Pre-Employment Transition Services - A Guide for Collaboration Among State Vocational Rehabilitation Agencies and Education Partners

Oct 15, 2026

A practical guide outlining how state vocational rehabilitation (VR) agencies and education partners collaborate to deliver pre-employment transition services for students with disabilities. It explains how IDEA transition planning and WIOA amendments create shared mandates, then details local partnership development, day-to-day coordination, and student-centered planning processes. The guide also addresses family engagement strategies, goals-setting and progress evaluation, scheduling collaboration routines, and includes planning resources, meeting examples, and referral and tracking tools.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages151

Reading Time6 h 21 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Section 1: A Shared Understanding of Transition Services

Section 2: Building Your Local Partnership

Section 3: Coordination and Collaboration for Individual Student Planning

Section 4: Partnering with Families: Reimagining the Possibilities

References

Appendices

Pre-Employment Transition Services: A Guide for Collaboration Among State Vocational Rehabilitation Agencies and Education Partners WINTAC Workforce Innovation Technical Assistance Center Table of Contents Introduction 5 Section 1: A Shared Understanding of Transition Services 7 Understanding Individuals with Disabilities 8 Education Act (IDEA) Transition Services Understanding Pre-Employment Transition Services (Pre-ETS) 13 Aligning the Work of VR Counselors and Schools 22 Financial Obligations of VR and Schools 22 Financial Responsibilities of VR Agencies and 23 Local Education Agencies (LEAs) Coordinating Resources 24 Continuum of VR Services 29 Coordination of the IEP and IPE 30 Section 2: Building Your Local Partnership 33 Review Current Interagency Agreements at State and Local Levels 34 Administrative Engagement 36 Establishing a Process and Logistics for 38 Day-to-Day Collaboration Student Referral for Pre-Employment Transition 41 Services and VR Services Coordination of Transition Services/Pre-Employment 45 Transition Services Establishing Goals / Evaluating Progress 50 Scheduling Regular Times to Meet 52 Section 3: Coordination and Collaboration for Individual Student Planning 55 Student Involvement in Planning 56 Student-Led Planning Meeting 57 Student Collaboration Meeting 60 Organize and Share Individual Student Information 61 Providing Individual Transition and Pre-Employment Transition Services 63 Aligning the “I” s and “P”s 65 Section 4: Partnering with Families: Reimagining the Possibilities 71 The Starting Point: Empathy and Understanding 72 Care vs. Support 73 Defining Family Engagement: Focus on Outcomes 73 Aligning Pre-Employment Transition Services and Family Engagement 75 Strategies to Engage Families around Employment 77 Recommendation: Build Capacity for Effective Family 85 Engagement through Pre-Service Programs | References | 89 | | --- | --- | | | | | Appendices | 93 | | 1-A Pre-Employment Transition Services Common | 95 | Terms and Acronyms 1-B Pre-Employment Transition Services Planning Resources 99 2-A Administrator Meeting Agenda Example 101 2-B Start of School Checklist 103 2-C Student Tracking Form for VR Referral 105 2-D LEA/IVRS Service Delivery Plan 107 2-E Sample Core Transition Team Collaborative Agreement 111 2-F Collaboration Meetings Schedule 115 2-G Fall Meet and Greet 119 2-H Fall Planning Meeting 121 2-I Winter Check-In Meeting 123 2-J Spring Evaluation and Planning Meeting 125 2-K Local Partnership Planning Guide 127 2-L Local Partnership Action Plan 131 3-A Student Collaboration Meeting Agenda 133 3-B Example: Student Tracking Sheet 135 3-C Positive Personal Profile 137 3-D Example Positive Personal Profile 139 3-E Flow of Services: Individual Student Level 141 3-F Example Flow of Services: Individual Student Level 143 3-G Individual Student Planning Tool 145 4-A TransCen Seamless Transition Parent Interview 149 This document was developed by The National Technical Assistance Center on Transition (NTACT), funded by Cooperative Agreement Number H326E140004 with the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) . Opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the position or policy of the U.S. Department of Education nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Department of Education. Introduction Pre-Employment Transition Services State educational, local educational and vocational rehabilitation (VR) agencies each have mandates to assist students with disabilities in preparing for, obtaining, and maintaining competitive integrated employment . The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Rehabilitation Act), as amended by Title IV of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), expanded the population of students with disabilities

FAQs

What mandates require VR agencies and schools to provide transition services?

VR agencies and schools are Federally mandated to provide transition services under the Rehabilitation Act and IDEA, with WIOA expanding VR’s role and requiring pre-employment transition services.

How does the guide recommend building local interagency partnerships?

It recommends reviewing current interagency agreements, engaging administrators, establishing clear processes and logistics, setting day-to-day collaboration practices, and using referrals and service coordination routines.

How are students and families involved in transition planning in this guide?

The guide emphasizes student involvement through student-led planning meetings and collaborative information sharing, and it reframes family engagement around outcomes with strategies to connect families to employment-focused services.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Alex Sinclair