DOMAIN 7
Interagency Collaboration
Interagency collaboration does not happen by accident; it occurs as a result of intentional efforts to communicate in order to share information and resources by a wide range of professionals. Richard Luecking noted that families may need support to access programs or services outside of what is offered by the school system. “Because programs and services are often operated in isolation from one another because of different purposes or different sources of funding, they will not come together automatically when required for individual youth. Transition specialists will often need to act as an intermediary or a facilitator to get multiple partners to work together to support a youth’s work experience” (Luecking, 2009, p. 200). This thought process applies to additional services beyond those related to work experience and employment. Ultimately, the success of students, and their ability to live a meaningful and productive life is enhanced as a result of high-quality transition services and practices implemented through interagency collaboration. “By including students, parents, employers, and service providers in the transition and IEP planning process via interagency collaboration, students have a greater chance of achieving the necessary skills and supports to live, work, and learn independently after leaving high school” (Flowers et al., 2018, p. 212). The presence or lack of existing interagency collaboration will be evident in the services students and young adults access during and after leaving high school. Interagency collaboration can be driven by professionals, students or youth with a disability, or their parents or guardians.
COMPETENCIES
7.1 Serve as a liaison between families and community agencies
7.2 Learn about the range of community services and supports
7.3 Identify the roles, capacities, and constraints of community agencies
7.4 Develop strategies to collect, share, and use relevant data to identify community needs
7.5 Develop and provide transition-related resources and materials to others (e.g., students, parents, educators, service providers, employers)
7.6 Facilitate student/family referral to community services
7.7 Coordinate interagency agreements between schools and outside agencies
7.8 Work with professionals from other disciplines, schools, and agencies
7.9 Problem-solve with agencies to address transition barriers
7.10 Participate in community-level transition teams (transition councils)
7.11 Collaborate with agencies to share funding and staffing for transition services
7.12 Help students develop natural support networks in the community
Information and Artifacts
INTERAGENCY COLLABORATION IN PRACTICE
Challenges for educators in the secondary setting exist in finding the time to seek out, communicate with, and schedule opportunities to meet with representatives of other agencies. In my personal experience; it is virtually impossible to be an educator, case manager, transition specialist, counselor and referral agency all in one. “The concept that all secondary special education teachers should be ‘transition specialists’ is one that is not easily attained due to multiple responsibilities and lack of time and preparation in transition services. Having dedicated, full-time transition specialists at the secondary level would allow for a higher level of collaboration with related service providers” (Plotner et al., 2017, p. 48). Rehabilitation professionals can help lighten the load for overburdened educators who are juggling multiple roles on a regular basis, often without the necessary training to be well-informed regarding resources and services available.
As I do not currently have the support of a transition specialist, I do the best I can as a teacher and case manager. Because my students have been identified as having an intellectual or developmental disability, they are typically eligible for state supported services and, if receiving services, will have a case manager through Sierra Regional Center. Often times, students and parents help to ensure I am aware of the existence of a case manager with another agency, and that person is included in IEP meetings. If the student and parent have provided consent, I will exchange information via email with the case manager; discussing current performance levels, coordinating services, and planning for future transition needs of the student. When the involvement of the agency or case manager is strong, they attend IEP meetings or will invite me to their agency-required quarterly meetings with the youth and family. Sometimes those meetings happen in my classroom because it is most convenient for the family. If a student is not connected with these agencies, I provide the contact information and a brief explanation of the services that may be provided. This demonstrates application of the following competencies: 7.2, 7.6, and 7.8.
In the past I have also been involved with monthly meetings for students in the foster care system. I have had several students in foster care or living in group homes, but only three students who had social workers, case managers, or parents who maintained some form of involvement and who cared to reach out and involve school personnel. In those few cases, attending meetings was incredibly helpful to ensure all parties involved in supporting the youth were aware of circumstances and behaviors in all settings, as well as discuss potential forms of support at school, in the home, and in the community. This level of involvement was very challenging, but beneficial. It occurred on my own personal time, and I often attended meetings in the student’s group home location, or social service agency offices. I was never compensated for this time, and school administration was not aware of the collaboration as it was not an expectation of my role as a special education teacher/case manager. In situations where my students lived in group homes with minimal involvement or communication, I was fortunate to have students who asked me to be involved and support them. In some cases, this helped to ensure that service providers are doing what they are supposed to be doing and allowed me to advocate for youth in questionable circumstances when their voices were not being heard. Because this level of collaboration was not valued by all parties, it was much more challenging to obtain information, be made aware of meetings ahead of time, and my input seemed less pertinent to other providers.
This demonstrates application of the following competencies: 7.2, 7.8, 7.9, and 7.11.
