Research and Training Center for Pathways to Positive Futures

At Portland State University, the Pathways to Positive Futures center aims to improve the lives of youth and young adults with serious mental health conditions through rigorous research and effective training and dissemination. Our work is guided by the perspectives of young people and their families, and based in a positive development framework.

So You’re 18

These resources from the Virginia State Bar help young adults and their families understand what rights and responsibilities occur at age 18 in the state.

A downloadable and hard copy Guide is available. There is also a So You’re 18 website.

In Virginia, 18 is the age of majority, when a person is no longer a legal minor and now has full legal responsibility. These resources help youth and families understand some of the rights and obligations as an adult and to help avoid some of the pitfalls facing young adults as you take on legal responsibilities.

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  Info about the Guide

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  Link to the So You're 18 website

Pathways to Success modules for families

From the Virginia I’m Determined project, the Pathways to Success is a series of online learning modules for parents and caregivers.

The Pathways to Success are set up for you, at your own pace, to learn about how to support your child in becoming more self-determined. If you are just beginning, you can follow the Parent Path in the order it has been created, and if you just want to learn more about a certain aspect, you can simply skip to that part and grab the information you need

Raising and Working with Children and Youth in Foster Care or Living with Kin: Your Guide to Resources in Virginia

This Guide from Virginia Family Special Education Connection offers families and professionals links to state- and local-specific resources for enrolling students, education, medical care, mental health, transitioning students to post-secondary settings, courts, and other areas.

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  Website resource

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  Flyer

My Life, My Community Long Term Care Waiver Info

From the Va Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS), this site helps consumers understand and navigate long term care waivers for persons with developmental and other disabilities.

From the site:  Commonwealth’s system of services and supports for individuals with developmental disabilities is undergoing significant transformation as Virginia redesigns its waiver system under the My Life, My Community initiative. The term My Life, My Community encompasses an overarching vision whereby people with developmental disabilities live, work, play and thrive in their communities, just as others do, with the support they need.

The site features a publication Navigating the Developmental Disability Waivers: A Guide for Self -Advocates, Families and Support Partners.

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  Navigating the Developmental Disability Waivers: A Guide for Self -Advocates, Families and Support Partners.

Factsheet on Profile of a Virginia Graduate from PEATC

This fact sheet from the Parent Educational Advocacy Training Center (PEATC) provides families and students an overview of the new 5 C’s of what skills a Virginia graduate should have.

Getting to Work: The Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act and Students with Disabilities webinar

This webinar offers timely information about the federal WIOA (Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act) provisions that apply to to school-age students with disabilities.

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  WIOA for students with disabilities webinar

Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) information on who is considered “Parent” for financial aid

Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) information on who is considered “Parent” for financial aid.

If you are considered a dependent student for FAFSA® purposes, you will need to provide information about your legal parent(s) on the application. A legal parent is your biological or adoptive parent, or your legal parent as determined by the state (for example, if the parent is listed on your birth certificate). If you have a stepparent currently married to your legal parent, you generally also must provide information about him or her.

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  More info and how to apply

Supporting the Education of Young Adults with Serious Mental Health Conditions Webinar

Supporting the Education of Young Adults with Serious Mental Health Conditions:
State of the Science
presented by Marsha Ellison, PhD, Michelle Mullen, MS, CRC, CPRP, and Kathleen Biebel, PhD of the Implementation Science and Practice Advances Research Center  at U Mass (formerly The Transitions RTC)

Originally broadcast on January 7, 2016

Description:
The majority of college students with serious mental health conditions do not finish school, jeopardizing their long-term employment. Can supported education services help?

Marsha Ellison, Michelle Mullen and Kathleen Biebel, researchers and trainers of supported education services, will host a 2-part webinar series presenting the state of the science 2nd state of the practice of supported education and related strategies for achieving post-secondary education goals of young adults with SMHC.

The Learning & Working Transitions RTC 

The Learning & Working Transitions RTC at University of Massachusetts Medical Center focuses on youth and young adults ages 14-30 who have serious mental health conditions, conducting cutting-edge research on age appropriate programs that support education, training, and working during the transition to adulthood.

Virginia Community Services Boards

Community Services Boards (CSBs) throughout Virginia offer a range of services for adults and youth with mental health challenges, as well as for those with intellectual disabilities and substance abuse problems. Emergency services are available.

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  Community Service Boards

Outside-The-Box College Accommodations

Outside-The-Box College Accommodations: Real Support for Real Students: Tools for School from the Transitions Research and Training Center at University of Massachusetts

Learn your Rights: A Guide for Youth in Foster Care

Learn your Rights: A Guide for Youth in Foster Care from the Virginia Poverty Law Center

How to Keep A Job: A Young Adult’s Guide

How to Keep A Job: A Young Adult’s Guide, from the Transitions RTC

My Next Move

My Next Move, what do you want to do for a living? A career search site.

Think College

Think College: College options for people with Intellectual Disabilities

A Life 4 Me

A Life 4 Me: for middle schoolers with disabilities and their parents

By Youth, For Youth: Employment guide

By Youth, For Youth: Employment guide from the National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability

Dude, Where’s My Transition Plan?

Dude, Where’s My Transition Plan? Guide from Formed Families Forward and PEATC

Foster Care to Success

Foster Care to Success: America’s College Fund for Foster Youth.

All Foster Care to Success scholarships share one application; we will determine the program(s) for which you are eligible based on the information you provide.

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  Foster Care to Success

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  Apply here