Teachers & Counselors

Teachers and Counselors are often the main ones who will guide students through their transition process, alongside families, students and agencies.

Some students come in with clear plans and goals, while others need a little more prodding. Using some of the resources included here, you can help facilitate a person-centered approach to Transition Planning for ALL students.

Resources

Transition Coalition: Since 2000, the Transition Coalition, located at the University of Kansas, Beach Center on Disability, has been maximizing professional development opportunities for secondary transition and college and career readiness of youth with disabilities.

The Premise To make a difference, professional development requires more than one-shot in-service training.

The Focus

  • Deliver professional development that leads to changes in practice
  • Support teams and individuals at the state and local levels
  • Translate research and effective practices for practitioner implementation

The National Secondary Transition Technical Assistance Center ( NSTTAC ) is directed and staffed by the Special Education Program at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, in partnership with the Special Education Programs at Western Michigan University and Appalachian State University. In order to ensure full implementation of IDEA and help youth with disabilities and their families achieve desired post-school outcomes, NSTTAC will help states build capacity to support and improve transition planning, services, and outcomes for youth with disabilities and disseminate information and provide technical assistance on scientifically-based research practices with an emphasis on building and sustaining state-level infrastructures of support and district-level demonstrations of effective transition methods for youth with disabilities. The NSTTAC will provide efficient and effective large-scale implementation and sustainability of research-based secondary transition.

NCWD/Youth is a source for information about employment and youth with disabilities. Our partners — experts in disability, education, employment, and workforce development — strive to ensure you will be provided with the highest quality, most relevant information available.

Additional Transition Resources

PA Secondary Transition Website: http://www.secondarytransition.org

Office of Vocation Rehabilitation: http://portal.state.pa.us

Allentown Office:(610) 821-6441

*Also offers Early Reach Program for ages 14-17, ask for LaRonda.

Monroe/Northampton County Transition Coordinating Council:

Colonial IU20 Administration Office.

6 Danforth Drive

Easton, PA 18045

Contact: Transition Program Specialist @ 610-515-6456

SEDTransitionSample.pdf

Here is a sample Transition Plan, written for a student with Emotional Disturbance, and created by the NSTTAC.

Access this link on the Pennsylvania Secondary Transition Guide to get access to additional resources:

Visit the link below to utilize a Toolkit of information on Transition Assessments that the NSTTAC has created, including links to assessments, and sample checklist. GREAT RESOURCE/REFERENCE! Also includes suggested timelines and additional assessments for each category of the Transition Plan.

Here is a booklet of agencies and resources, published by the Colonial IU 20 for Monroe, Northampton and Pike Counties.

Monroe-Northampton-Pike Transition Resource Guide 2015.pdf

Do you have students students who are afraid to work because of the loss of S.S.I supplements? EVERY STUDENT has the right to WIPA! What is WIPA you might ask?

The goal of the Work Incentives Planning and Assistance (WIPA) program is to enable beneficiaries with disabilities to receive accurate information, and use that information to make a successful transition to work. The Social Security Administration (SSA) provides beneficiaries with a FREE report of their benefits history. This is called the Benefits Planning Query (BPQY) The BPQY is a free report to beneficiaries and provides you and your CWIC with a snapshot of the types of benefits you receive, your earnings history, and any work incentives that you've used that Social Security currently has stored in its electronic records.

Below is the website that describes the WIPA service. I also attached the copy of the BPQY for your review.

https://www.ssa.gov/work/WIPA.html

We met Kelly Woodbridge, who works at OVR in Allentown, who provided us with this information and contact:

Kelly states:

Have the individuals who are waiting call the Ticket to Work Helpline (1-866-968-7842) and tell the representative that they are working with OVR (ONLY IF THEY ARE) and need information about employment and benefits. They can still call even if they are not working with OVR, but most individuals should be working with us.

The helpline representative will send an electronic referral to Disability Rights PA, and then DRPA must contact the individual in 3-5 business days.

When the individual is contacted, they can explain that a paper referral CAN BE sent by OVR as well, especially if it contains their BPQY and/or consents for the BPQY. Their OVR counselor will know what a BPQY is and how to obtain it.

Just FYI--The TTW helpline is a great way to refer any beneficiary who wants benefits counseling, for the Goodwill WIPA as well. It helps streamline our referrals and ensures that the individual waiting for counseling gets a call from the WIPA in a shorter amount of time.

Adele Bond

CWIC, Work Incentives Planning and Assistance

2365 East Lincoln Highway

Langhorne, PA 19047

P: 888-960-9675 | C: 717-836-2502 | F: 484-331-6324”


Website BPQY Consent IRS Earnings.pdf