youth advocacy council
Core Team Purpose and Function
Core Transition Teams increase capacity at the local level to develop, provide, and manage an effective transition process for students with disabilities who are age 14 or older. Teams work with school staff to identify students who may need “transition services” that involve inter-agency partners such as HireAbility, Developmental Services and others.
Teams identify available resources and supports to assist students in achieving their goals as they transition to life after high school. Recognizing that communities will have their own individual approach, it is important that all high school special education staff, Agency of Human Services (AHS) staff, and community partners have access to the support of a Local Core Transition Team.
HireAbility Transition Counselors or other agreed upon community partners will convene the Team as the facilitator. Core Transition Teams should include key members from the school, adult agencies and the community who are involved/concerned with the transition of students from school to adult life.
Depending on the needs of the school and community, teams typically meet either monthly or quarterly throughout the school year. When discussing individual student issues, the focus is student centered and the planning should revolve around that student’s individualized desired outcomes. Teams often work best when the roles of facilitator, timekeeper, minute taker, and observer are shared, and the success of the team is a shared effort among providers.
Youth Advocacy Council
About the Youth Advocacy Council HireAbility
This group is comprised of youth and young adults with disabilities, who express interest in participating in both leadership training and opportunities to impact how Vermont prepares students with disabilities for life after high school. The council has a supportive steering committee facilitated by HireAbility VT and its youth advocacy partners.
The Annual Youth Summit
Through support from the Youth Advocacy Steering Committee, the Youth Advocacy Council plans an annual Youth Summit. This event brings together youth and young adults from across the state to discuss issues most relevant to them and learn about how they can empower themselves in all aspects of their educational, social, and career experiences. Driven by youth for youth.
Vermont Partner Resources
- Northlands Job Corps Toolkit
- Vermont Success Stories
- Project SEARCH at Dartmouth Hitchcock
- Webinar Recording: CAPE-Youth Webinar on Justice Involved Youth. Link to recording: webinar recording here and slide deck: slide deck here. As a follow-up to the webinar, CAPE-Youth’s latest policy brief “Transition Services for Justice Involved Youth and Young Adults with Disabilities: Rehabilitation and Recovery Practices” is out now.
- Webinar Recording: HireAbility VT Services for Youth with Hearing Loss. Slide deck attached, link to the recording can be found on the Vermont Family Network platform HERE.
- Transition Toolkit for Youth with Disabilities (VFN)
- Family Guide to Transition Services in VT (VFN)
- JOBS: Jump On Board for Success Webinar on VFN Youtube Channel (VFN)
- Helping Families and Students Understand Their Benefits and Earning Potential When on SSI (VFN)
- Increasing Access, Opportunity, and Equity for All Learners: A Community-School Approach to Dual Enrollment Webinar with Jess DeCarolis AOE and PPT (VFN)
- Career Assessments Preferred Tools Checklist(HireAbility)
- HireAbility VT’s Summer Exploration Program (VFN)
- Learn Earn and Prosper (LEAP) (VFN)
- Colleges and Careers: Personalized Support Planning (VFN)
- Essential Transition Services Crosswalk Draft (VTAOE)
- Acronyms for Crosswalk (VTAOE)
- Indicator 13: Secondary Transition Planning (John Spinney) (VTAOE)
National Partner Resources
- Education and Training Resources Insight
- For Students: Self-Advocacy: Find the Captain in You! (PACER)
- For Parents/Families: Paving the Way: Parent Tips for Supporting Success in High School and Beyond (PACER)
- For Professionals: Effective Vocational Rehabilitation Services for Transition-Age Youth with Disabilities (ThinkWork! at the Institute for Community Inclusion, UMASS)
- Rochester Institute of Technology Tech Tigers
- RIT Explore Your Future Program
- What You Need To Know About Your Supplemental Security Income (SSI) When You Turn 18 (Publication No. 05-11005) (Social Security Administration)
- Advocating For LGBTQ Students with Disabilities a Guide for Educators and Parents/Guardians on Supporting LGBTQ Students with and IEP or 504 Plan (Human Rights Campaign Foundation)
- My “Must have” Papers Tip Sheet Managing the Paperwork of Adulting (UMASS Medical School)
Previous Interagency Core Team Events
2024 INTERAGENCY CORE TEAM EVENT
WORKSHOP DESCRIPTIONS AND RESOURCES
2024 WINTER SUMMIT
Resources
Developmental Services Transition Guidance for Teams
Project Search Brochure and Video
Vermont Family Network Transition Toolkit
2023 COLLABORATION EVENT
Keynote Presentation by Val Mazotti “Interagency Collaboration & Self-Assessment”
Valarie Mazzotti believes interagency collaboration is critical to ensure that youth and young adults achieve positive in-school and postschool outcomes. This keynote presentation will focus on innovation in interagency collaboration and how interagency collaboration is a critical component in the transition planning process, including stakeholder roles and responsibilities. Discussion will revolve around the predictors of postschool success that support interagency collaboration and the importance of assessing collaborative partnerships.
Keynote Materials:
Predictor Implementation School /District Self-Assessment Instructions and Action Planning Guide
Predictor Implementation School/District Self-Assessment
Workshop Materials:
Universal Design for Learning PPT
Postsecondary Education Consortium PPT Presentation (PSE Matrix)
SUMMER 2023 SUPPORTED EMPLOYMENT SUMMIT
2022 COLLABORATION EVENT
DJ Ralston Keynote Presentation
Workshop Materials:
DEIA Considerations for Work Experiences/Apprenticeship (PPT)
Supported Decision Making and Transition Planning
Issues of Identity and Disability Pride: The Importance of Self-Advocacy
2021 COLLABORATION EVENT
Keynote: Jacqui Kelleher, State Director of Special Education, Student Support Services Division, Agency of Education
Workshop Materials:
Wellness
Motivational Interviewing—Engagement/Evocation with Youth
Motivational Interviewing Handout
Transition Assessment Planning
COVID’s impact on the Labor Market
Covid’s Impact on the Labor Market
Youth Voice! Hear the Inspiring Stories from Young Adults with Disabilities who Turned Their Dreams into Reality
Everybody’s Ready for Something: ‘Earn & Learn’ Opportunities for Vermont
PPT Everybody’s Ready for Something
Job Development 101
Adapting and Applying the Multicultural and Social Justice Counseling Competency (MSJCC) Framework for Transition Professionals
Adapting and Applying the Multicultural and Social Justice Counseling Competency (MSJCC) Handout