The HSC Foundation (HSCF) has launched a Youth Transitions Initiative, designed to become a long-range signature project to assist young people with disabilities and chronic illness in the Washington metropolitan area and beyond to move from school to adulthood to the world of work. The aim is for the Initiative to become a central resource in the field of youth transitions, filling gaps in information and providing support for organizations that are involved in transitioning youth. The Foundation’s approach to youth in transition is intended to be comprehensive, and as such, includes health, education, vocational training, youth development, employment, and social components. The Initiative’s ultimate goal is to strengthen transition programs and services and stimulate other investments in the field.

• Download the Youth Transitions Initiative launch paper as an Adobe PDF file
• Download the Youth Transitions Initiative launch paper as a Microsoft Word file

Youth Transitions Summit

On September 21, 2006, The HSC Foundation convened a summit of professionals, youth with disabilities, and their families to examine the education, career preparation, independent living, and social and attitudinal barriers to successful transitions and to recommend initiatives that might be undertaken to increase the successful transition of youth with disabilities.

• Download the Youth Transitions Summit paper as an Adobe PDF file
• Download the Youth Transitions Summit paper as a Microsoft Word file

Health Issues Impacting Youth Transitions Roundtable

On November 28, 2006, The HSC Foundation convened clinician experts to obtain their insights on health issues related to youth transitions, including identifying those areas where there is the greatest need for improvement.

• Download the Health Impacts Roundtable paper as an Adobe PDF file
• Download the Health Impacts Roundtable paper as a Microsoft Word file

Grantees

Institute for Educational Leadership
Co-sponsorship of a June 2007 national symposium on high school reform, including the issue of diplomas versus certificates of completion.

Children´s Hospital Boston
Sponsorship of the "State of the Science Conference", including support for an evening Town Hall meeting with a keynote presentation by Greg Smith, a disability advocate, radio host, and motivational speaker.

Fihankra Akoma Ntoaso (FAN)
Program support for their Positive Youth Development, Youth Ensemble, and Transitions Programs.

National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth
Co-sponsorship of an August 2007 National Youth Development &Leadership Summit to develop an action plan for improving policy and practice in the youth development and leadership field.

Disability Funders Network
Sponsorship of a series of informational teleconferences around topics relating to disability, including youth transitions.

Children’s Hospital Boston/Harvard Medical School
Sponsorship of a study to determine the incidence, prevalence, and survival of selected chronic illnesses, followed by a final paper on study findings indicating the economic impact of youth with disabilities as they transition into adulthood.

Incenter Strategies
In collaboration with the American Academy of Pediatrics, sponsorship of a national survey of pediatricians to ascertain their interest in expanding their practices to more fully serve transitioning adolescents and to determine existing transition policies.

John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Sponsorship of five internships for youth with disabilities within cultural organizations in the Washington metropolitan area.

Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic of Metropolitan Washington
Expansion of the vocational education series and outreach program.

National Council on Independent Living
Curriculum development and regional trainings for youth practitioners in community-based organizations.

Kingsbury Center
In partnership with The George Washington University, internship opportunities for students with severe learning disabilities.

The Washington Center
Expansion of the Public Service Internship Program for College Students with Disabilities.

Smithsonian Institution Accessibility Program
Sponsorship of the youth transitions module for the October 2007 IDEA Celebration for youth.

The University of the District of Columbia
Sponsorship of scholarships for nine students, three in each of the following four-year undergraduate programs: Language and Speech Pathology, Special Education, and Nursing.

U.S. Business Leadership Network
Sponsorship of the formation of a Youth Advisory Council.

National Consortium on Leadership & Disability for Youth
Translation and printing of seven tools/guides for youth transitions in Spanish and English.

City Year
Three year grant to support the development of an infrastructure to become an inclusive service organization so they can best recruit, train, and support youth with disabilities to become successful City Year corps members. The HSC Foundation is joined by the Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation as a funding partner in City Year’s inclusion initiative.

Incenter Strategies
Focus group study of inner-city adolescents and their parents to determine how best to address adolescents’ physical, behavioral, and reproductive healthcare needs.