Martin County School District
Exceptional Student Education

Project Connect is a statewide interagency collaboration and transition improvement grant sponsored by the Florida Developmental Disabilities Council and the Bureau of Instructional Support and Community Services (BISCS) of the Florida Department of Education through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Part B. The Project is housed at the Transition Center at the University of Florida. Martin County was chosen as one of the sites to participate in the third round of the grant.

The Mission of Project Connect is to identify best practices for providing comprehensive and continuous transition services from school to post-school adult life for students with disabilities by enhancing community partnerships. Our goal is to enhance the students’ success in achieving their desired post-school outcomes, including independent living, employment, post-secondary education or training, leisure and recreational pursuits, and community access.

Focus Groups were utilized to identify strengths, barriers, and potential solutions to interagency collaboration and transition needs. Current and recent graduates, as well as their parents, teachers, and agencies were asked to participate in these groups. Questions asked included:

• What difficulties have you encountered while planning for the future of adolescents with special needs?
• What is your knowledge of the transition process?
• What information is needed to help a student apply or become eligible for services from your agency?
• What do you see as realistic expectations for students with disabilities?
• What positive experiences have you had in planning for the future of adolescents with special needs?

With this information, the team formed an Interagency Transition Collaboration to develop an action plan for ongoing implementation of an Interagency Agreement. With the outcome being to expand community transition teams and increasing agencies’ meaningful participation in student’s Transition Individual Education Plan (Transition IEP) meetings.

For further information please contact a Core Team Member listed below:

Iris Neil, ESE Program Specialist and Project Connect Coordinator, (772)-219-1200 extension 30441  mailto:neili@martin.k12.fl.us

Mollye Kiss, ESE Transition Specialist, (772)-219-1200 ext. 30382  mailto:kissm@martin.k12.fl.us