The Youth Transition Program (YTP) is a comprehensive transition program for youth with disabilities operated collaboratively by the office of Oregon Office of Vocational Rehabilitation Services (OVRS), the Oregon Department of Education (ODE), the University of Oregon (U of O), and local school districts statewide in Oregon. The purpose of the program is to prepare youth with disabilities for employment or career related post secondary education or training.

YTP was initially developed in seven high schools in 1990 under the auspices of a federal grant. The program currently operates in approximately 120 high schools in Oregon and is funded through a combination of state and local funds from participating education and rehabilitation agencies. OVRS contracts with a team from the U of O to provide training and technical assistance to school and rehabilitation personnel statewide.

All current contracts with local school districts are "performance based". This means that funded YTP sites have to meet certain performance benchmarks targeted at entering the OVRS system, development of an individual plan for employment (IPE), and being "engaged" (i.e. in employment or training or some combination of employment and training) upon exiting the YTP pattern of service. Meeting these benchmarks influences future funding decisions for any particular site. Funding is available on a biennial (i.e. every 2 years) basis and funding decisions are influenced by how YTP sites perform towards meeting their benchmarks. For more specifics about benchmarks, upload the sample "YTP State Summary Report" attached below and read the top of the first page. The data contained in this report was current as of 11/25/2008 and should not be used to describe the performance of the program statewide. It is only a sample.

Participants:

YTP serves youth with disabilities who need additional support, beyond the services typically offered though the general or special education program, to achieve their secondary and post secondary employment and continuing education goals. YTP youth are representative of all youth with disabilities nationally with respect to gender and primary disability categories; however, the majority of youth in the program experience a number of additional individual, family, or school system barriers such as poor academic skills, limited social and independent living skills, negative job experiences, and low levels of family involvement or support. Over 50% of youth currently served through the YTP live in low income families.

Pattern of Services:

The YTP provides services to youth beginning during the last two years of high school and continuing into the early transition years after leaving high school. All students in the program receive a comprehensive pattern of service designed to address a broad array of transition needs including:

• Individualized planning, focused on post school goals and self determination, and help to coordinate school plans with relevant community agencies
• Instruction in academic, vocational,independent living, and personal social skills and help to stay in and complete high school
• Career development services including goal setting, career exploration, job search skills, and self advocacy
• Emphasis on paid employment such as connections with local employers, development of school-based businesses, on the job assessment and training
• Support services such as individualized mentoring and support or referrals for additional specific interventions
• Follow-up support for one year after leaving the program to assist in maintaining positive outcomes in employment or post secondary settings.



NOTE: All YTP students become clients of OVRS, but a young adult with a disability that is an impediment to employment does not have to be served by YTP in order to become a client of OVRS. If you are trying to figure out if YTP is a proper fit, use the features on this website to ask those questions or network with the YTP site nearest you.

To Download a YTP Fact Sheet, or access a historical Decade Report about the first 10 years of YTP, click on the documents below.