Subject: New Transition Material Available
Source: Barb Gilpin, Interim Assistant Director, Effective Practices

Intended Audience: Special Education Teachers, General Education Teachers, Special Education Directors, Principals, Guidance Counselors, School Psychologists, Youth Care Providers

Date: May 24, 2007

The U. S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) announces the release of Tunnels and Cliffs: A Guide for Workforce Development Practitioners and Policymakers Serving Youth with Mental Health Needs, prepared by the National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth.

The guide's contextual framework is the Guideposts for Success, a document developed by NCWD/Youth in collaboration with ODEP. The Guideposts are research-based and describe key components that all youth, including youth with disabilities, need to transition successfully to adulthood. The Guideposts for Success for Youth with Mental Health Needs, which are included in chapter 3 of Tunnels and Cliffs, incorporate all the elements of the original Guideposts as well as the additional specific needs of youth with mental health disabilities.

This material was developed to help workforce development practitioners, administrators, and policymakers enhance their understanding of youth with mental health needs and the supports necessary to help them transition into the workforce successfully. It highlights systems change initiatives already underway in a growing number of states and communities across the country providing policy makers, with useful information to assist them in addressing system and policy barriers to effective service delivery. Tunnels and Cliffs is available at http://www.ncwd-youth.info/resources_&_Publications/mental_health.html.