Transition from School… ...to Adult Life A Guide for Families Indiana Resource Center for Families with Special Needs 1703 South Ironwood South Bend, IN 46613 (574) 234-7101; (800) 332-4433 Website: www.insource.org Email: [email protected] Visit INSOURCE on Facebook Rev. 4/28/10 Partially adapted from: A Family Guide to Transition Planning compiled by Indiana Institute on Disability and Community Indiana's University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Center on Education and Lifelong Learning in collaboration with: INSOURCE Indiana Resource Center for Families with Special Needs "America's future walks through the doors of our schools each day." ~ Mary Jean LeTendre IN*SOURCE STAFF & REGIONAL PROGRAM SPECIALISTS Richard Burden, Executive Director Sally Hamburg, Project Director - Regional Parent Information ([email protected]) & Training Program ([email protected]) Scott Carson, Assistant Director ([email protected]) Dory Lawrence, Project Director - Indiana Parent Training Program ([email protected]) Region 3 - North Central Indiana - Main Administrative Offices (Cass, Elkhart, LaPorte, Marshall, Porter, St. Joseph, Starke) Jane Carroll ([email protected]) Mary Lovett ([email protected]) Wilner Cusic ([email protected]) Theda Nixon ([email protected]) Jane Fuentes ([email protected]) South Bend - (574) 234-7101 or (800) 332-4433 [email protected] Region 1 - Northwest Indiana-Lake County Region 10 - Central Indiana (Northern Lake County) (Marion County - MSD of Pike Township, Indianapolis Public Schools ) Hestina Monroe - Gary - (219) 883-0431 x 23 Mimi Huybers - Fishers - (317) 842-4001 [email protected] [email protected] (Marion County - MSD of Warren Township, Indianapolis Public Schools) Jennifer Littlefield - Indianapolis - (317) 423-1093 [email protected] Region 2 - Northwest Indiana-Lake County Region 11 - West Central Indiana (Jasper, Southern Lake-Crown Point, Cedar Lake & Lowell Schools only, (Clay, Daviess, Greene, Knox, Martin, Monroe-Ellettsville Schools only, Newton, Pulaski) Owen, Sullivan , Vigo) Cathy Boswell - Rensselaer - (219) 866-3282 x 28 Linda Witsman - Loogootee - (812) 854-7112 [email protected] [email protected] Region 4 - Northeast Indiana Region 12 - Central Indiana (DeKalb, LaGrange, Noble, Steuben, shares Allen) (Johnson, Southern Marion - MSD of Decatur Township, MSD of Perry Sundaye Hook - Butler - (260) 868-2816 Township, Franklin Township Community School Corp.,RISE Special [email protected] Services, Morgan, Shelby) Cindy Esteb - Indianapolis - (317) 245-7561 [email protected] Region 5 - Northwest Indiana Region 13 - South Central Indiana (Benton, Carroll, Tippecanoe, Warren, White) (Bartholomew, Brown, Greene-Eastern Greene Schools only, Jackson, Donna Roberts - Oxford - (765) 385-0667 Lawrence, Monroe, Orange, Washington) [email protected] Barbara Campbell - (812) 277-9766 [email protected] Region 6 - Central Indiana Region 14 - Southeast Indiana (Hamilton, Hancock, Northern Marion - MSD of Lawrence Township, MSD of (Dearborn, Decatur, Franklin, Jefferson, Jennings, Ohio, Ripley, Washington Township, Tipton) Switzerland) Mary Delaney - Carmel - (317) 569-9171 Sandy Muncy - Dillsboro - (812) 432-5706 [email protected] [email protected] Region 7 - Northeast Indiana Region 15 - Southwest Indiana (Adams, Huntington, Jay, Wells, Whitley, shares Allen) (DuBois, Gibson, Pike, Posey, Spencer, Vanderburgh, Warrick) Gloria L. Wall - Huntington - (260) 359-9685 Anita Lewis - Princeton - (812) 385-5805 [email protected] [email protected] Region 8 - West Central Indiana Region 16 - North Central Indiana (Boone, Clinton, Fountain, Hendricks, Western Marion-West Central Joint (Fulton, Howard, Kosciusko, Miami, Wabash) Services only, Montgomery, Parke, Putnam, Vermillion) Position Open - Please contact South Bend office - (800) 332-4433 Jill Summerlot - Roachdale - (765) 522-1134 [email protected] [email protected] Region 9 - East Central Indiana Region 17 - Southeast Indiana (Blackford, Delaware, Fayette, Grant, Henry, Madison, Randolph, Rush, (Clark, Crawford, Floyd, Harrison, Perry, Scott) Union, Wayne) Kelly Benjamin - Corydon - (812) 748-0148 Maggie Mattingly - Anderson - (800) 332-4433 [email protected] [email protected] Indiana Department of Education INSOURCE Parent Liaison Lesa Paddack, Program Specialist - Indianapolis - (317) 232-0892 [email protected] TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION - THE TRANSITION PROCESS ...................................................................................... 1 WORDS AND TERMS TO KNOW .............................................................................................................. 2 SELF DETERMINATION ............................................................................................................................. 