1. National Community of Practice on Transition
Community Meeting
February 6-7, 2006
Welcome!

2. What Can 10 states, 2 Federal Agencies, 14 National Organizations, 5 Technical Assistance Centers and a Network of Young Adults Do in 48 Hours to Improve Transition?
Let’s Find Out!

3. Session 1

4. Why Communities of Practice?
“In theory there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice there is.”
Yogi Berra

5. The National Community Bridges the Levels Where Transition Is Shaped
Federal
State
Local
Site
Individual

6. The National Community Makes the Practice Knowledge of Implementers and Consumers Explicit
Leaders need the support of those that do the work and receive the services to achieve results
Real change requires that leaders and workers build a shared sense of purpose around the change

7. The National Community Brings Many Stakeholders Together to Find Solutions to Persistent Problems
Community work is not an ‘add on’ to the ‘real’ work. Community is the way of doing the ‘real’ work.
The community must add value and provide new ways to accomplish together what has been challenging alone.

8. How Does the Community Operate?
The National Community
Federal Agencies, States, National Organizations and TA Centers
Regular Communication
Shared Activities
Practice Groups on Issues
Learning From and With Each Other
Using existing networks to spread existing and new knowledge
More Predictably
More Quickly
Using existing networks to influence beliefs, dispositions and practice
The State Communities
Build on current efforts
Modeled after the national community
Different stages of participation and devlopment

9. Community Is a Strategy to Achieve Outcomes; It is Not the Outcome!
Collaboration without focus or action feels contrived to all
Community offers a new approach
Bring groups together around shared interests
Explore gaps
Find new approaches
Use existing networks to communicate why and how the new strategy is valuable
Continually build understanding that supports implementation
Detect problems early and find shared solutions
Impact of the community strategy demands examination
If the outcomes are not improving, the community is not adding value

10. Evolution of the National Community
Content Focus
Relationship Focus
Learning Focus
Outcome Focus

11. Our Purpose: To Create the Infrastructure for Committed Partners to Support Change and Improve Outcomes through Community
Do you have a vision for change through community building?
Do you have the administrative support to share learning and action?
Are you committed to bringing stakeholder networks into the state work as allies?
Do you believe we can learn from young adults that have exited our systems?
Do you believe that deeper understanding can influence practice?
Will you develop leaders at all levels to share the load?
We will explore these questions in the next two days and will go forward with states that want to act … and measure the results of their actions.