Agency Collaboration and Partnership
Students and youth may have diverse and ongoing needs as they enter and move through adulthood and career development. Collaboration and partnership with agencies while students are in-school and continuing after graduation can be a critical step.
Several points to remember while reaching out to partners:
Do NOT assume one agency can do it all.
Different agencies may only be able to offer certain types of support or service.
Do NOT assume a person can only access assistance from one agency.
Sometimes a person can receive assistance from several agencies at the same time.
Do NOT assume eligibility (or non-eligibility).
Having an IEP in school does not guarantee assistance. However, not having an IEP does not mean agency support is unavailable.
DO assume it can feel overwhelming at times.
DO NOT let that stop you!
The next two sections provide tips, guidance and information about steps to enhance working together as a multi-agency team. These are practices and planning strategies that can be used to help prepare to collaborate for the benefit of the individual.
The sections that follow the preparing and practices sections provide more understanding about agencies and what they can do to support employment . These include: