Tips

All Tuesday Tips

Earlier this month, we posted a tip on best practices for transition planning. With this tip, we’ll give you a slice of what the Family Employment First Coalition developed to help transition teams understand the key components of transition to competitive integrated employment.

We’ve also put together a key components handout directed to parents and caregivers, but it can also be helpful for students and other members of your transition teams. Please share with them at family nights, during case conference meetings, or as you’re working with individual members of your teams.

  • Engage in ongoing, student-centered, collaborative planning among all key team members.

Encourage students and help them become engaged, active partners in all planning and team discussions.

  • Provide activities and experiences that lead to competitive integrated employment outcomes.

Help students explore a variety of work-based experiences prior to transition to adult life. These can include community-based instruction, job exploration and training, internships, work-study programs, and school-supported community-based programs for students ages 18-22. 

  • Understand adult services and state and federal benefits.

Connect with a benefits specialist to help you understand how students can get the most out of work. 

  • Be familiar with common terms and language related to school-to-work transition.

At the start of transition planning, have a team discussion on terminology and keep a list handy. Ask about acronyms or unfamiliar terms whenever they come up in discussions.

 

Members of the Family Employment First Coalition:

Composed of key family and disability advocacy organizations throughout the state, the mission of the Family Employment First Coalition is to collaboratively create meaningful change in the transition outcomes of young adults with disabilities who are seeking competitive integrated employment in Indiana.   

Family Employment Awareness Training (FEAT) provides free information to transition-age young adults with disabilities, their families, educators, and support professionals about accessing customized, competitive, integrated employment opportunities. Now available in Indiana, Kansas, Nebraska, New York, Oklahoma, and Rhode Island, FEAT provides attendees a wealth of information about local, state, and federal resources meant to help support young adults with disabilities who want to work in their communities.

The core FEAT employment curriculum covers benefits, working with Vocational Rehabilitation, customized employment strategies and supports, and much more, but the two-day training also offers:

  • time to network with other families,
  • an opportunity to hear from individuals with disabilities who are successfully employed, and
  • the chance to meet people from agencies providing supports.

Spread the word to students and families about upcoming FEAT sites and dates (see below). FEAT could also be a great professional development opportunity for you, increasing your knowledge and ability to inform students and parents about postsecondary support services and resources.

Delivered by Indiana University’s Center on Community Living and Careers (CCLC) and funded by Indiana Vocational Rehabilitation, FEAT has extended its Indiana outreach in 2024.


Upcoming Family Employment Awareness Training:

Indianapolis: April 19 and May 3*

April 19th
Carmel Clay Schools
Carmel, IN
 
May 3
Washington Township Schools
Indianapolis, IN 
*This is a two-day training. To accommodate more attendees, Day 1 of FEAT will be held in Carmel and Day 2 in Indianapolis.
 

Also look for FEAT in the fall of 2024 in Lafayette and in Batesville, Indiana!


To register for these and other events, visit the CCLC FEAT webpage.

As transition educators it’s our job to help pave the way for that smooth transition from school to a fulfilling, successful life of work, family, and community connection that we hope our students experience. There are some key components and best practices to the transition process that members of the Families for Employment First Coalition recently outlined. 

1. Promote high expectations for an inclusive future.

Help students and families engage in concrete, ongoing conversations about next steps toward their vision.

2. Focus on parent connections, access to peers, and information sharing.

Connect students and families with others who have successfully navigated the transition process. Give them time, opportunity, and accessible spaces to obtain information and ask questions about transition.

3. Emphasize employment and building work skills through real world work experience.

Encourage students to share information about their likes, dislikes, support needs, and experiences with transition team members and prospective employers. Connect them to work experiences in real businesses where they develop skills and explore work cultures and different careers.

4. Focus on community engagement and connecting students and families to ongoing resources and support.

Provide information about state and local resources, services, and supports. Ensure those supports are in place before the student exits school.

5. Develop goal setting and self-advocacy skills.

Teach students how to set goals and advocate for themselves throughout the transition process, from school to adult life.

These principles and steps are really the backbone to all transition planning. We’ve added a transition handout to our website so you can share them with your transition teams and incorporate them into your team meetings and future planning discussions for all your students.

 

Members of the Families for Employment First Coalition: 

 

The financial stuff can get complicated for young adults and their families. Benefits, trusts, asset and resource limitations. It’s a lot.

We don’t want to overwhelm you or them. Sometimes tidbits are more helpful than a complete information overload. Today we’ll zero in on ABLE accounts.

The basics. Available in most states, ABLE accounts are a relatively new way to save—much like 529 college saving accounts—designed specifically for people with disabilities. Individuals and families find them useful for managing earnings and funds and for helping individuals save for future goals while still maintaining their Medicaid and Social Security benefits.

