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Tools for Multi Agency Team Transition Planning


Video: MAP Tools



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As for all important events in life, the transition youth make from school to adult life requires planning. Research indicates that youth who have a plan for the next steps beyond high school graduation are more likely to achieve meaningful life outcomes. When multi agency teams engage in the planning process, youth and families have the opportunity to make informed choices about options and services for adult living, learning, and working.

There are a variety of tools on this page that individuals and/or multi agency teams can choose from to support the transition planning process. These tools are informal in nature and not intended to be used as ‘forms to fill out.’ Rather, they are provided so teams can use and adapt them to the needs of their team and the youth/family in the planning process. Some youth will need very detailed planning, with in-depth attention to many aspects of adulthood. Other youth will still need comprehensive planning for adult life, but not at the same level of thoroughness.

Click each tool to download and learn more about each one and how they can be used.

One of the most frequently identified barriers to teaming and collaboration is communication! Agency words and terms can lead to misunderstanding, limit discussions, and prevent collaboration. Families, youth, educators and agency partners can become familiar with terms frequently used across agency partners through the use of the Vocabulary Crosswalk reference tool.

Download the Transition Vocabulary Crosswalk

During the transition years, schools and agencies have overlapping responsibility for interacting with youth. This Guide lays out a 5-step process for planning and conducting Age-Appropriate Transition Assessment (AATA) and includes the Backwards Planning template. This Guide is designed to provide details useful for teams new to multi agency planning and/or when a youth has complex or intensive needs. This document is downloadable and fillable.

Visit the online Age-Appropriate Transition Assessment Planning Tool

Download the Planning for Transition Assessment: A Guide for Multi Agency Teams

Whether you are new to the concept, a seasoned professional, or somewhere in between, the following guides and tools will help you along your journey of multi-agency transition planning, person centered thinking, and implementing backwards planning into your process. These tools can be used separately or together.


Want to learn more about using the Backwards Planning Process with a team? This guide will provide a 5-step process that leads to the development of a person-centered backwards plan. This step-by-step guide will walk you through the process and provide examples in developing a comprehensive plan for youth to transition from school to adult life.

Download the Multi Agency Transition Planning: Person Centered Thinking and Backwards Planning Guide

Watch Take 5: Using Backwards Planning in the Transition Process to learn more


Ready to try it on your own? The Multi-Agency Transition Planning: Person Centered Thinking and Backwards Planning Template is the fillable companion document to the Guide. Use the guide to learn the process. Use the Template to record information when planning with the youth and family.

Download the Multi Agency Transition Planning: Person Centered Thinking and Backwards Planning Template


Are you trying to facilitate your first Backwards Planning meeting and don’t know where to start? The Facilitators Guide to Backwards Planning: Start Where You Want to End provides a narrative that expands on each step of the Backwards Planning process and ‘tells the story’of a case study of a youth/family as they participate with a team in the process.

Download the Facilitator’s Guide for Backwards Planning: Start Where You Want to “End”


Still have questions on what a Multi-Agency Team Transition Meeting is? This fact sheet will address frequently asked questions about Multi Agency Transition Planning Meetings. This can also serve as an invitation to new members of a Multi-Agency Transition team. At the bottom you will find fillable space to invite members to an informal meeting.

Download the Fact Sheet: What is a Multi-Agency Team Transition Planning Meeting?


Need more examples? We have created step-by-step guides with examples to help you create a backwards plan that is comprehensive.

Download the Using the Backwards Planning Template: Step-By-Step Directions


Just looking for a quick refresher on how to fill out the backwards planning tool? The Steps to Backwards Planning – Illustrated guide illustrates how to fill out a Backwards Planning Template using visuals and quick reminders as well as an example of the final product.

Downloaded the Steps to Backwards Planning - Illustrated

Ready to get started? We have created fillable Backwards Planning templates in two different sizes.

Download the Letter size: 8 1/2” x 11”

Download the Ledger/Tabloid size: 11” x 17”

Watch Gabby, a recent high school graduate, and her transition team discuss their work together as a multi-agency transition planning team. This team worked together to support Gabby to be ready to continue on her journey to realize her adult life goals.

Video: Gabby‘s Journey



This video is being reviewed for audio description.


What is Audio Description (AD)?

When AD is enabled, descriptive language narrates what is on the screen. To learn more, visit our accessibility webpage.


Video Player Help

Kaltura Video Hosting: This website uses Kaltura, a video hosting company, to serve video content. If you are having difficulty viewing videos on this site, it may mean that your location (e.g., school district, organization) is blocking or filtering the Kaltura website. Please contact your IT personnel to resolve this issue.

Accessibility: We strive to make this website accessible for all users, including people with disabilities. We test and modify this website for optimal usability. If you have any accessibility questions or find any pages on our website that pose accessibility barriers, please contact support@ocali.org.


Captions / Transcript

You can access an interactive transcript for this video by selecting the Show Transcript icon in the top right corner of the video when you select play.

You can turn on captions by selecting the Enable Captions icon in the bottom right corner. Captions can also be turned on by selecting the Settings icon, where you can also set your caption preferences.

You can use Spanish subtitles for this video by selecting Settings and choosing Spanish in the Captions drop down menu.

Video: Gabby‘s Story



This video is being reviewed for audio description.


What is Audio Description (AD)?

When AD is enabled, descriptive language narrates what is on the screen. To learn more, visit our accessibility webpage.


Video Player Help

Kaltura Video Hosting: This website uses Kaltura, a video hosting company, to serve video content. If you are having difficulty viewing videos on this site, it may mean that your location (e.g., school district, organization) is blocking or filtering the Kaltura website. Please contact your IT personnel to resolve this issue.

Accessibility: We strive to make this website accessible for all users, including people with disabilities. We test and modify this website for optimal usability. If you have any accessibility questions or find any pages on our website that pose accessibility barriers, please contact support@ocali.org.


Captions / Transcript

You can access an interactive transcript for this video by selecting the Show Transcript icon in the top right corner of the video when you select play.

You can turn on captions by selecting the Enable Captions icon in the bottom right corner. Captions can also be turned on by selecting the Settings icon, where you can also set your caption preferences.

You can use Spanish subtitles for this video by selecting Settings and choosing Spanish in the Captions drop down menu.