Too many families are left to piece it together

Five case studies

1. 1 · Coordination failure

   The family left navigating the system alone

   Planning started late, families didn’t know what help existed after graduation, and some young adults lost support until a crisis.

   How NXTSteps helps: A central transition dashboard, an agency directory, a place for documents, and one coordinated action plan.

   Read more about The family left navigating the system alone

   Erie County, New York · Social Security Administration / Mathematica · 2011

   A federally evaluated initiative called Transition WORKS documented families struggling to understand adult-service eligibility rules and to coordinate between agencies. Researchers found that:

   • Transition planning sometimes began as late as the spring of senior year.
   • Families had little information about services available after graduation.
   • Young adults often became disconnected from support after leaving school.
   • Some did not reconnect with services until a crisis occurred.

   The report also identified students with learning disabilities or mental health conditions who fell between agencies, because nobody was clearly responsible for serving them.

   Source: SSA: Interim Report on Transition WORKS (see pages 30–36)

2. 2 · Hard-to-find programs

   A mother searching for basic independence skills

   A mother spent years being referred from place to place, looking for life-skills training for her son.

   How NXTSteps helps: Personal life-skills planning, local program discovery, resource matching, and family-to-provider communication.

   Read more about A mother searching for basic independence skills

   University of California, San Francisco · Published research study · 2012

   Researchers interviewed 64 young people and parents about the transition to adulthood. One mother described trying to find independent-living training for her son, including:

   • Cooking
   • Getting around on public transportation
   • Banking
   • Managing money

   She had been looking for a program since he was 14, but kept being referred from one place to another without finding the right one. Another mother struggled to find a post-school program, because the employment programs available didn't fit her daughter's support needs.

   Source: Parent and Youth Priorities during the Transition to Adulthood (Advances in Nursing Science)

3. 3 · Programs that don't fit

   Families concerned that transition programs aren't enough

   Programs ended before young adults found work, and offered tasks well below what they could do.

   How NXTSteps helps: Individual goals, progress tracking, career exploration, and matching young adults with opportunities that reflect what they can do.

   Read more about Families concerned that transition programs aren't enough

   Korean-American families · Social Sciences journal · 2023

   Researchers interviewed nine Korean-American mothers whose children had taken part in transition programs for young adults aged 18 to 21. Two findings stand out:

   • Some mothers wanted transition programs extended by as much as five years, because their children had not found work before the programs ended.
   • Others felt the programs offered overly simple vocational activities that didn't reflect what their children could actually do.

   One mother described repetitive unpaid tasks such as washing dishes and cleaning tables, and asked whether they were really preparing her child for meaningful work.

   Source: Korean American Mothers' Experiences of the Transition from School into Adulthood

4. 4 · Support that ends too soon

   When support disappears, progress can disappear too

   A program raised employment and income in its first year, but the gains faded once support ended.

   How NXTSteps helps: Long-term progress tracking, ongoing family involvement, milestone reminders, and continuity after graduation or a program ends.

   Read more about When support disappears, progress can disappear too

   West Virginia · Social Security Administration Youth Transition Demonstration · 2018

   The federal government evaluated Youth Works, an 18-month program for young people with disabilities across 19 West Virginia counties. In the first year, participants saw increases in:

   • Use of employment services
   • Employment
   • Income

   By the third year, those effects had faded once the program's supports were gone. Even when a young person gets effective support, keeping that progress after formal services end can be hard.

   Source: Social Security Bulletin: the West Virginia Youth Works demonstration

5. 5 · What works

   Better coordination and work experience lead to better outcomes

   Paid work experience and coordinated support led to more jobs and about 50% higher earnings three years on.

   How NXTSteps helps: Help families and educators connect transition goals with real jobs, work experience and outcomes they can measure.

   Read more about Better coordination and work experience lead to better outcomes

   Miami-Dade County, Florida · Broadened Horizons, Brighter Futures · 2018

   This study followed 859 young people receiving disability benefits, randomly assigned either to get program services (including paid work experience and employment-focused support) or to a comparison group. Three years later, the program group:

   • Was more likely to be employed.
   • Earned about 50% more than the comparison group.
   • Was less likely to have had contact with the justice system.

   Source: The Youth Transition Demonstration Project in Miami, Florida (Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation)