There is a process within the special education program that directly links a child's educational program with their plans for the future. It is called a Transition Plan and is part of the Individualized Education Plan (IEP). Transition services are a coordinated set of activities for a child with a disability designed to be used within a…

This guide is designed to help advocates--including biological and adoptive parents, resource parents, adult students in foster care, and service providers--understand and advocate for the educational rights of children in New Jersey's foster care system. The guide explains the requirements of federal and state laws that particularly affect these…

This toolkit was created to make transition planning easier and offers easy-to-understand information about the purpose of transition planning, the goal and importance of age-appropriate assessments, and the required rules that are used by schools. It also includes information on the community partners that can provide youth with supports as…

This guide is designed to help parents make important decisions in the development of the Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP), which outlines the partnership between the family with a special needs child and the practitioners who provide early intervention services. The guide begins with a definition of an IFSP, followed by discussions of:…

This document presents an instrument to help families of special needs children to identify their resources and their concerns, for use in development of the Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP). The first part of the instrument includes a series of open-ended questions that provide families an opportunity to identify their concerns, in…

This guide was developed to introduce families of young children with disabilities to the early intervention system. It describes early intervention services and defines the roles and responsibilities of parents and practitioners. The guide uses a question and answer format to present information on the following topics: (1) what is early…

This guidebook is intended to assist the transition of Colorado students with developmental disabilities from school to post-school activities by promoting flexible and collaborative planning and service delivery among community-centered boards (CCBs), local education agencies, and other state and community agencies. First, a definition of…

Presents suggestions to help parents prepare for an IEP meeting, including: meet with the teacher to discuss the child's strengths and weaknesses; contact people performing preliminary evaluations for the meeting; be attentive and listen to information presented; treat other meeting participants as partners; request a copy of the new IEP and…

This article outlines person centered planning (PCP) methods to assist in the review and revision of Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) for students with disabilities. Two methods of PCP are explained and illustrated with case studies. The article describes uses of PCP methods for IEPs and concludes by suggesting ways that PCP methods may…

Successful and meaningful transition services are the result of careful planning. This planning is driven by a young person's dreams, desires, and abilities. It builds a youth's participation in school, home and community living. Transition planning helps to prepare young people for their futures. It helps them to develop skills they need to go on…

This manual on development of transition planning programs/services for high school youth with disabilities and their families is based on the premises that both youth and family members need to be actively involved in every step of the transition planning process, that empowered families can access necessary transition and adult services needed…