[Mdabs] FW: [nabs-l] Fw: [rehab] Better Federal Coordination Could Lessen Challenges in the Transition from High School, GAO-12-594, July 12 2012

Thu Aug 9 01:09:09 UTC 2012

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-----Original Message-----
From: nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Anmol Bhatia
Sent: Wednesday, August 08, 2012 8:42 PM
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Subject: [nabs-l] Fw: [rehab] Better Federal Coordination Could Lessen
Challenges in the Transition from High School, GAO-12-594, July 12 2012


--- On Wed, 8/8/12, Nightingale, Noel <Noel.Nightingale at ed.gov> wrote:

> From: Nightingale, Noel <Noel.Nightingale at ed.gov>
> Subject: [rehab] Better Federal Coordination Could Lessen Challenges 
> in the Transition from High School, GAO-12-594, July 12 2012
> To: "rehab at nfbnet.org" <rehab at nfbnet.org>
> Date: Wednesday, August 8, 2012, 6:29 PM
> 
> 
> Link:
> http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-12-594
> 
> Text:
> Students with Disabilities
> Better Federal Coordination Could Lessen Challenges in the Transition 
> from High School GAO-12-594, Jul 12, 2012
> *         Highlights<http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-12-594#summary>
> View Report (PDF, 71 pages)<http://www.gao.gov/assets/600/592329.pdf>
> Additional Materials:
> *         Podcast:
> o    Assisting Students with Disabilities Transitioning from High 
> School<http://www.gao.gov/multimedia/podcasts/593300>
> *         Highlights Page
> (PDF, 1 page)<http://www.gao.gov/assets/600/592328.pdf>
> *         Accessible
> Text<http://www.gao.gov/assets/600/593299.txt>
> Contact:
> Revae E. Moran
> (202) 512-7215
> moranr at gao.gov<mailto:moranr at gao.gov>
> 
> Office of Public Affairs
> (202) 512-4800
> youngc1 at gao.gov<mailto:youngc1 at gao.gov>
> What GAO Found
> Students with disabilities face several longstanding challenges 
> accessing services that may assist them as they transition from high 
> school into postsecondary education or the workforce-services such as 
> tutoring, vocational training, and assistive technology. Eligible 
> students with disabilities are entitled to transition planning 
> services during high school, but after leaving high school, to receive 
> services that facilitate their transition they must apply as adults 
> and establish eligibility for programs administered by multiple 
> federal agencies. Students with disabilities may face delays in 
> service and end up on waitlists if these programs are full. In 
> addition, while all five states GAO contacted have taken steps to 
> coordinate their transition services and assist families with the 
> transition process, officials said that it is still difficult for 
> students and their parents to navigate and for providers to coordinate 
> services across different programs.
> Officials and parents GAO spoke with also noted a lack of sufficient 
> information or awareness of the full range of service options 
> available after high school on the part of students with disabilities, 
> parents, and service providers.
> In addition, state and local officials said students with disabilities 
> may not be adequately prepared to successfully transition to life 
> after high school. This may be due, in part, to limited opportunities 
> to engage in vocational and life skills training or obtain work 
> experience while in school.
> The Departments of Education (Education), Health and Human Services 
> (HHS), and Labor (Labor), and the Social Security Administration (SSA) 
> coordinate transition activities to some degree, but their 
> coordination has limitations and they do not assess the effectiveness 
> of their efforts. One coordinating body involves all four agencies and 
> focuses on transition services. However, that group's primary 
> coordination activity is information sharing among staff-level 
> representatives rather than developing common outcome goals and 
> establishing compatible policies for operating across agencies. Agency 
> officials told GAO that a lack of compatible outcome goals for 
> transitioning students and differences in statutory eligibility 
> criteria are among the barriers that hinder interagency coordination 
> for this population. While agencies collaborate to some extent, their 
> efforts represent a patchwork approach and there is no single, formal, 
> government-wide strategy for coordinating transition services for 
> students with disabilities.
> Moreover, it is unclear what impact coordination has on service 
> provision because agencies do not assess the effectiveness of their 
> coordination activities.
> Why GAO Did This Study
> The transition out of high school to postsecondary education or the 
> workforce can be a challenging time, especially for students with 
> disabilities. Multiple federal agencies fund programs to support these 
> students during their transition.
> In 2003, GAO reported that limited coordination among these programs 
> can hinder a successful transition. GAO was asked to provide 
> information on the (1) challenges students with disabilities may face 
> accessing federally funded transition services; and (2) extent to 
> which federal agencies coordinate their transition activities. GAO 
> reviewed relevant federal laws, regulations, and agency documents from 
> Education, HHS, Labor, and SSA, which administer the key programs that 
> provide transition services. GAO also administered a data collection 
