Interagency Transition Councils

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Interagency Transition Councils

• Stakeholders at Work

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• Collaboration is a mutually beneficial and
  well-defined relationship entered into by two or
  more organizations ( or people ) to achieve
  results they are more likely to achieve together
  than alone.
• No one entity can achieve maximum results
  alone. Such is the case in education, where it
  takes a village to raise a child.

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Why are we here today?

• High
  school students with disabilities encounter many
  barriers to successful transition. These youth
  are far more likely to drop out of school than
  their non-disabled peers and often have
  difficulty finding suitable employment. National
  studies and reports have repeatedly documented
  that compared to non-disabled students, disabled
  students experience the following

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• Fewer receive a regular high school diploma
• Their rate of dropping out is twice as high
• Enrollment and completion of post secondary
  education programs is 50 lower (National Center
  on Education Statistics)
• Only 32 of persons with disabilities ages 18-64
  are employed compared with 81 of the general
  population (National Council on Disabilities)
  

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State Performance PlanFour Indicators

• Percent of Youth with IEPs graduating from high
  school with a regular high school diploma
  compared to Regular Education
• Percent of youth with an IEP dropping out of high
  school compared to regular education

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• Percent of youth age 16 and above with an IEP
  that includes appropriate, measurable
  post-secondary goals and transition services
  needed to meet those goals.
• Percent of youth who had IEPs that are no longer
  in secondary school who are competitively
  employed, enrolled in some type of post secondary
  school or both, within two years of leaving high
  school as compared to non-disabled youth no
  longer in secondary school.

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What are Interagency Transition Councils?

• Interagency Transition Councils involve
  a group of stakeholders who are involved with
  students in the process of transitioning from
  school to post-school activities. These
  activities include, but are not limited to, the
  following
• Post-secondary education
• Career and Technical Education
• Adult services
• Independent living services
• Community participation

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• An Interagency Transition Council team
  brings together a variety of stakeholders who are
  supporting youth with disabilities so they can
  have the best chance for success as adults. The
  goal of the council is to cultivate and develop
  linkages and services within the community needed
  for student success in post-secondary education,
  adult education and training, adult services,
  independent living, community participation, a
  specific job or career, and/or integrated
  community living

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Transition and the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act

• IDEA legislation requires that the students
  IEP have appropriate measurable Post Secondary
  Transition goals based upon age appropriate
  transition assessments related to training,
  education, employment and where appropriate ,
  independent living skills and that the transition
  services needed to assist the child in reaching
  these goals be included.

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• One way to ensure that this is accomplished is by
  establishing Interagency Transition Councils

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The Results of Interagency Transition Councils
that Work

• In Delaware
• 31 of transition students continued on to
  vocational skills training and/or post-secondary
  education after high school in 2003.
• For the first time in 2003, the dropout rate for
  special education students fell below the rate
  for regular education students
• According to the data from the Delaware Dept. of
  Education over the past 5 years, Delaware Dept.
  of Vocational Rehabilitation involvement in
  School to Work Transition has greatly contributed
  to the decrease in the dropout rate from 7.9 to
  5.2 for students receiving special education
  services.

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Types of Interagency Transition Councils

• Informational
• Student Specific
• Combination Informational and Student Specific

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Informational Transition Council

• An informational Transition Council is
  designed to collect and disseminate information
  related to transition services. It provides a
  forum that allows school system personnel,
  representatives from various community agencies
  and service providers to meet on a regular basis
  and share information regarding how to access
  resources for students who are transitioning.
  They also work on developing solutions to
  specific transition issues that exist in the
  system and in the community.

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Student Specific Transition Councils

• A student specific transition council is
  designed to allow school system personnel and a
  group of representatives from community agencies
  to staff specific students and develop specific
  strategies for the transition of each student.

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Combination Council

• The combination council incorporates the
  philosophies and missions from both the
  Informational and Student Specific models.

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Conclusion

• It is necessary for your Interagency
  Transition Council to move forward and develop
  your mission statement. Each and every member is
  a valued and needed contributor to the success of
  this council. Commit your time, energy, and
  resources for the benefit of the students with
  disabilities in your community.