MTACTS:

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• MTACTS
• A Community
• Transition Team

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Who Are We?

• MTACTS Mark Twain Area Council on Transition
  Services
• Mike Vaia HHS SPED Coordinator
• Jennifer Quinn LOQWI Transition Coordinator
• Lori Wagner HHS SPED Teacher
• Leanne Knorr HHS SPED Teacher

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What is a Community Transition Team (CTT)?

• A Community Transition Team is a group of
  individuals with an active interest in ensuring
  that students with disabilities have
  opportunities to achieve the futures they see for
  themselves. Teams meet regularly to develop ways
  to meet transition planning needs in their
  communities.

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What is a CTT?

• Local transition teams discover and implement
  new and better ways of providing secondary
  special education and transition servicesthe
  essence of transition teams is that they take
  advantage of the unique strengths of their own
  communities while working to solve common
  problems. (Transition Coalition, University of
  Kansas)

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Who is a CTT?

• A CTT should consist of a variety of people such
  as students with disabilities, family members,
  school personnel, adult service agency personnel,
  employers, community members, etc.
• Individuals with a vested interest in the
  transition outcomes of youth with disabilities.

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Potential CTT Members

• Advocacy Organizations
• Behavioral Specialist
• Businesses
• Centers for Independent Living
• Chamber of Commerce
• Commission on the Blind
• Community Colleges
• Community Center Board
• Developmental Disability Advocacy
• Developmental Disabilities Organization
• Department of Health
• Easterseal
• Employers
• Employment Contractors
• Family Preservation
• Family Members of youth with disabilities
• Foster Care
• Housing and Urban Development
• Juvenile Justice Advocacy

• Job Corps
• Justice Department
• Mental Health Organizations
• Native American Advocacy
• Native American College
• Optimist Club
• Parent Organizations
• Parks and Recreation
• Probation Officers
• Rotary
• Social Services League
• Social Security Administration
• SWAP (School to Work Program)
• The ARC
• Transportation Organizations
• TRIO Programs
• Universities
• Vo-Tech Schools
• Vocational Rehabilitation Services

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Why a CTT?

• Effective Community Transition Teams can
• Eliminate frustration in locating and receiving
  needed services
• Identify and eliminate barriers to transition
  service delivery
• Increase awareness and knowledge of community
  transition programs and services
• Increase communication and rapport between
  agencies
• Establish trust between agencies and families
• Facilitate cooperative planning for new programs
• Guide the overall development of the transition
  process in the community

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MTACTS Who, What, When, Why?

• Who?
• School personnel, students, families,
  post-secondary educational institutions, and a
  variety of community organizations.
• What?
• Grant-funded trainings in Jefferson City
• When?
• Formed at the beginning of 2008-2009 school year.
• Why?
• Little awareness of services offered by agencies
  in the area.

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MTACTS - Goals

• 1 Create a transition resource guide for
  students and families eligible for transition
  services.
• 2 Recommend a transition planning class for high
  school students.
• 3 Hold a post-secondary transition planning fair
  for high school students and families.

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MTACTS - Accomplishments

• 1 Resource guide has been created, is constantly
  being updated, and is given to students and
  families at annual IEP meetings.
• 2 Transition planning classes are being offered
  for the 2009-2010 school year and students grades
  9-12 are enrolled.
• 3 Post-secondary Transition Planning Fair is
  scheduled for early Fall 2009 and is still in
  planning stages.

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Ideas from other CTTs

• Transition Binders
• Student-led IEPs
• Training video for student-led IEPs

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How Can You Form a CTT?

• Invite members of your school and community who
  are invested in the transition outcomes of
  students.
• Conduct a needs assessment to determine what is
  needed in regards to Transition in your school
  district.
• Prioritize needs and create goals based on the
  top Transition needs of your district.
• Plan regular meetings for your CTT to begin
  working towards the goals you have established.

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Four Stages of CTT Development

• Stage 1 Information Sharing
• Members distribute information about their
  services, supports.
• Members share information about conferences,
  available newsletters, and resources in the
  community.

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Four Stages of CTT Development

• Stage 2 Cooperation
• Members meet regularly
• Members identify community transition needs
• Members offer suggestions, recommendations, and
  strategies to meet needs.

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Four Stages of CTT Development

• Stage 3 Coordination
• Members schedule activities to address needs.
• Members work together to solve problems and
  address barriers to transition.
• Members address system issues, not the barriers
  experienced by just one individual student or
  family.

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Four Stages of CTT Development

• Stage 4 Collaboration
• Members jointly develop a mission statement
  endorsed by all.
• Members jointly conduct planning and implement
  and evaluate strategies to enhance transition
  planning.
• Flexible use of funding other interagency
  resources to implement procedures.

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QA
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Links and Resources

• www.transitioncoalition.org
• www.pacer.org
• www.nichcy.org
• www.psocenter.org