4 WHO PARTICIPATES IN TRANSITION PLANNING? ................................................................................ 5 WHAT IS THE ROLE OF THE STUDENT IN THE TRANSITION PROCESS? .......................................... 6 WHAT IS THE ROLE OF THE FAMILY IN THE TRANSITION PROCESS? .............................................. 7 TRANSFER OF RIGHTS ........................................................................................................................... 17 ISSUES TO CONSIDER ............................................................................................................................ 18 Employment .................................................................................................................................. 18 Postsecondary Education and Training ........................................................................................ 18 Social Relationships and Leisure Opportunities ........................................................................... 19 Other Considerations .................................................................................................................... 19 THE SUMMARY OF PERFORMANCE ..................................................................................................... 20 Summary of Performance (Sample) ............................................................................................. 21 PARENTAL STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESSFUL TRANSITION OUTCOMES ......................................... 23 VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION SERVICES (VRS) .............................................................................. 24 RESOURCES ............................................................................................................................................ 25 INDEPENDENT LIVING CENTERS IN INDIANA ...................................................................................... 26 TITLE 511 ARTICLE 7 RULES 32-47 (EXCERPTS) ................................................................................ 29 INTRODUCTION THE TRANSITION PROCESS This booklet is designed to assist middle and high school students and their families as they plan for the transition from school to adult life. Transition planning is a different kind of planning. It is planning for adult life through school and non-school experiences. The ideal outcome of good transition planning is the uninterrupted movement to adult life. This may include postsecondary education or training and/or community employment, community living and an integrated adult life including leisure opportunities with family and friends. Planning for life after high school can be a challenging process. During the school years, the education agency is responsible for providing services; after the school years, young adults and their families may be working with many different agencies. Often families don’t know where to start yet they are the ones who will coordinate the services. A free appropriate public education (FAPE) is an entitlement for students between three (3) and twenty-two (22) years of age who have been determined eligible for special education. This entitlement ends with a student’s exit from school. While a student is in school, one agency – the school district – is responsible for providing and coordinating the services. After a student leaves school, several service providers may be involved in providing supports. At that point, a student goes from an entitlement program to eligibility programs…often with different application processes, different eligibility requirements and different available supports. Students and families may look to different agencies for different needs such as community living, employment and postsecondary education and training. Indiana Resource Center for Families with Special Needs 6/22/10 1 WORDS AND TERMS TO KNOW Age appropriate assessments: The ongoing process of collecting data on the student's strengths, needs, preferences and interests as they relate to the demands of current and future working, educational, living, personal and social environments. Coordinated set of activities: Activities based on student needs, taking into account the student's strengths, preferences and interests and include: • instruction; • related services; • community experiences; • the development of employment and other postschool living objectives; and • if appropriate, the acquisition of daily living skills and the provision of a functional vocational evaluation. Courses of study: Middle and high school course work or classes leading to certain types of diplomas and/or classes that are required for postsecondary