About the Transition Outcomes Project

While a great deal has occurred in States and local districts to improve transition services for youth with disabilities, there are many State and local districts that continue to find difficulty in meeting the transition services requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).  It is believed that much of this is due to a number of factors, including a lack of understanding of the requirements and a lack of knowledge of how to address both the mandate and intent of the legislation.   Simply put, teachers and administrators are asking for direction and information that will tell them "what" they must do and when, with example, and show them clearly and concisely "how" to plan for, develop, and implement transition services for youth with disabilities.

The Transition Outcomes Project is developed around a process, model, and conceptual framework designed to identify specific problems in implementing the transition service requirements and then develop strategies to address and resolve each problem.  The process begins with the gathering of baseline information from the IEPs of students 14 years of age and older.  The baseline information pinpoints specific problem areas for each of the transition services requirements.  Following the gathering of baseline data, a team of individuals from the State, Regional Resource Center, and local district come together to discuss the findings from the reviews and set target goals and timelines as well as identify specific interventions and strategies designed to address each requirement problem area.  District staff then begin to implement and put into place each of the strategies and interventions.  Ongoing technical assistance is provided to staff approximately every six to eight weeks to determine the success of the interventions and identify alternative strategies, if needed.  At the end of the time period (generally one year), another review of the same IEP files is conducted with the results being compared to the initial baseline findings.  Differences between the initial baseline data are noted to determine the changes and/or improvements.  The specific interventions and strategies are also identified and recorded along with personal reactions and comments on the changes that have occurred from district staff.

Goals of the Transition Outcomes Project

1. Assist local schools in meeting IDEA's transition service requirements.
2. Evaluate the effectiveness of providing and delivering transition services to students and families through the IEP process.
3. Provide training and resource materials on the transition process for educators, administrators, adult agency personnel, parents, and others.
4. Improve graduation rates and post-school outcomes of students with disabilities.
   

Sequence of Steps and Activities

The following is the sequence of steps and activities that generally occur when implementing the Transition Outcomes Project. 

1. Review Team Training

• Identify and train review team members on the Transition Requirements Checklist instrument, process, and procedures.  

2. Selection and Team Visits of Districts

• Review team members meet with district personnel and schedule a date and time to conduct reviews of IEPs of students 14 years of age and older on all transition requirements. IEP reviews using the checklist generally take a reviewer 10-15 minutes to complete. A team of five reviewers can complete approximately 20 files in one hour.
• Compile, analyze, and summarize findings. 

3. Report-out Meetings — Developing Strategies (Interventions) and Implementation Plans

• A meeting is scheduled with all special education staff, administration, support staff, and others from the buildings where files were reviewed. Other participants can include outside agencies, parents, students, and guidance counselors. This meeting generally takes 3 to 4 hours.
  
• State, local, and Regional Resource Center staff and members of the review team meet with staff from LEA buildings to report findings, develop strategies/interventions, set target goals, set timelines for implementation, develop a schedule for technical assistance or follow-up visits, and determine a date for final reviews. 

4. Implementation and Follow-along

• Local education agencies implement the strategies, interventions, skills, and knowledge obtained from the report-out meeting to address deficit and target areas.
• Follow-along by State, local, and Regional Resource Center personnel occurs during the implementation stage to help districts implement the strategies, interventions, skills, knowledge, and procedures or identify alternative interventions/strategies if needed. 

5. Evaluation, Refinement, and Development of Next Steps

•  Formal follow-up reviews of IEPs are conducted by review team members to determine improvement and proximity in meeting target goals. The exact timeline or schedule for final reviews is determined on a district-by-district basis with staff.
• Meet with staff from local districts to report final results and discuss next steps.
  
• Review overall results by State personnel to develop "next steps" for expanded training, implementation, and replication.
  

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