Research indicates that adolescents with disabilities need high-quality transitional programs to make the transition to work and independent living, and that barriers inherent in rural areas and schools make service delivery for transition extremely difficult. Current employment patterns suggest that small rural businesses and rural entrepreneurs…

Survey responses from 55 secondary vocational educators and 51 training and development professionals showed that the latter thought students needed higher academic skills to enter school-to-work transition programs. Vocational educators stressed occupational/technical and employability skills. (SK)

Rural communities have strengths and weaknesses that affect the development of transitional programs for students with disabilities. These community characteristics were factored into a federally funded, graduate-level training program called Project CREST (Collaboration in Rural Education for Special Teachers), which provided training stipends…