Key Partners
Effective transition planning and services depend on the collaboration of key stakeholders. A strong transition team includes students, families, educators, and community agency partners working together to help the student achieve their post-school goals. In Virginia, numerous agencies offer essential resources, support, and services for transition-age youth and their families. This page provides an overview of each agency, the services they provide, and links to their websites.
Center on Transition Innovations
The Center on Transition Innovations (CTI), funded through the Virginia Department of Education, provides resources and innovative models to support students with disabilities in their transition to adulthood. CTI keeps transition stakeholders updated on evidence-based practices that will assist students in reaching their goals after high school.
Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services
The Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services (DARS) partners with students, families, schools, and providers to offer Pre-ETS and vocational rehabilitation services. These services help students develop the skills needed to successfully transition from school to work and adult life.
Department for the Blind and Vision Impaired
The Department for the Blind and Vision Impaired (DBVI) supports individuals who are blind, vision impaired, or deafblind to achieve quality outcomes in education, employment, and independence. DBVI offers a variety of Pre-ETS and vocational rehabilitation services to help students prepare for employment, education, and personal independence.
Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services
The Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS) supports individuals with behavioral health and developmental disabilities by offering a variety of services. DBHDS collaborates with students, families, and community organizations to offer resources, guidance, and support, ensuring a successful transition into adult services and community integration.
Department of Education
The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) offers valuable support, information, and resources to enhance the outcomes for students with disabilities as they transition from secondary to post-school outcomes.
Department of Juvenile Justice
The Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) provides ongoing transition supports to students. The goal of these services is to provide a seamless educational transition as students enter until the time they return to the community. The Juvenile Justice Education Transition Services use the Pathful Program. Students conduct job searches, complete career interest inventories, and learn workplace readiness skills. DJJ works with community and state partners to ensure that services meet students' personal and cognitive needs.
I’m Determined
The I’m Determined project focuses on providing direct instruction, models, opportunities, and tools for educators, families, and students to build self-determination skills. I’m Determined strives to empower youth to set goals, understand their own strengths and needs, and build leadership skills.
Parent Educational Advocacy Training Center
The Parent Educational Advocacy Training Center (PEATC) is committed to reaching all families, schools, and communities to improve outcomes for students with disabilities. PEATC provides assistance to families with transition IEPs, transition planning, postsecondary options, community involvement, Medicaid, Medicaid Waivers, SSI, and SSDI. PEATC offers resources for parents and students in SPANISH and can provide help in over 300 languages.
PEATC Transition University
In collaboration with the Virginia Department of Education, PEATC offers a free, self-paced, 5-session online course designed to provide parent-friendly transition information to help make transition planning easier.
Partnership for People with Disabilities
Since 1985, the Partnership for People with Disabilities at Virginia Commonwealth University has served as Virginia’s University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities, bringing evidence-informed and best practices in how to support infants, children and adults with disabilities, and their families. The Partnership runs over 40 projects each year, many coordinated by people with disabilities or families who bring their lived experiences and wisdom navigating a variety of education, health, community, and disability systems. The Center for Family Involvement, LEAP, Project PEACE, and the Inclusion Project are just a few examples of these projects.
Training and Technical Assistance Centers
Virginia has eight Training and Technical Assistance Centers (TTAC) located at Universities across the Commonwealth. Each TTAC offers a variety of services tailored to assist school personnel, with increasing successful post-school outcomes. These services are designed to facilitate the use of research-based practices and increase capacity to improve outcomes for students with disabilities.