Alabama Transition Initiative
Montgomery, Alabama

Contact:

Karen Rabren, Ph.D.
Director
Alabama Transition Initiative
P.O. Box 302101
Montgomery, Alabama 36130-2101
Phone: 334-242-8114
Fax: 334-242-9192
Email: krabren@sdenet.alsde.edu
rabreks@mail.auburn.edu
Website: www.alsde.edu/ati

• All citizens in Alabama, including individuals with disabilities, will exit secondary education capable of achieving independence, productivity, inclusion, respect, and happiness in the community.
• All Alabama citizens have competencies, capabilities, and personal goals that are recognized supported, and encouraged.
• As contributing, dignified, and valued citizens of Alabama, individuals with disabilities will exercise meaningful personal choices as a family member, employee, citizen, volunteer, consumer, and friend.
• All human service systems in Alabama will provide consistent and timely services, supports, and other assistance to individuals with disabilities in a manner that demonstrates respect for individual dignity, personal preferences, and cultural differences.
• All Alabama citizens, including individuals with disabilities, will have access to opportunities and necessary support for full participation in interdependent personal relationships, work, living, and community life.

Alabama Transition Task Force, 1990

NTA Framework Categories

• Student-Focused Planning and Development
• Career Pathways and Contextual Learning
• Family Involvement
• Business, Labor, and Community Involvement
• Structures and Policies

Description

The purpose of the Alabama Transition Initiative (ATI) is to increase the state’s capacity to improve and expand its transition services and programs in order to meet the needs of its youth with disabilities between the ages of 14 and 21. The program is comprised of five initiatives that address transition-related barriers in Alabama: (a) Interagency Initiative, (b) Local Program/Service Initiative, (c) Post-School Linkage Initiative, (d) Training and Dissemination Initiative, and (e) Student Tracking Initiative.

Highlights of program activities to date include: (a) 27 ATI Demonstration Sites with local public school systems; (b) 21 "best practices’ training programs serving over 1,500 stakeholders; (c) 27 local Community Transition Teams (d) over 50 job coaches jointly funded by the local school system and the Alabama Department of Rehabilitation Services; (e) over 300 trained parents and students; (f) the 7th and 8th statewide annual Transition Conference in which over 1,000 stakeholders participated; (g) a distance education transition course completed by 76 stakeholders; (h) an in- school/ post-school student tracking system; and (i) a comprehensive interactive web site, Alabama Transition Initiative Information Center(ATIIC).

Success Story

One success story of the Alabama Transition Initiative (ATI) is its summer camp for outstanding high school students with disabilities. Known as the Alabama Leadership/Self-Advocacy Camp, its purpose is to make empowerment a reality by providing the campers with leadership and self-advocacy skills. A brief overview of this week-long experience is followed by one camper’s story regarding her experiences.

ATI’s summer camp operates on the premise that youth and young adults with disabilities should have the opportunity to develop and cultivate leadership and self-advocacy skills in inclusive and nonthreatening environments. Through the development of these skills, they will become leaders in their local community and serve as role models for others.

Students are selected through a nomination process at their local high schools. A school-based committee is established to select each high school’s student representative. This committee selects students who demonstrate exceptional leadership and self-advocacy skills and it is they who attend the week-long summer program to continue their leadership development. The major focus of their learning during this time is self-awareness, problem solving, decision-making, teamwork, goal setting, self-advocacy and group development.

During camp week, students stay in dormitories at Auburn University and participate in "college life." Campers take part in typical college related activities such as attending classes, eating in the café teria, shopping at the University Bookstore, walking the campus, and exercising at the Student Recreation Center.

In summary, it is the goal of ATI’s Summer Camp that students will return equipped to develop self-advocacy groups in their local high school. More importantly, these youth will have participated in experiences and gained necessary skills to become self-advocating and empowered adults. "There were many experiences at camp for me, learning how to live in a dorm for college life, getting up and going to classes in the morning, and sometimes coming back to the dorms. We also had to write speeches for becoming an officer, which was like homework. After that week I was really hoping to get a self-advocacy group going.

