Pre Employment Transition Services
Pre-ETS offer students with disabilities an early start at career exploration and preparation for adult life. Beginning at age 14, students with disabilities can connect with DVRS for Pre-ETS. DVRS works with students, their families, their schools, and community partners to enrich transition planning and support students in gaining knowledge and experiences necessary for making informed decisions about one’s future. DVRS counselors from each field office are assigned to secondary schools to function as the liaison between the school and DVRS. Our counselors collaborate with child study teams and other school personnel regarding student transition plans, as well as to offer in-service trainings to school staff, students, and parents. Referral
If you are currently attending high school, you may be able to get services from DVRS. You can refer yourself using the Referral link. Services are mostly about preparing for employment and thinking about life after graduation. Speak with a DVRS Counselor about what is available in your area.
Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD)
Transition from School to Adult Life
Students receiving services through school are able to continue doing so through age 21. If you choose to graduate or leave school between the ages of 18 and 21, it is important to discuss service options with your school’s Individualized Education Program (IEP) Team and transition coordinator.
If you are approved for DDD services and leave the school system before age 21, there are some, limited, services available. Speak with your school and DDD Support Coordination agency about options before deciding to leave the district.
NJ DDD Planning For Adult Life
Planning for Adult Life is a statewide project funded by the NJ Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD) to assist young adults (between the ages of 16-21) with developmental disabilities and their families in charting a life course for adulthood. Informational sessions, webinars, and resource guides/materials will address the following core areas:
- Postsecondary Education/Employment
- Housing Legal/Financial Planning
- Self-Direction
- Health/Behavioral Health
- Building/Maintaining Community Ties & Friendships
- Planning/Visioning a Life Course
This is a free program for your school that helps 16-21 year old students plan for the future in a classroom setting. Your school can contact the program to set up.
Project SEARCH is a unique, business led, school-to-work vocational training and internship program that takes place entirely at a workplace. The program typically serves high school students over the course of their last year of school who have an Individualized Education Program (IEP); however, the program has also served out-of-school youth and young adults.
- Visit the NJ Division of Vocational Rehabilitation website and select Project SEARCH near the bottom of the services listing.
- Project Search National Site
Project SEARCH replaces the last year of high school for a chosen group of students with disabilities with life skills class and internship at a business. See listing at the bottom of the NJ DVRS page for sites in your area.
Transition Resources
https://boggscenter.rwjms.rutgers.edu/resources/publications/transition-to-adulthood-timeline-for-parents
https://www.nj.gov/humanservices/ddd/assets/documents/individuals/graduates-timeline.pdf
The Childhood Disability Coalition
Statewide Parent Advocacy Network – Transition to Adulthood Resources
Think College!
Postsecondary education resources for students with intellectual disabilities
We Connect Now
A virtual community for college students with disabilities
NJ Department of Developmental Disabilities: Pathways to Adult Life
The Center for Transition to Adult Health Care for Youth with Disabilities, a national center funded by the Administration for Community Living (ACL), has launched a website to help young people and their families take the lead in health care transitions. The accessible site was developed for and by youth with IDD. It has tools and resources for youth and their families, as well as resources for health care professionals who are supporting these families through health care transition.