1. Interagency Collaboration
The Final Frontier
Kendra Williams-Diehm, Ph.D.
Zarrow Center for Learning Enrichment

2. The Purpose of this session is to:
Learn about the importance of Interagency Collaboration
Understand what federal legislation says about interagency collaboration
Identify the main barriers to successful interagency collaboration
Learn how to maximize strategies to improve interagency collaboration

3. Taxonomy of Transition Programming 2.0

4. What is Interagency Collaboration
a clear purposeful and carefully designed process that promote cross agency, cross program, and cross disciplinary collaborative efforts leading to tangible transition outcomes for youth” (Rowe et al., 2015, p.122)
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?

5. Connection to Federal Legislation
DID YOU KNOW?
Interagency Collaboration is in both IDEA and the State Performance Plan required by IDEA?
DISTRICTS MUST DO THIS!!!!
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6. Connection to Federal Legislation
DID YOU KNOW?
Interagency Collaboration is in both IDEA and the State Performance Plan required by IDEA?
DISTRICTS MUST DO THIS!!!!
RAE&index=6&list=PLD9FD974BAEE3E85C

7. So whose Role is it? Transition Coordinator or Special Education Teacher???
Listen to Dr. David Test discuss this very concept!
ic/cresource/q1/p02/#content

8. Check In Question #1
What is Interagency Collaboration????

9. Major Barrier to Interagency Collaboration
Lack of Knowledge
Lack of Communication
Lack of Persistence
Lack of Planning

11. Strategy #1: Get to Know your Co-workers!
Reach out in your district! Collaboration can be with the teach across the hall!
Establishes better connections in your building

12. Strategy #2: Learn the Service Providers in your Area
What is Community Mapping?
What are the agencies?
Where are they located?
Community mapping also helps organizations accomplish the following:
Identify new resources
Determine if resources are being used correctly
Determine gaps in available resources

13. Strategy #3: Establish a Transition Fair
What is this and how does it work?

14. Check In Question #2
Who Do Invite to a Transition Fair?

15. Strategy #4: Attend Professional Development outside Education
Staying current and learning new information about transition is key to overcoming barriers to interagency collaboration. To stay current, educators should participate in professional development at the state and national level directly related to transition planning.
Vocational Rehabilitation Youth Technical Assistance Center (Youth-TAC) and the Workforce Innovation Technical Assistance Center (WINTAC) both provide excellent professional development opportunities teachers can attend.

16. Strategy #5: Conduct Effective Transition Team Meetings

17. Strategy #7: Learn to Use Data
The percentage of youth with IEPs who are enrolled in general education classes more that 50% of their day
The percentage of youth with IEPs who are passing end-of-course exams
The percentage of youth with IEPs who are receiving uncharacteristically high office referrals
The percentage of youth with IEPs who experience a high rate of absences and tardies

18. Strategy #7: Learn to Use Data
Indicator 1: The percentage of youth with IEPs that graduate from high school with a regular diploma
Indicator 2: The percentage of youth with IEPs that drop out of high school
Indicator 13: The percentage of youth age 16 or above with an IEP with adequate goals and transition services
Indicator 14: The percentage of youth who had IEPs, are no longer in high school and who are either competitively employed, enrolled in postsecondary education, or both within one year of leaving high school

19. Strategy #8: Plan for Sustainability
Develop a Memorandum of Understanding
Have regular planning meetings
THINK SMALL AND IMPLEMENT WELL

20. Strategy #9: START EARLY

21. For More Information