[After camp] I came back, talked to my resource teacher, and she was really hoping to get one started also. When the school year started it progressed little by little. I had to write a letter to the vice-principal to get permission to start one. The vice-principal told me I had to write up a constitution for the club about the club rules and the officers. As I am writing this we just had our first meeting today. It was a great big success. We will have another meeting in a month and vote for officers.

I wish I could stay with the group for about a year to see how it goes, but I am graduating this year. I want to be an elementary school teacher, but I have thought long and hard about it and I have decided to become a special education elementary school teacher. I would definitely use my transition and self-advocacy skills on the children so they can grow up to feel like they are important and that they can talk to teachers about their needs. I know I will be successful in that. I hope that any of you that are reading this that are my age or younger will do the same for other people in need."

Anne Roberts, a former camper

Consumer Participation

Central to ATI’s mission is the promotion of student-directed practices in local high schools. One major strategy for implementing this practice is through ATI’s student leadership training programs (see student’s story). The two primary student leadership training activities are (a) an all-day student leadership preconference occurring at the annual Alabama Transition Conference, and (b) a one-week summer Leadership/Self-Advocacy Camp (Counterpoint, 1998). One of the camp objectives is for these students is to return to their respective high schools prepared to begin a self-advocacy group with their peers.

ATI’s commitment to family involvement in transition is partly evidenced by the fact that a parent is employed as its Family Support Specialist. Under her direction, five training programs have been conducted serving over 80 parent participants. Further, the Alabama Developmental Disabilities Planning Council has provided $15,000 for each of the past two years to financially support the participation of over 150 students and parents at the annual Alabama Transition Conference.

Interagency Collaboration

A strong transition partnership exists among Alabama’s agencies and service delivery programs. First, the Department of Rehabilitation Services and local school systems co-fund the salary for 68 school-based job coaches. The co-funded job coaches represent a total financial commitment of 2.2 million. The Department of Rehabilitation funds 1.1 million of this commitment.

Second, 72 of the state’s rehabilitation counselors are officially assigned a transition caseload. Transition students represent 36% of all the consumers served in the Vocational Rehabilitation Services program and 33% of all the consumers employed. An additional 8 million dollars in authorized services is provided to transition students through the vocational rehabilitation counselors.

The commitment of these resources represents a strong emphasis on creating a seamless system of service delivery for students with disabilities. The vocational rehabilitation counselor and local school system personnel work together on the local level to serve students. Vocational rehabilitation counselors: participate in IEP meetings, utilize information gathered by school personnel to evaluate the students strengths, and utilize resources available through the adult program (supported employment, college prep for LD students, One-stop Career Centers etc.) to assist students in choosing the best option for making the transition from the world-of-work.

Thirdly, another example of interagency collaboration, is the Alabama Developmental Disabilities Planning Council financial commitment for 27 local Community Transition Teams, as well as the one-week summer Leadership/Self-Advocacy Camp. Community Transition Teams provide a forum at which local transition stakeholders come together and identify and develop strategies for removing barriers to transition. The summer camp provides intense leadership training for high school students selected to represent their school system. Finally, the State Department of Career Technical Education provides half salary for ATI’s Career Technical Training Specialist.

Professional Development

The framework for ATI’s training initiative is based on a statewide needs assessment survey in which 1,098 transition stakeholders responded. The identified training needs have been addressed for more than 1,800 individuals who have participated in a variety of professional development activities. ATI’s four primary training strategies are (1) one-week workshops on best practices, (2) one to two-day topical programs, (3) distance education in transition, and (4) the annual Alabama Transition Conference. Training materials for these professional development programs are based on a recent book in transition (Browning, 1997). Training Evaluation Kit-R is sued to assess the type and degree of participant change due to training. Over 80% of the trainees have indicated either "moderate" or "much" change in the areas of Information, Behavior, Motivation, and Attitude.

