MD Interagency State Plan
Baltimore, Maryland

Contact:

Robert A. Burns
Assistant State Superintendent
in Rehabilitation Services
Division of Rehabilitation Services
Maryland State Department of Education
2301 Argonne Drive
Baltimore, Maryland 21218-1696
Phone: 410-554-9385
Fax: 410-554-9412
Email: rburns@msde.state.md.us
Website: www.msde.state.md.us

 Mission

All students with disabilities are entitled to a free and appropriate public education that includes the necessary services to transition into their next identified environment. The agencies that are charged with providing those transition services must redefine their level of commitment and cooperation and develop a system of service delivery that is efficient, effective, and fiscally responsible. To achieve this goal, all of the agencies must identify their respective goals, identify the necessary resources, leverage those resources, and implement system change for a more effective and consumer-driven service delivery system.

 Organization

NTA Framework Categories

• Structures and Policies

Description

Maryland Legislation Article 21-305 addressed concerns about the transition outcomes of youths with disabilities in Maryland. It required that an interagency task force consider the issues, discuss 10 required components, and submit a three-year plan to identify and define overall state polices that support a more seamless transition system that moves on a continuum from the entitlement of school-based transition services to the eligibility-based adult system. The Plan was submitted to the Legislature in April 1997. This three-year plan identified nine objectives with contributing activities:

1. Establish a coordinated reporting system that is responsive to the needs of students and ensures the delivery of needed services.

2. Address the number of students going out-of-state for special education services and ensure appropriate transitioning services for out-of-state and non-public school students.

3 Increase the capacity of the Governor’s Transitioning Youth Initiative (GTYI) to ensure that all students with the most severe disabilities between the ages of 18 and 21 will have access to the full range of transition services.

4. Ensure that students with disabilities, families, and advocacy groups receive training and support to ensure informed and active participation, beginning by the ninth grade.

5. Plan and develop a coordinated statewide system of training and technical assistance to the range of professionals who are critical to effective transition services (including special educators, high school guidance counselors, vocational counselors, service coordinators, case managers, community-based adult service agencies, employers, and employer-related organizations).

6. Ensure consistency and understanding of the roles and responsibilities of education organizations involved in transition.

7. Establish a statewide mechanism to conduct student follow-up surveys. These data will be used for reporting, accountability, identifying service gaps, rectifying gaps, program evaluation, student-related decision making, and systems change.

8. Ensure that model program criteria are replicated.

9. Increase collaboration with other organizations, including but not limited to the Office of Children, Youth and Families, Department of Housing and Community Development, Department of Juvenile Justice, Independent Living Centers, and Department of Human Resources.

 

Evidence of Success

Summary of Key Accomplishments from First Year of Plan:

• Conferences on Transition were conducted for special educators, Disability Support Services in Higher Education, mental health practitioners, and parents, as well as the Maryland Transition Initiative Regional Seminars. Topics included Transition Planning, Accessing SSI, Strategies for Parent Involvement, Self and presentations on model programs.
• The MSDE Intra-Agency Cooperative Transition Planning Agreement for Secondary Students with Disabilities was signed.
• House Bill 770 was passed, which will provide a system of collecting and disseminating data on transitioning students, age 14 to 21, and their anticipated service needs. These data will be transmitted to state adult service agencies for strategic planning.
• A model parent brochure has been drafted and will be published soon.
• House Bill 115 was passed, which will add a Division of Rehabilitation Services representative to the Local Coordinating Council (which makes decisions about state placements for students with disabilities).
• Expansion of Parent Information Training Centers to 19 of the 24 Local School Systems.

 Success Story

The Interagency State Plan for Transitioning Students with Disabilities

The Interagency State Plan for Transitioning Students with Disabilities has identified many areas of need that must be addressed as we build a "seamless system" for transition services. One "success story" is the process that was used to collect anticipated services data for students with disabilities prior to their exiting school.

The Interagency State Plan for Transitioning Students with Disabilities identified areas of need, including:

• the current data collection system for students with disabilities does not capture all students, and fails to consistently identify transition service needs, and
• the adult service agencies are often not aware of or prepared for the numbers of students who exit the public school system.

Legislation was introduced during the spring of 1998 to amend The Interagency State Plan for Transitioning Youth to expand the transition planning framework identified in IDEA. The amendment included discussion and data collection of three additional pieces of information to be collected on an annual basis for all students age 14 and above who receive special education services. The additional requirements were:

• identification of a projected exit date from high school,
• projected exit category (diploma, certificate at age 21, certificate before age 21); and,
• anticipated support services that students need to maintain their transition goals for the first year after exiting.

This information would be reported annually to the state with the December 1 child count. The aggregated information would then be sent to the state level agencies to be used for strategic planning, budget, and staffing considerations. The amendment was passed, and implementation began on December 2, 1998.

A committee representing diverse perspectives considered the most effective manner to address the collection process. This committee included parents, advocates, school-based transition personnel, local and state special education administrators, adult community agency personnel, college disability support personnel, and managers of the data collection systems within the counties.

The committee identified and accomplished three outcomes:

1. the key service needs that would facilitate adult, service agency strategic planning;

2. a method for integrating data collection into the Special Services Information System, Maryland’s child count system, that utilized existing personnel at the local school, district, and state level and the computer capacity, to aggregate and desegregate the needed information; and

3. a method for preparing school-based IEP teams to discuss and provide needed information.

The committee accomplished:

• development of clear, concise definitions of the services that adult service providers offer that will assist in strategic planning in community environments;
• modifications to the SSIS data collection system to collect the new information; and
• publication of transition planning and anticipated services in the transitioning planning process guide, a set of overhead masters, and system of staff development.

The outcomes from this particular activity will affect, a) the school-based IEP team, b) the county level across a number of educational disciplines, c) the state level across different divisions within the state department of education, and d) provide significant strategic planning data for the adult service community. Maryland is currently implementing the first-year plan while developing the second-year plan. The second-year plan will address additional changes to the reporting system, engagement of adult community providers, and broadening of reporting groups to include additional students with disabilities.

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