The article reviews challenges facing colleges including the need for actions to address new circumstances of educating college students and preparing them for productive roles following graduation. These challenges are balanced by resources colleges are developing to facilitate college-to-career transitioning to first destinations following…

To better understand how federal programs interact at the state and local levels to support transitioning youths with disabilities, on November 15, 2005, GAO convened a conference of professionals and state and local program experts who are directly involved with transitioning youths with disabilities in California. While the perspectives offered…

Evaluations of the effectiveness of government programs may serve both to improve program implementation and to convey to policymakers information on the effectiveness of these programs. However, the evidence generated from programs and their providers--perhaps especially when these programs are decentralized and implemented and run locally--may…

Provides a comprehensive view of California's school-to-work transition programs as they have evolved and grown. Discusses next steps including interagency collaboration, joint planning, and professional training. (JOW)

This booklet is for young people with handicaps who are getting ready to graduate from high school and begin working and living in the adult world, with special focus on individuals with cultural differences. The booklet provides advice on completing preliminary, essential tasks of adult living. It also explains the services of various agencies…

This Spanish version of "How to Work and Live in the Real World: Basic Steps for Youth with Handicaps and Their Parents and Teachers" is for young people with handicaps who are getting ready to graduate from high school and begin working and living in the adult world. The booklet places a special focus on individuals with cultural…

Project WorkAbility is a California program serving special education secondary and postsecondary students. The model design for WorkAbility is based on well-known transition models and contains components common to those models. The design views transition as both a process and a product, supports interagency cooperation and collaboration, and…

The paper discusses recommendations for a statewide (California) plan to provide transitional services to severely handicapped high school students. Initial sections trace the state and federal commitment to transitional services for work and other aspects of life. Thirteen model programs in California and eight in other states are summarized. A…

California has numerous niche programs stressing both academic rigor and career connections. These occur most successfully where business and elected officials support K-12 partnerships and provide job-shadowing opportunities, internships, and classroom instruction offered by business partners. A sidebar outlines school-to-work principles. (MLH)

California's Education Transition Center has developed a network of exemplary collaborative transition programs which agree to provide site visitors with information about school, community, and private programs that can improve school-to-adult-life transition services for "at risk" students. This document contains guidelines prepared to…

If the lives of adults with disabilities are any measure of the impact of decades of special education, there are serious problems that must addressed. The employment rate among adults with disabilities, for instance, remains low. If a group of students choose paid employment as a goal for adult life, would not those same students want their…

Schoolwide literacy--the teaching of reading, writing, speaking, and thinking practices in all content areas--is generally considered an effective, even necessary, approach to addressing the learning needs of adolescents. In early college high schools, which blend high school and college for students who are underserved in higher education, the…

To aid "at risk" students in their transition from school into meaningful employment and a quality adult life, this handbook lists and describes California programs and services that are in wide use and have broad support. The handbook is divided into three sections, covering preschool through eighth grade, ninth through twelfth grade,…

This manual is designed to help educators who serve students with learning handicaps to provide transition assistance for their students graduating or leaving the school system. Definitions and procedures adopted by the state of California are used as the basis for the manual. The manual describes the role of special education, the role of parents…

This guide to planning for transition from school to work for middle school or high school students with disabilities in California is intended to assist parents, teachers, and other service providers in coordinating person-centered transition planning and services. The first section examines requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities…