Transition Strategic Planning

Transition Strategic Planning

The following sequential steps produce high quality results when utilized by a team of committed individuals drawn from a variety of disciplines involved with transition services planning for persons with impairments.

Planning

1. Define Vision - Broad based mission statement which incorporates beliefs and values of team and identifies clear direction for the future. Focus may lead to a description of successful post secondary student performance and functioning.

2. Scan Environment - Evaluate and determine the status of primary aspects associated with transition planning. May be building based or district wide in scope. Include review of curriculum, voc ed, work study, assessment, parent/student involvement, form/procedures, etc....

3. Select Priority Outcomes - What is most important? What's achievable? What needs to be accomplished? Be selective since the probability of doing it all successfully might be quite low.

4. Identify Barriers and Opportunities - Determine those issues/things/persons/policies/existing or anticipated which may help to promote the vision or attainment of priority outcomes. Also identify those which may act to discourage or interfere with developing transition planning practices which are effective and innovative.

5. Identify Strategies - Develop a list or menu which contains a variety of possible ways of removing barriers and enhancing opportunities. Engage in constructive problem solving with the team. Identify what may work and may not.

6. Identify Supports - Secure needed resources which are considered essential. Administrative support should be secured. Assess what will be needed in order to fully provide the support needed. Be careful not to underestimate.

7. Develop Implementation Plan - Establish a clear, well defined action plan. Build in time lines, accountability and make sure that all team members are involved and invested. Keep it coherent, concise and simple. Must relate it to priority outcomes established earlier.

8. Implement Plan - Put activities, components and plans in motion. Ongoing evaluation is necessary to identify whether more help may be needed in certain areas or to make adjustments to the plan based upon new information. Team meetings are critical at this stage.

9. Monitor Outcomes - Evaluate the products or outcomes associated with the teams' efforts and activities. Measure what changes occurred. What more needs to be done?

Practices to Improve Transition Services

• Realize that the responsibility to the person with the disability goes beyond just one system or agency.

• Believe that open communication and cooperative planning are primary to achieving desired outcomes for persons with disabilities.

• Trust and believe in one another.

• Recognize that there are unseen potentials in all people.

• Refuse to label, categorize, stereotype and pre-judge.

• Move away from deficit based models to focusing on potentials, strengths, and abilities.

• Understand that we can never do or accomplish alone as we can with another.

• Focus all that is done, all policies and practices on the individual.