The article describes procedures necessary to implement a community-based instructional model for vocational training of handicapped students. Strategies for use in gaining administrative support, in programming, community site selection and development, parent involvement, and employer participation are provided. Benefits of community-based…

Vocational education programs should promote independence to counteract the dependency typically fostered in correctional institutions. In addition, vocational programs must include a transition component, which stresses critical job retention skills. The development of a successful vocational program depends upon the skills and cooperation of a…

The article examines communication training for handicapped students making the transition from school to adult life in terms of the need for communication training, principles of assessment, and the communication specialist as consultant. (DB)

ASPIRE--"Assisting Special Populations in Readiness for Employment"--is a secondary special education transition program featuring coordinated services between the public and private sectors to integrate secondary level disabled students into subsidized private sector employment. ASPIRE was introduced into the Lake Tahoe Unified School…

Intended for coordinators of volunteer recruitment, the booklet examines practical issues in developing and implementing programs in which industry employees serve as volunteers in special education. Introductory material briefly addresses volunteerism in America, and considers the need for industry-education cooperation as well as advantages to…

This article discusses current transition issues facing teachers and educational diagnosticians working in rural settings with disabled populations. Barriers to successful assessment and programing (financial factors, human factors, and visibility) are noted and seven suggestions offered for implementing a transition assessment and programing…

A study of transition coordinators (n=39) to determine how state departments of education were addressing policy issues related to the transition mandate in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act revealed that coordinators are facing three major challenges: (1) productive interagency collaboration; (2) assisting local agencies in…

The report describes the Swedish educational and employment system and efforts underway to facilitate the transition from school to work for handicapped adolescents. A review of the general education system touches upon administrative structure, finance, and trends in compulsory comprehensive school and in upper secondary schools. The next section…

A program developed at Hunter College of the City University of New York is designed to help handicapped students make a successful transition from school to work. The program provides students with unsubsidized short-term employment in the business sector and allows them to develop appropriate work habits and skills. Six program components are…

Key concepts in designing an individualized plan for transition include interagency cooperation and outcome-oriented plans. Examples of two mentally retarded workers illustrate the benefits of a supported work approach. (CL)

These materials present information on implementing a collaborative team model in the delivery of transition services to students with disabilities. The materials provide charts and forms outlining strategies to be used by a local interagency transition team to assess its existing level of collaboration, to conceptualize its jointly endorsed…

This paper provides a definition of assessment that is tailored to the unique considerations of the concept and practice of the transition of students with disabilities from school to adult life. Assessment in transition is considered to be the on-going process of obtaining and properly using both person and environment-based assessment…

The guide, developed by the Secondary Transition and Employment Project (STEP) in Idaho, is for junior and senior high teachers of disabled students and provides strategies to aid in the transition of students from school to the community. Section I of the manual contains short-term transition strategies, for use with students graduating within a…

This guide presents a process for school-to-community transition planning for students with disabilities, based on individual need. In order for the school to support transition planning, it must put in place a school-based transition system, with the following essential components: local education agency administrative and program…

A former special education teacher reflects on the discovery and acceptance of the benefits of education and training in helping people with disabilities become valuable societal resources. Early evidence of the benefits of transition programs, legislative efforts supporting vocational training for students with disabilities, and the development…