I have also been involved in collaborative efforts with a parole officer from the juvenile justice system, a mental health service provider, and state developmental agency case manager. While the student being served had been involved in the juvenile justice system for many years, the collaboration did not occur until criminal circumstances necessitated such involvement. Although the collaboration was not court ordered, the student’s behavior resulted in actions being taken in the school setting to ensure personal safety and the safety of others. This collaboration involved a single in-person meeting between the juvenile parole officer, the state developmental agency case manager, therapist, student, parent, and myself. It was held at school during school hours. It was helpful to have the face-to-face meeting to help the student understand the supports available and see the people working together to provide assistance. After that meeting, most communication was conducted through a group email that included the service providers only. Each separate professional maintained their own communication with the student and parent but provided updates to other professionals in order to avoid duplicating services and provide clarity about services being provided. We were able to discuss what services were being provided by which professional, in order to provide effective transition-based services based upon agency roles and responsibilities and funding source. This level of communication helped to keep professionals updated on how frequently the student and parent were accessing services and their level of follow-through. We collaborated to connect the student with in-home services, to make sure the student was aware of and understood the personal responsibility to attend court dates, and discussed alternative education options. Although juvenile probation and the therapist had to terminate services, due to lack of student and parent participation, I continued to collaborate with the state developmental agency case manager. The previous level of collaboration ensured that the remaining professionals on the team were aware of previous efforts and challenges, as well as current needs of the student; the team did not have to start over from scratch. This demonstrates application of the following competencies: 7.2, 7.3, 7.4, 7.8, 7.9 and 7.11.
It is not only students who benefit from collaborative relationships between rehabilitation professionals and educators. As educators have more and more responsibilities shifted their way, transition-related professionals can be a resource for educators, in addition to youth and families who receive direct benefits. “Rehabilitation professionals need to be the primary source of information regarding community resources and adult service providers to increase youth independence, choice, and success” (Oertle, Plotner & Trach, 2013, p. 32). This is particularly important at a time with special education teachers are often required to be all things to all people.
One new and specialized form of collaboration exists between my school district and the local university. Washoe County School District entered into a “Memorandum of Understanding with the Board of Regents of the Nevada System of Higher Education, to support the dual enrollment and participation of Washoe County School District students with intellectual/developmental disabilities (IDD) in the Path to Independence (P2I) Program at the University of Nevada, Reno during the 2017-2018 School Year” (Washoe County School District, 2018). This collaboration is expected to continue to provide access to higher education for youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Although this collaboration has occurred at the administrative level, very little information has trickled down to the case managers who would be able to refer students to this valuable opportunity. Details about how to refer a student, how funding works, and what steps need to be taken prior to referral have not been provided. This demonstrates a significant barrier in collaborative efforts between agencies; making sure information is shared and processes are understood. It would be helpful for educational case managers to have an opportunity during their contracted work time to learn more about the program, speak with program coordinators, and develop a strong understanding of the requirements for students to attend. Because I am a classroom teacher, I am not able to coordinate interagency agreements between schools and outside agencies, but this situation provides an example of competency 7.7.
An informal form of collaboration exists online. I access various disability-related agencies, groups and information through Facebook. I will share the events, information, and personal stories in order to raise awareness and promote community participation. I have several friends who have disabilities and I also continue to communicate with former students through Facebook after they have aged out of public education. Facebook serves as an informal means for professionals and agencies to collaborate. Agencies and providers share information about services, events, legislative updates, and topics of interest through social media. Below is a list of agencies or organizations I follow on Facebook, along with their individual websites. This demonstrates my application of the following competencies: 7.1, 7.2, 7.5 and 7.12.
Nevada Governor’s Council on Developmental Disabilities http://www.nevadaddcouncil.org
High Sierra Industries/WARC http://hsireno.org
National Rehabilitation Information Center (NARIC) http://www.naric.com
Cerebral Palsy Foundation http://yourcpf.org
Ai-Media http://www.ai-media.tv
Project 375 http://project375.org
Mylow http://www.mylownv.com
Path to Independence https://www.unr.edu/nced/projects/nced_p2i
I have developed a community resource directory that was designed with my students in mind. This resource directory is relevant to students who have intellectual or developmental disabilities and their families. I have shared this with my colleagues and outside agencies in order to supplement their own resource directories that do not likely have this specific focus. This resource directory demonstrates application of the following competencies: 7.2, 7.5, 7.6 and 7.12.
After completing my graduate program at the University of Kansas, I intend to seek out opportunities to serve on community-level transition teams. This intent demonstrates potential application of competency 7.10. New programs are being developed and existing programs are expanding, which provides me with a variety of opportunities. I am also considering alternative ways to apply my knowledge of transition domains and competencies to improve local practices.