Things students and families will want to know:

  • Individuals can’t set up an ABLE account at their local bank. States have their own ABLE programs that enroll individuals. Indiana’s is INvestABLE. (You can compare and contrast ABLE options and choose to enroll in another state’s ABLE plan. But individuals may only have one ABLE account.)
  • In 2024, ABLE account holders can contribute $18,000 to an account. More if that person is working, thanks to the ABLE to Work Act.
  • People with disabilities who receive Medicaid and Medicaid waiver services need to keep less than $2,000 in their combined checking and savings accounts. Individuals and their Representative Payees (a person authorized by Social Security to manage a recipient’s funds) can maintain that balance by moving funds into an ABLE account each month, so they won’t lose benefits and services.
  • ABLE funds can be used to pay for almost anything that improves quality of life. Think big things: an apartment downpayment. Think typical expenses: utilities or rent. Think fun things: a laptop upgrade, a vacation with family, a gym membership.

Resources

America’s WorkOne Centers help people get jobs! Per their website, WorkOne staff can help you find a new job, access training you need for a job, and locate information you need to be successful at your job!  

Anyone can visit WorkOne centers located throughout Indiana! WorkOne center staff are connected to their local communities and also have access to information about jobs elsewhere. They can help job seekers learn how to: 

  • Complete applications 
  • Gain better interviewing skills 
  • Find job listings 
  • Write cover letters and resumes, and  
  • Access education and training opportunities to increase job skills.  

Using a WorkOne center is easy! They have in-person and virtual appointment options.   

Special education teachers, school counselors, and other school personnel help your students become familiar with their local WorkOne center. You can visit on a field trip or help students look up and make appointments using the internet. It’s also helpful if you and your colleagues make your own visit to the local WorkOne center to meet some of the staff there and learn more about what these centers offer for students.  

The Indiana WorkOne website provides information about the locations of all of the WorkOne centers in Indiana.  

Our last issue of Tuesday’s Tips focused on supported decision-making. Did you know there are other supports available to help individuals make those important life decisions along the way? Exploration surrounding supports should start early. The continuum of support, listed here from least to most limiting, may include:

  • Independence—enables self-determination and full responsibility. When a person is independent, they take care of their own needs including finances, health care, employment, and housing and are not directed by others.
  • Informal support—describes support provided by immediate family and close friends. It is considered informal because it is provided on an as-needed basis, the support person is not paid, and there is no formal agreement in place.
  • Supported decision-making—allows an individual to keep their rights and make their own decisions with the aid of trusted people who help the person understand, make, and communicate choices.
  • Health care representative—makes health care decisions in the event of an emergency or when the individual is too sick to make decisions on their own behalf. Providing representative documentation to a health care provider can help prevent communication barriers in matters having to do with medical care.
  • Power of Attorney (POA)—gives one or more individuals (e.g., a person or non-profit) the power to act for another person. Those with POA, a legal document, can make decisions about an individual’s property, finances, or medical care.
  • Guardianship—refers to the legal process by which the court assigns someone the authority to make decisions. It can affect the person’s right to choose where to live, work, receive medical care, marry, and more. 

Note:  Indiana law requires that a petition for guardianship discuss what less restrictive alternative options have been considered before guardianship.

Resources:


Per Indiana law, we are now required to talk about supported decision-making and other alternatives to guardianship during a student’s case conference starting in grade 8 or at age 14. This annual conversation should be thoroughly documented within the IEP and revisited as circumstances change.

That talk can seem overwhelming. It’s a lot of information, involving complicated legal decisions. Here are a few points to share with students and families. 

What Everyone Should Know

Essentially, supported decision-making gives a person with a disability more options, allowing them to keep their rights and make decisions about finances, health care, housing, employment, and other life choices with the help of people they trust. That’s why families and young adults should consider supported decision-making first, before immediately deciding on more restrictive paths, like Power of Attorney (POA), health care representation, or guardianship.

Self-determination 

Promoting independence and self-direction is key to developing and implementing successful supported decision-making agreements. Skills involved include choice-making, goal setting, problem-solving, and self-awareness. Individuals should feel confident in communicating their needs with those they trust. Supporters can assist in developing these skills while ensuring the individual maintains final decision-making authority.

Collaboration

Supported decision-making requires a collaborative approach between the young adult and those they deem trustworthy to assist with major life decisions. The person with a disability will lead these collective conversations. Initial discussions will outline the individual’s strengths, needs, available resources, and how they will be supported. Supporters on the “team” can include friends, family, and/or professionals who can help the person understand, make, and communicate their choices.

