Partnership Roles and Meeting Essentials
Definition: There are formal processes, structures and outcomes established among school, employers, and employment related agencies, community agencies, and postsecondary institutions, which clearly articulate the roles and responsibilities to assure the following occur in culturally appropriate ways: a) methods of communication for all parties, b) information-sharing protocols, c) referral protocols, d) service and task responsibilities, e) funding responsibilities, and f) points of contact.
Partnership Guides
A Transition Guide to Postsecondary Education and Employment for Students and Youth with Disabilities (PDF, 62 pages, 2017) is a comprehensive overview of how state, local school districts and Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) work together with students and families to plan for the future. It links elements of good transition planning back to the related legislation. From the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, U.S. Department of Education.
From the National Technical Assistance Center on Transition (NTACT): A Guide to Developing Collaborative School-Community-Business Partnerships (PDF, 2015, 31 pages). It covers getting started, convening the partners, strategies for engaging key partners including families, and sustaining the partnerships.
Formal processes, structures, and outcomes
Sample of an transition-focused agreement between several state level agencies in Wisconsin (PDF, 15 pages, 2010). Useful to see they divide and describe responsibilities. The file is in a public Dropbox account – you may have to click a No-thanks-just-show-me-the-file-box.
Interagency collaboration annotated bibliography (MSWord, 10 pages, 2010) from the National Secondary Transition Technical Assistance Center (NSTTAC) with information about interagency collaboration models and strategies; roles and responsibilities of schools, communities, and agencies; issues and barriers to effective collaboration; and interagency collaboration in practice.
Communication methods
- The Seven Norms of Collaboration Toolkit, (PDF, 26 pages, 2019) from the Thinking Collaborative, is a valuable tool for developing and sustaining productive group interaction. One page flyer of the seven norms. U.S. Department of State training manual page on the seven norms.
- Blog about presuming positive intentions from Maryclare Heffernan.
Information-sharing & referral protocols
The Literature Review of Five Federal Systems Serving Transition Age Youth with Disabilities (PDF, 66 pages, 2013) was funded by the US Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) and covers the system’s role, its use by the population, central programs and authorizing legislation, challenges and recommendations, and common themes and trends across systems:
- vocational rehabilitation
- social security
- juvenile justice
- behavioral health
- workforce investment
Links checked 8/1/20