TRANSITION

Career and Technical Special Populations Training & Resource Center - Instructional videos on TEA & Texas Agrilife Extension Services Career & Technical Education, Educational Resource Library, parent resources.

Centers for Independent Living - Private, nonprofit corporations that provide services to maximize the independence of individuals with disabilities and the accessibility of the communities they live in. Centers are funded in part by the Department of Education, Rehabilitation Services Administration, Independent Living Branch, to provide, among other things, several core services: Advocacy, Independent living skills training, Information and referral, and Peer counseling.

Department of Assistive & Rehabilitative Services (DARS) - a state-federal partnership since 1929, helps people with disabilities prepare for, find and keep jobs. Work related services are individualized and may include counseling, training, medical treatment, assistive devices, job placement assistance, and other services. Eligibility criteria for this program include: the presence of a physical or mental disability that results in a substantial impediment to employment, whether the individual is employable after receiving services, and whether services are required to achieve employment outcomes. Our Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) program helps Texans with disabilities prepare for, find and keep employment. This program also helps students with disabilities plan the jump from school to work.

Employability Skills 2000+ - These are the critical skills you need in the workplace—whether you are self-employed or working for others. Employability Skills 2000+ include communication, problem solving, positive attitudes and behaviors, adaptability, working with others, and science, technology and mathematics skills.

Employment First - A website of Griffin Hammis Assoc. to collect and disseminate information being produced across the country (and internationally) in the effort to establish Employment First as the preeminent vocational disability practice.

Health Resource Center at the National Youth Transitions Center - this is a national online clearinghouse on postsecondary education for individuals with disabilities.

Imagine Enterprises - Entering into its 13th year, the Board and staff of Imagine Enterprises envision a world where all people, including those with significant disabilities, are respected, valued and provided opportunity in the workplace and community. To achieve this vision, the person with the disability must be in control of their destiny. Their dreams and desires are at the center of the decision making process. Self-determination, employment services, consumer directed services, Social Security benefits planning, and youth and transition educational seminars are Imagine tools for assisting people to reach their goals. Providing quality services one person at a time ensures success for the person, the family, and the community.

IRIS Star Legacy Training Modules - Facilitating Transition for Students with Disabilities from HS to Post School Settings. After reviewing the Perspectives and Resources section and after completing the accompanying activities, you should be able to: describe the responsibilities of the counselor as they relate to transition planning, list the major adult-life activities to which youth will transition and provide examples of school-based approaches to prepare for those activities, explain briefly the importance of collaboration among programs and funding agencies to support smooth transitions to adult activities for students with disabilities.

Mountain Plains Regional Resource Center Transition Outcomes Project Materials - developed around a process, model, and conceptual framework designed to identify specific problems in implementing the transition services requirements and then develop strategies to address and resolve each problem. We recommend the 2007 Helping Educators, Parents, and Other Stakeholders Understand Post School Outcomes, Course of Study and Coordinated Set of Activities by Ed O’Leary & Wendy Collison.

National Alliance for Secondary Education and Transition - The National Alliance for Secondary Education and Transition (NASET) is a national voluntary coalition of more than 40 organizations and advocacy groups representing special education, general education, career and technical education, youth development, multicultural perspectives, and parents. Their goal is to identify what youth need in order to achieve successful participation in postsecondary education and training, civic engagement, meaningful employment, and adult life.

National Center for Learning Disabilities Transitioning to College - There are huge differences between high school and college, so it’s important for you to start planning for this transition while you’re still in high school. Learn what steps you can take during each year in high school so you can be prepared for your future

National Center on Secondary Education and Transition - The National Center on Secondary Education and Transition (NCSET) coordinates national resources, offers technical assistance, and disseminates information related to secondary education and transition for youth with disabilities in order to create opportunities for youth to achieve successful futures.

National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth - NCWD works to ensure that transition age youth are provided full access to high quality services in integrated settings to gain education, employment and independent living. They have a variety of publications and workbooks on issues to assist with transition.

National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities-Employment Connections - For many youth with disabilities looking ahead to life after high school, employment will be an immediate and serious consideration. The time to consider it well and thoroughly is during the high school years, during transition planning and through transition services that are carefully matched to the goal of employment.

National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities-Transition to Adulthood - Life is full of transitions, and one of the more remarkable ones occurs when we get ready to leave high school and go out in the world as young adults. When the student has a disability, it’s especially helpful to plan ahead for that transition. In fact, IDEA requires it. Also available in Spanish.

Ninth Grade Transition and Intervention Program - The purpose of the Ninth Grade Transition and Intervention (NGTI) Program is to provide services that target students as they leave eighth grade, who are at-risk of being retained in the ninth grade or dropping out. Grantees are required to provide a summer transition program, use an early warning data system to identify and monitor ninth grade students who are off-track for graduation, and to provide on-going interventions and activities throughout the school year.

Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) of the Dept. of Labor - ODEP works to influence national policy and promote effective workplace practices to ensure that today's - and tomorrow's - workforce is inclusive of all people, including people with disabilities. As a result, one important policy focus area is youth transitioning from school to adulthood and the world of work.

Proyecto Vision - A Bilingual Web Site for Youth with Disabilities - A bilingual project of the World Institute on Disability (WID) designed to connect youth with disabilities to educational and employment opportunities. Website also includes Job, Scholarship and Internship searches.

Resource Guide on Higher Education for People with Disabilities - Resources compiled by the Texas Council for Developmental Disabilities.

Social Security Work Incentives - Social Security's work incentives and Ticket to Work programs can help you if you are interested in working. Special rules make it possible for people receiving Social Security disability benefits or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) to work and still receive monthly payments. And, if you cannot continue working because of your medical condition, your benefits can start again—you may not have to file a new application. Work incentives include:

• Continued cash benefits for a time while you work
• Continued Medicare or Medicaid while you work
• Help with education, training and rehabilitation to start a new line of work

The rules are different under Social Security and SSI.

Texas Education Agency Secondary Transition Guidance -

Texas Project FIRST (Region 9 ESC) - See all areas listed under The Future on the various age range pages, as well as the section on Transition.

University of Montana Rural Institute Transition and Employment Projects - The University of Montana Rural Institute has been a leader in the area of transition planning for youth with disabilities since 1995. Their transition activities promote Customized Employment, use of Social Security work incentives, transition planning, self employment and self determination and they have a number of Articles and Products to download and use to assist with the transition process.

Youthhood - A dynamic, curriculum-based tool that can help young adults plan for life after high school. Although the site addresses youth directly, it is intended to be used as a curriculum within a classroom, community program, or in any setting where adults are working with youth to set goals and plan for the future. The Youthhood includes informational content, interactive activities, an online magazine, and a wealth of other opportunities for youth to connect what's important to them to their learning experiences.