Agreements

In Indiana, supported decision-making can be informal or formal, depending on whether there is a written agreement or not. (Rules vary in other states.)  Written agreements are not required but helpful. They specify how the person will be supported and who is committed to providing that support. Supported individuals can change their agreements at any time, add new support team members, and define each member’s role and how they will advise the person with a disability.   

 

Next week, we’ll explore the continuum of adult support by diving into informal support arrangements, health care representatives, POAs, and guardianship.

 

Resources:

Health care transition is one of many challenges associated with transition to adult life. Parents and caregivers may be accustomed to taking care of all the health care needs for their child. Health care transition skills and advocacy is an area of independent living that students can develop through independent living goals in their transition IEP.

For example, many students may not know their diagnosis, why they are taking certain medications, or how to arrange for their own health care appointments. These gaps in knowledge and skill can be translated into Independent Living goals:

  • I will name my health conditions and explain how they affect me with a medical provider.
  • I will keep a list of my prescriptions and what health care conditions they address to share with medical providers.
  • I will schedule medical appointments online or by phone.
  • I will contact my pharmacy to refill prescriptions.
  • I will prepare a list of questions for my medical provider before meeting with them.
  • I will enter dates of medical appointments into my calendar and set a reminder.
  • I will keep a record of my medical providers and their contact information.
  • I will complete an emergency contact form and carry it with me in my wallet, backpack, or purse.

Of course, these are only a few examples; tailor goals to the student’s specific situation and level using an appropriate assessment. Start small and build on success. Through transition IEP goals, you can assist students in becoming more independent with their healthcare needs!

Resources:

Recently, we wrote a tip on Benefits Counseling for the Transitioning Student, which explained how students who are Social Security beneficiaries can access benefits counseling through Work Incentives Planning and Assistance (WIPA) or Indiana Vocational Rehabilitation. Currently, students 18 or younger who are receiving benefits are a priority for WIPA. Students over age 18 who are working are also a priority for WIPA and any student beneficiary who is receiving services through Vocational Rehabilitation can receive benefits counseling through the VR process. These services are free.

The benefit to benefits counseling

Fear of losing benefits is one of the primary reasons beneficiaries hesitate to work. However, there are many work incentives built into the Social Security system. A benefits counselor helps the student and their family understand which work incentives apply to their situation. For example, a working transition student may benefit from the Student Earned Income Exclusion (SEIE), which allows them to earn up to $2,290 per month and $9,230 per year in 2024 without affecting their Social Security benefits at all. This allows students to work and keep both benefits and income! The SEIE is just one of many beneficial work incentives.

How can I use this in transition?

Here are some potential independent living goals you could develop with beneficiary transition students who are interested in working. These are just examples; tailor the goals to each student’s particular needs.

  • I will call the Ticket to Work Help Line to request benefits counseling.
  • I will use benefits counseling to understand how working affects my benefits.
  • I will request benefits counseling services as a part of my vocational rehabilitation Plan for Employment.
  • I will use benefits counseling to determine if I qualify for any work incentives.

Knowledge is power, and the knowledge of benefits counseling and work incentives can empower students toward increased financial wellbeing and independence!

Resources

Understanding a student’s strengths, preferences, interests, and needs related to their individual postsecondary goals is how we, as educators, build relationships and provide guidance and support. To ensure that quality educational services and support is provided to students and a transition IEP is developed that will guide these services, it is important that we use multiple transition assessments every year for each student.

There are five main reasons to use multiple transition assessments.

  1. Comprehensive Information

Different transition assessments focus on various aspects of a student's skills, abilities, and preferences. By using a combination of formal, informal, and authentic transition assessments, educators can gather a more in-depth understanding of the student's interests and areas that require additional support.

  1. A Well-Rounded Approach

Transition planning requires an approach that considers various domains such as academic, vocational, social, and independent living skills. Using multiple transition assessments through the year helps to cover all domains, allowing for a more accurate and well-rounded picture of the student's abilities related to their transition to adulthood.

  1. Individualized Planning

Each student has unique strengths, interests, and goals. Using multiple assessments helps the transition team individualize the transition plan to meet the needs of the student. Collecting data from various assessments allows for tailored planning and supports.

  1. Progress Monitoring and Adjustment

Transition planning is an ongoing process that includes many years of the student’s education. Conducting multiple assessments enables educators to track growth and development. This progress monitoring helps identify changes in strengths and areas of improvement and allows for plan adjustment.

  1. Collaboration and Teamwork

Combining different assessments completed by educators, parents, the student, and other individuals who work with the student encourages collaboration among those involved in the transition planning process. Transition assessments can then be the guiding documents they are intended to be resulting in a more comprehensive and effective transition IEP.

If you have questions about transition assessments, we’re happy to help.

Indiana Secondary Transition Resource Center or instrc@indiana.edu

Center on Community Living and Careers