The transition to adulthood can be difficult for youth, particularly those who have disabilities severe enough that they receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Social Security Disability Insurance (DI), or other disability program benefits. Besides the issues facing all transition-age youth, young people with disabilities face a host of…

In March 2008, the National Early Childhood Transition Initiative released a document developed collaboratively over several months titled "Designing and Implementing Effective Early Childhood Transition Processes". The document was created as a resource for improving state and local performance on the State Performance Plans (SPP) and…

Approximately 28% of students with disabilities do not complete high school (National Longitudinal Transition Study-2, 2005). This increases the likelihood that these students will experience low wages, high rates of incarceration, and limited access to postsecondary education. This article reviews evidence-based secondary transition practices…

The National Dropout Prevention Center for Students with Disabilities (NDPC-SD) was assigned the task of compiling, analyzing, and summarizing the data for Indicator 1--Graduation--from the FFY 2009 Annual Performance Reports (APRs) and amended State Performance Plans (SPPs), which were submitted by states to the Office of Special Education…

Young adults with disabilities often depend on linkages and supports from adult agencies to achieve high-quality adult outcomes. However, interagency collaboration has emerged as a major area of difficulty and a critical area in need of improvement for school districts throughout the United States. Based on the input of research participants from…

Local interagency transition councils have been deemed the appropriate vehicle for planning and implementing transition services for students with disabilities. A recent evaluation of Florida's system disclosed that students and businesses are underrepresented on transition councils. Districts developing transition programs without interagency…

The paper focuses on catalysts needed for interagency cooperation in multi-service delivery systems for handicapped individuals. The importance of interfacing personal and environmental profiles is emphasized, and an approach matching aspects of the person and the environment is described. A behavioral skill profile of the person would be matched…

The Tips for Transition contains 134 Transition Tips submitted from all over the country by practitioners. The purpose of the Tips was to identify grassroots transition practices being used by practitioners. Tips are categorized into the following domains: (1) Transition Planning; (2) Student Involvement; (3) Family Involvement; (4) Curriculum and…

This article offers guidelines to help agencies develop and write interagency agreements covering the transition of young children with disabilities from early intervention programs to public special education services. Guidelines cover the content and process of writing an agreement and finalizing, signing, and monitoring the agreement. Sample…

This newsletter, published five times a year, features articles on issues of concern to adult, family, and youth literacy practitioners, as well as recommended resources, announcements, and teaching strategies. This issue includes: (1) Career Pathways for High School Dropouts: A National Survey (Jon Steinberg); (2) Work (Elyse Barbell); (3) Peer…

The National Dropout Prevention Center for Students with Disabilities (NDPC-SD) was assigned the task of compiling, analyzing and summarizing the data for Indicator 2--Dropout--from the FFY 2008 Annual Performance Reports (APRs) and the revised State Performance Plans (SPPs), which were submitted to the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP)…

This packet, part of Project STEPS (Sequenced Transition to Education in the Public Schools), is intended to aid local agencies in forming local interagency councils and is based on experiences in Kentucky since 1983 in the development of Preschool Interagency Planning Councils (PIPCs). Section 1 provides an overview of the PIPC network, a group…

The paper describes the Early Childhood Interagency Transition Model designed to ease the movement of handicapped children (aged 3-8) from one agency to another. The approach was developed based on interviews with agency personnel and parents. A successful transition is characterized by common understanding of the details of the moves, efficient…

To ease the transition from institutions to other school districts, the Sunland (Florida) Public School developed "transfer packets" for each severely mentally and physically handicapped person who was moving. Written by teachers, therapists, medical and other professional staff, the packets contain information regarding individual student's…

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)