Transitioning from a student to adulthood is challenging for everyone, especially for those youth and young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I\/DD). Now, there\u2019s hope for an easier transition.<\/p>\n
The Institute for Human Development (IHD) at Northern Arizona University was recently awarded a one-year, $100,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration on Disabilities to develop a comprehensive, integrated\u00a0pilot\u00a0plan to help youth with I\/DD transition to employment or postsecondary education in the state of Arizona.<\/p>\n
Currently, numerous organizations\u00a0already are working to\u00a0assist these youth. This grant will allow\u00a0IHD to\u00a0bring these\u00a0diverse\u00a0stakeholders together and form the Arizona Coalition for Transition\u00a0Success\u00a0(AzCTS)\u2014a coalition to collaboratively develop a\u00a0seamless, integrated\u00a0transition success plan\u00a0that will\u00a0support better outcomes for employment and postsecondary education.<\/p>\n
NAU\u2019s IHD is part of a nationwide network of designated University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD). For this project, IHD\u00a0is collaborating with\u00a0a variety of community partners including the Sonoran UCEDD at\u00a0the\u00a0University of Arizona, The Arc of Arizona and IHD\u2019s Consumer Advisory Council to form\u00a0AzCTS.<\/p>\n
“The Sonoran UCEDD, our counterpart organization in Tucson, has laid a strong foundation\u00a0regarding transition and employment,\u201d said IHD associate director Jill Pleasant<\/strong>. \u201cWe are thrilled to collaborate to really move the needle for\u00a0improving\u00a0transition outcomes in Arizona.\u201d<\/p>\n The group will perform\u00a0a comprehensive\u00a0review and analysis of the current transition landscape in Arizona\u00a0and identify effective practices and supports\u00a0leading to the development of a\u00a0\u201cno wrong door\u201d\u00a0approach to assist young adults with disabilities. The approach is designed to ensure that consistent information about transition processes, services and supports is available to youth with disabilities, families and providers across public and private agencies in Arizona.<\/p>\n \u201cOur state\u2019s transition leaders know that better transition outcomes for persons with I\/DD\u2014folks integrated into their communities, exercising personal choices and using systemic supports\u00a0to access employment and postsecondary education\u2014benefit everyone in the state,\u201d Pleasant said. \u201cThis grant will allow us to help those in need of some assistance.\u201d<\/p>\n Institute leaders\u00a0hope this grant will allow them to provide\u00a0a comprehensive transition plan that empowers youth and young adults with disabilities to make informed decisions and exercise control over their transition from students to adults,\u00a0in order to achieve their personal goals.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"