> instrument to gather program information from these agencies. Finally, 
> GAO interviewed various stakeholders, including state and local 
> officials, service providers, parents, and students with disabilities, 
> in five states selected based on the number of federal grants they 
> received to fund transition services.
> What GAO Recommends
> To improve the provision of transition services for students with 
> disabilities, GAO recommends that Education, HHS, Labor, and SSA 
> develop an interagency transition strategy that addresses (1) 
> operating toward common outcome goals for transitioning youth; (2) 
> increasing awareness of available transition services; and (3) 
> assessing the effectiveness of their coordination efforts. All four 
> agencies agreed with the recommendation.
> For more information, contact Revae E. Moran at (202)
> 512-7215 or moran at gao.gov<mailto:moran at gao.gov>.
> Recommendations for Executive Action
> GAO is currently experiencing technical difficulties and is 
> temporarily not displaying recommendation status and comments 
> information.
> Recommendation: To improve the provision of transition services to 
> students with disabilities through enhanced coordination among the 
> multiple federal programs that support this population, the 
> Secretaries of Education, HHS, and Labor, and the Commissioner of SSA 
> should direct the appropriate program offices to work collaboratively 
> to develop a federal interagency transition strategy. This strategy 
> should address: 1. compatible policies, procedures, and other means to 
> operate across agency boundaries towards common outcomes for 
> transitioning youth and their families; 2. methods to increase 
> awareness among students, families, high school teachers, and other 
> service providers on the range of available transition services; and 
> 3. ways to assess the effectiveness of federal coordination efforts in 
> providing transition services. To the extent that legislative changes 
> are needed to facilitate the implementation of this transition 
> strategy, agencies should identify and communicate them to the 
> Congress.
> Agency Affected: Department of Education
> Recommendation: To improve the provision of transition services to 
> students with disabilities through enhanced coordination among the 
> multiple federal programs that support this population, the 
> Secretaries of Education, HHS, and Labor, and the Commissioner of SSA 
> should direct the appropriate program offices to work collaboratively 
> to develop a federal interagency transition strategy. This strategy 
> should address: 1. compatible policies, procedures, and other means to 
> operate across agency boundaries towards common outcomes for 
> transitioning youth and their families; 2. methods to increase 
> awareness among students, families, high school teachers, and other 
> service providers on the range of available transition services; and 
> 3. ways to assess the effectiveness of federal coordination efforts in 
> providing transition services. To the extent that legislative changes 
> are needed to facilitate the implementation of this transition 
> strategy, agencies should identify and communicate them to the 
> Congress.
> Agency Affected: Department of Health and Human Services
> Recommendation: To improve the provision of transition services to 
> students with disabilities through enhanced coordination among the 
> multiple federal programs that support this population, the 
> Secretaries of Education, HHS, and Labor, and the Commissioner of SSA 
> should direct the appropriate program offices to work collaboratively 
> to develop a federal interagency transition strategy. This strategy 
> should address: 1. compatible policies, procedures, and other means to 
> operate across agency boundaries towards common outcomes for 
> transitioning youth and their families; 2. methods to increase 
> awareness among students, families, high school teachers, and other 
> service providers on the range of available transition services; and 
> 3. ways to assess the effectiveness of federal coordination efforts in 
> providing transition services. To the extent that legislative changes 
> are needed to facilitate the implementation of this transition 
> strategy, agencies should identify and communicate them to the 
> Congress.
> Agency Affected: Department of Labor
> Recommendation: To improve the provision of transition services to 
> students with disabilities through enhanced coordination among the 
> multiple federal programs that support this population, the 
> Secretaries of Education, HHS, and Labor, and the Commissioner of SSA 
> should direct the appropriate program offices to work collaboratively 
> to develop a federal interagency transition strategy. This strategy 
> should address: 1. compatible policies, procedures, and other means to 
> operate across agency boundaries towards common outcomes for 
> transitioning youth and their families; 2. methods to increase 
> awareness among students, families, high school teachers, and other 
> service providers on the range of available transition services; and 
> 3. ways to assess the effectiveness of federal coordination efforts in 
> providing transition services. To the extent that legislative changes 
> are needed to facilitate the implementation of this transition 
> strategy, agencies should identify and communicate them to the 
> Congress.
> Agency Affected: Social Security Administration
> 
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