National Council on Disability

An independent federal agency making recommendations to the President and Congress 

to enhance the quality of life for all Americans with disabilities and their families.

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Workforce Investment Act Reauthorization 

National Council on Disability 

March 23, 2010 

TOPICAL BRIEF: Transitioning Youth

Recommendation:

Congress should broaden WIA adult services policies at One­Stop Career Centers 

to allow, for one year following completion of secondary education, direct referral 

and priority access to intensive and training services for transition age youth with

disabilities found eligible but placed on waiting lists for VR services. 

Summary of Concern:

A recent high school graduate with a disability deemed less significant by the standards 

of order of selection may be determined eligible for VR services but may be placed on a 

VR agency waiting list and never rise to the top for receipt of services. If one of these 

youth chooses not to pursue, or is not accepted into a two­ or four­year academic 

program at a college or university, then he or she must often rely upon the workforce 

system for training and employment services. Adequate information is determined 

through the VR eligibility process to know whether a transition age youth with a disability 

needs services at the intensive level in the One­Stops or whether he or she would 

benefit more from being placed directly in a training program that matches previously 

identified interests and skills. Priority for employment services is needed so that these 

youth do not lose the knowledge and skills that they have acquired during their

secondary education.

ISSUE 2: Availability and funding of Individual Training Accounts (ITAs)

Recommendation:

Congress should direct state and local Workforce Investment Boards to earmark 

additional ITAs in WIA funding allocations for use by transition age youth with

disabilities deemed less significant by the standards of order of selection who

choose not to pursue post­secondary education. 

Summary of Concern:

Individual Training Accounts (ITAs), which pay for training services through the One­ Stop system, are limited to the amount of funding allocated through the state and local

ISSUE 1: Transition age youth with disabilities on VR waiting lists
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Workforce Investment Boards or that which can be leveraged by One­Stop partner

agencies. The expectation of many of the partners in the workforce system is that if an 

individual has been assessed by VR and is placed on a waiting list, then these 

individuals remain the responsibility of the state VR agency no matter how long the wait 

for services may be. Youth who do not need specialized VR services should not have to 

wait for those services when what they need is available through the One­Stop system.  Unfortunately, the availability of funds for training services through One­Stops is limited,

and what funds are available are prioritized by Workforce Investment Boards for

individuals who are most likely to successfully complete formal certificate or diploma 

programs in a very specific amount of time. These limitations often exclude individuals 

with disabilities from obtaining ITAs. If transition age youth with disabilities deemed less 

significant by the standards of order of selection are to be given priority for ITAs, then 

additional funding must be allocated and prioritized for One­Stop training services.

ISSUE 3: Information for special education teachers about the One­Stop system 

Recommendation:

Congress should direct the Department of Labor and the Department of

Education to ensure that special education teachers have adequate information

about the One­Stop system in order to prepare transitioning students to use the 

services offered. 

Summary of Concern:

Currently, Special educators have few opportunities to learn about WIA services. 

Teachers need to know what the expectations of the workforce system are to be able to 

incorporate academics and functional learning into their curricula to better prepare their

students for employment opportunities in their locality. If special educators understand

how the One Stop Career system works, they can teach their students how to take 

advantage of the services offered through both Youth and Adult Services. It is more 

likely that students will use the services if they are prepared in what to expect rather

than just being told about service availability.

ISSUE 4: Provision of VR services before completion of secondary education

Recommendation:

Congress should change existing VR transition legislation and policy to require 

that VR services be made available to eligible youth no later than three years 

before an adolescent or young adult exits from secondary education. 

Summary of Concern:

The limited time available to VR counselors to serve large numbers of transition age

youth, and the need to meet performance outcome levels directly tied to successful job

placements, has limited the inclusion of VR in the educational transition planning

process in many localities until late in the transition planning process. Many promising 

practices are based on the concept that early intervention by VR will impact the 

educational and vocational experiences of adolescents and help prevent early exit from
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school. Additionally, interventions focused on adolescents three years before exiting

school are more likely to be of sufficient intensity and duration to have significant 

impacts on the employment outcomes of these youth.

ISSUE 5: Transition services units in state VR agencies 

Recommendation:

Congress should authorize and allocate sufficient funds to support the 

development of comprehensive transition units in each state VR agency. 

Summary of Concern:

VR service delivery is different for transition age youth who are still in high school than it 

is for adults who need immediate training and employment services. State VR agencies 

need specialized units of professionals experienced in the transition process from both 

the VR and educational perspectives, who can assist in developing and delivering staff 

development to VR counselors, monitor and evaluate the efficacy of new and ongoing 

service initiatives, and other related functions.

ISSUE 6: Blending of Federal funding for coordinated service delivery 

Recommendation:

Congress should authorize and mandate the development and implementation of

coordinated service delivery approaches specifically targeted to transitioning

youth with disabilities that are based on “blending” of funds from VR, other WIA 

programs, special education, postsecondary education, Veterans Administration,  Social Security Administration, and other appropriate funding agencies. 

Summary of Concern:

In the current economy, there are not enough funds from WIA or any single federal 

agency or funding source to adequately support the service needs of transitioning

youth. Blended funding approaches, such as the WIA Shared Youth Vision

Collaborative Partnership, should be designed and delivered as formal demonstrations 

that would rigorously test the effectiveness of these intervention models. The blended 

funding programs need to be developed with sufficient resources to first validate their

efficacy in local communities within an individual state, and then if successful, to expand

to “full­scale” statewide demonstrations that determine the effectiveness of the 

interventions in multiple settings under varying conditions.

ISSUE 7: Identification of transition program components that directly correlate 

with improved employment and postsecondary outcomes

Recommendation:

Congress should mandate that the Rehabilitation Services Administration, the 

National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, and state Vocational 

Rehabilitation agencies conduct rigorous evaluation studies that identify the
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transition program components that directly correlate with improved employment

and postsecondary outcomes for transition age youth with disabilities. 

Summary of Concern: 

The VR system’s long­term reliance on program evaluation based on descriptive 

information and short­term outcomes does not allow a methodologically sound

evaluation of the efficacy or cost­effectiveness of the different services that are provided 

to transition age youth. A systematic evaluation is needed that focuses on the intensity 

and duration of VR involvement in the transition process and specifically examines the 

differential effects of the delivery of Individual Plan for Employment (IPE) services 

versus other types of services provided to transitioning youth. The approach will require 

a net impact analysis that compares employment and educational outcomes of 

participants in a specific transition intervention with those of a statistically validated 

comparison group to determine, over time, the net impact of VR service provision on

young adults with disabilities.

ISSUE 8: Efficacy of fully­developed transition programs, practices, and policies 

Recommendation:

Congress should mandate and allocate funds to support the implementation of

rigorous evaluation studies designed to establish the efficacy of fully developed

transition programs, practices, and policies. 

Summary of Concern:

Currently, it is difficult for VR agencies to identify programs and practices that may be 

associated with superior employment and education outcomes due to a lack of rigorous 

evaluation studies. While promising transition practices exist in a number of areas 

across the U.S., very few efficacy studies have been conducted to determine the extent 

to which these practices are successful with youth with disabilities transitioning from

secondary education.

The National Council on Disability wishes to express its appreciation to Dr. Beth Bader

and Dr. John Kregel of Virginia Commonwealth University for their assistance in 

developing this brief.