What is the National Transition Conversation? The National Transition Conversation (NTC) is a centralized forum for practitioners whose primary goal is working with transition-age teens and young adults who are blind or have low-vision. Offered through the APH ConnectCenter. The National Transition Conversation hosts:
Essentially, the NTC is both a community meeting and an online forum for stakeholders invested in facilitating successful transitions for blind and low-vision youths.
The National Transition Conversation is a forum for gathering and sharing information on practices in the field of Transition Services. This forum is where experts, seasoned professionals, and anyone looking to learn can share ideas about transition services with practitioners new in our field. The NTC has become an influential part of the APH ConnectCenter’s platforms and a trusted source for timely and accurate information from transition service peer practitioners. A central offering and component of the National Transition Conversation includes the exchange of information and deeper understanding of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) including Pre-Employment Transition Services (Pre-ETS).
On July 29, 2020, from 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm (eastern time), the APH ConnectCenter sponsored the first National Transition Conversation. During our flagship meeting, over 100 transition and vocational rehabilitation professionals engaged in frank discussions on how to further include rehabilitation, education, and transition practitioners at all stages of the transition timeline. We also explored needs for Pre-ETS and employment opportunities for blind and low-vision youths, the challenges, successes, and excitement surrounding transition and Workforce Innovation & Opportunity Act (WIOA) programming at the national level.
On January 21, 2021, the APH ConnectCenter hosted the next National Transition Conversation. During this meeting Shannon McVoy from the Michigan Bureau of Services for Blind Persons shared The Nuts and Bolts of Pre-ETS Program Development and Collaboration to help other PETS service providers learn how Michigan was able to create dynamic multi-partner collaborations to support summer programs for blind and low-vision transition-age youth in Michigan.
In support of facilitating collaboration and discussion, APH ConnectCenter also relaunched the National Transition Conversation listserv through Group IO to connect practitioners in the field of transition to Rehabilitation and education professionals. We encourage you to join the conversation.
To subscribe to the National Transition Conversation listserv, simply email The National Transition Conversation. You can also visit this link.
You can watch The Nuts and Bolts of Pre-ETS Program Development and Collaboration here: