Affiliations: [a]
University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
| [b]
University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA
Correspondence:
[*]
Address for correspondence: Charles Walters, Center for Transition and Career Innovation, University of Maryland, Seneca Building, 4716 Pontiac St., Suite 1102, College Park, MD 20740, USA. E-mail: [email protected].
Abstract: BACKGROUND:Recent state funding opportunities have brought about a renewed interest in the value of collaboration with Centers for Independent Living (CILs) to support the positive postschool outcomes of youth with disabilities. While the potential of CILs in this domain of practice has been well described, their engagement in such collaborative efforts has been limited. OBJECTIVE:The current study was conducted to better understand the involvement of CILs in supporting transition-age youth with disabilities. METHODS:Through an analysis of publicly available CIL administrative data, the authors examined consumer demographics and service categories from 2015 to 2022. RESULTS:Their findings indicated that, on the whole, CIL involvement with youth has remained limited and the disability demographics of consumers have changed little over time. Moreover, while there has been a steady increase in consumers receiving support in the category of “youth/transition services,” this upward trend has been slight. CONCLUSION:From these results, it can be argued that CIL support of transition-age youth is an issue that merits the ongoing attention of the field. In this article, these findings are discussed alongside implications for the field and future research.
Keywords: Center for independent living, WIOA, transition, collaboration
