Chapter 18: Rehabilitation Counseling and Transitioning from School to Post-School Environments

Transition from school to adult life is one of the more difficult issues for rehabilitation professionals to deal with. Although the legal base is shared across providers, public school personnel, and rehabilitation personnel, the mandate appears to lie with special education. Special educators however, seem to have “a lack of focus or knowledge in how to effectively provide hands-on work experience and training (including mentoring, internships, summer work programs, and career development) to youth with significant disabilities that is typically offered to non-disabled students during their transitional years” (p. 1, TEAM-Education Act, 2011-proposed legislation). We will attempt to provide the legal-base for service delivery, a conceptual model for service delivery, as well as the planning process and some outcomes.