Youth Transitions

Youth Transition:
TACE Region 8 is developing a regional Community of Practice (CoP) in the area of Youth Transition for our region. The purpose of this CoP is to help the states in our region continually improve their efforts toward serving our youth as they transition from school to work or school to higher education. 

Our processes within this CoP are dedicated to creating productive resources to inform your transition efforts of the most cutting edge and most highly productive ways of delivering services. To that end we will be referencing what we call, “the National Conversation.”

The IDEA Partnership, a National Conversation on Youth Transition
There is a highly active and productive national conversation already in play that we reference here and highly encourage your state to become a participating member.

http://www.ideapartnership.org

1. The IDEA Partnership is dedicated to improving outcomes for students and youth with disabilities by joining state agencies and stakeholders through shared work and learning. 
2. The IDEA Partnership reflects the collaborative work of more than 55 national organizations, technical assistance providers, and organizations and agencies at state and local level.  Together with the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), the Partner Organizations
   form a community with the potential to transform the way we work.
3. The IDEA Partnership Communities of Practice are focused on advancing policy and practice in four key areas: (a) the intersections of the No Child Left Behind Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA); (b) school behavioral health services; (c) interagency transition, and (d) teacher quality.  As partner organizations work together and with States, districts, local sites and individuals, they form Communities of Practice whose members learn from each other and take action together in coordinated ways.

http://www.sharedwork.org
The SharedWork.org website is designed to support and facilitate the shared work that occurs among individuals, organizations and agencies at the local, district, state, and national levels.  For each community of practice, state, or
practice group, you will find the following sections: What’s New, Repository, and Discussion. 

Region 8 consists of 6 states: Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming.  One state in our region, North Dakota, has been benefiting from a plethora of support and information from the IDEA Partnership.  This is not a
networking group so much as an organized and well-funded process for increasing outcomes in youth transition. 

Watch for an upcoming announcement about a conference call in which Cheryl and Gerry will explain

• why North Dakota joined and  
• the benefits they’ve experienced from belonging.

The TACE staff serving as contact people for this effort are Debra Whitehead (dwhitehead@denveroptions.org) and Joe Lewis (jlewis@denveroptions.org).

For information about Transition Services in your state or others in our region, please feel free to contact the following people (this list will be updated as additional information is gathered):

COLORADO
Karen Ferrington; DVR Human Resources and Training
karen.ferrington@state.co.us, 303.866.3779

Cheryl A. Carver, MA, CRC, CVE; Statewide SWAP & Transition Coordinator
Cheryl.Carver@state.co.us, 303.866.4827

Sue Schierkolk MS, CRC; Youth and Business Programs Manager
Susan.Schierkolk@state.co.us, 303.866.4754

MONTANA
Brigitte Bellefleur, DVR Human Resources and Training
bwinfield@mt.gov, 406.444.3567

Barb Schiedermayer
bschiedermayer@mt.gov

June Hermanson, Montana Youth Leadership
mylfjuneh@bresnan.net, 406.442.2576; www.montanayouthtransitions.org

NORTH DAKOTA
Please note that North Dakota is a participating member of the National Community of Practice on Youth Transition
Cheryl Hess, the Department of Vocational Rehabilitation
chess@nd.gov

Gerry Teevens, Department of Public Instruction, State Dept of Special Ed
gteevens@nd.gov

SOUTH DAKOTA
Dan Rounds, Coordinator, Transition Services Liaison Project
drounds@tie.net, 605.224.5336, www.tslp.org

Bev Petersen, Southeastern Region-Sioux Falls, SD
bev.petersen@state.sd.us, 605.367.5330

Cindy Kirschman, North Central Region-Aberdeen, SD
cindy.kirschman@state.sd.us, 605.626.2398

Dave Halverson, Western Region-Sturgis, SD
dhalverson@bhssc.tie.net, 605.347.4467

Lori Wehlander, South Central Region- Huron, SD
lwehlander@tie.net, 605.353.8571

Melissa Flor, South Dakota Office of Special Education Programs
melissa.flor@state.sd.us, 605.773.8195

Bernie Grimme, Assistant Director, Division of Rehabilitation Services
bernie.grimme@state.sd.us, 605.773.6284

David Scherer, DakotaLink
dscherer@tie.net, 605.347.4467

Tim Neyhart, South Dakota Advocacy Services
neyhartt@sdadvocacy.com, 605.224.8294

UTAH
Jennifer Smart, DVR Human Resources and Training
jsmart@utah.gov

Tim Riesen, Department of Special Education, University of Utah
tim.riesen@utah.edu, 801.585.3154

WYOMING
Brian Hickman, Department of Workforce Services
bhickm@state.wy.us, 307.777.6841

Additional Links on Youth Transitions:

http://www.nsttac.org
http://www.montanayouthtransitions.org
http://www.cde.state.co.us/cdesped/download/pdf/FF-SWAP.pdf