The article describes the Utah Community-Based Transition Project, a federally funded project on transition planning for severely disabled youth. The planning process is aimed at facilitating coordination and expansion of community services for each graduate. Barriers facing states as they attempt to implement effective transition planning models…

The improvement of transition services for handicapped youth through effective management strategies in service planning and coordination is proposed. Current barriers include conflicting policy goals, eligibility criteria, and funding patterns. Needed are consistent policy development, formulation of effective management strategies, and…

The article presents a cooperative interagency approach for assessing effectiveness of programs and services to facilitate the transition of handicapped students from school to adult community living. Features of the model include cooperative planning at the policy level, implementation level, and direct service level; and collaboration by state…

The Teaching Research Transition Planning Project (Oregon) is implementing and evaluating the development of school/community teams to facilitate transition of handicapped students into the community. Preliminary evaluation results support the value of an outside stimulus to encourage collaboration, locally generated plans, and policy decision…

An interview with four leaders (L. Brown, A. Halpern, S. Hasazi, and P. Wehman) on the conceptualization and implementation of transition programming for handicapped students focuses on such issues as the role of political factors, the possibility of effective school/adult service agency coordination, the importance of social skills, and emerging…

Representatives from 34 local interagency coordinating councils were interviewed about interagency agreements for the legally required transition from the infant/toddler to preschool service delivery system at age 3. Results indicated that most communities included the majority of legal transition requirements in their agreements. Policy issues…

Competencies needed by transition specialists for youth with disabilities were validated, based on opinions of 134 specialists in vocational rehabilitation, vocational special education, and special education. Competencies rated most important to effective transition services include the ability to coordinate, communicate, and collaborate.…

The transition challenges discussed are to ensure that (1) students have access to the full range of curriculum options and learning experiences; (2) high school graduation decisions are based on meaningful indicators of learning; (3) students have access to postsecondary education, employment, and independent living options; (4) student and…

This position paper proposes an expanded definition of transition, based on common components of early childhood and secondary perspectives. It advocates for a seamless model of transition service delivery for students with disabilities, including program planning, from birth through age 21. The model addresses curriculum, location of services,…