on site visits and interviews with local officials, project personnel, and beneficiaries. The project has directly assisted 3,162 people and improved the welfare of 86,000 Ecuadorean children in need of SE/TV. Objectives for Vocational Training and Placement, the first of three FASINARM (Fundacion de Asistencia Psicopedagogica a los Ninos y Adolescentes Retardados Mentales) project components, have been met with 41 students receiving individualized rehabilitation, training, and evaluation in pre-vocational or sheltered workshops. Under the Personnel Training (PT) component, 18 FASINARM personnel were trained at the University of Idaho; 432 people attended project courses, workshops, and conferences; contact has been maintained with SE staff at Guayaquil universities to prevent duplication of services; and 16 instructional packages are being developed by volunteer professionals. Under the third component, the Resource and Technical Assistance Center (RTAC), with over 1,500 volumes, has become one of the most complete SE centers in Latin America. RTAC has begun acquiring and translating SE materials recommended by surveyed SE professionals and has carried out exchanges of information and resources with other SE centers. RTAC also provides technical PT support by preparing bibliographies, translations, and instructional packages. It is recommended that: (1) parents be more involved in SE/VT and use FASINARM-developed activities in the home; (2) a student remuneration policy consistent with Ecuadorean labor laws be developed; (3) a “graduation” be used to advance students from SE to VT and finally to job placement; (4) an instructional package be developed to provide technical assistance for the SE/VT and job placement programs; (5) RTAC specialize in the needs of handicapped persons and make its facilities more accessible to those in wheel chairs; (6) RTAC provide non-printed aids, such as teaching materials, and publish lists of local, regional, and national resource people; and (7) Spanish textbooks be used to reduce translation requirements.