ATI has also developed an interactive transition website ( designed to disseminate important transition information, as well as establish a communication network between all transition stakeholders in the state (and beyond). According to webtracker data, the home page has received over 5,000 "visits" since it was placed on the Internet.

ATI Demonstration Sites

The strategy for addressing ATI’s Local Program Initiative is to establish model transition Demonstration Sites. These sites are selected through the RFP process and, to date, 27 sites have been established over a three year period. These 27 sites represent Alabama’s four major geographic regions and include city and county school systems in both urban and rural locales. A program evaluation model is being implemented to monitor the progress and impact of each of these local transition model programs.

Student Follow-along System

Through ATI’s student tracking initiative, an in-school and post-school survey system is annually implemented. As of this date, over 2,200 high school students (and former students) have participated in this follow-along system. One noteworthy finding from the first post school survey conducted is that the employment rate was 74%, 60%, and 43% for former special education students with learning disabilities, mental retardation, and behavior disorders, respectively (Dunn & Shumaker, 1997).

Impact Study

ATI and Auburn University are jointly conducting a statewide impact study in which data has been gathered from 90 special education coordinators, 366 special education teachers, 356 career technical teachers, 78 parents, 31 job coaches, and 54 rehabilitation counselors. This impact study includes 203 variables that address both the process and outcome dimensions of transition.

University Alignment

ATI is closely affiliated with the Department of Rehabilitation and Special Education at Auburn University. Through Auburn’s program in transition, 17 Master’s level students have graduated and 12 students are currently enrolled in this secondary teacher preparation program. Further, the department has four Ph.D. students in transition and one recent graduate whose dissertation was on student directed planning at the high school level. Finally, the Auburn faculty provide ATI staff assistance in professional development, program evaluation, and research as it relates to the five initiatives of the system change grant.

References:

Browning, P. (1997). Transition-in-action for youth and young adults with disabilities. Montgomery, AL: Wells Printing.

Counterpoint (Fall, 1998). Alabama leadership and self-advocacy summer camp.

Dunn, C., & Shumaker, L. (1997). A follow-up study of former special education students form a rural and urban county school system. Career Development of the Exceptional Individual, 20(1), 43-54.

• Alabama Transition Initiative: A Map To Our Future into the 21st Century
• Learner’s Workbook for Enhancing Best Practices in Transition
• Application Manual for Enhancing Best Practices in Transition
• The Community Transition Team Leader’s Guide
• Plan Now for Life After High School: A Parent’s Guide

• Student Directed Practices Workbook
• Student Leadership/Self-Advocacy Workshop Video
• Student Leadership/Self-Advocacy Summer Camp Video
• Alabama Transition Conference Proceedings

• Transition in Alabama A Profile of Commitment (I)
• Transition in Alabama A Profile of Commitment (II)
• Transition in Alabama A Profile of Commitment (III)
• Transition in Alabama A Profile of Commitment (IV)
• Transition in Alabama A Profile of Commitment (V and VI)
• Transition in Alabama A Profile of Commitment (VII and VIII)

• Training Needs Assessment Form
• Parental Needs Assessment in Training and Technical Assistance Form
• Training Evaluation Kit-Revised Long and Short Forms
• In-School and Post-School Student Tracking Survey Forms
• Local Program Demonstration Site Evaluation Form
• Community Transition Team Needs Assessment Form
• Alabama Transition Initiative Impact Study Survey Forms:

Special Education Coordinator Form, Special Education Teacher Form, Career/Technical Education Teacher Form, Job Coach Form, Rehabilitation Counselor Form, Parent Form

• Local Demonstration Site RFP Application and Evaluation Forms
• Student Leadership/Self-Advocacy Nomination/Evaluation Form

All ATI materials are available at a nominal fee to cover publication and mailing costs. If interested, please call 1-800-392-8020. An additional series of ATI publications will be available Fall 1999

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